Injured Ferguson police officer wanted to improve department 'from the inside,' ex-supervisor says

FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — A Black police officer who was critically injured during a protest marking the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson 10 years ago wanted to make “a difference from inside” the department and follow in the footsteps of his father, who was also a police officer, a former supervisor said Monday.

Officer Travis Brown remained in critical condition Monday at a St. Louis-area hospital, three days after he was attacked when an otherwise peaceful demonstration turned violent.

“His family is with him every day, every hour," Ferguson police spokeswoman Patricia Washington said in an email. "We are hopeful that every day he gets a little stronger.”

Protesters were destroying a fence outside the police department late Friday, so Police Chief Troy Doyle said he sent officers to make arrests. One of the protesters tackled Travis Brown, knocking him backward, and he struck his head and suffered a severe brain injury, Doyle said.

Travis Brown is not related to Michael Brown, a Black 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a white officer, Darren Wilson, during a scuffle on Aug. 9, 2014. Three separate investigations found no grounds to prosecute Wilson, who resigned in November 2014. But Michael Brown's death was a pivotal moment for the Black Lives Matter movement and led to months of often-violent protests. It also spurred a U.S. Department of Justice investigation that required anti-discrimination changes to Ferguson policing and the courts.

Travis Brown, 36, joined the Ferguson police force at the start of this year, after working for 11 years with the St. Louis County Police. While on the county police force, he worked for a time on its Special Response Unit under Lt. Ray Rice.

“Everybody says, ‘Where are all of the good police officers?’" Rice said. "Travis is one of those people.”

Brown is the father of two young daughters. He's also the son of a retired St. Louis city police officer, but despite having a father on the force, he had negative encounters with police growing up, Rice said.

“Every Black officer I know has a story about being the subject of police abuse of power,” Rice said. “For most of us, those encounters are what inspired us to join the force in the first place — to make a difference from inside.”

In addition to his regular job duties, Rice is a vice president for the Ethical Society of Police, an association that advocates for racial and gender equity in the St. Louis and St. Louis County police departments. This year, he led led implicit bias training for officers in Ferguson, and he said every department needs people like Travis Brown.

“The pure motivation for his being in the job was not wanting to arrest people or the excitement of cops and robbers,” Rice said. “It was really to be of service. He’s the type that goes to read to kids at elementary school, and actually gets out and interacts with the public."

The protester accused in the attack, 28-year-old Elijah Gantt of East St. Louis, Illinois, is charged with assault of a special victim, resisting arrest and property damage. A judge on Monday set a bond hearing for Aug. 19 and and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 11. Gantt is jailed on $500,000 cash-only bond. He does not yet have an attorney.

Protesters gathered in Ferguson throughout Friday to remember Michael Brown. Police accommodated them — even blocking the street outside the police station to protect demonstrators from vehicle traffic.

Police didn’t intervene when the protesters began shaking the fence outside the station. But Doyle said that when they broke a section of fencing, he sent out the arrest team.

Authorities allege that Gantt ran after he attacked Travis Brown, and then kicked two other officers who tried to arrest him, leaving them with scratches and bruises.

Travis Brown's severe injury drew an angry response from Doyle, and from several people in Ferguson, a community of about 18,000 people where roughly two-thirds of residents are Black. Many wondered what protesters were so angry about given the changes in Ferguson over the past decade.

In 2014, the department had around 50 white officers and only three Black officers. Today, 22 of the 41 officers are Black, including Travis Brown.

Officers today also undergo frequent training on crisis intervention, avoiding bias and other areas. Officers now wear body cameras. Doyle even changed the look of uniforms, patches and badges after residents said the old look was “triggering.”

“What are we doing?” an emotional Doyle asked Saturday. “Ten years later, I’ve got an officer fighting for his life. It’s enough and I’m done with it. We’re not doing it here in Ferguson.”

Many residents echoed those sentiments in social media posts.

“What did the officer or his family do to anyone to deserve this!???” one woman posted on the police department's Facebook page. “This really disgusts me! Praying for that officer and his family.”

