Dorian Johnson, 22, leaves the funeral of friend Michael Brown at the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis on Aug. 25, 2014. Johnson was with Brown when he was shot by a white Ferguson, Missouri police officer on Aug. 9. The shooting led to several nights of looting, arrests and heavy police presence. Johnson sued the city and the police department in the shooting. File Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI. |
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FERGUSON, Mo., May 6 (UPI) -- A key witness to the August shooting of Michael Brown by Ferguson, Mo. police has sued the city, the police department and the former officer who fired the fatal shot, Darren Wilson.
Dorian Johnson claims Wilson assaulted him, violating his constitutional rights and intentionally and negligently inflicted emotional pain during the encounter. Former police Chief Thomas Jackson is also named in the lawsuit. Johnson is seeking more than $25,000 in damages.
The suit claims Wilson fired his weapon at both men, striking Brown several times. "At no point in time did Officer Wilson order Plaintiff Johnson or Brown to 'stop' or 'freeze,'" the lawsuit states.
"Officer Wilson acted with either deliberate indifference and/or reckles disregard toward Plaintiff's rights, targeting him without probable cause or any reasonable factual basis to support that Plaintiff had committed any crime or wrong, and using lethal force in an unjustified and unconstitutional manner," the lawsuit states.
It also alleges constitutional violations, assault and emotional distress, pointing to several finding from the March 4 Justice Department report that blasted the city and its police officers for targeting black residents and routinely violating civil rights.
Johnson claimed Wilson reached out of a police SUV, grabbed Brown by the throat and tried to pull him through the window. The Justice Department in the report concluded Johnson was not credible compared to other witnesses.
The city of Ferguson, which is facing numerous lawsuits from Brown's shooting, declined to comment.
Wilson shot and killed Brown,18 and unarmed, during an encounter on the street in the St. Louis suburb. The shooting prompted protests nationwide that roiled communities for weeks. On Nov. 24, a St. Louis County grand jury decided not to indict Wilson, setting off more protests. Wilson left the police department following the announcement.
