The Ferguson Police Department on Tuesday released body and security camera footage showing an incident during Friday night’s protest that left an officer hospitalized in critical condition.
About 40 people had gathered outside the Ferguson Police Department on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s killing by Darren Wilson, a Ferguson police officer who shot Brown in 2014. Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle described the protest as initially being “very peaceful” during a press conference.
That changed late Friday night when a handful of people started shaking the department’s fence. Once the fence started to break, Doyle said he gave instructions to his officers to make arrests for property damage.
More than 20 minutes of video footage released shows the moments before the arrest and the interaction between protesters and police. Officers walk toward a man whom police identified as 28-year-old Elijah Gantt of East St. Louis. He flees from the officers.
Another clip, which drew audible gasps from the audience, shows Gantt appearing to run directly into Ferguson officer Travis Brown, causing him to fall backward and hit his head.
At the event, Doyle said the video refutes the characterization that Brown’s injury came from a slip or collision.
“If you look at the video, the officer is standing there waiting to try and catch this guy,” Doyle said. “It wasn’t a collision, he’s standing there, and this guy tackled my guy like he was a football player.”
Brown’s condition has not improved and is still critical, Doyle said.
In total, Doyle said the damage to the department’s fence was $3,000, which it had repaired.
“Those who say, ‘It’s just fencing at the police department,’ please understand that this is taxpayer (funded),” he said. “Our citizens approved this fencing to be at our police department.”
The timing of Friday’s events was not lost on the Ferguson police chief, and he called out regional leaders who have spoken in recent days about the anniversary of Michael Brown’s death.
“If you haven’t condemned this act or condemned what happened to my officers, you are part of the problem,” Doyle said.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said his office has filed new charges, including fourth-degree assault, against Gantt, who had already been charged with first-degree assault. His office has also filed charges, including felony property damage and attempting to disarm an officer, against other defendants, whom he did not name.
Bell, who defeated U.S. Rep. Cori Bush last week in the Democratic primary for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, also questioned the purpose of the continued protests. He said no new changes can be filed in regard to Michael Brown’s 2014 death, a conclusion that the U.S. Department of Justice has also come to.
“If the goal is criminal justice reform, community policing, court reforms, expand(ing) diversion and treatment programs, to make this a more fair and just justice system, then that work has to continue,” Bell said.
Ferguson Mayor Ella Jones expressed frustration and fear that this event might hamper the progress the city has made since 2014.
“This one act is not going to stop us from moving forward,” she said. “We are resilient and we know how to bounce back.”
The city’s police department has changed in the past 10 years, as it’s been under a consent decree, Jones said. She lauded Doyle’s achievement in attracting officers since his tenure began.
Community members also pointed to changes they’ve seen since 2014.
“I’ve been involved, and I’ve watched the police make the reforms that they need to as a result of the consent decree,” said Ferguson resident Cassandra Butler. “We are not the police department of 2014.”
Butler emphasized that Ferguson still gets negative attention because of Michael Brown, even though many of the conditions that lead to his death were and are present in other parts of north St. Louis County.
“The protest in 2014 was about calling attention to people’s civil rights being violated,” she said. “Abuse is still happening in many places, but we’re doing the work to change. Go protest where the change is needed and they’re not doing the work.”
To others, like Marty K. Casey, the events Friday represent how much healing still needs to happen. Casey runs the UnGUN Institute, which focuses on helping people heal from collective trauma events that plague Black communities.
“This is still connected to the temperature of what happened 10 years ago,” she said. “We didn’t put the focus on healing back then. I truly believe that’s one of the reasons that things continue to (happen).”
