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

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

2024-08-14 03:42 Last Updated At:03:50

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.

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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)

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)

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)

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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)

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 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)

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)

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)

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)

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Pentagon is sending up to 1,500 active duty troops to help secure US-Mexico border

2025-01-23 06:38 Last Updated At:06:41

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon said Wednesday it has begun deploying 1,500 active duty troops to help secure the southern border in the coming days, putting in motion plans President Donald Trump laid out in executive orders shortly after he took office to crack down on immigration.

Acting Defense Secretary Robert Salesses said the Pentagon will provide military aircraft to support Department of Homeland Security deportation flights for more than 5,000 detained migrants and the troops will assist in the construction of barriers.

The number of troops and their mission may soon change, Salesses said in a statement. “This is just the beginning,” he said.

It remains to be seen if they will end up doing law enforcement, which would put American troops in a dramatically different role for the first time in decades.

The active duty forces will join the roughly 2,500 U.S. National Guard and Reserve forces already there. There are currently no active duty troops working along the roughly 2,000-mile border.

Personnel started moving to the border earlier Wednesday, according to a military official briefing reporters on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details on the deployment. The troops will include 500 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California, and the remainder will be Army.

Troops have done similar duties in support of Border Patrol agents in the past, when both Trump and former President Joe Biden sent active duty troops to the border.

Troops are prohibited by law from doing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act, but that may change. Trump has directed through executive order that the incoming secretary of defense and incoming homeland security chief report back within 90 days if they think an 1807 law called the Insurrection Act should be invoked. That would allow those troops to be used in civilian law enforcement on U.S. soil.

The last time the act was invoked was in 1992 during rioting in Los Angeles in protest of the acquittal of four police officers charged with beating Rodney King.

The widely expected deployment, coming in Trump’s first week in office, was an early step in his long-touted plan to expand the use of the military along the border. In one of his first orders on Monday, Trump directed the defense secretary to come up with a plan to “seal the borders” and repel “unlawful mass migration.”

“This is something President Trump campaigned on,” said Karoline Leavitt, White House press secretary. “The American people have been waiting for such a time as this -- for our Department of Defense to actually implement homeland security seriously. This is a No. 1 priority for the American people.”

On Tuesday, just as Trump fired the Coast Guard commandant, Adm. Linda Fagan, the service announced it was surging more cutter ships, aircraft and personnel to the “Gulf of America” — a nod to the president’s directive to rename the Gulf of Mexico.

Trump said during his inaugural address on Monday that “I will declare a national emergency at our southern border. All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came.”

Military personnel have been sent to the border almost continuously since the 1990s to help address migration. drug trafficking and transnational crime.

In executive orders signed Monday, Trump suggested the military would help the Department of Homeland Security with “detention space, transportation (including aircraft), and other logistics services.”

There are about 20,000 Border Patrol agents, and while the southern border is where most are located, they’re also responsible for protecting the northern border with Canada. Usually agents are tasked with looking for drug smugglers or people trying to enter the country undetected.

More recently, however, they have had to deal with migrants actively seeking out Border Patrol in order to get refuge in America — taxing the agency’s staff.

In his first term, Trump ordered active duty troops to the border in response to a caravan of migrants slowly making its way through Mexico toward the United States in 2018. More than 7,000 active duty troops were sent to Texas, Arizona and California, including military police, an assault helicopter battalion, various communications, medical and headquarters units, combat engineers, planners and public affairs units.

At the time, the Pentagon was adamant that active duty troops would not do law enforcement. So they spent much of their time transporting Border Patrol agents to and along the border, helping them erect additional vehicle barriers and fencing along the border, assisting them with communications and providing some security for border agent camps.

The military also provided Border Patrol agents with medical care, pre-packaged meals and temporary housing.

It's also not yet clear if the Trump administration will order the military to use bases to house detained migrants.

Bases previously have been used for that purpose, and after the 2021 fall of Kabul to the Taliban, they were used to host thousands of Afghan evacuees. The facilities struggled to support the influx.

In 2018, then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis ordered Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, to prepare to house as many as 20,000 unaccompanied migrant children, but the additional space ultimately wasn’t needed and Goodfellow was determined not to have the infrastructure necessary to support the surge.

In March 2021, the Biden administration greenlighted using property at Fort Bliss, Texas, for a detention facility to provide beds for up to 10,000 unaccompanied migrant children as border crossings increased from Mexico.

The facility, operated by DHS, was quickly overrun, with far too few case managers for the thousands of children that arrived, exposure to extreme weather and dust and unsanitary conditions, a 2022 inspector general report found.

Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Rebecca Santana contributed to this report.

Construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Members of the Mexican National Guard patrol as construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Members of the Mexican National Guard patrol as construction crews replace sections of one of two border walls separating Mexico from the United States, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Tijuana, Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Volunteers talk in a tent along a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Volunteers talk in a tent along a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Dogs are near a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Dogs are near a border wall separating Mexico from the United States Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

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