The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, said Saturday that an officer who was assaulted and seriously injured outside the city’s police station during protests marking the 10th anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown is “fighting for his life.”
Protesters were peaceful for much of Friday night and allowed police to block roads in front of the station, Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle told reporters. Police did not intervene when protesters began tampering with the fence in front of the station.
But Doyle said he sent in an arrest team, including Officer Travis Brown, who is black, after protesters broke down fences and destroyed property on police grounds.
Doyle said the suspect then lunged at Travis Brown, knocking the officer to the ground, where he hit his head in the fall and suffered a severe brain injury.
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Police Chief Troy Doyle said Officer Travis Brown “wanted to make a difference in the Ferguson community” and is now “fighting for his life.” (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
“He is currently fighting for his life at a nearby hospital,” Doyle said of the officer.
Doyle said Travis Brown joined the department in January and previously served with the St. Louis County Police Department. Brown is one of a wave of black officers hired by the department since 2014. At the time, the department had only three black officers, but now black officers make up more than half of the force, Doyle said.
“He wanted to be a part of change,” Doyle said. “He wanted to make an impact in our community. He’s the type of officer we want in our community. And what happened? He got assaulted. I had to look his mother in the eye and tell her what happened to her son. I’ll never do that again. I promise you that.”
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St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell also met with the officer’s family.
“I always say the hardest part of this job is when we don’t get justice for a family who loses a loved one,” Bell said, “and I have to change that. The hardest thing I’ve had to do was talk to and comfort a mother who doesn’t know if her child is doing well. And for what purpose?”
A memorial for Michael Brown was dedicated Aug. 7 on Canfield Drive in Ferguson. A Ferguson police officer was seriously injured during protests on Friday marking the 10th anniversary of the death of Michael Brown. (AP Photo/Jim Salter)
Two other officers were also injured, one with a wounded ankle and the other with abrasions, and both were treated at the scene.
One of the suspects was charged Saturday with assault on a special victim, resisting arrest and criminal damage to property. He was ordered held on $500,000 cash bail only.
Bell said others will also face charges.
Michael Brown’s death sparked mass demonstrations in Ferguson, Missouri and across the United States and solidified the Black Lives Matter movement.
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In 2015, the Department of Justice declined to indict Darren Wilson, the officer who shot and killed Michael Brown, but released a highly critical report that identified racism in the Ferguson Police Department and county courthouse.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
