Dorian Johnson, whose account of Michael Brown’s 2014 death fueled the “hands up, don’t shoot” movement and was later contradicted by federal investigators, died in a shooting Sunday, police said.
The 33-year-old was killed when someone shot him around 8:30 a.m. at a Ferguson, Missouri, apartment building less than a mile from where Brown died eleven years ago, Ferguson Police spokesperson Patricia Washington confirmed, CNN reported. Police detained one person but released them without filing charges, St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Melissa Price Smith said.
“This appears to be a domestic incident involving a claim of self-defense,” Smith continued, adding that the case remains an active investigation.
Ferguson police clarified that no officers shot Johnson. “There had been earlier rumors that this was an officer-involved shooting however that information is incorrect. No officers, Ferguson or otherwise, were involved in this incident other than to begin our investigation,” the Ferguson Police Department (FPD) stated in a post.
Dorian Johnson, a man walking beside Michael Brown when Brown was shot and killed by a #Ferguson police officer in 2014, was shot and killed blocks away from that scene this morning. Last saw him in 2019 on Brown’s birthday, talking with foreign tourists. https://t.co/T40iRH6df1 pic.twitter.com/uFmtBDXN1H
— Robert Cohen (@kodacohen) September 8, 2025
Johnson claimed that he was with Brown in 2014 and that Brown faced then-police officer Darren Wilson with his hands raised in surrender before Wilson shot him, the outlet reported. This account helped spark nationwide protests and the “hands up, don’t shoot” chant that became synonymous with the Black Lives Matter movement.
A U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation later found that witnesses “gave varying accounts of exactly what Brown was doing with his hands as he moved toward Wilson,” with some saying Brown balled his fists and pulled up his pants rather than surrendering, according to the report. Multiple witnesses also alleged that Brown charged at Wilson.
Federal investigators determined Wilson’s claim that he shot Brown in self-defense had corroboration, citing evidence of a prior alleged theft by Brown, witness testimony and blood evidence from the scene, according to the report. Officials wrote that witness accounts claiming Brown had his hands up were either contradicted by evidence at the scene or by earlier statements from the same witnesses. The DOJ report concluded that the case lacked merit given the available evidence and recommended closing the case. (RELATED: REPORT: Multiple Police Officers Shot, Two Killed Responding To Domestic Disturbance Call)
Claims that Brown was shot while holding his hands up sparked protests across America and fundamentally changed conversations about police practices nationwide.
The Daily Caller has reached out to the FPD for comment.