CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) — A friend who was with Michael Brown when the 18-year-old was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer is suing the city, the officer and the former police chief.
Dorian Johnson contends in his lawsuit filed last week that Officer Darren Wilson initiated the confrontation that ended in Brown’s Aug. 9 death.
Johnson says Wilson used excessive force and “acted with deliberate indifference or reckless disregard” for Johnson’s rights.
A grand jury and the U.S. Justice Department declined to charge Wilson, who has left the police force. Neither Wilson’s attorney nor the former chief responded to messages seeking comment Tuesday.
Ferguson’s city attorney said she was unaware of Johnson’s lawsuit and couldn’t immediately respond.
Brown’s parents filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the defendants on April 23.