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Elijah Gantt was born into poverty, struggled as a young adult and has turned his life around, his attorneys and supporters testified. He was put up for adoption as a 1-year-old. Now he’s a minister, they said.

It’s been “quite a transformation,� said Bishop Steve Yager, one of several clergymen at the hearing.

“He came to us from the street,� Yager told the judge. “This young man came to us and gave his heart to Jesus.�

Gantt has been in jail on a $500,000 bond since Aug. 9, the night he was arrested at a Ferguson protest commemorating the 10th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death.

That night, Gantt was running from cops who were trying to arrest him outside the Ferguson Police Department. The 28-year-old can be seen on surveillance footage making a sharp turn around a parked car and barreling into Ferguson Officer Travis “TJ� Brown.

Gantt fell on top of him, and Brown’s head smashed into the pavement as the two fell.

The officer remained unconscious until early October, and was still unable to speak last month when he was flown to an Atlanta rehab facility. On Thursday after the hearing, Ferguson police Chief Troy Doyle said Brown was making progress in his recovery.

After Brown and Gantt fell that night, other officers arrested Gantt. He was eventually indicted by a grand jury and charged with first-degree assault, six counts of fourth-degree assault on a special victim, resisting arrest, property damage, rioting, attempting to tamper with physical evidence and escape or attempted escape.

Gantt has had few court appearances since his arrest. His previous attorney, high-profile defense lawyer Scott Rosenblum, waived his bond reduction hearing on Aug. 19.

On Thursday, after waiting two hours for jail staff to bring Gantt to the courtroom, attorneys held the hearing without him.

Defense attorney Ryan Krupp told the court that Gantt, an East ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ native, was born into poverty and put up for adoption when he was 1. Gantt suffered abuse as a child, and struggled as a young adult — that is until he found the Kingdom Church STL, headquartered in the O’Fallon neighborhood in ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½.

Krupp called Gantt’s case an “extreme overcharge� because his actions lacked intent, a key element in first-degree assault.

Gantt, Krupp continued, was not a danger to the community; he had job opportunities and a place to live if released from jail. Gantt was working as a convenience store clerk when he was arrested, his brother said.

But Andrea Harrington, deputy chief of staff for the ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ County prosecutor’s office, said if Gantt was not a danger to the community, he was at least a danger to first responders.

“His conduct that night demonstrates he’s a danger,� she said. “Instead of complying he made a choice to run from officers.�

She said Gantt created a chaotic scene that put everyone at risk when he ran from officers. She said everyone was lucky “for the restraint of the officers that night.�

The prosecutor also pointed to his previous criminal history, a second-degree robbery conviction in 2015 in St. Clair County. He violated probation that same year, and in 2017 Harrington said he violated the conditions of a bond.

Renee Stayton, a good friend of Brown’s mother, told Hilton that the harm he has caused Brown’s family — especially his two young daughters — has created a painful journey “full of unknowns.�

“Please help me understand why a bond reduction is even on the table,� she said, adding that she hoped there were “severe repercussions� for what Gantt did.

Judge Bruce Hilton said the attorneys’ arguments were “not sitting well with this court� and denied the request to reduce Gantt’s bond.

“It should have never escalated to where someone got a severe brain injury,� Hilton said of the Aug. 9 incident.

Outside the courtroom, Doyle, the police chief, said he was happy with the judge’s decision not to reduce Gantt’s bond.

Krupp declined to comment. He said he did not know why his client wasn’t brought to court from the jail.

Gantt’s next hearing is scheduled for Feb. 28.