Brown stopped on the east end of Copper Creek Court

The US Justice Department's report about the death of Michael Brown did not specify the spot where Brown stopped running away, turned around and began charging toward Police Officer Darren Wilson. Rather, the report specified only the 21.6-foot distance from Brown's first blood drops to his dead body (page 7).

Brown charged a considerable distance before that first blood drop hit the street, but the Justice Department preferred to omit any such consideration -- preferred to create a false impression that Brown charged perhaps only 21.6 feet (about 7 yards).

The charge-beginning spot was discussed but not specified clearly either in the grand-jury documents that were released to the public. The police investigators told the grand jury that Brown began charging from the the northwest corner (page 32) of Canfield Drive and Coppercreek Court and that the distance from that corner to Brown's body was 16 yards (48 feet) (page 89).

The grand jury transcripts (pages 31-33) record that a police detective told the grand jury that such a point was confirmed by multiple eyewitnesses:

Prosecutor:
Next board I’m going to mark [as] Grand Jury Exhibit 105. …. And why is it that this cone was placed at that location on Canfield Drive ...?

Detective
As best we could tell based off of witness accounts, that would have been the furthest point east that Michael Brown would have went to. So that intersection of roughly Coppercreek Court and Canfield Drive. ….

Grand Juror
… is this the point where he stopped in the roadway and turned?

Detective
Yes, ma’am. We are basing that off of witness statements as best we could tell. That was the point that they had made reference to and so we used that as the furthest eastern point to go to.

Grand Jury Exhibit 105 has not been released to the public, but two documents indicate that police investigators set a "baseline" at the southwest point of the intersection of Canfield Drive and Copper Creek Court. The cone's location seems to be the one in this unofficial photograph:

This cone seems to be the one mentioned in regard to Grand Jury's Exhibit 105,
but this is not that exhibit, and the annotations are not official.

(I have lost my reference to the photo's source.) 

The below photograph indicates Brown's charge -- about 16 yards -- from that spot.

The grand-jury documents indicate that Brown charged according to the blue arrow,
a distance of about 16 yards.

However, three African-American witnesses -- whom I have designated as Balcony Brother, Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law -- indicated that Brown began charging from the southeast corner, near the intersection's street sign. I estimate that this distance from this spot to Brown's dead body was about 25 yards.

Those three witnesses were watched the event from the balcony in this photograph's upper-right corner.

The three best eyewitnesses for the spot where Brown
began his charge watched the incident from the balcony
in the photograph's upper-right corner.

The photograph's top edge is
the scene's east area.

The upper side of Copper Creek Court
in the photograph is that street's east side.

Visiting Sister-in-Law told investigators that the spot where Brown began his advance was on the east side of Copper Creek Court (page 17), and Visiting Brother indicated that the spot was near the intersection's street sign (page 91). Based on those and other remarks from the three balcony witnesses, I have marked the spot on the below photograph.

Visiting Sister-in-Law said that Brown began his
charge from the east side of Copper Creek Court

Visiting Brother said that Brown began his
charge near a street sign.

Accordingly, I have placed a red dot near
the spot where Brown began his charge. 

The above photograph is taken from the below video, atsecond 27.

The below photograph indicates Brown's charge -- I estimate about 25 yards -- from that spot.

The three balcony witnesses indicated that Brown began his charge from
Copper Creek Court's east side, near the street sign. 

In an interview with investigators on August 18, Visiting Sister-in-Law was given a photograph of the scene and was asked to draw an arrow showing Brown's run from the police car. Then one of the questioners described the arrow point:

Question: You indicated the grassy portion to the east of Copper Creek Court. Is that correct?

Visiting Sister-in-Law: Yes .... and then he [Brown] stopped and he turned around. 

(Pages 16-17; emphasis added)

Visiting Sister-in-Law said in her testimony to the grand jury on October 6:

Visiting Sister-in-Law: He ... got into the grassy area and he stopped. ... Then he turned back around and started going back towards the police officer. ...

Prosecutor (pointing to a photograph): The victim [Brown] stops in this area here, in the grassy area. So he's not on the street any more?

