Officer critically injured, 5 charged after protest outside Ferguson Police Department

ST. LOUIS COUNTY (First Alert 4) - Several people were arrested late Friday at a protest commemorating 10 years since the death of Michael Brown, five people are facing charges.

Ferguson police said during a press conference Saturday that three officers were injured in the incident. One officer is currently hospitalized with a severe head injury, one officer had an ankle injury and another suffered abrasions.

Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle said during the press conference the hospitalized officer is Officer Travis Brown. Brown has been with the department since January 2024 and was previously with the St. Louis County Police Department.

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Ferguson Police Department said Brown’s condition hadn’t changed.

Crowds gathered outside of the Ferguson Police Department Headquarters on Friday as a part of the Michael Brown and the protests that followed his death in 2014.

In the early evening of Friday, demonstrators gathered outside of the Ferguson Police Department Headquarters, prompting the road closure of South Florissant Road between Carson Road and South Suburban Avenue.

Protests were peaceful through most of the evening.

According to police, around midnight, the gathering grew violent, resulting in multiple injuries to officers, property damage and several arrests.

During the press conference, Doyle said protestors had damaged fencing near the police station. Due to that property damage, police began to make arrests.

Angelique Kidd, a Ferguson community member who said she was at the protest, said police never called for an unlawful assembly.

“They are supposed to notify us that it is an unlawful assembly to give the rest of the people a chance to leave, which they did not do,” Kidd said.

Kidd described the incident as police rushing the protest.

“Police came out, rushed into a crowd. Panic, it was melee,” she said.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said his office is looking at charges of resisting arrest, first-degree assault, third-degree, fourth-degree assault and first-degree property damage.

Saturday afternoon, Bell’s office announced that one of the suspects had been charged. Elijah Gantt, 28, of East St. Louis, is charged with first-degree assault - serious physical injury or a special victim, resisting arrest, first-degree property damage and two counts of fourth-degree assault. Police say Gantt was one of many who pulled on the gate. Police say body camera footage showed officers ordering Gantt to stop and telling him he was being arrested.

Authorities say Gantt walked away from the officers and then ran. Officers then engaged in a foot chase. Authorities allege that when Officer Brown tried to stand in Gantt’s path, Gantt ran into him and knocked him over, causing him to hit his head on the ground. Two other officers then tried to arrest him but he kicked both of them, causing them to suffer bruises and scratches, authorities allege.

A short time later, the prosecutor’s office announced charges against four more people:

• Emily Davis is charged with third-degree assault of a special victim and resisting arrest. She is accused of assaulting an officer. She is being held on a $5,000 bond. She must also not use drugs, alcohol, post on social media and cannot possess weapons.
• Keith Rose is charged with first-degree property damage and is at-large. He cannot own a weapon, use drugs, alcohol or post on social media. He must stay 1,500 feet away from Ferguson PD and not have with victims. After he is arrested, he will be held on a $500 bond, prosecutors say.
• Derrick Robinson is charged with first-degree property damage. He cannot own a weapon, use drugs, alcohol or post on social media and is being held on a $500 bond.
• Phillip March is also charged with first-degree property damage. He cannot own a weapon, use drugs, alcohol or post on social media. He is being held on a $500 bond.

Davis, Rose, Robinson and March must stay away from Ferguson PD and the victims after they post bond, prosecutors say.

This follows a day after a member of the St. Louis City Fire Department was placed on leave after a social media post referencing Darren Wilson, the Ferguson Police officer who shot Brown, was deemed insensitive and against professional standards.

This is developing news.

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