FERGUSON, Mo. — After five days of tension that seemed like it could break both protesters and the police, Captain Ron Johnson of the Missouri State Highway Patrol was tapped by then Governor Jay Nixon to help both sides bend.
"I got this sick feeling in my stomach and I looked at and I said, 'God, how are we gonna make it through this?'" Johnson remembered thinking as he looked down West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson in August of 2014.
Johnson started by walking West Florissant. Not in formation – but with protesters. He took off his protective vest and pulled officers back.
Not everyone agreed with his tactics. And the initial peace he seemed to bring didn't last.
"One of my goals in Ferguson was not to have any blood on my hands and... the only death that occurred, of course, was Michael Brown Jr.," said Johnson standing on that same street five years later.
"Some people say, 'You know what, you were a traitor' and I hear that on both sides. But I was willing to take that to bring a calm," said Johnson.
He said he lost friends in blue, and friends from West Florissant. But Johnson said he hasn't given up on building relationships.
"I say the more interactions that you have, the better relationships you have," said Johnson.
And five years later he may finally be seeing fruit from that work.
Johnson said in 2014 he tried to attend an event for mothers who had lost sons to violence hosted by Michael Brown, Jr's mother and was turned away. This August Johnson says he's going back as an invited speaker.