Visiting Sister-in-Law: No. 

 (Pages 23 and 26)

-----

Visiting Brother-in-Law, in his testimony to the grand jury on October 2, pointed to a photograph and said:

He stopped right here at this driveway, and he turned around in the entrance of the driveway, about right there on the corner of the driveway. ...

He got to right at the edge of the driveway. This is a ... street sign, right there at the corner of the driveway. He stopped right there at the edge of the driveway, and then he turned around. 

(Pages 83-84 and 91; emphasis added)

-----

Balcony Brother, interviewed by a detective on August 12, pointed to a photograph and said:

He ran to right here. He was standing about five feet from the street, on the driveway. That's when he turned. ...

He was about five to six feet off the street, in the driveway, right on the corner. ... He had one foot on the grass and one foot on the driveway, and then he turned around. ....

This is the driveway here. Then you'll see a street sign right here. He never made it that far, [to] the street sign. 

(Pages 6 and 7; emphasis added)

Balcony Brother on September 24 told an FBI Special Agent:

He crossed the sidewalk, he got on the back [east] part of the driveway, and he stopped. 

(Page 10; emphasis added)

Balcony Brother, testifying to the grand jury on September 30, pointed to a photograph and said:

Apartment Resident: When he got to here, Michael was standing right on the grass. ....

Prosecutor: Is he on the grass actually?

Apartment Resident: He is standing at the very edge [of the grass]. The driveways are blacktop. He is stopped right at the blacktop's very edge. 

(Pages 116-117)

----

The below photograph shows how far Brown ran forward. In the upper-right, I have red-circled the street sign that Brown almost reached. In the lower-left, I have circled blood stains where Brown's dead body lay.

According to the three balcony witnesses,
Brown began his charge from the street sign
circled in red in this photograph's background.

Brown fell dead n the area marked by the teddy bear
and candles in the foreground.

.

Johnson ran toward the Monte Carlo after the first gunshot

In my previous article, I focused on the statements of Balcony Brother. In this article here, I will focus on the statements of his brother, Visiting Brother. The combination of both brothers' statements provides a reliable sequence of events surrounding Johnson's run toward the Monte Carlo. In particular, Johnson ran there immediately after Police Officer Darren Wilson fired his first gunshot from inside his police vehicle.

Following is the sequence of events. 

1) From his bedroom window, Balcony Brother watched Wilson's police vehicle back up and block Brown's and Johnson's path. Brown begin to accost Wilson at the vehicle.  Balcony Brother left his bedroom window before Johnson ran away from the vehicle.

2) Climbing up the apartment building's outside stairwell, Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law likewise saw Wilson back up his vehicle and block Brown's and Johnson's path and saw Brown accost Wilson. Unlike Balcony Brother, they did see Johnson run away from the vehicle. 

3)  While Balcony Brother moved from his bedroom, through his living room and through the sliding glass door onto his balcony, Johnson ran away from the police vehicle.

When Balcony Brother came out onto his balcony, he saw Johnson standing near the tree in the photograph's bottom-right corner. Immediately after the first gunshot was fired inside the vehicle, Johnson ran toward the Monte Carlo, which had backed up to the driveway entrance in the photograph's upper-center.

4) After Balcony Brother came out onto his balcony and looked around, he saw Johnson standing near between the tree and the sidewalk on Canfield Drive's north side. 

5) Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law went through the sliding glass door into the apartment but immediately turned around and joined Balcony Brother on the balcony. They too watched the scene from the balcony, but they focused on the police vehicle and did not notice Johnson.  

6) After the first gunshot was fired inside the police vehicle, Balcony Brother saw Johnson running on the sidewalk toward the Monte Carlo.   

7) The three witnesses retreated from the balcony back into the living room. They could see some of the event through the sliding glass door, but their view was obstructed. 

8) The three witnesses remained inside the apartment and heard the second gunshot. While they were inside the apartment, Johnson got into the Monte Carlo. 

7) When a silence continued for a while, the three witnesses came back out onto the balcony. At that moment, Brown was running up the street, away from the police vehicle. Then the three witnesses watched the final, fatal shooting of Brown. 

