Ferguson police officer critically injured during protest marking 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death
FERGUSON, Mo. — An officer with the Ferguson police department in Missouri was severely injured outside the city’s police station during demonstrations on the 10th commemoration of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a crucial moment in the nationwide Black Lives Matter movement, law enforcement stated on Saturday.
Troy Doyle, the police chief of Ferguson, mentioned that Officer Travis Brown sustained a significant brain injury on Friday after being pushed to the ground.
“He is currently in a hospital fighting for his life,” Doyle expressed.
Two other officers were also injured, with one suffering an ankle injury and the other a scrape.
The group of officers ventured out to apprehend individuals on Friday for vandalizing the police station, where demonstrators congregated to honor Michael Brown, the unarmed Black 18-year-old who was fatally shot by Darren Wilson, a Caucasian police officer in 2014.
Doyle mentioned that Travis Brown, who is of African descent, joined the department in January and had previously served with the St. Louis County Police Department.
“He aspired to be part of the transformation,” Doyle stated. “He desired to have an influence in our community. He embodies the kind of officer we desire in our community. And what occurred? He was attacked. I had to face his mother and inform her about her son’s situation. I vow to never do that again.”
Two other officers were also injured, one with an ankle injury and the other with a scrape.
Wesley Bell, the prosecutor of St. Louis County, who had visited the officer’s family at the hospital earlier, mentioned that he is preparing charges. However, he refrained from revealing the identities of the suspects until charges were officially filed.
“I always talk about how the most challenging aspect of this job is when we encounter a family that has lost a loved one and we are unable to deliver justice. And I have to amend that. The most difficult thing I have had to do is communicate with and comfort a mother who is uncertain about her child’s survival. And for what?”
The organizers of Friday’s protests were not immediately clear. One activist who attended an earlier event at a memorial for Michael Brown, and another who led previous protests, did not respond to calls and text messages from The Associated Press seeking comments.
The arrests occurred as a member of the St. Louis Fire Department was placed on leave after making a social media post that the department described as inappropriate.
“We view this issue with gravity and do not approve of such conduct,” the department stated.
The department did not disclose the contents of the post, but several local news outlets reported that it read: “Happy ALIVE day to Darren Wilson!”
The death of Michael Brown transformed Ferguson into the centerpiece of the national reflection on the historically strained relationship between U.S. law enforcement and Black individuals.
In 2015, an inquiry by the U.S. Department of Justice also determined no basis to charge Wilson. Nevertheless, the report criticized the police department severely — raising significant issues about how officers interacted with Black residents and about a judicial system that perpetuated a cycle of debt for many individuals.