Johnson tried to get Into the Monte Carlo

MC Owner, MC Passenger and Dorian Johnson all testified that Johnson asked to get into the Monte Carlo but was denied permission. 

---------

MC Owner was interviewed briefly (8½ minutes) by a detective of the Saint Louis County Police Department on August 9, about seven hours after the incident. Her story included the following elements:

* After the police vehicle backed up and cut off his path, Dorian Johnson backed away from the vehicle but remained in its vicinity. After the first gunshot, Johnson and Brown ran away at about the same time. 

* After she saw Police Officer Darren Wilson come out from behind his police vehicle, she ducked down in her car. She peeked up briefly, just enough to see Wilson walk past her car.

* Then, while she remained ducked down, Dorian Johnson tried to get into her car. (She did not say whether he actually did get into her car.)

* When Johnson was trying to get into her car, she sat up and looked into her car's rear-view mirror. Then she saw, in that mirror, Brown being shot in the street.

* Leaving the scene, she drove around Wilson's police vehicle and almost collided with an arriving police vehicle.

MC Owner never mentioned MC Passenger in this interview.

Following are excerpts from that first interview, about seven hours after the incident.

Detective  Alright. From that point, you're behind the police vehicle. 

You see these kids [Brown and Johnson] walking. Describe how they were walking down the street. 

MC Owner  Actually, they was walking in the middle. .... Once he [Wilson] stopped his vehicle, I didn't hear or seen anything .... I just saw the one young man [Johnson] that was with him, with the deceased suspect [Brown], who was on the police vehicle's far side]. 

I saw him [Johnson]. He was a brown-skinned guy. He was kind of short, kind of thin, with dreads. .... When I saw him like in [at] the back of the truck, he was, like, looking but didn't know what was going on. .... 

I see the young man with the dreads, like, back [away]. ..... I see him now come from the back [end of the vehicle]. 

Like, he was trying to see what was going on, like it was a struggle.  .... 

Once that had happened, I heard the gunshot. I heard one shot. ....

After I heard the gunshot, I seen the suspect [Brown], that got shot, back away from the truck. .... He was amazed, or whatever.  

After I seen that, I seen when the young man and the other man preceded to take off running toward Glen Owen [i.e. east].  

In the process of them running now, I'm down because I heard a gunshot. So, I'm terrified.  

Once I see the police officer get out of the car, that's when I instantly ducked. I ducked for a minute, but I saw him [Wilson] run past.  I was up [just] enough to see him [Wilson] run past, when I had ducked down.   

When I ducked down, that's when I seen the young man with the dreads come on the side of my car, on the passenger [side], trying to get in. He was trying to get in because I was stuck right there. I was actually stuck, so he's ducking down but actually trying to get inside. 

After he did that, I looked up. Now by this time I'm looking up because I'm terrified. Now I'm looking up in my rear-view mirror. That's when I see the young man [Brown]. He already ran past and then the police officer ran past. So, when I looked up, I saw the young man turn. He was facing the police officer. He was towards the police officer. .... 

In my rear-view mirror .... [description of Brown being shot] 

I  never seen nothing like that in my life. I just end up proceeding to get away. In the process of me getting away, another [police] truck came to me and almost hit me head on ... with the police car. 

So..l'm up in the grass by now ... on the curb. I just took off. I just speeded down the street. .... After that I was just terrified, and I just got away. 

------------

In her interview with an FBI special agent on October 13, MC Owner still said that Johnson ran away from the police vehicle after the first gunshot, but now she said Johnson ran away before Brown did.  

MC Owner  I saw the one with the dreads come back [from the police vehicle]. When he came back, kind of like hesitant, that's when I saw Michael Brown at the [police] car, and then that's when they proceed to take off. 

Prosecutor  Together?  

Actually, the one with the dreads kind of got away just a little bit extra. 

[Page 100]

In this interview, MC Owner told investigators for the first time that she had a passenger in her car. She said her passenger opened his door so that he could lean down and out. Through that opened door, Johnson crawled at least partially into the car. She and MC Passenger told him only "get down" (not "get out"). 

FBI SA  At any point did you open your car door?

MC Owner  Oh, no, ma'am, I did not open up my driver's side of the car.

FBI SA  How about [MC Passenger]? Did he open his door? 

MC Owner  Yes, ma'am, he did. ... to get down. We were scared, terrified. ... I know he [MC Passenger] was hanging outside of the car, trying to get shelter. ... 

I was down, my whole head was in the passenger seat. So I'm almost on [MC Passenger's] lap. 

My hand is on the steering wheel, my feet is on the brake, I couldn't even put my car in park. That's how quick it happened. I just ducked down. ....

FBI SA  At what point did the guy with the dreads come over to the car?

MC Owner  When I was down, I did open up my eyes. I was still down, and that's when I saw the young man with the dreads, where [MC Passenger] had the door open, had it slung open. He [Johnson] was on the curb, but he had crawled. He [Johnson] was in the car, and he just basically asked me could I get him away from here because it is crazy. ....

FBI SA  So the passenger door is kind of opened?

MC Owner  It's opened wide. ....

I told him [Johnson] to get down. .... That was the only thing that came to my mind, just get down.