8) The white car drove away. After some discussion, the three witnesses agreed with Balcony Brother's supposition that Johnson might have entered into and departed inside the white car.  

Blue line = Monte Carlo
Black line = Police vehicle
Red lines = Johnson's run

A few hours after the incident, Visiting Brother was interviewed by a detective, who subsequently summarized his understanding of the incident's first part as follows. 

[Visiting Brother] said he and his wife pulled up to his [brother's] residence. As they exited the vehicle, [Visiting Brother] observed a police vehicle parked in the roadway. [Visiting Brother] saw a large person [Brown], whom he could not further describe, standing beside the driver's door of the vehicle. [Visiting Brother] said the person [Brown] had the upper portion of his body inside the driver's area of the vehicle. [Visiting Brother] said from his position, he could not hear any dialogue between the officer and the person.

[Visiting Brother] said he continued toward his [brother's] residence. While at the door, [Visiting Brother] heard what sounded like a gunshot. 

[Pages 50-51]

Visiting Brother's attention was attracted by the strange sight of Brown thrusting his upper body inside the vehicle. His attention toward the sight remained casual, however, until the first gunshot was heard. 

--------

On August 16, a week after the incident, Visiting Brother told a fuller story to another detective. Now he and his wife perceived that Brown was struggling with Wilson at the vehicle while Johnson ran away. He and his wife saw the struggle continuing as they came onto the balcony. Then the gunshot scared them off the balcony and into the apartment. 

Visiting Brother I see them [Brown and Wilson] going back and forth. Mike is going back and forth with the police officer, and then that's when we heard the gunshot go off. 

Then me and my wife and my brother run inside the house. We stay there about thirty seconds, and then we come back out. 

[Visiting Brother interrupts his narration and mentions earlier actions.] 

[While] Michael still was struggling with the officer ... his friend ran. 

[Visiting Brother returns to his narration.] 

He [Brown] broke off. He finally broke away from the police officer, and he started to run down the street. He got to the edge of the driveway. He looked at his hand, and he turned around and started walking back toward the police officer. 

Detective  Prior to that [Brown breaking away], you were in the apartment? 

Visiting Brother  Yes. 

Detective That's a second-floor apartment?

Visiting Brother  It is.

Detective  You guys were standing on the balcony?

Visiting Brother  Um hum [yes]. If you're standing on [Balcony Brother's] porch, you have a clear shot straight down Canfield. 

Detective  Who was on the porch with you?

Visiting Brother  My wife, my brother and [the elderly mother].

[Pages 4 - 6]

On October 2, Visiting Brother testified to the grand jury and further elaborated his narrative. I have emphasized some words in order to emphasize Visiting Brother's changing locations. He watched an early segment of the incident while climbing up the apartment building's outside stairwell and then watched later segments from his brother's balcony.

Pay attention to his remarks about the Monte Carlo. I will address those remarks at the end of this article.  

Me and my wife was going up the steps. Then we turned and looked back down Canfield because we saw the officer's truck going down the street. He stopped in the middle of the street .... Then I saw the two gentlemen walking down the street. I don't know if he [Darren Wilson] said something to them. I guess they said something to the officer, and then they kept walking. ....

It was about 15 seconds, maybe 20 seconds at the most. 

As he [Wilson] is talking to the gentlemen, there was another white vehicle pulled up behind him. 

When the gentlemen started walking down the street, he [Wilson] in turn threw his truck in reverse and pulled it like he was trying to block their way of going back down Canfield.....  

From that point I turned around, and I told my wife they're down there struggling. I mean, they're down there fighting or something. I couldn't tell exactly what was transpiring because I was on this [passenger] side of the truck, looking at what's going on. I couldn't see exactly if the gentleman [Brown] reached inside his truck or the officer reached and grabbed him or whatever.

But the other gentleman [Johnson], he stood down. He ran somewhere. There was a white car that was behind him [Wilson]. I don't know what happened with the white car, but then he [Johnson] took off.

At this point, it seems, Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law walked the rest of the way up the stairwell, walked into the apartment, and then came back out onto the balcony and saw the struggle continuing.  

