Ferguson police release body camera footage showing protester knocking officer to sidewalk

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Ferguson police on Tuesday released officer-worn body camera footage showing a protester knocking a Black police officer to the ground on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, leaving the Missouri officer with a life-threatening brain injury.

Police Chief Troy Doyle, speaking at a news conference, said the body camera footage shows that the suspect, 28-year-old Elijah Gantt of East St. Louis, Illinois, had charged at Officer Travis Brown on a sidewalk outside the police station after protesters attempted to pull down a perimeter fence.

Video played at the news conference from two different angles shows that a man, identified by Doyle as Gantt, had a running start and flattened the officer, whose head violently struck the pavement. Officer Brown was unconscious and prone on his back with the suspect lying on this chest as other officers quickly arrived and jumped on the suspect.

Many of the 150 or so people at the news conference — including at least three dozen police officers and mayors from several St. Louis-area cities — gasped when they saw it.

“If you look at the video, the officer is standing up, waiting to catch this guy,” Doyle said. “This guy tackled my guy like he’s a football player.”

Police said the injured officer remained in critical condition. A prayer vigil was planned Tuesday evening outside the police station.

“If you haven’t condemned this act, if you haven’t condemned what happened to my officer, then you are part of the problem,” Doyle told protest leaders.

None of the video shown at the news conference was from Officer Brown's body camera. Doyle said police also had footage from surveillance cameras from businesses in the area.

Gantt, who was already charged with assault, faced a new assault charge for allegedly kicking another officer in the head, St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said.

Another defendant was charged with property damage for damaging the fence, as well as assault, he said. Three others were charged with various other crimes. Bell said restraint by the police kept the situation from being worse and that police “did a tremendous job” of allowing protests that were originally peaceful.

“Now we have an officer who is fighting for his life and I have to ask: For what?” Bell said.

Ferguson became synonymous with the national Black Lives Matter movement after Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old, was killed by Ferguson Officer Darren Wilson Aug. 9, 2014, in the St. Louis suburb. Travis Brown is not related to Michael Brown.

Three separate investigations found no grounds to prosecute Wilson, who resigned in November 2014. But Michael Brown’s death led to months of often violent protests. It also spurred a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that required anti-discrimination changes to Ferguson policing and the courts.

Bell said during Tuesday's news conference that if protesters were still angry that Wilson wasn’t charged, they need to understand that isn’t going to happen unless new evidence emerges.

Travis Brown, 36, is the son of a retired St. Louis city police officer and the father of two young daughters. Soon after graduating from college, he joined the St. Louis County Police Department, in 2012. He joined the Ferguson police force in January.

A former supervisor for the St. Louis County department, Lt. Ray Rice, said Travis Brown became a police officer to make a difference.

“Everybody says, ‘Where are all of the good police officers?’” Rice said. “Travis is one of those people.”

Gantt is charged with assault of a special victim, resisting arrest and property damage. A judge on Monday set a bond hearing for Aug. 19 and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 11. Gantt is jailed on a $500,000 cash-only bond. He does not yet have an attorney.

The violence that resulted in Travis Brown’s injury drew an angry response from Doyle and from several people in Ferguson, a community of about 18,000 where roughly two-thirds of residents are Black. Many wondered what protesters were so angry about given the changes in Ferguson over the past decade.

“Let’s recognize the good that has taken place in our police department. Let’s recognize the reform," Doyle said at the news conference on Tuesday.

In 2014, the Ferguson department had around 50 white officers and only three Black officers. Today, 22 of the 41 officers are Black, including Travis Brown.

Officers today also undergo frequent training on crisis intervention, avoiding bias and other areas. Officers now also wear body cameras. Doyle even changed the look of uniforms, patches and badges after residents said the old look was “triggering.”

“We stand here today in solidarity with our police department, our police chief,” Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones said. “Ferguson has made a lot of strides, and this one act is not going to stop us from moving forward.”

The bottom of a fence surrounding the Ferguson, Mo., police station is repaired on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 after it was damaged during a protest outside the police station on Friday night. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

In this undated photo provided by Charlene Jefferson in August 2024, Travis Brown, when he was St. Louis County police officer, stands with Danielle Oliver. Brown, a Ferguson Police officer, suffered a severe brain injury after he was knocked to the ground Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, during a protest in Ferguson, Mo., on the 10th anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown. (Charlene Jefferson via AP)

Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle gives a press conference on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 about the incident outside the Ferguson, Mo., police station on Friday night where a Ferguson officer was injured and is listed in critical condition with a brain injury. Officer Travis Brown was hurt in a chaotic scene where police were moving in to arrest people who damaged a fence around the police station. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Protesters tussle with Ferguson, Mo., police on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after demonstrations turned to turmoil with a couple of arrests outside the police department on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. Demonstrators removed a piece of the newly-installed gate that surrounds the department. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Protesters lash out verbally at Ferguson, Mo., police on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after protests turned to turmoil with a couple of arrests outside the police department on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Ferguson police arrest Elijah Gant outside the Ferguson, Mo., police department on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after protests turned to turmoil on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

This photo provided by Ray Rice shows Ferguson Police Officer Travis Brown, who continues to "fight for his life" after suffering a brain injury when a protest turned violent on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, in Ferguson, Mo. (Ray Rice/Ferguson Police Department via AP)

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police arrested a suspect about half an hour after a shooting Tuesday that critically injured a teenage boy at a high school in Nebraska's largest city.

Families rushed to Omaha Northwest High School after the shooting was reported by the school resource officer during lunch at 12:23 p.m. Omaha Police Deputy Chief Sherie Thomas said officers from several departments quickly responded to the school and found the victim inside.

School shootings have become all too common across the country, with the most recent major one happening just last week in Georgia where two teachers and two students were killed in the town of Winder, and another teacher and eight more students were wounded. Dozens of school shootings have been reported in recent years, including especially deadly ones in Newtown, Connecticut; Parkland, Florida; and Uvalde, Texas. The classroom killings often trigger debates about gun control but little has changed in national gun laws.

Thomas said police believe the shooting was an isolated incident between two students. The 14-year-old suspect was arrested three blocks away about 30 minutes later.

Parents tearfully embraced their kids in the parking lot as the first few started to come out of the school after 1 p.m. The rest of the students were reunited with their families over the next couple of hours.

Thomas said a 15-year-old boy was critically injured in the shooting and rushed to a hospital. She said the victim was in stable condition several hours after the shooting.

One student told KETV that he was coming back to school after lunch and ran as fast as he could when he heard screams and saw people running because he didn't want to die and the Georgia shooting was on his mind.

Two nearby Catholic high schools — Marian and Roncalli high schools — were also locked down after the shooting, but that was lifted after the arrest.

Devon DeMott told the Omaha World-Herald that he raced to the school from his home a few blocks away as soon as his son texted him there had been a shooting.

“As fatherly instinct, I jumped in the car and headed up there,” said DeMott, who was glad to see a significant police presence when he arrived.

The school district canceled all Tuesday evening activities at Northwest High and all classes on Wednesday. Students are scheduled to return Thursday.

Artemis Else, right, hugs Angie Caswell as they wait outside Northwest high school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Family members of students at Northwest high school gather and wait for students to be released from the school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Pamela Caraballo, who has a child at the Northwest High School, reacts as she waits outside the school for students to be released after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Family members of students at Northwest high school gather and wait for students to be released from the school after a shooting was reported Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Omaha, Neb. (Megan Nielsen/Omaha World-Herald via AP)