ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Ferguson, Missouri, police officer who was badly injured during a protest on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death was moved to a rehabilitation hospital Tuesday, still not speaking but showing significant improvement, according to a family friend.
More than 100 officers and first responders from several St. Louis-area departments escorted an ambulance that took Officer Travis Brown from St. Louis University Hospital to Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Missouri. He was flown to a rehab center in Atlanta. “Survival flight†was written on the side of the small plane.
Family friend Terence Monroe said Brown has still not spoken since he was knocked backward by a protester on Aug. 9, but is “cognitively all there," the reported.
Brown's cousin Ebonie Davis said the officer went through a difficult period.
“And then to see it all turn around — God is amazing," Davis said. "We’re looking forward to him getting stronger and getting back to the TJ we know and love. This is a big day for our family.â€
Brown underwent several surgeries to address swelling and fluid on his brain. The man accused in the attack, 28-year-old Elijah Gantt of East St. Louis, Illinois, is awaiting trial on several charges.
Ferguson became synonymous with the national Black Lives Matter movement after Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old, was killed by Officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014. Travis Brown is not related to Michael Brown.
Three separate investigations found , who resigned in November 2014. But Michael Brown’s death led to months of often violent protests. It also spurred a that required anti-discrimination changes to Ferguson policing and the courts.
Toward the end of a day honoring Brown on the anniversary of his death, some of the few remaining demonstrators began shaking and damaging a fence outside the police station, prompting Travis Brown and other officers to begin making arrests.
Police released that appeared to show Gantt charging Brown on a sidewalk. Brown fell and struck the back of his head. Both Brown and Gantt are Black.
