Three versions of Michael Brown's last minutes before he was shot by a policeman in Ferguson

Officer Darren Wilson: As he drove west on Canfield, he saw two men in the middle of the street. He noticed their sizes: A very large man and a very small one. He had heard a dispatch report about stolen cigarillos.

Dorian Johnson’s testimony: After Brown stole cigarillos at the Ferguson Market, he and Johnson were walking east on Canfield Drive toward their apartments when Wilson drove past them going west.

Wilson tells the pair to get off the road

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: As Wilson reached the pair, he told them to move to the sidewalk. Words were exchanged, and they continued walking down the middle of the street. As they passed, he noticed that Brown was wearing a red hat and yellow socks and had cigarillos in his hand.

Officer Darren Wilson: Wilson stopped a couple of feet in front of Johnson, who was in front. As Johnson came around the driver’s-side mirror, Wilson said, "Why don’t you guys walk on the sidewalk?"

Johnson said they were almost to their destination, and Wilson said, "Well, what’s wrong with the sidewalk?" Brown then replied, "[Obscenity] what you have to say."

Dorian Johnson: As Wilson pulled alongside them, he rolled his window down and said, "Get the [obscenity] on the sidewalk." "I was the one that was talking when the police officer said, 'Get the [obscenity] on the sidewalk,' "

Johnson said. "I told the police officer we was just a minute away from our destination, I live in Canfield, and we'll be off the street closely." They stayed in the street.

Wilson blocks the street; a 'tussle' ensues

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Wilson radioed for support. He backed his vehicle up at an angle, blocking Brown and Johnson's path as well as blocking car traffic in both directions.

Many witnesses reported an altercation - "tussling, wrestling, tug of war" - between Wilson and Brown while Brown was at the car’s window and Wilson was seated inside.

Officer Darren Wilson: That’s when Wilson made the connection to the market theft and radioed to the dispatcher for backup. He put the SUV in reverse, backed up and angled the car to keep Brown and Johnson "somewhat contained."

He tried to open his door, and Brown swore at him and slammed the door shut. Wilson said he then opened his door again into Brown to push him backwards. "I tell him to 'get the [obscenity] back.' He then grabs my door again and shuts my door."

Dorian Johnson: "Almost a split second" later, Johnson heard tires screech and Wilson backed his car up very fast and "aggressive" and angled it so that it nearly struck them both.

They were inches from his driver’s-side door. Wilson said, "What did you say?" Wilson "thrust his door open real hard," and it bumped the pair and closed again.

Witnesses say Brown punched Wilson

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Witnesses gave conflicting statements on what happened next - some said that Brown punched Wilson, or that Brown was partially inside the car, or that no part of Brown was in the car, or that Wilson fired at Brown from inside the car. Wilson was later found to have redness and swelling on his face.

Officer Darren: Brown punched him at least twice. "I see him ducking and . . . his hands are up and he is coming in my vehicle. I was hit right here in the side of the face with a fist . . . I think my arm deflected some of it, but there was still a significant amount of contact that was made to my face."

He said he tried to hold Brown’s right arm. "The only way I can describe it is I felt like a 5-year-old holding onto Hulk Hogan." He said Brown then handed the cigarillos to Johnson.

Dorian Johnson: Then Wilson grabbed Brown’s shirt in the collar area through the window. Brown tried to free himself during the "tug of war". He braced his hands, with cigarillos still in them, against the car. Brown and Wilson were "yelling and cussing" at each other, and both have "angry faces". 

"There wasn’t any wrestling or anything like that, no punches were thrown. It was more a tug of war and it was very intense, very intense." Brown was never even partially inside the car. Brown turned toward Johnson and handed the cigarillos to him.

Wilson’s gun fires twice

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Two shots were fired inside the car. One bullet struck the door's armrest, and one was never found.

An injury to Brown's right thumb was probably caused by one of these because post mortem examination found soot in the wound. Brown's blood and/or DNA was found in the car, on the outside of the driver's-side door, on the left rear door and on Wilson’s clothing and gun.

Officer Darren Wilson: Wilson drew his gun and said, "Get back or I’m going to shoot you." Brown grabbed the gun with his right hand and said, "You are too much of a pussy to shoot me."

Brown twisted the gun down and dug it into Wilson’s hip. Wilson shifted and pointed the gun down.

"I pulled the trigger and nothing happens, it just clicked," he said. "I pull it again, it just clicked again. I pulled it a third time, it [went] off . . . he kind of stepped back . . . and had the most intense aggressive face.

He comes back towards me again with his hands up. I tried to pull the trigger again, click. Without even looking, I just grab the top of my gun, the slide and I racked it, and . . . I pulled the trigger again, it goes off."

Dorian Johnson: As the two continued to struggle at the window, the officer said, "I’ll shoot." Mike’s left hand was still on the car. "When I look up and see the officer, the officer has his gun pointed, . . . aimed at Big 18 Mike. . . . I’m still standing in the doorway and at the time he said, 'I’ll shoot."