FBI SA  Obviously, you didn't let the guy with the dreads in your car.

MC Owner  No, sir, I did not.

FBI SA  Why was it that you wouldn't let him in your car?

MC Owner Actually, I didn't know what was going on, for one. I didn't have a clue, just didn't know. It wasn't something that I was willing to do. ... I didn't know if he had a gun. ....

FBI SA  Do you know if he stayed there or he went elsewhere?

MC Owner  Actually, [he stayed there] just for a few minutes. After I told him no, he disappeared. I don't know where he went. I wasn't focusing on him. I was trying to see what was going on. ....

FBI SA  Did you guys say, "you can't get in the car"?

MC Owner  No, ma'am, I did not. [I said:] "Get down." That was it.

FBI SA  How did you let him know that you weren't letting him in the car?

MC Owner  Actually, for one, I wasn't moving it at the time, so he wasn't going to go anywhere anyway.

FBI SA  Did say anything to him?

MC Owner  Just "get down". We [MC Owner and MC Passenger] both just hollered the same thing: "get down".

[Pages 85 - 92]

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MC Passenger in his interview with investigators stated the following sequence of events:

* Immediately after the first gunshot, he and MC Owner opened their car doors. She drove the Monte Carlo backward about four or five feet -- less than a full car-length. While the Monte Carlo was backing up, there were no cars behind them. 

* Between the first and second gunshots, Brown ran past the Monte Carlo. 

* When the second gunshot was fired, MC Passenger leaned down and out the passenger-side door and noticed Johnson crouching there.  

* Soon after the second gunshot, Wilson appeared coming around the police vehicle's back side. When MC Owner and MC Passenger saw him, they both ducked lower. 

* From then until Brown stopped running away, MC Passenger focused on Johnson. Eventually MC Passenger looked back at Brown right after Brown stopped running and was turning around to face Wilson.  

* Right after Brown fell dead, MC Owner turned his attention back to Johnson, who asked to get into the Monte Carlo.

* MC Passenger told Johnson he could not get in. That's when MC Owner closed her driver-side door. 

* MC Passenger ordered MC Owner to drive away, around Wilson's police vehicle, and she did so. MC Passenger kept his passenger-side door open. 

* After the Monte Carlo drove around Wilson's police vehicle, MC Passenger got out of the Monte Carlo. 

MC Passenger told the investigators: 

MC Passenger  I heard one shot. That's when I told the young lady [MC Owner] to back up and open the doors, because I didn't know when the next shot was going to come. ... 

By the time we actually stopped -- that's when Mike had left and ran on her side of the door, going towards the yellow line ... he came up out of his shoe. .... He was breathing heavy. 

When he ran past the door, I heard another shot. .... So, we ducked down, and that's when I saw Dorian. I don't know where he came from, because he was all the way over here [pointing toward 9391 Canfield Drive]. I don't even know how he came all the way around. ....

From there -- I would say about four, five, six seconds -- that's when the officer came. He didn't look our way. ....

Dorian asked to get in the car, and I'm like [to Johnson]: "No, I don't even know you."

I'm like [to MC Owner]: "Go and pull off". So, we [drive] right on the side of the police car, right there in the grass. 

[Pages 4-5] 

MC Passenger noticed Johnson by the Monte Carlo at the moment when the second gunshot was fired.

Detective  So, the second shot goes off. Tell me one more time what Mike does. 

MC Passenger  ... I didn't know if he [Brown] actually got hit from that second shot, because my eyes came back right  here [out the passenger-side door] to duck. That's when I see Dorian. He just still right there. 

Detective  You took your eyes off Mike, and you were focused on Dorian then, at least momentarily? 

MC  Passenger  [unintelligible] when that second shot. Yeah. 

We're just ducking down and looking, because we didn't know where it was going to go. About four or five seconds from there, he [Wilson] pursued [Brown]. 

From the second shot, [we were] ducking. That's when I seen Dorian .... 

[Pages 17 - 18]

MC Passenger focused on Johnson while Brown continued to run away. (In reality, this was when MC Passenger climbed into the back seat while Johnson got in the car and crouched in front of the passenger seat. After Johnson hid down in that position, MC Passenger looked out the car's back window and saw Brown turning around.)

Detective  When your attention was drawn to Dorian, was Michael running away from you still or had he already turned around? 

MC Passenger  He [Brown] was still going the other way.

Detective  And by the time your attention was drawn back [from Johnson to Brown], he [Brown] was still going away from you? 

MC Passenger  I guess Wilson said something to him [Brown], and he [Brown] turned around.  .... 

[Page 34]

After Brown fell dead, Johnson asked to get into the Monte Carlo. MC Passenger refused permission but did not close his passenger-side door. MC Owner did close her driver-side door. The Monte Carlo drove around Wilson's police vehicle, and then MC Passenger got out. 

MC Passenger  He [Brown] falls on the ground on his arm. 

Detective  And what does the officer [Wilson] do?

MC Passenger  From then on, I stopped looking [at Wilson]. I was worried about him [Johnson], because he asking about getting in the car. 

I said [to Johnson], "No" ....

Detective  Was Dorian saying anything to you?

MC Passenger  He just said, "Can I get in?" and I said, "No." ....

Detective  Did your doors stay open the whole time during this? When did you close your car doors?

