Dorian Johnson charged with interfering with arrest
ST. LOUIS — The friend who was with Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teen, on the day he was shot and killed by a white Ferguson, Mo., police officer has been arrested.
St. Louis Metropolitan Police said Dorian Johnson interfered with an arrest Wednesday sometime between 3:08 and 3:25 p.m. CT.
Johnson and his brother Demonte Johnson, 21, were among a large group of people who were possibly armed in the 5700 block of Acme Avenue, according to the incident report. The report says Demonte Johnson grabbed the arm of a police officer in an attempt to keep the officer from patting down a man with a bulge in his waistband that police believed may have been a gun.
Officers say they then tried to detain Demonte Johnson, who resisted. Dorian Johnson then approached the officer, stood close to him and yelled at him to try to keep him from arresting his brother. All three men were eventually handcuffed and arrested.
Warrants have been issued for both Dorian and Demonte Johnson. Dorian Johnson was charged with resisting or interfering with an arrest. Demonte Johnson was charged with resisting or interfering with an arrest and third degree assault on a law enforcement officer.
Johnson testified to the St. Louis County Grand Jury about the events on Aug. 9, when Brown was shot and killed by officer Darren Wilson. Brown's death triggered unrest in the St. Louis suburb and sparked a national conversation about race relations.
The grand jury decided on Nov. 24 to bring no charges against Wilson. A subsequent U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation also found no reason to charge Wilson. Its report, however, criticized the Ferguson Police Department and the city, leading to resignations of the police chief and other officials.