Wilson appeared to try to say "I’ll shoot" again, but the gun went off inside the car before he got the words out. That shot struck Brown and he saw blood on Brown’s right side. "I saw blood with the first shot."

Brown runs

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Almost all witnesses said Brown hesitated after the shots were fired, then fled east on Canfield.

Officer Darren Wilson: Brown ran. As Wilson got out of his car, he told dispatch, "shots fired, send me more cars."

Dorian Johnson: Wilson let go after the shot. Brown looked at Johnson and they both turned to run. Brown was behind Johnson. Johnson heard only one shot at the car.

Wilson chases

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Wilson followed Brown eastward down Canfield.

Officer Darren Wilson: "We pass two cars that were behind my police car while we were running," Wilson said. Brown stopped running after he passed the second car. Wilson stopped as well. When Brown started to turn around, Wilson told him to "get on the ground, get on the ground."

Dorian Johnson: Wilson was walking fast but not running and has his weapon drawn. Johnson crouched, half-standing, behind a gray Pontiac that was stopped with passengers inside. He asked if they would let him in; the driver refused and pulled onto the sidewalk. Brown runs past him; Wilson walks past him.

Some witnesses say Wilson fires at Brown

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Some witnesses said Wilson began firing as Brown walked or ran away.

Officer Darren Wilson: Wilson did not say he fired at this point.

Dorian Johnson: Brown is still running as Wilson fires another shot. Brown jerked and stopped running. "I don’t know if it hit," Johnson said. Brown stopped and turned around to face Wilson. Brown raised his hands as he was turning around, although his right hand wasn’t as high as the left. Brown said, "I don’t have a gun."

Brown stops, turns around

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: At the corner of Copper Creek and Canfield, Brown stopped and turned back towards Wilson, facing west. Wilson stopped as well. Some witnesses said Wilson didn’t fire until Brown turned around.

Officer Darren Wilson: Brown turned around and started running back west toward Wilson. "His first step is coming towards me, he kind of does a stutter step to start running. When he does that, his left hand goes in a fist and goes to his side, his right one goes under his shirt in his waist band and he starts running at me. . . . That was all done, like I said, the first step, his first stride coming back towards me."

Dorian Johnson: Johnson was adamant that Brown made a half-step but did not run or walk toward Wilson.

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Brown moved west towards Wilson. Again, witness accounts differed. Some said Brown didn't move towards Wilson but stood with his hands raised. Several said he didn't raise his hands, raised them briefly, or held his stomach. Some said he stumbled toward Wilson; others said he moved quickly or "charged."

Officer Darren Wilson: Wilson repeatedly told Brown to get on the ground, but he didn’t.

Dorian Johnson: Before Brown can say any more, Wilson fired several more shots. "I stood and watched face-to-face as every shot was fired and as his body went down. . . . His body kind of just went down and fell."

Wilson shoots at Brown

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Some said Wilson stopped firing when Brown stopped moving towards him and resumed firing when Brown moved toward him again. The sound of shots captured by a person video-chatting in a nearby flat indicated two sets of shots with a gap in the middle.

Officer Darren Wilson: Wilson fired a series of shots and thinks at least one hit Brown, because he saw Brown flinch but not stop. Wilson paused and started backpedaling; Brown kept coming toward him.

He fired more shots at Brown and saw Brown flinch again. "At this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that I’m shooting at him," Wilson said.

Wilson said Brown approached to within 8 to 10 feet of him. "I’m backpedaling pretty good because I know if he reaches me, he’ll kill me," Wilson said. "And he had started to lean forward as he got that close, like he was going to just tackle me, just go right through me."

Dorian Johnson: "Shots was definitely fired while he was going down. The last shot he fired he was so close to the ground, it looked like to me he was already on the ground. His knees were, he was going down, he was already down before the last shot came."

"I can see how many shots this officer is firing, it is sickening to my stomach, I’m almost bursting in tears right there."

Brown dies

Prosecutor Robert McCulloch: Wilson fired several more rounds, killing Brown. Three post mortem examinations agreed that seven or eight bullets hit Brown, all from the front.

Three bullets hit while he was either falling or bent at the waist toward Wilson, including what was likely the fatal shot to the top of his head. Brown’s blood was found 7.5 metres farther east on Canfield than where his body lay, 46.5 metres from Wilson’s SUV.

Officer Darren Wilson: "I look down, I remember looking at my sights and firing, all I see is his head and that's what I shot. I don't know how many, I know at least once because I saw the last one go into him. And then when it went into him, the demeanor on his face went blank, the aggression was gone, it was gone, I mean, I knew he stopped, the threat was stopped."

Dorian Johnson: Johnson said Wilson stood for a second after the final shot. "When I see his body hit the ground, in my head I say he’s dead. At that time while he’s on the ground, the officer is standing there, he doesn’t look around like he’s looking for me or anything like that. I’m still in plain sight."

At that point, Johnson ran home, changed clothes, and returned to the scene minutes later.

Source: Grand jury testimony