MC Passenger  She [MC Owner] end up closing her when I told him [Johnson] he couldn't get in. [She] closed her side [and] went by the [Wilson's] police car. When we pulled to the side of the police car, that's when the policies [backup police officers] came. Then I got out. 

[Pages 24-25, 27] 

.

When the Monte Carlo backed up, no vehicles were behind it

After the first gunshot, MC Owner  drove her Monte Carlo backward about four or five feet very slowly, during about five or six seconds. She stopped because she heard the second gunshot. She put her foot on the brake, gripped the steering wheel with one hand, and leaned down toward MC Passenger's lap. The Monte Carlo remained in reverse gear.

There was not some car closely behind the Monte Carlo that prevented MC Owner from driving further backward. MC Owner could have driven backward much faster and further and could have even escaped the scene through the nearby parking lot.

The path was open for the Monte Carlo to back quickly into the nearby parking lot.
Instead, the Monte Carlo backed up only five feet in five seconds.

The Monte Carlo could have distanced itself from the gunfire
by escaping into the nearby parking lot.
The Monte Carlo's occupants preferred to stay and listen
to what was going on between Brown and Wilson.

MC Passenger said there were several cars behind the Monte Carlo, but all those cars were far behind, near Copper Creek Court, where Michael Brown stopped running and turned around. Furthermore, those cars arrived to that location after the Monte Carlo backed up.

While MC Owner was testifying to the grand jury, the prosecutor asked her to comment about MC Passenger's statement that cars stopped behind her Monte Carlo. MC Owner insisted that she did not see any cars behind her.

Prosecutor  When [MC Passenger] gave his statement to the County [detectives], they asked him about after Wilson had moved past the car and [MC Passenger] brought up that there were two or three, up to four cars behind you. They started lining up after that, but you are saying there were no cars behind you? 

MC Owner  I didn't see any cars. 

[Page 144]

Evidently, MC Owner did not stop driving backward because her path was blocked by another car close behind her.

MC Passenger told the investigators that no cars were close behind the Monte Carlo while it was backing up.

Detective  You said to her after the first shot, back up. When you backed up, were there any cars behind you at that point? 

MC Passenger  Nope. 

Detective  So, the street was completely clear? 

MC Passenger  Yup. 

Detective  Did you turn around and look to make sure there were no cars behind you, so she didn't hit a car behind you? How did that happen? 

MC Passenger  I guess she looked. 

Detective  Did you [look], though? How do you know there wasn't any cars? 

MC Passenger  I end up looking back, yeah. 

Detective  So, you looked, and there were no other cars behind you at that time? 

MC Passenger  No. 

Detective  So, nobody was behind you by the time the first shot went off? 

MC Passenger  No.  

Detective  And they [Brown and Wilson] began to run, and you are backing up, and nobody was there. No other vehicles were there? 

MC Passenger  Right. None. 

[Page 31]

After the second gunshot, some cars appeared into MC Passenger's view, far behind the Monte Carlo.I will discuss the other cars in future articles. 

After the first gunshot from the police vehicle, MC Owner could have distanced her Monte Carlo by backing quickly into the parking lot. However, she and MC Passenger preferred to stay close and listen to what was going on between Brown and Wilson.

------

Michael Brady told the grand jury (pages 32-22) that no other vehicles were near the police vehicle and the Monte Carlo.

The Monte Carlo drove slowly backward four to five feet

MC Passenger said that, after the first gunshot, MC Owner drove her Monte Carlo backwards about four to five feet, less than a full car-length. The distance from the police vehicle increased from three-to-four feet to seven-to-eight feet.

Blue Line = Monte Carlo's position before it backed up
Cross-Bar = Position of front seats

The short movement was very slow, lasting five or six seconds. The movement ended when the second gunshot was fired. At that gunshot moment, Michael Brown was running past the Monte Carlo and kicked off his flip-flop sandal. Dorian Johnson was crouching down next to the Monte Carlo. 

Blue Line = Monte Carlo's position before it backed up
Red Line = Monte Carlo's position after it backed up
Cross-Bars = Position of front seats

MC Owner stopped her Monte Carlo but did not put it into park. She kept her foot on the brake, a hand on the steering wheel and leaned down toward MC Passenger's lap. 

Grand Juror  Initially, before you back up, how far apart are your two cars? 

MC Passenger  It's wasn't bumper-to-bumper, but it might have been three or four feet, enough to see under an SUV. 

Grand Juror  And then when you guys backed up, how far back did you back up? 

MC Passenger  Probably like eight feet by then, seven feet [distant from the police vehicle].  

[Pages 206 - 207]

Detective  So how far does she back up?

MC Passenger  About four or five feet.

Detective  Four or five feet?

MC Passenger  Yeah, It wasn't a full car-length. It wasn't as much as you would have liked? (Laughs).    .... 

[Page 33] 

MC Passenger  [At the first shot], that's when I told her [MC Owner] to back-back, open the doors and basically take cover if we hear another one. 

Prosecutor  At that point did he [Brown] turn and run? 

MC Passenger  When we went back, as soon as we stopped, that's when he [Brown] start coming on [MC Owner]'s side. .... 

