Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Ferguson on Edge after Night of Looting; New U.S. Airstrikes in Iraq; Rick Perry Indicted on Two Felonies; Perry Lawyer: Indictments "Political Abuse"; Push for Police to Wear Body Cameras; Interview with Missouri State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed

Aired August 16, 2014 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Outrage returned to the streets of Ferguson, Missouri in the middle of the night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

CROWD: Don't shoot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

CROWD: Don't shoot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

CROWD: Don't shoot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Except in this case, you've got the members of the community, which were helping to keep the peace. Police did show up in riot gear in some circles, and there was looting that began again.

We're live in Ferguson, next.

Plus, new U.S. air strikes in Iraq. Militants control a critical dam. Why it's so important for local officials to get it back.

And a former presidential candidate now indicted? A grand jury says Texas Governor Rick Perry abused his power. We'll have the back story on that, coming up.

Hello everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield in Atlanta.

Ferguson, Missouri -- a town on edge this morning after a night of lawlessness and mayhem. This was a scene in the early morning hours when angry protesters and looters blocked off a street and robbed three stores. A SWAT team across the street didn't move in or arrest anyone and eventually the crowd dispersed. About an hour from now, peaceful demonstrators are planning a vigil to mark the moment when Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer. A rally is scheduled later on today, about 12 miles away in St. Louis at the city's famous Gateway Arch. Our Ana Cabrera and Victor Blackwell are both on the ground in

Ferguson. Let's begin with Victor who's at the Police Department. The night before last was completely peaceful, but then something changed last night. And then we also saw members of the community who were trying to take some control and protect some of the businesses. So a lot evolved. Help us fill in all the blanks.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, that first night after the Missouri State Highway Patrol was brought in by the governor to run security here, people thought possibly they'd seen the last of those armored vehicles and the military-styled weapons in response to the protests, but as we saw last night, that was not the case. However, it came down to other protesters at some point protecting the businesses here in Ferguson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: A tense standoff overnight in Ferguson, Missouri as police in riot gear confront looters -- what started out as a night of peaceful demonstrations escalated into violence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There were at least three molotov cocktails that one of our crews saw. They were thrown on to the roof of a Domino's pizzeria. The police and fire department were called in and they were able to put out the flames quickly before much damage was done but that resulted in a bit of a police show of force here that ultimately culminated with a very, very tense standoff.

BLACKWELL: The flashpoint, the Ferguson market and liquor store -- the same store that's become part of the case surrounding the shooting of Michael Brown, the teen who was killed by police. Officers on Friday released surveillance video that allegedly shows Michael Brown taking part in a robbery at that store.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay back. Stay back.

BLACKWELL: A SWAT team lined up across from the store commanding people via bullhorn to get out of the streets and get on to the sidewalks or go home. Officers warned, if they disobeyed, they would be arrested.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the police, please disperse. We don't want anyone to get hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

CROWD: Don't shoot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up.

CROWD: Don't shoot.

BLACKWELL: Minutes after the looting, about a dozen people lined up to block the entrance of the convenience store putting their hands in the air. They said they'd come to fend off the looters.

It looks to me like you guys came over here to try to protect this store?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's what we did. We see the store getting looted.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They going to --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The store is intact everything is still there. We protected the store, the store is intact. They was going to set it on fire.

BLACKWELL: Well, after the owners of Sam's Meat Market near that intersection watched the police inaction to protect the Ferguson market and liquor store, the Sam's Meat Market owners, they stood around their store in front of the doors and windows with assault rifles, handguns and protecting their own property.

One more thing, Fred, tight here behind me in about an hour from now there a vigil scheduled to mark the one week, the first week, since Michael Brown was shot and killed. We're expecting to hear that chant again, "Hands up, don't shoot" with a vigil here across from the Ferguson police department -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right Victor. Thanks so much.

Let's go to your colleague now, Ana Cabrera. The Ferguson police were wildly criticized for overreacting to violent protests earlier in the week. And now the Missouri State Highway Patrol is in charge of security. And while officers showed up last night in riot gear with rifles and armored vehicles, they kept their distance.

Ana Cabrera with us now -- help us understand why. What happened?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're talking to business owners and managers around here who are saying, where was the law enforcement last night? You can see things have calmed down. We're right in the heart of where that looting happened last night, across the street over my left shoulder is that Ferguson market, which you can see is all boarded up now, because of the looting that took place inside last night. And then here on our side of the street, there are other businesses that were also damaged, their property stolen.

