Witness to Michael Brown's Death Sues City of Ferguson, Former Police Chief And Darren Wilson

ST. LOUIS -- Dorian Johnson, the lead witness in the officer-involved shooting that led to the death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, has filed a lawsuit against the city of Ferguson, Missouri, as well as the former police officer who shot Brown and the town's former police chief.

The lawsuit, while was filed last week, alleges former Officer Darren Wilson intentionally and negligently inflicted emotional distress onto Johnson, assaulted him and violated his constitutional rights by "targeting him without proper authority and illegally detaining him."

In the suit, Johnson says he and Brown were peacefully and lawfully walking down the street when Wilson called from his patrol car for them to "get the f**k on the sidewalk." Then, the suit says, Wilson stopped the men "without justification and unreasonably detained [them]" before discharging his weapon, killing Brown.

The lawsuit goes on to say Wilson did not have probable cause, reasonable suspicion or legal justification to detain Johnson.

The Department of Justice released an alarming report in March that found the Ferguson Police Department responsible for unfairly targeting African-Americans for minor offenses. Johnson’s lawsuit echoes the DOJ’s report, saying law enforcement efforts in the town focused on generating revenue rather than public safety needs.

Johnson is seeking an excess of $25,000 in damages, the suit says.