They [Brown and Wilson] was still [not moving] right after the first shot. We back-back slow-slow. It wasn't no fast move back; this was slow. I guess probably by the time we back-back, it probably was five or six seconds. That's when we end up seeing him [Brown] run past her [the driver's] door. 

[Pages 188 - 189] 

MC Passenger  When I heard the first shot, I told her to back up and open the doors.

Detective  How many shots did you hear?

MC Passenger  The first time, [I heard] one. .... I told her to back the car back and open the doors up. She backs up. ....

From [when] the car almost stopped, I saw Mike. That's when I heard the other shot and ducked. ... That's when I saw Dorian, because I didn't know he was even over there. .....

Detective  Where did you see Mike at when the second shot went off?

MC  Passenger  Running past the door. He was past the door, but you hear another shot, and you direct your eyes back that way [toward the police vehicle]. I don't know if he [Wilson] hit him [Brown] or not.

Detective  You're saying that you saw Mike running past [the driver's] door, and at that point you hear the second shot? 

MC Passenger   Um hum [yes]. .... When I heard a second shot, my eyes went back for the [police] truck.... I didn't see him [Wilson] yet. 

[Pages 12 - 14 and 16]

MC Passenger  After I heard that first shot, [I told her] "Back up, back up, and open your door". [I] open my door so we don't catch no shot ... 

Then as soon as we backed up, Mike Brown ran on her side, the driver's side, coming from the officer's car. [Brown was] limping a little bit, gasping for breath. 

I think his slipper came off. That's when we heard a second shot. That's when we started ducking. 

Prosecutor  .... What happened once you heard that first shot?

MC Passenger  Back up and open the doors. About when we stopped, that's when Mike was running around her [the driver's] side..... I was looking at his [Brown's] side. 

The second shot I heard, I end up ducking down. [After the second shot] a good four, five six seconds, and that's when I see the officer, Mr. Wilson, came the same way. ...

[Page 161-163]

Blue Line = Monte Carlo's position when 
second gunshot was fired.

"His slipper came off.
That's when we heard the second shot.
That's when we started ducking."

Brown perhaps kicked his sandal far forward as he was running.  

------

MC Owner told an FBI special agent that when she stopped driving backward, she kept her foot on the brake, gripped the steering wheel with one hand and leaned down toward MC Passenger's lap, while he leaned out his open door.  

FBI SA  How about [MC Passenger]? Did he open his door? 

MC Owner  Yes, ma'am, he did. ... to get down. We were scared, terrified. ... I know he was hanging outside of the car, trying to get shelter. ... 

I was down, my whole head was in the passenger seat. So I'm almost on [MC Passenger's] lap. 

My hand is on the steering wheel, my feet is on the brake, I couldn't even put my car in park. That's how quick it happened. I just ducked down. ....

[Pages 85 - 86]

MC Passenger confirmed that the Monte Carlo remained in reverse gear (pages 26 - 27).

Brown had blood on his shirt and right arm when he ran away

After the incident, Dorian Johnson told a false story in which he remained by the police vehicle until the first shot. Johnson claimed falsely that he saw Michael Brown being shot in the upper-right chest and saw blood flowing down Brown's right arm. 

Since Johnson ran away so soon, however, he did not see Brown being shot by the police vehicle. Johnson did see, however, Brown running away from the police vehicle and then saw  that Brown's shirt and arm were splattered with blood. Subsequently, Johnson used that detail about Brown's bloody shirt and arm to enrich his own false story.
  
Already in a video recording on August 9, Johnson said:

The officer then reached out and he grabbed his [Brown's] arm to pull him into the car. So now the officer was pulling him inside the car. He [Brown] is trying to pull away.  

At no time the officer said that he was going to do anything, until he pulled out his weapon. His weapon was drawn, and he said “Ill shoot you” or “I’m going to shoot”. And in the same moment the first shot went off.  

And we [Johnson and Wilson] looked at him [Brown]. He was shot, and there was blood coming from him. And we took off running. 

As we took off running, I ducked and hid for my life because I was because I was feared for my life. I hid by the first car that I saw.

Three days later, on August 12, Johnson told CNN's Wolf Blitzer that he saw Wilson shoot Brown in the upper chest. 

The officer now is struggling with, trying to hold a grip on, my friend Big Mike as he [Brown] is trying to pull away. In a minute, I heard, “I’ll Shoot. I’m about to shoot.” 

I was standing so close to Big Mike, and ... I look in his [Wilson's police car] window, and I see that he [Wilson] had his gun pointed at both of us. And when he fired his weapon, I moved seconds before he pulled the trigger. I saw the fire come out the barrel, and I instantly knew that it was a gun. I looked at my friend Big Mike, and I saw that he was  struck in the chest or upper region, because I saw blood splattered down his side, his right area.

And at that time we both took off running.

On that same August 12, Johnson also told Al Sharpton that he saw blood coming down Brown's right arm from the imaginary wound in Brown's upper chest. 

After the first shot went off, I stepped back and I looked at my friend [Brown], and I see the blood coming down his right arm, so I know that he was hit.

The forensic investigation concluded that the first gunshot wounded Brown's right thumb while he was trying to grab Darren Wilson's pistol. Some of Brown's blood from that thumb wound surely splattered onto Brown's shirt and arm. Johnson saw that blood while Brown was running away from the police vehicle and thought mistakenly that Brown had been shot in his upper-right chest.  