The prosecutor asks Visiting Brother to clarify that he changed the location from which he watched. 

Visiting Brother  Something happened. I heard a gunshot go off inside the truck. 

Prosecutor  Let me stop you. Are you still outside of the apartment?

Visiting Brother  I am. I'm standing on the porch, on the second [floor]. .... I can see the passenger side of the vehicle and the back .... I'm standing on the porch at an angle looking down, so I could see something going on, but I can't tell ... who grabbed who. I don't know because ... it happened on the driver's side of the vehicle.

Prosecutor  Okay. Who was engaged in the struggle? You said there was two boys or gentlemen walking and then the officer that was driving. who among those three were engaged?

Visiting Brother  Mr. Brown and the police officer.

Prosecutor  And then what happened? Then you heard a gunshot?

Visiting Brother  I heard a gunshot, and about another 20 seconds later, I heard another gunshot go off, maybe 15 seconds. Another shot goes off.

He [Brown] was still standing at the door, at the window, of the vehicle. They were still, I guess, struggling or going back and forth. 

Prosecutor  And then you heard another gunshot?

Visiting Brother  Another second gunshot.

Prosecutor  What, if anything, did he [Brown] do after the second?

Visiting Brother  He took off running. He started running down Canfield, this
direction. He was running in the street.

Prosecutor  Now, at this point are you still on the porch?

Visiting Brother  I am.

Prosecutor  Did you ever go inside?

Visiting Brother  Yes, I did. I stepped inside the door when the first gunshot went off. My family ran inside the door. Then we came back outside, -- because we didn't hear any more shooting -- to see what was going on. 

Prosecutor  So let me get this straight. Were you inside or outside when the first gunshot went off?

Visiting Brother  We were outside when the first gunshot went off.

Prosecutor  Were you inside or outside when the second gunshot [was fired]?

Visiting Brother  We were inside when the second gunshot went off.

Prosecutor  Okay. So you run inside. Were you fearful because the gunshots were going off?

Visiting Brother  Correct.

Prosecutor  And then you said he took off -- meaning, Michael Brown took off and started running down Canfield. Were you observing that from the inside of [Balcony Brother's] apartment or did you come back outside?

Visiting Brother  I came back outside. .... So, I saw Mr. Brown running down the street. .... He stopped right here at this driveway, and he turned around in the entrance of the driveway, about right there on the corner of the driveway. And he looked down at his hand ....

[Page 75 - 84]

A little later, the prosecutor asked Visiting Brother to confirm where the three witnesses were located at specific moments. 

Prosecutor  You saw the first gunshot. You were outside and looking when the first gunshot went off, but you were inside when the second gunshot went off?

Visiting Brother  Correct. 

Prosecutor  Were you looking when the second gunshot went off?

Visiting Brother  We were looking out the window. 

Prosecutor  So, was the officer still in the car for the second gunshot?

Visiting Brother  Yes, he was.

Prosecutor  And then Michael Brown takes off running after the second gunshot?

Visiting Brother  Uh-huh [yes].

[Page 86]

-------

Immediately after the first gunshot, Johnson began running toward the Monte Carlo and the three witnesses retreated from the balcony into the apartment. Therefore the three witnesses did not see Johnson get into the Monte Carlo. They could only guess that he did so. 

--------

During the October 2 interview, quoted above, Visiting Brother made the following remarks:

As he [Wilson] is talking to the gentlemen, there was another white vehicle pulled up behind him.  .....

But the other gentleman [Johnson], he stood down. He ran somewhere. There was a white car that was behind him [Wilson]. I don't know what happened with the white car, but then he [Johnson] took off.

I am skeptical that Visiting Brother paid attention to the white Monte Carlo during the incident. 

On the other hand, Balcony Brother certainly did pay attention to that car, explaining specifically how Johnson ran toward it and speculating that Johnson must have gotten into it. As the two brothers discussed the incident with each other, I speculate that Balcony Brother influenced Visiting Brother to remember seeing it and to relate it to Johnson's actions. 