I had a chance to speak with the assistant manager there about the situation last night. Listen to what she told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I had crews on the scene who described a very tense situation, and there was fear that perhaps if police had confronted these people who were looting, that maybe there could have been a gun battle, and people would have lost lives? What do you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With that situation, it's so scary now. You don't know who to trust. You don't know who the good guys is, and who the bad guys is, because of this situation. So out here, people are fearful. People are scared. And they have the right to the scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And there you can see them cleaning up inside that business, and that's what people are doing today. We've talked to people who are also community members, volunteers, who do have pride in this area, and they've been picking up trash and trying to help those businesses regroup after that night of unrest -- Fred. So a pretty disheartening situation and still a lot of unpredictability is dispensed on the ground.

WHITFIELD: And then Ana, before the looting broke out investigators apparently were at the very convenient store, apparently, where police say Michael Brown stole cigars. What was happening at that convenience store?

CABRERA: So that's the convenience store that's over the left shoulder, my left shoulder here -- the Ferguson Market. We know yesterday afternoon after the release of the information by the Ferguson police department about that alleged robbery, we saw investigators here at the Ferguson Market coming out with a bag of what appeared to be some evidence they may have collected, some rectangular object inside a black bag. And so that is now a part of another investigation.

Of course, there's the ongoing multiple investigations regarding the shooting death of Michael Brown, which is, of course, the central issue here. Some of these other issues have become distractions and now part of the narrative. But as far as the main investigation, we do know they're making progress. The FBI, federal investigators tell us that they are continuing with their witness interviews.

In fact, they plan to go into the neighborhood where the shooting took place to show their presence and look for additional possible witnesses. They're encouraging people to reach out to them, if they saw something and have not been interviewed. They're going over forensic evidence, ballistic evidence that's been collected. They have the preliminary autopsy results, and so those are the pieces that are in motion.

We don't have any details about their findings, of course, because they're working to make sure they have a case, that they can then release the information without compromising the investigation -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Ok. Ana Cabrera, thank you so much. Appreciate that. We'll check back with you later on in the afternoon.

Meantime, that surveillance video that police say shows Michael Brown robbing the store -- now that very video, the release of it, is in question. The Department of Justice sources now telling us that the Department of Justice actually warned Ferguson police not to release that video.

CNN's Rene Marsh is with us now, from the White House with more on this. Help us understand the dialogue and the sequence of events involving DOJ and the release of this video.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, we know that this information is coming from our justice correspondent Evan Perez. And here's what we know from those DOJ sources. They said that this was not a good idea speaking about this surveillance video and releasing it to the public. They told them they should hold off on this. But we do know now -- obviously that Ferguson police went ahead and released the information anyway. They released that video anyway.

We also know from this source that DOJ said that they predicted that this would only increase tensions if they went ahead and released the video. This conversation was going on between DOJ as well as Ferguson police. We know that they wanted to release the video on Thursday. However, DOJ successfully argued not to do it. And so fast forward to Friday, and we know that the video was eventually released here.

We also know that DOJ had a copy of this from the very beginning, and we also know based on this source that there were never any plans, as far at the DOJ goes, Department of Justice, to release the video. So recapping here, just getting this information from sources that the Department of Justice said, not a good idea to release this surveillance video of Michael Brown, and we're talking about that robbery that we saw in that convenient store. DOJ warned not a good idea in the end we know that Ferguson police went against that and released the video anyway -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: So this was advice from the Department of Justice, right? I mean because -- if it's Ferguson police that made the decision to release the video, there wouldn't be any ramifications, or would there be any ramifications, because DOJ's recommendation was to hold off on releasing it?

MARSH: At this point, it appears that this was advice from the Department of Justice. That, look, this would be -- when you consider the environment that we are in at this point, this would only escalate things. We saw that, you know, there was some validity to that, because we saw what unfolded last night. We saw the tensions rise. There was a lot of criticism about the release of that video at the same time, the release of the officer's name. So we see that that did backfire in a way.

Fred, though, we want to point out that the purpose of DOJ here, full picture, they're doing their own independent investigation. Their focus is simply on looking into whether there was some sort of civil rights violation against Michael Brown, and that is solely and squarely what they are focused on at this point.

As it relates to the criminal investigation, that is very separate from what the Department of Justice is focused on at this point, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. And still DOJ not releasing any preliminary findings on its end of the investigation. Right?

MARSH: Right. No. But we do know they have made some progress. We know from the Department of Justice that they've conducted several interviews with witnesses. We know that. And that was happening at the time of the shooting. We also know that teams of FBI agents, they're going to be going right back to the neighborhood where this shooting happened. They're activity looking for other witnesses, because we know, based on reports from our own reporters on the ground, that there are many people who say they saw some part of this. Some part of the interaction between the officer, Darren Wilson, and Mike Brown.