Another possibility is that the splatters were seen not by Johnson, but rather by the Monte Carlo's occupants, who afterwards described the splatters to Johnson. 

Brown ran from the police vehicle before the second gunshot

Police Officer Darren Wilson was mistaken, in my opinion, about two of the incident's elements. I attribute both mistakes to the punches he received to his head. 

1) Wilson said that he sent his radio message to the dispatcher immediately before he backed up his vehicle to block the paths of Michael Brown and Dorian Johnson. In fact, he sent the radio message after he fired his second gunshot and before he got out of his police vehicle.

2) Wilson said that he fired the second gunshot from inside his police vehicle while Brown still was standing at the vehicle's window. In fact, Wilson fired that gunshot after Brown had run away from the vehicle. 

---------

Wilson says he made two radio calls to the dispatcher.

1) Right before he drove backward to block Johnson and Brown, he radioed "21, put me on Canfield with two and send me another car". This call was recorded in the dispatcher's radio traffic. (Track 369)

2) After he fired his second gunshot, he radioed "Shots fired. Send me more cars". This call was not recorded.

I will argue here that he made only the "put me on Canfield" call and that he did so after he fired his second gunshot. 

--------

I decided that Wilson was mistaken about the second gunshot's timing after I read the grand-jury testimonies of two witnesses:

1) Witness 7 was a Saint Louis County Police Department detective who interviewed Wilson on the day of the incident, August 9, from about 2:30 to 3:00 p.m. in Christian Northwest Hospital's trauma ward, where Wilson was examined for his injuries. 

2) Witness 8 was an FBI agent, assigned to a Saint Louis office, who interviewed Wilson on August 28 in the FBI's Saint Louis office. 

(The designations "Witness 7" and "Witness 8" were assigned by the grand jury. They are not designated in the US Justice Department's report.) 

Both witnesses testified to the grand jury on September 16, 2014, shortly before Wilson himself testified. Here I will quote Wilson's testimony first, before I quote the other two witnesses' testimony. 

--------

Wilson testified to the grand jury that after he fired his first gunshot, Brown backed away from the police vehicle for a few seconds. Then Brown advanced toward the window again, and so Wilson fired the second shot. 

You will read in the following passage that Wilson mentioned a "cloud of dust" when he fired the second gunshot. As we will see from the FBI agent's statement, this cloud of dust was the second bullet hitting the ground in the distance. 

The following passage begins before the first gunshot.

Wilson  I was just so focused on getting the gun ... He [Brown]  is still holding onto it. 

I pulled the trigger, and nothing happens. It just clicked. I pull it again. It just clicked again.  

At this point I'm like: "Why isn't this working? This guy is going to kill me if he gets ahold of this gun." 

I pulled it [the trigger] a third time. It [the gun] goes off. When it went off, it shot through my door panel, and my window was down and glass flew out of my door panel. I think that kind of startled him and me at the same time. .... Then I notice I have blood on the back of my hand. 

After seeing the blood on my hand, I looked at him, and he .... stepped back ..... 

He comes back towards me again with his hands up. At that point ... I tried to pull the trigger again. Click. Nothing happened. .... Without even looking, I just grab the top of my gun, the slide, and I racked it. .... I  pulled the trigger again. It goes off. ....  

Prosecutor  So how many times does it go off in the car? 

Wilson  It went off twice in the car.  

* Pull, click, click, went off.  

* Click, went off.  

So twice in the car.  

When I look up after that, I see him start [running], cloud of dust behind him. 

I then get out of my car. ..... We start running, kind of the same direction that Johnson had pointed. -- across the street, like a diagonal towards where the parking lot came in for Copper Creek Court and Canfield, right at that intersection. And there is a light pole right there, I remember him [Brown] running towards the light pole. 

[Pages 224 - 226]

Later in his testimony, Wilson confirmed that he fired the second time while Brown still was at his vehicle's window.

Prosecutor  At that point [after Michael Brown had been shot in the hand and so had backed away from the vehicle], Michael Brown is not right up on the vehicle, is that fair to say? 

Wilson  No, this is when he is coming back at the vehicle. He is only about a foot away. After the first shot hit him, he went down and kind of held his hip for a second, and then he came back up and started to come back in the vehicle. 

And that's when I ... pulled the trigger. ...  

Prosecutor Did you give him any kind of warning before that second shot?  

Wilson  I don't recall 

[Pages 260 - 261]

It is not plausible that Wilson's second shot did not hit Brown if Brown indeed were standing a mere foot away and starting "to come back in the vehicle". In fact, however, Brown was long gone when Wilson fired the second gunshot. 

------------------

Witness 7, the detective, told the grand jury that Wilson, on the afternoon of August 9 did not remember the second gunshot at all. Wilson did remember that he got out of his vehicle and then "radioed to his dispatcher that shots had been fired". No such radio message was recorded in the dispatcher's radio traffic report, however. 

The following passage of the detective's summary to the grand jury begins with the first gunshot. 