If, however, Visiting Brother's memory of the Monte Carlo approaching the police vehicle during Wilson's initial encounter with Brown and Johnson is genuine, then that is evidence contradicting my speculation about the Monte Carlo making a U-turn while the police vehicle backed up. 

Johnson stopped at a tree near Copper Creek Court

A quartet of witnesses watched much of the incident from a second-story apartment overlooking Canfield Drive. One of them reported that Dorian Johnson ran from a tree near Copper Creek Court toward the Monte Carlo. 

PV = Police Vehicle
MC = Monte Carlo after it backed up

DJ = Dorian Johnson's position near the tree.
From the tree, he ran toward the Monte Carlo.

Copper Creek Court is at the upper blue arrow's point (near the tree).
Copper Creek Court is not near the arrow's beginning (near the words).

BB = Balcony Brother's bedroom.
(The balcony itself is just off the photograph.)

The photo's top side points southeast.
The photo's left side points northeast.

1) An elderly African-American woman who lived in the apartment. She did not provide any publicly known statements to the investigators. 

2) The elderly woman's 62-year-old African-American son, who lived in the apartment. The grand jury designated him as Witness 14, and the US Department of Justice designated him as Witness 112. I will call him Balcony Brother. More than the other three witnesses, he watched the incident from his apartment's balcony (also called a porch and a patio).

3) The elderly woman's 51-year-old African-American son, the brother of Balcony Brother. This younger son was visiting the apartment during the incident. The grand jury designated him as Witness 17, and the US Department of Justice designated him as Witness 110. I will call him Visiting Brother.

4) A 48-year-old African-American woman, the wife of Visiting Brother. The grand jury designated her as Witness 18, and the US Department of Justice designated her as Witness 111. I will call her Visiting Sister-in-Law.

For this article, the most important of these witnesses is Balcony Brother, since only his published statements provided details about the actions of Dorian Johnson. He indicated in his statements that the other three witnesses generally agreed with his own statements about Johnson's actions. 

This picture shows the location of Balcony Brother's apartment.

PV = Police Vehicle    MC = Monte Carlo (moved back after first gunshot)
Red Line = Balcony Brother's line of sight to the police vehicle
Tree = Place where Johnson started running toward the Monte Carlo.
Building 5 stands immediately north of the tree.

A previous article described the apartment buildings' standard features.

Balcony Brother was sitting in his bedroom and looking northwest up Canfield Drive. He saw the police vehicle drive backwards and block Dorian Johnson and Michael Brown. As the confrontation at the vehicle developed, Balcony Brother left his bedroom and moved to his living room, where a sliding glass door opened onto his balcony.

As he was moving thus, Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law were walking up an outside staircase to the balcony and watching the police vehicle. Just after Balcony Brother came out through the sliding glass door onto the balcony, the couple walked into the apartment through the same door. When the couple heard the first gunshot, they came back out onto the balcony. 

Balcony Brother told two detectives that he began moving from his bedroom when the police vehicle was backing up. When he came out onto his balcony and resumed watching, Brown and Wilson were struggling through the vehicle's window. 

I always sit on the second floor at my bedroom window. I can look straight down Canfield toward West Florissant. I was [sitting so] at that time. I was looking out the window, and I happened to see two young men coming down the street. They were in the middle of the street, and I was like: "What the heck are they doing? Why are they in the middle of the street?" ..... 

Then I saw the police truck. He passed them a few feet, and then he backed up. When he backed up I knew something was about to happen. I went to the [sliding glass] door and I came out and stood on the porch.  

By the time I got there they were tussling in the car. .... They were wrestling in the truck. When he was wrestling with him, I saw something fly. I don't know if it was a hat or something. Then I heard a shot. "Pow."  

[Page 3]

Balcony Brother specified the locations of everyone in his apartment at the moment of the first gunshot:

When he [Wilson in the police vehicle] start back up, I'm looking at these two guys [Brown and Johnson]. I say, "something's going on". 

I ran to the front [sliding glass door]. It's not far from my [bedroom] door -- my bedroom to my front door.

My brother and his wife had just got there. They were coming in, and when they heard the first [gunshot] they spun around. 

