Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Today
Michigan Town Sees Relatively Quiet Night After Riots
Aired June 19, 2003 - 10:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: In a small Michigan town this morning, there is an uneasy calm after two days of riots. Benton Harbor, a town of about 12,000 people, exploded into scenes of violence and rage Monday night after a police chase turned deadly.
Our Ed Lavandera is following the developments for us in Benton Harbor and joins us now live.
Hi, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, we're at the intersection of Broadway and Empire. This is the area here in Benton Harbor that saw some of the most violent rioting on Monday and Tuesday nights.
You can see just behind me, there's a lot of cleanup going on here, not only just down the street here, but also if you look across the intersection here, that was where the -- you might be able to see the crane through the trees over there. That's where one of the houses was burned on Tuesday night. So some cleanup going on there, as well.
Rather calm night compared to what happened Monday and Tuesday night. We're told by authorities that one person was arrested overnight for having a concealed weapon that turned out to be a knife. They're also investigating the possibility that arson was responsible for one home being burnt to the ground last night, as well.
Also, heavy rains, authorities think, perhaps kept a lot of people indoors that had rolled in throughout night, as well. There were also 300 police officers here on these streets until 2 in the morning.
What we saw was the police units divided up into five or six different platoons when they were driving up and down the streets, pretty much letting the residents in this area know that they were going to be here throughout the night and also enforcing -- that they would be enforcing this curfew and also just keeping people from moving along and keeping them from congregating.
That was one of the fears that authorities had. They thought that if people could just congregate, that that might lead to trouble so they wouldn't let people do that here last night.
But as far as compared to what happened here Monday and Tuesday last night was very calm and clearly, some of the residents we've been speaking with here this morning say that they hope that that peacefulness continues to last into this night, as well.
Although authorities do say, Heidi, that they will be returning here again tonight -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, Ed. That was going to be my question. Any idea what the presence will look like? The skies behind you look blue so we may not be dealing with the rain that was kind of calming everybody down, apparently, last night. Might be a different situation tonight?
LAVANDERA: Well, they are going to come back. And we're expecting to hear in a few hours from the chief of police here in Benton Harbor, as well. Perhaps it will shed some more light as to what their plans will be for the rest of the night.
But from every indication we've gotten so far is they do plan to return and let their -- as the officers here on the ground have been say, letting them know, showing off their presence and letting them know they're not going to take anything like what happened here on Monday or Tuesday night again.
COLLINS: All right. Ed Lavandera, live for us today in Benton Harbor. Thanks so much, Ed.
LAVANDERA: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 19, 2003 - 10:07 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, ANCHOR: In a small Michigan town this morning, there is an uneasy calm after two days of riots. Benton Harbor, a town of about 12,000 people, exploded into scenes of violence and rage Monday night after a police chase turned deadly.
Our Ed Lavandera is following the developments for us in Benton Harbor and joins us now live.
Hi, Ed.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Heidi.
Well, we're at the intersection of Broadway and Empire. This is the area here in Benton Harbor that saw some of the most violent rioting on Monday and Tuesday nights.
You can see just behind me, there's a lot of cleanup going on here, not only just down the street here, but also if you look across the intersection here, that was where the -- you might be able to see the crane through the trees over there. That's where one of the houses was burned on Tuesday night. So some cleanup going on there, as well.
Rather calm night compared to what happened Monday and Tuesday night. We're told by authorities that one person was arrested overnight for having a concealed weapon that turned out to be a knife. They're also investigating the possibility that arson was responsible for one home being burnt to the ground last night, as well.
Also, heavy rains, authorities think, perhaps kept a lot of people indoors that had rolled in throughout night, as well. There were also 300 police officers here on these streets until 2 in the morning.
What we saw was the police units divided up into five or six different platoons when they were driving up and down the streets, pretty much letting the residents in this area know that they were going to be here throughout the night and also enforcing -- that they would be enforcing this curfew and also just keeping people from moving along and keeping them from congregating.
That was one of the fears that authorities had. They thought that if people could just congregate, that that might lead to trouble so they wouldn't let people do that here last night.
But as far as compared to what happened here Monday and Tuesday last night was very calm and clearly, some of the residents we've been speaking with here this morning say that they hope that that peacefulness continues to last into this night, as well.
Although authorities do say, Heidi, that they will be returning here again tonight -- Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, Ed. That was going to be my question. Any idea what the presence will look like? The skies behind you look blue so we may not be dealing with the rain that was kind of calming everybody down, apparently, last night. Might be a different situation tonight?
LAVANDERA: Well, they are going to come back. And we're expecting to hear in a few hours from the chief of police here in Benton Harbor, as well. Perhaps it will shed some more light as to what their plans will be for the rest of the night.
But from every indication we've gotten so far is they do plan to return and let their -- as the officers here on the ground have been say, letting them know, showing off their presence and letting them know they're not going to take anything like what happened here on Monday or Tuesday night again.
COLLINS: All right. Ed Lavandera, live for us today in Benton Harbor. Thanks so much, Ed.
LAVANDERA: Sure.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