Detective  Officer Wilson continues and states that he then pulled the trigger again, at which time one round of ammunition was fired. Immediately following that, he sees a large explosion of glass and then looks down and sees what he believed was blood on his hands. He said at that point he didn't know if he was injured or the subject was injured --just knew that he saw blood. 

Officer Wilson continued that the subject's [Brown's] hands were still on the gun, and he [Wilson] pulled the trigger two more times, and it misfired both times.

The subject [Brown] then re-entered the vehicle and assaulted Officer Darren Wilson by punching him several more times in the face and then stopped the assault and ran eastbound on Canfield Road away from the vehicle. 

Prosecutor  So one shot ... was fired inside, while he was sitting inside the vehicle? 

Detective  Yes. ....   

Prosecutor  So now the suspect is running east?  

Detective  Yes. He [Wilson] says that the subject [Brown] is then running east on Canfield, and Officer Darren Wilson then exits his vehicle and upon doing so, he says he radioed to his dispatcher that shots were fired, and he continued to exit the vehicle.

He says he observed the subject running east on Canfield at which time he pursued on foot.

[Pages 107 - 109]

Later in his testimony, the detective confirmed that Wilson told his story to him without any mention of the second gunshot. 

Detective  He [Wilson] says that as he's exiting the vehicle he announces shot-fires [to the dispatcher] and requested assistance at that point. That would be once he is getting out of the car.

Prosecutor  Did he fire once he got out of his car or did he call and then fire?

Detective  .... Essentially what happens is, he tells us, after the first shot that went off, while he was in the vehicle, the subject [Brown] comes back in and assaults him and then takes off running east on Canfield away from the car.

Officer Wilson then tells us that he opens his door, and as he is exiting the vehicle, he gets on his radio and announces, or notifies his dispatcher, of shots fired and requests an assist car. .... 

[Pages 122 - 123]

This narrative omits the second gunshot that was fired inside the police vehicle.  

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Nineteen days later, Wilson belatedly incorporated the second gunshot into his August 28 interview with the FBI special agent. Now Wilson remembered that, trying to un-jam his gun, he fired the second gunshot through his car's open window and saw the bullet hit the ground in the distance. 

Brown did punch Wilson again after the first gunshot but then ran away when he saw Wilson trying to un-jam his pistol. By the time Wilson fired the second gunshot, Brown had run around the police vehicle and was running past the Monte Carlo. 

The FBI agent's testimony to the grand jury about the August 28 interview includes the following passage, which begins with the first gunshot. 

FBI Agent Officer Wilson pulled the trigger a third time, and the gun fired through the driver-door panel. The window being down, glass flew everywhere. 

Officer Wilson ... noticed that there was blood on his right hand, and he assumed that he had gotten cut when the glass flew everywhere.

After the gun goes off, Brown stepped back from the car ... somewhat in shock. Brown puts his hands together at his right hip, and Officer Wilson thought maybe he [Brown] was hit there [in his hip], which is why he [Brown] put his hand there.

He said Brown then became enraged. Officer Wilson describes his [Brown's] face looking like a demon. Officer Wilson was confused that Brown wasn't then running away ... because he had just been shot, but Brown re-engaged. ...

Prosecutor  So are you saying that he [Wilson] says when he fired the weapon into the door, he believed or thought that the bullet pierced the outer skin of the car and got Michael Brown?

FBI Agent  Yes..... He didn't know where the bullet went, but he was aiming through the door when Michael Brown is engaged in the car. He [Brown] pulled both of his [Brown's] hands down towards his right hip and [Wilson] thought maybe that's where he [Brown] was hit -- just based off that action, not because he [Wilson] saw a wound .... .

Both of Brown's hands came back through the window. Officer Wilson just showed us his [Wilson's] left arm up defensively trying to block Brown from punching him.

Wilson put his gun up and pulled the trigger again. The gun didn't fire. He [Wilson] described blind-racking the gun -- pulling the slide back without looking. He thought something had happened to the gun. He didn't know if the gun [was] stove-piping -- which could be two bullets trying to go in and then neither will fire. He didn't know if he ejected a full cartridge, which would be the projectile along with the casing or just the spent casing was stuck in there. He didn't look. ....

Prosecutor  So what does he say happens after he blind-racks the gun?

FBI Agent  He fired the gun again. He pulled the trigger again, the gun fired, and he -- he wasn't looking where he was shooting -- he saw a cloud of dust in the dirt across the street. [He] assumed Michael Brown had not been hit, because that [the cloud of dust] is where he [Wilson] assumed the projectile landed.

Prosecutor  So did he tell you -- the second shot -- was he aiming in a particular place or was Michael Brown still beside the vehicle? 

FBI Agent  Yes, he [Brown] was [still beside the vehicle]. He [Wilson] describes him [Brown] and again shows him [Wilson] blocking Michael Brown's blows with his [Wilson's] left hand.

After he fired that shot, that's when Michael Brown again ran away. 

Upon which time Officer Wilson called over the radio: "Shots fired. Send me more cars."

[Pages 159 - 163]

So, on August 28 Wilson belatedly included the second gunshot into his story. Now he remembered the bullet raising a cloud of dust across the street. However, Wilson still indicated that Brown was standing "beside the vehicle" but didn't explain why this second bullet did not hit Brown. The real explanation was that Brown already had run away.   