However, police have not gotten their story yet. They haven't spoke to police. So we know that these agents are going to be going back to the neighborhood, because they need to get more information. We also know that the FBI is saying they want the community to reach out to them. They put a phone number out there and say, call us, if you saw this, if you saw something that may be helpful in the investigation. They're asking the community to call them as well.

Part of this, Fred, is, you know, the distrust that some of the people within this Ferguson community in this neighborhood have for the police. So if they do have this information, they may not feel comfortable enough 2 Go forward, to share that this information with the law enforcements. The FBI, almost like an independent entity here, is going to be going into the community to tie up those loose ends. Try and get that information that's out there that they may not know about just yet.

WHITFIELD: Right. So federal authorities hoping that perhaps those reluctant to talk to local authorities might feel more comfortable talking with them. And sharing what they know.

Rene Marsh, thanks so much at the White House. We'll check back with you later on.

Meantime what really did happen when Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson confronted Michael Brown? If Officer Wilson had been wearing a camera, the answers might come a little bit faster. We'll show you how some police departments across the country are embracing this advanced technology.

First, we get the latest on U.S. air strikes against ISIS fighters in control of a giant dam in northern Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A new round of U.S. airstrikes hit northern Iraq early today in an effort to take back a critical dam from militants. ISIS the so-called Islamic State took over the Mosul Dam earlier this month and with it control of the flow of energy and water in that region. Senior international correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, live for us right now in Erbil, Iraq. So Nick what's the latest on the operation to take back the Mosul Dam?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, conflicting reports whether or not as these U.S. air strikes continue. Said to be the heaviest, the most intense yet in one area since U.S. intervention to stop ISIS advance here. It began whether or not the Peshmerga militants, those Kurdish Militia are actually on the ground moving towards the dam. Officially they are. Unofficially they are. We just don't quite know -- probably there's the fog of war of frankly what's happening precisely on the ground.

But that ground operation to into the dam -- extraordinarily delicate, very complex too because ISIS militants have been there for a number of weeks. We know they're good at defending their positions.

We know too that they have the engineers who normally work on the dam still in place as far as we're aware keeping that dam, a vital part of the hydroelectric power, infrastructure of all of Iraq, not just the city of Mosul in the north near where it actually is. So a key target for both sides.

A lot of heavy weaponry being used by the Americans now it seems to soften up ISIS targets around to prepare potentially for advance, if that's what we see in the days ahead. And the question really is, how much of a fight will ISIS put up, and are the Peshmerga able to reclaim this vital piece of infrastructure without damaging it in some way.

WHITFIELD: And then, Nick, how will this U.N. Security Council resolution to curb support for ISIS possibly change things?

WALSH: Well, I mean there's been global condemnation for ISIS from their quarters since they really began, but it hasn't really been honed (ph) in such international focus since they moved against the Yazidis on Mount Sinjar.

This resolution though, potentially makes it much harder for funding to move around. The funding is already off the radar. It's already accused of being passed through private channels, from the Gulf and other parts of the world. But potentially, this broader resolution may make it frankly illegal for any of that money to get moved anywhere at all and perhaps easier to crack down on some of the more illicit channels. So it's symbolic certainly. It may have a practical impact as well in slowing funding down. You've got to bear in mind, too, ISIS controlled a lot of the oil infrastructure of Northern Iraq now and is said to be getting money from that. so, complex as it is.

WHITFIELD: Nick Paton Walsh, thanks so much from Erbil, Iraq.

Kurdish forces are getting more help and it can't come fast enough. The Kurdish regional government says ISIS fighters killed at least 80 men during an attack on a minority Yazidi village in northern Iraq yesterday, and at least 100 women were taken by ISIS militants.

The European Union has agreed to arm the struggling Kurdish forces. The EU minister's decision comes after France and Britain moved ahead with plans to provide weapons. And the U.S. Is continuing its air strikes.

Joining me right now is CNN military analyst, retired army colonel Peter Mansour in Columbus, Ohio. Good to see you, colonel. So why is so much of Europe now jumping onboard?

PETER MANSOUR, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, ISIS is an existential threat to mankind, really. It has horrific way of governing its territory. It will stop at nothing to inject violence and terrorism into the rest of the world, and it is the perfect enemy, if there is a perfect enemy. So I think that Europe is fully onboard with the United States now in doing something to roll back ISIS by arming the Kurdish Peshmerga and reforming the Iraqi army as well.

The U.S. is involved in this matter, that the eu, rather, is involved in this matter, how influential might that be for the U.S. to be more militarily involved?