Protesters tussle with Ferguson, Mo., police on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after demonstrations turned to turmoil with a couple of arrests outside the police department on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. Demonstrators removed a piece of the newly-installed gate that surrounds the department. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

The bottom of a fence surrounding the Ferguson, Mo., police station is repaired on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 after it was damaged during a protest outside the police station on Friday night. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Protesters lash out verbally at Ferguson, Mo., police on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after protests turned to turmoil with a couple of arrests outside the police department on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Ferguson Police Chief Troy Doyle gives a press conference on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2024 about the incident outside the Ferguson, Mo., police station on Friday night where a Ferguson officer was injured and is listed in critical condition with a brain injury. Officer Travis Brown was hurt in a chaotic scene where police were moving in to arrest people who damaged a fence around the police station. (David Carson/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

Ferguson police arrest Elijah Gant outside the Ferguson, Mo., police department on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, after protests turned to turmoil on the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown's death at a gathering of several of the original protesters. (Christian Gooden//St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP)

In this undated photo provided by Charlene Jefferson in August 2024, Travis Brown, when he was St. Louis County police officer, stands with Danielle Oliver. Brown, a Ferguson Police officer, suffered a severe brain injury after he was knocked to the ground Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, during a protest in Ferguson, Mo., on the 10th anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown. (Charlene Jefferson via AP)

In this undated photo provided by Charlene Jefferson in August 2024, Travis Brown, when he was St. Louis County police officer, stands with Danielle Oliver. Brown, a Ferguson Police officer, suffered a severe brain injury after he was knocked to the ground Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, during a protest in Ferguson, Mo., on the 10th anniversary of the shooting death of Michael Brown. (Charlene Jefferson via AP)

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lankans began voting Saturday in a presidential election that will determine the course of the country's recovery from its worst economic crisis and resulting political upheaval.

The election, contested by 38 candidates, is largely a three-way race among incumbent liberal President Ranil Wickremesinghe, Marxist-leaning lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake, and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.

There are 17 million eligible voters, and final results are expected Sunday.

The results will show whether Sri Lankans approve of Wickremesinghe's leadership over the country's fragile recovery, including restructuring its debt under an International Monetary Fund program after it defaulted in 2022.

The government announced Thursday that it passed the final hurdle in debt restructuring by reaching an agreement in principle with private bond holders.

Sri Lanka’s local and foreign debt totaled $83 billion at the time it defaulted, and the government says it has now restructured more than $17 billion.

Despite a significant improvement in key economic figures, Sri Lankans are struggling under high taxes and living costs.

Both Premadasa and Dissanayake say they will renegotiate the IMF deal to make austerity measures more bearable. Wickremesinghe has warned that any move to alter the basics of the agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion in assistance pledged by the IMF that's crucial to maintaining stability.

Sri Lanka’s economic crisis resulted largely from excessive borrowing on projects that did not generate revenue. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s insistence on using scarce foreign reserves to prop up the currency, the rupee, contributed to the economy’s free fall.

The economic collapse brought a severe shortage of essentials such as medicine, food, cooking gas and fuel, with people spending days waiting in line to obtain them. It led to rioting in which protesters took over key buildings including the president’s house, his office and the prime minister’s office, forcing then-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and resign.

Wickremesinghe was elected by a parliamentary vote in July 2022 to cover the remainder of Rajapaksa’s five-year term. Now, Wickremesinghe is seeking another term to strengthen the gains.

However, many people accuse him of protecting members of the Rajapaksa family, whom they blame for the economic crisis.

Wickremesinghe, who was the only member of his party in Parliament, was elected mainly with the votes of Rajapaksa loyalists. They also supported him as members of his Cabinet and in voting for the reforms he proposed.

Sri Lankan police officer stands guard as voters queue to cast their vote at a polling center for presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Sri Lankan police officer stands guard as voters queue to cast their vote at a polling center for presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

Sri Lankan show their baby fingers marked with an indelible ink after casting their vote at a polling center for presidential election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A person shows indelible mark on his finger after casting his vote in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardane)

People stand in a queue to cast their votes in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardane)

Election officials leave a distribution center after collecting polling material for the upcoming presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Police officers wait for transport to travel to polling stations ahead of the upcoming presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

A police officer stands guard outside a polling material distribution center ahead of the presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's opposition leader and presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa speaks to his supporters during a public rally in Thalawakele, Sri Lanka, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Leader and the presidential candidate of National People's Power Anura Kumara Dissanayake speaks to supporters during the final public rally ahead of the election in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Sri Lanka's president Ranil Wickremesinghe speaks during a public rally in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on Aug. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Women election officials walk past security personnel outside a distribution center before collecting polling materials for the upcoming presidential election, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)