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No such radio message -- "Shots fired. Send me more cars" -- was recorded in the radio traffic. 

Wilson radioed only one message -- "21, put me on Canfield with two and send me another car" -- and he did so right before he got out of his police vehicle.  He did not radio any message around the time that he drove his police vehicle backward. 

The US Justice Department's report about the shooting provided the following explanation for the absence of the "Shots fired" call from the radio traffic.

Wilson stated that he also radioed for backup after the initial shots when Brown ran from the SUV .... According to Wilson, as he left the shooting scene, he realized that his radio must have switched from channel 1, which he had been using, to channel 3 during the initial struggle. Channel 3 is a dedicated channel for the North County Fire Department. It only receives transmissions, and therefore, officers cannot use that channel to transmit messages to dispatch. 

While this is not definitive evidence that Wilson attempted to call for assistance ... after the initial shots in the SUV ... it offers a plausible explanation for the lack of radio transmissions. 

Moreover ... there are several witnesses who state that Wilson paused in the SUV after Brown took off running,  arguably giving him enough time to attempt to radio dispatch. 

[Page 22] 

I reject that explanation and insist that there never was a "Shots fired" radio call.

Wilson had been punched in his head repeatedly during the seconds immediately before he did his single radio call to dispatch. His memory was confused about the radio call, and he even forgot firing his second gunshot. 

Wilson made only the single "Put me on Canfield with two" radio call, and he made it after he fired his second gunshot and before he got out of his police vehicle. 

If Wilson really had sent the "Put me on Canfield with two" call right before he drove his police car backward, then only 32 seconds would have passed from that moment and the moment when Policeman McDonald arrived at the scene. Such a short time span cannot contain all the actions that happened. (See my previous article about the time-line.) 

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Several witnesses said they heard a gunshot as they watched Brown running away. They therefore thought mistakenly that Wilson shot at Brown's back while Brown was running away. These witnesses were correct that a gunshot was fired while Brown was running away, but Wilson fired that bullet from inside his police vehicle and into the dirt beyond the street.  

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Stairwell Man told two FBI special agents that Brown ran away from the police vehicle before Wilson fired the second gunshot.

Stairwell Man  He [Wilson] backed up, and they just had a confrontation. I seen them get into a scuffle at the truck. Then I heard a shot go off, and so the scuffle continued after the shot. Then the boy, Mike Brown, ran. .... 

Then Mike Brown ran past the car and kept going down the street. ....

The police then shot again and then ran down the street and shot. 

[Page 2]

FBI SA  How many shots did you hear?  .... 

Stairwell Man  The first shot, and then after Mike ran, it was like either one or two. .... 

[Page 5]

Stairwell Man told the grand jury that, after the first gunshot, Brown remained by the police vehicle about four seconds and then ran away.

Prosecutor  Did the scuffle continue after you heard the [first] shot? 

Stairwell Man  Momentarily, yes.  Maybe three to four, five seconds..

Prosecutor  So when the shot first rang out, Michael Brown did not immediately run from the car? 

Stairwell Man  I don't think so, no. 

[Page 255] 

Stairwell Man did not think that Brown ran away immediately. Rather, Brown ran away three to five seconds after the first gunshot. Brown ran away and the police then shot again. 

Johnson ran to the Monte Carlo because its doors opened

After Dorian Johnson gathered the cigarillos from the police vehicle's roof and then from Michael Brown's left hand, Johnson immediately ran away laughing on the street's south side. 

MC Passenger initially watched Johnson, not the police vehicle. MC Passenger watched Johnson run away on the street's south side and then saw Johnson stop in front of 9391 Canfield Drive, far behind the Monte Carlo. 

Then a loud noise prompted Johnson to stop and then run across the street and prompted MC Passenger switch his attention from Johnson forward again to the police vehicle. 

After the first gunshot was fired inside the police vehicle, the Monte Carlo moved slowly backwards, and both doors were opened wide. Johnson immediately ran toward the Monte Carlo. He reached the Monte Carlo at about the same time as the second gunshot was fired. Within a few seconds, MC Passenger moved into the back seat, and Johnson climbed in and hid in front of its passenger seat. 

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About 7:30 minutes earlier, at about 11:54:30 along West Florissant Avenue, MC Passenger had opened the same passenger-side door of the same white Monte Carlo to invite Johnson and Brown to climb in for a ride. Now at 12:02:00, Johnson climbed in again. 

MC Passenger's decision on Canfield Drive that both car doors should be opened wide would be inexplicable to almost everyone else. Most people in such a situation would close their car windows and lock their car doors -- not open their car doors wide. 

When the second gunshot was fired, Johnson was crouching next to the Monte Carlo as Brown ran past. According to Johnson, Brown yelled at him, "Keep running, bro'". Police Officer Darren Wilson still had not appeared from behind his police vehicle. During these moments, Johnson could have run away in various directions. Instead, he stayed by the Monte Carlo, which was no more than eight feet from the police vehicle, and asked to get in. 

A few seconds after the second gunshot, Wilson appeared. He came around the police vehicle's back end and ran down the middle of Canfield Drive, chasing Brown. As soon as Wilson ran past, Johnson could have run away in various directions. 