I had walked out. ... I had the door open, and I'm looking. They [Visiting Brother and Visiting Sister-in-Law] turn around. They were right behind me. I was standing in the windows [i.e. sliding glass door]. We had these patio doors, and I was standing right there. We weren't going to let [elderly mother] come out.

[Page 9]

Balcony Brother specified Johnson's location at the moment of the first gunshot. Johnson was near a tree on the street's north side. 

Detective Where was he [Johnson] when you saw the struggle going on in the car? 

Balcony Brother  He was on the sidewalk on the north side .... close to a tree that's right there. There's a tree up in the yard. Here's the memorial where they got all the bears tied on a lamp post. Behind that lamp post is a tree. 

Detective So he was by that tree? 

Balcony Brother  He was by that tree.

When he heard the shot, he went [toward the police vehicle]. He had moved back there [to the tree] because they was struggling, and he was over there. The next thing I know, he was gone. 

Detective  You're saying when the shot went off -- which shot? 

Balcony Brother  The first shot. 

Detective  In the car? 

Balcony Brother    Right. 

Detective  .... Which way did he run to? 

Balcony Brother  Toward West Florissant [i.e. toward the police vehicle]. 

Detective  So, the other male [Johnson] takes off running towards West Florissant, right? 

Balcony Brother  Right. 

There was a white car sitting right here, before the next driveway. .... It was stopped on Canfield ... facing toward West Florissant.  And we truly believe that he jumped in that car .... because that car left out of there in a hurry. I guess -- you know the shots being fired -- they [the people inside the white car] could hear the volleys going off, so they pulled off. ....  

Detective  Do you think he [Johnson] had any involvement in the incident at and/or in the police car itself? 

Balcony Brother  No. 

Detective  Do you think he [Johnson] had any involvement in anything that took place after that? 

Balcony Brother  No, he wasn't even around. ... When he was standing there [by the tree], he saw the struggle, and when that first shot got off, he was gone [away from the tree]. 

Detective  And he ran where? 

Balcony Brother  Straight toward West Florissant. 

Detective  So from this tree, this tree area right here, toward West Florissant. 

Balcony Brother  Yeah, running straight up the sidewalk going that way. 

Detective  And then this is where that white car was roughly? 

Balcony Brother  Yeah. Then he disappeared, and the car sped off. 

We don't know if he went around the building or either he jumped in that car. I can't say for sure because I didn't see him [jump into the car]. 

All I know is when that first shot rang out you could see him running [from the tree toward the police car]. He was like he got the hell out of Dodge. 

If he did jump into that car, he could have seen it [the final, fatal shooting of Brown] by looking out the back window. 

I would say -- with at least about a 99-95 percent certainty -- I didn't see nobody peeking around the building at the end of that apartment building [Building 5] that sits there ... on the north side of the street.  

He [Johnson] didn't run up on the porches [of Building 5]. He ran down the sidewalk. 

Detective  You're just speculating whether or not he got into that car. You're not sure. 

Balcony Brother I'm not sure. That's what we -- me myself and my family -- we was: "Did you see him? No, I didn't see him. Did you? No." 

But all of a sudden, all we know is he ran and the car left. The car was there, and he ran, and the car left. But we don't know if he got in there or not.

He might a have ran down further down [northwest on Canfield Drive] to look back [toward the incident scene], but we couldn't see nobody. I could look straight, I could see from there [my balcony] to ... where it [Canfield Drive] bends, headed out towards West Florissant. From my porch -- if I stand on the corner of my porch where I am at -- I got a clear view of everything.    

[Pages 25-29]

Dorian Johnson stopped between the tree and the sidewalk on the
north side of Canfield Drive. The tree was near Copper Creek Court.

Balcony Brother saw Johnson running from the tree
toward the white Monte Carlo
when the first gunshot was fired.

Because of his own movements, Balcony Brother missed seeing a couple of moments of the incident:

1) While he was moving from his bedroom to the sliding glass door, he did not see Johnson run away from the police vehicle.

2) While he was hiding inside the apartment after the first gunshot, he did not see Johnson get into the Monte Carlo.

