Police officer Travis “T.J.” Brown, 36, who was allegedly tackled to the ground and left in critical condition last Friday by a demonstrator at a protest in Ferguson, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb, marking the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, has shown signs of progress while he lies in a coma.
This is the authorized gofundme for Ferguson Officer Travis Brown who suffered a traumatic brain injury during protests that turned violent last Friday night. He has 2 beautiful daughters. Please consider helping. https://t.co/GFOkbYw6Bk pic.twitter.com/6DGlSBufBZ
— Jane Dueker (@JaneDueker) August 13, 2024
Officer Brown’s sister, Christina Bailey, wrote of her brother’s improved signs on a GoFundMe page devoted to the officer.
“I wanted to share an update on TJ’s journey,” Bailey wrote. “He has undergone several surgeries and procedures to address the swelling and fluid on his brain. In the past few days, we’ve witnessed a few small but significant signs of progress—three coughs, and slight movements in his leg and hand. These moments, though brief, filled us with hope and joy.”
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“Today, the doctors checked TJ’s brain activity, and the results were encouraging,” she continued. “While we’ve been told that the road to recovery will be long and challenging, we remain hopeful.”
The GoFundMe campaign for Brown has raised over $100,000 as of Thursday.
Officer Brown, a father of two, was knocked to the ground by a protester later identified as Elijah Gantt, 28. Brown was unconscious at the scene, and Gantt was still on top of him when other officers pulled him off and attempted to provide aid. “If you look at the video, the officer is standing up, waiting to catch this guy,” Police Chief Troy Doyle said Wednesday. “This guy tackled my guy like he’s a football player.”
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Former St. Louis County Police Chief Tim Fitch said of Officer Brown:
I remember well when I was commissioning him and having given his oath of office, he had a family member pin his badge on. I just remember the big smile on his face, and I thought, “Boy, this guy’s got one of those contagious kind of smiles.” There’s a lot of raw emotion about whether or not he’s going to be able to beat this and survive. And if he does, is he going to ever be able to come back to work? He was very ambitious. It didn’t take him long to get into a specialized unit. He was in a couple.
Virginia Kruta contributed to this article.
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