Dorian Johnson's Story

It has been 5 years since the shooting of Michael Brown. What is strange is that Dorian Johnson has vanished from public view. He was the guy who witnessed the shooting first hand. So why was he so quick to disappear?

After Johnson came forward as a witness, there was a crush of attention, and he became a controversial figure. He was controversial for the folks who were convinced that it was Brown's fault. He had received a lot of death threats and so did his family. Because of that, Johnson goes into hiding and stops doing interviews. He shuffles from hotel to hotel while awaiting the Grand Jury's decision. He never becomes an activist. Even after the Grandy Jury decision came out that Johnson's account wasn't completely true and had "no evidence to support it", he has remained a ghost.

Johnson lived on a rough part of Saint Louis. He has had tons of family and friends killed via gun violence. When he was 17 and just about to get out of high school, he was shot as a junior coming home from practice. It was a drive-by shooting and he was caught in the crossfire.

So what was his life like before the shooting?

Johnson says that he had just made it out. Believe it or not, Ferguson was an escape for him. Ferguson was a suburb even though it was predominantly black. Johnson held a job and saved money, so he and his girlfriend a newborn had moved into an apartment complex in the neighborhood.

How did he meet Michael Brown?

It was a chance encounter and they had one mutual friend. They barely knew each other, but Brown was looking for someone to look up to. In the early morning of August 9th, around 2 am, Brown, knocks on Johnson's door wanting to talk. He talks about how he's been feeling to Johnson and how he has been reading the bible and feeling something on the inside and how it was powerful and causing stuff to happen around him. Brown was troubled and felt that he was going through a ton. For example, his grandma in hospital and so was his stepmom. Brown had somehow convinced himself that he had the power to heal (spiritual power) and wanted someone to believe him. For example, he thought he could heal his grandma. After hearing this, Johnson says that they should talk later and closes his door and lays back in his bed and falls asleep.

Later that day

Johnson sees Brown and asks him to join while he walks up to the store, so they can talk about what was going on. Brown wanted him to see the "powerful" stuff that was happening. For example, as they were walking, a car with an elderly woman in the backseat passed by and Brown walks straight across the street without getting hit. While at the store, Johnson sees that Brown has stolen some cigarillos and he puts it back. Johnson doesn't think it was premeditated and was just another example that something weird was going on. It was for the purpose of showing Johnson something.

What does Johnson think about the shooting? 

Johnson feels that he was put there for a reason. He says, "If anyone was going to be there, of course, it was me". At times he does wish it wasn't him, but he doesn't have any regrets and would tell the story how he told it, the way he believed it happened. He believes it is important that someone stands up for Brown.