Footage of Ferguson shows the moment the officer was tackled, leaving him fighting for his life [VIDEOS]

On the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death, a Black Ferguson police officer was left fighting for his life after being violently attacked by a protester outside the Ferguson police station.

The incident took place on Tuesday and was captured on officer-worn body cameras, as well as other surveillance footage, which was released by the Ferguson Police Department.

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Police Chief Troy Doyle, speaking at a news conference, revealed that Elijah Gantt, 28, of East St. Louis, Illinois charged at Officer Travis Brown and knocked him to the ground. The incident happened when protesters were trying to pull down a perimeter fence outside the station.

Video footage played at the briefing shows Gantt running toward Officer Brown, tackling him with enough force to send the officer's head violently crashing into the pavement, knocking him unconscious.

The footage, shown from two different angles, captured the moment Officer Brown was knocked out, lying face down on his back while Gantt was on top of him.

Other officers quickly intervened, subduing Gantt. The press conference room, packed with about 150 attendees, including police officers and local officials, reacted with audible groans when they saw the video.

“If you look at the video, the officer is standing there, waiting to catch this guy,” Chief Doyle said. “This guy tackled mine like he was a football player.”

Officer Brown, who remains in critical condition, has become the focus of a community prayer vigil planned for Tuesday evening outside the police station.

Chief Doyle did not mince words when he addressed the protest leaders, saying: “If you have not condemned this act, if you have not condemned what happened to my officer, then you are part of the problem.”

Although the footage shown was not from Officer Brown's body camera, police have additional surveillance footage from nearby businesses.

Gantt, who already faces assault charges, now faces another assault charge for allegedly kicking a different officer in the head, according to the St. Louis County District Attorney. Louis Wesley Bell. Other charges, including damage to property and various other crimes, have been filed against additional defendants involved in the protest.

Bell praised the police for their restraint, noting that their actions prevented the situation from escalating further. “Now we have an officer fighting for his life, and I have to ask: What for?” Bell asked during the press conference.

Ferguson, a city that became a flashpoint for the Black Lives Matter movement after the death of Michael Brown in 2014, has seen significant changes in its police department and court system over the past decade.

The DOJ's investigation into the death of Michael Brown led to necessary reforms aimed at eliminating discrimination within Ferguson's police practices. Despite these changes, Tuesday's violence has left many in the community questioning the motivations behind the continued protests.

Chief Doyle emphasized the progress made, and urged the community to recognize the positive reforms. “We recognize the good that has taken place in our police department. We recognize the reform”, he said.

Officer Travis Brown, 36, father of two young daughters and son of a retired police officer from the city of St. Louis, joined the Ferguson Police Department in January after serving with the St. Louis County Police Department. Louis since 2012. His former supervisor, Lt. Ray Rice, described him as a dedicated officer who became a police officer to make a difference. “Everybody says, 'Where are all the good police officers?' Travis is one of those people,” Rice said.

Gantt, who is currently being held on $500,000 cash-only bail, faces multiple charges, including assault on a special victim, resisting arrest and damage to property.

His bond hearing is scheduled for Aug. 19, with a preliminary hearing scheduled for Sept. 11. At the moment, he does not have a lawyer.

Original article below:

Ferguson, Missouri, is once again at the center of unrest as the city marks the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death.

On Friday, the city saw further protests as protesters took to the streets. Despite the police department's efforts to handle the situation peacefully, the night quickly turned violent.

Police Chief Troy Doyle allowed protesters a room to demonstrate, but tensions rose.

The crowd began destroying property, prompting Chief Doyle to deploy officers to make arrests.

During the chaos, Officer Travis Brown (no relation to Michael Brown) was attacked by a protester and knocked to the ground and provoking a serious head injury.

Ferguson, MO

10 years ago Michael Brown was shot and killed after committing a robbery and trying to disarm a police officer. facts

Hands up don't shoot is based on a lie.

An officer is fighting for his life with a brain injury after dealing with 'protesters' who tear down the door… pic.twitter.com/jEdHqXYvuN

— Glendale Arizona FOP Lodge 12 (@GlendaleFOP12) August 11, 2024

Agent Brown is currently in critical condition at a local hospital.

At a press conference Saturday afternoon, Chief Doyle, along with the St. Louis, Wesley Bell, addressed the media.

nice who he recently beat Cori Bush in the Democratic primary for Missouri's 1st congressional districtexpressed his condolences and laid out the charges against those involved.

Chief Doyle's emotional appeal highlighted his frustration and concern for the community.

Below is a partial transcript provided by RedState's Susie Moore:

“DOYLE: I called this press conference to talk about an event last night. We had protesters across the street in the Andy Wurm parking lot, and I'll have my PO get you the schedules and all that stuff after this press conference, but we had protesters lined up across the street here in the Andy Wurm parking lot.

For most of the night, everyone was quiet. In fact, we even started blocking our streets here on South Florissant Road; we allowed protesters to block our streets here. Not only did we allow the protesters to block our street, but we even provided a car… at the north end and the south end so that the protesters could not be hit by vehicles.

At some point, well, throughout the night, protesters were violently shaking our fence at this police station. Again, we didn't even react. We stayed here, let the fence shake. This happened several times throughout the night, to the point where they broke through the lower parts of our fence – they destroyed property in our police department parking lot.

It was at that time that I sent an arrest team to make an arrest for destruction of property. My team went out there and was assaulted by a number of protesters who were out there at the scene. As a result, one of my police officers suffered a serious brain injury. Right now he is in a local hospital, fighting for his life.

And I'm going to break a little with what I was going to talk about. This police department, this Ferguson Police Department, since 2014, has been a punching bag for this community. The police department in 2014; we don't even have agents here. So what are you protesting? These agents are no longer here.

Everything that the activist community has advocated, in terms of body cameras, implicit bias training, crisis intervention training, we've done it all. What are we protesting? what is it We even changed the uniforms of this police department because people said the old uniforms provoked people. what are we doing

Ten years later, I had an officer fighting for his life. That's enough, and I'm done. We don't do that here in Ferguson. Our community is united behind us. Our community is fed up. We want to heal: Our community wants to heal. We want people to protest peacefully, but we sure as hell won't let you destroy this city and we won't let any of these police officers. We are united here in this city. We're done with that, we're not doing it anymore.”

Elijah Gantt, 28, of East St. Louis, has been charged in connection with the attack on Officer Brown.

Gantt faces multiple charges, including assault on a police officer, resisting arrest, first-degree assault and damage to property. He is being held on a $500,000 cash-only bond.

Agent Brown remains in critical condition with a brain injury.

There is evil and good in this world. We all know that. Both were present last night in Ferguson. This is the face of good. Praying a lot for you, Agent TJ Brown. pic.twitter.com/fMImmrN0T0

— Tim Fitch 🇺🇲 (@ChiefTimFitch) August 11, 2024