The reason why Johnson did not run away was that he got into the Monte Carlo and hid down in front of the passenger seat. 

The Monte Carlo's driver and passenger opened their doors

MC Passenger told investigators that after the first gunshot he told MC Owner that they both should open their car doors wide. Then they both opened their doors. 

MC Passenger  When I heard the first shot, I told her to back up and open the doors.

Detective  How many shots did you hear?

MC Passenger  The first time, [I heard] one. .... I told her to back the car back and open the doors up. She backs up. ....

Detective  Why did you open the doors?

MC Passenger  Because I didn't know what was going to transpire from there.

Detective  So, you guys did open the doors?

MC Passenger  Um hum [yes]. 

[Pages 12-13]

He told the grand jury that they both opened their doors in preparation for a second gunshot, so they would be able to lean down immediately.  

MC Passenger  From then [the first gunshot], I end up telling [MC Owner], "this don't seem right". 

After I heard that first shot, [I told her] "Back up, back up, and open your door". [I] open my door so we don't catch no shot ... 

Prosecutor  Why did you want the doors open?

MC Passenger  So we could duck.

Prosecutor  You felt you could duck better if the door was open?

MC Passenger  Yeah. ....

Prosecutor  .... What happened once you heard that first shot?

MC Passenger  Back up and open the doors. 

[Page 161-162]  

MC Passenger  [At the first shot], that's when I told her [MC Owner] to back-back, open the doors and basically take cover if we hear another one. 

[Page 188] 

Prosecutor  You opened your door. Did [MC Owner] open her door? 

MC Passenger  I told her to. ...  

Prosecutor  So you both just stayed in the car, but opened the doors?  

MC Passenger  Right.  

[Pages 205 - 206] 

He told detectives that she closed her door while Johnson was asking to get into the car. He did not say that he closed his own door. Rather, he indicated that he kept his passenger-side door open while the Monte Carlo drove around the police vehicle. He got out of the car to look at the scene and seemingly did not close his door until he got back in. 

Detective  Did your doors stay open the whole time during this? When did you close your car doors?

MC Passenger  She end up closing hers when I told him [Johnson] he couldn't get in. [She] closed her side. ....  

When we pulled to the side of the police car, then I got out and then looked  and seen him [Wilson] looking at his arms. .... I hopped back in. 

[Pages 27 - 28] 

Detective  You said both of you opened your doors, right?   

MC Passenger  Um hum [yes], from the first shot. From when we backed back. 

[Page 30]

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MC Owner, in contrast, told an FBI special agent that said that she never opened her door.

FBI SA  At any point did you open your car door?

MC Owner  Oh, no, ma'am, I did not open up my driver's side of the car.

FBI SA  How about [MC Passenger]? Did he open his door? 

MC Owner  Yes, ma'am, he did. ... to get down. We were scared, terrified. ... I know he was hanging outside of the car, trying to get shelter. ... 

I was down, my whole head was in the passenger seat. So I'm almost on [MC Passenger's] lap. 

My hand is on the steering wheel, my feet is on the brake, I couldn't even put my car in park. That's how quick it happened. I just ducked down. .... 

[Pages 85-86]

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It's puzzling that MC Passenger told MC Owner to open her door immediately after the first gunshot and furthermore advised her to lean out the open door if more gunshots were fired. Just look at the below photograph and try to understand such advice.  

Blue Line = Monte Carlo's position before the first gunshot.
The front seats were at the cross-bar.

After the first gunshot from the police vehicle,
the Monte Carlo's passenger told the driver to open her door and,
if a second gunshot was fired, to lean out of her open car door.

Much more sensible would be for MC Owner to keep her door closed and to lean down toward her car's center -- which is what she said she did.  

However, MC Passenger insisted that he told her to open her door and that she did so. 

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MC Passenger's purported reason for opening his own door is likewise dubious. Just look at the above photograph. He was on the Monte Carlo's far side from the police vehicle, where the gunshots were being fired. 

If he thought that leaning out his car door was necessary because of gunshots, then why didn't he do so after the first gunshot instead of waiting for the second gunshot? He said he opened his door immediately after the first gunshot, intending to lean down if he heard a second gunshot. That explanation for opening his car door is nonsense. 

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I offer the following speculative explanation. 

As soon as the Monte Carlo approached the police vehicle, MC Passenger told MC Owner to open her door so that they could hear Brown and Wilson. For some reason, opening the window was inconvenient or impossible. She opened her door for that purpose before the first gunshot. After that gunshot, she closed her door. 

MC Passenger opened his car door to invite Johnson to climb into the Monte Carlo. A mere 7:30 minutes earlier, on West Florissant Avenue, MC Passenger had opened that same door for that same reason. 

Thus each car door was opened for a separate reason. MC Owner closed her door after the first gunshot. MC Passenger kept his door open (but not wide open) until after the Monte Carlo drove around Wilson's police vehicle. 

Afterwards, MC Owner and MC Passenger became concerned that nearby people had seen their Monte Carlo participating in the incident -- in particular, had seen the car doors being opened wide. Therefore, MC Owner and MC Passenger concocted a false explanation for opening the doors. Eventually MC Owner abandoned that explanation, but MC Passenger stuck to it through his grand-jury testimony.