Officer injured at Ferguson protest transferred to Atlanta rehab center
Officer Travis Brown (Ferguson Police Department)
ATLANTA - A Ferguson police officer badly injured during a protest on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death is now recovering in Atlanta.
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.
On Aug. 9, a protester allegedly knocked Officer Travis Brown to the ground, causing a severe brain injury, while clashing with police.
Brown underwent several surgeries to address swelling and fluid on his brain.
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 St. Louis Post-Dispatch 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."
The man accused in the attack, 28-year-old Elijah Gantt of East St. Louis, Illinois, is awaiting trial on several charges.