In the interval between those two moments, however, Balcony Brother did see Johnson standing by a tree that stood immediately to the west from Copper Creek Court. Then during that same interval, Balcony Brother saw Johnson running west toward the Monte Carlo. 

Balcony Brother did not see Johnson get into the Monte Carlo, but Balcony Brother said that the others in his apartment agreed with his assumption that Johnson must have disappeared into the car. 

----------

On September 24, about six weeks after the incident, Balcony Brother was interviewed by an FBI special agent. Balcony Brother described Johnson running toward the police vehicle and Brown running away from the police vehicle. 

In relation to his own apartment's location, Balcony Brother referred to two driveways -- 1) "the first driveway", which was Copper Creek Drive, and 2) "the last driveway", which was the driveway blocked by the Monte Carlo. Balcony Brother saw Brown run toward the first driveway, and Johnson run toward the last driveway. 

FBI SA  During the tussle [between Brown and Wilson] that you describe where was the friend [Johnson]? 

Balcony Brother  Practically on the sidewalk. 

FBI SA  What was the friend doing? Do you remember? 

Balcony Brother  Just standing there watching what was going on between the officer and Michael. 

FBI SA  From your advantage point, when Michael Brown took off running, what did the friend do? 

Balcony Brother  He ran the opposite way. .... 

This is the last driveway  .... His friend [Johnson] went toward West Florissant [toward the last driveway].   

Michael ran toward the first driveway which is located were the memorial is on the post. 

[Pages 8-10]

In another passage of that same FBI interview, Balcony Brother described those opposite running directions as follows: 

FBI SA  Once the shot rang out and Michael Brown started running, how soon after did the police officer get out of the vehicle? 

Balcony Brother  A matter of seconds. 

FBI SA  Was it instantly or was there a slight pause? 

Balcony Brother  It was like a slight pause. Within two or three seconds he was coming out. 

As Michael was running away, the other gentleman [interrupts himself] Mike went one way, and the other gentleman went the opposite direction. 

FBI SA  The other gentleman meaning Michael Brown's friend? 

Balcony Brother  Michael Brown's friend.  ..... 

FBI SA  When you said Michael Brown took off running, there was a pause when the police officer chased. What was that friend doing? 

Balcony Brother  After he [Johnson] ran, he disappeared. We couldn't see him. We don't know where. We had thought he ran around to the side of the building [Building 5] .... 

[Pages 7 -9]

--------

Visiting Sister-in-Law was interviewed by investigators and she testified to the grand jury. The last moment when she remembered seeing Johnson was when Wilson drove the police vehicle backward and blocked him. (See pages 33 - 34 and 40.)  She saw Brown alone run away from the police vehicle. 

Visiting Brother said Johnson ran while Brown still struggled with Wilson

An eyewitness whom I call Visiting Brother watched the incident from the apartment building indicated in this photograph's bottom-right corner.  

Visiting Brother was a 51-year-old African-American male. The grand jury designated him as Witness 17, and the US Department of Justice designated him as Witness 110. 

On August 16, Visiting Brother told a detective that Dorian Johnson ran away from the police vehicle while Michael Brown and Darren Wilson were struggling through the vehicle's window.  

I see them [Brown and Wilson] going back and forth. Mike is going back and forth with the police officer .... [While] Michael still was struggling with the officer ... his friend [Johnson] ran. 

[Pages 4 - 5]

On October 2, Visiting Brother testified to the grand jury and further elaborated his narrative. 

When the gentlemen [Brown and Johnson] started walking down the street, he [Wilson] in turn threw his [police] truck in reverse and pulled it like he was trying to block their way of going back down Canfield.....  

From that point I turned around, and I told my wife they're down there struggling. I mean, they're down there fighting or something. I couldn't tell exactly what was transpiring because I was on this [passenger] side of the truck, looking at what's going on. I couldn't see exactly if the gentleman [Brown] reached inside his truck or the officer reached and grabbed him or whatever.

But the other gentleman [Johnson], he stood down. He ran somewhere. ... He took off. Something happened.  

[Pages 78 - 79]

.