MANSOUR: Well, it helps when we have the backing of the international community for whatever military action we take. We didn't in 2003, and it was a highly divisive war as a result. To have that kind of backing now in 2014, I think is not only highly symbolic, but manifestly important, and will give significant resources to the Kurds that they wouldn't otherwise have.

WHITFIELD: So we've seen how ISIS is fighting, with weapons the U.S. had given to Iraq after U.S. forces left. Do you think EU weapons could end up in he wrong hands? wind up in the wrong hands? Is that your fear?

MANSOUR: Not this time around. They're going into the right hands. The Kurdish Peshmerga will be well trained, better trained, and they're going to be highly motivated. I don't think anyone's under an illusion now as to what they're facing.

So it may be in small numbers on the battlefield individual weapons get captured, but not wholesale surrenders like we saw in Mosul in June when two divisions worth of Iraqi army weapons were turned over to ISIS without a shot.

WHITFIELD: All right. Col. Mansour, thanks so much from Columbus, Ohio, today.

MANSOUR: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Texas governor and potential presidential candidate, again, Rick Perry, has been indicted by a grand jury. He is accused of abusing his power by pressuring a district attorney to resign. We'll get the latest on what's behind all of this from an Austin reporter who covers the governor.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A grand jury has indicted Texas Governor Rick Perry saying he abused his power by trying to force a district attorney to resign. This is the front page of the "Austin-American Statesman" today. Take a look. "Perry indicted for veto threat". He faces two felony charges of coercion and abuse of his office. Perry is a fore Republican presidential candidate and a special prosecutor said, he threatened to veto funding for an agency investigating corruption in his administration unless the woman in charge of the investigation resigned.

Joining me right now is Tony Plohetski, an investigative reporter at the Austin American Statesman. Good to see you -- Tony. TONY PLOHETSKI, AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN: Yes. Good to see you,

Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So there are two felonies here. Sirius charges does this mean he is going to be booked. Will there be mug shots, fingerprinting, two indictments. The governor is going to be speaking, by the way at 3:00 today.

For the first time -- you know, a statement on this, but before that, what's his day looking like?

PLOHETSKI: Well, he indicted just like any other criminal suspect and because of that, he must turn himself in to the Travis County Jail sometime, we understand, in the next several days. And, yes, like you said. He will be fingerprinted, he will have taken. He will be booked in and then likely released on bond to come back for a court hearing sometime down the line.

WHITFIELD: Ok. So let's talk about the charges and where this comes from. What more do you know about it, or what can you really tell all of us about the DA Rose Mary Lindbergh and how she is claiming he was pressuring her to resign.

PLOHETSKI: Well, this all goes back, more than a year ago. In April 2013, Rosemary Lindbergh, the Democratic district attorney here in Travis County was arrested and charged with drunk driving. Two months later while the state legislature was getting ready to adopt the state's budget, Governor Perry allegedly sent word to Rosemary Lindbergh, step down, leave your office, or I'm going to veto $7.2 million in state funding to your office.

The district attorney Lindbergh refused to resign and three days later, after making that alleged threat, the governor did carry out his threat and vetoed that $7.2 million to her office.

WHITFIELD: And what do we expect the governor's going to say? Will he defend that action? Is it likely he's going to say, well, that's my job as the governor, to make sure that money is dispensed to those responsible and because of this charge I thereby felt she wasn't a responsible figure in this? What is going to be his response likely?

PLOHETSKI: Well, the governor's office have steadfastly said, the governor was exercising his constitutional veto authority as governor in vetoing those funds, but what the prosecutor, a special prosecutor looking into this matter and grand juries have apparently said is, wait. Not so fast.

You can't issue a threat for someone who's been duly elected to their office, to resign and then withhold their money. You can't link those two things together, which is what the governor is accused of doing and indicted for allegedly doing.

WHITFIELD: What specifically is being considered the threat? Resign, or the -- or else the money will be withheld, or both?

PLOHETSKI: That is the threat. That is it in a nutshell. You resign from your office or I'm going to withhold $7.2 million in state funding, which the governor did, and as a result, Travis County taxpayers had to help fill in that gap, and, also, as a result of that veto, several people in the district attorney's office lost their jobs. Some others had to be reassigned.

WHITFIELD: So this really may just be the beginning. Tony Plohetski, thanks so much with the "Austin American Statesman." Again, 3:00 today will be the first scheduled response from the governor out of Austin, Texas. We'll, of course, take that live as it happens.

All right, imagine how many questions in Ferguson could be answered if the officer involved was wearing a body camera? We might know exactly what happened. Right? Well, one police chief in Florida says the new technology is a godsend. That's coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In the wake of the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, there is a call for more oversight for police. One question -- officers should wear body cameras to record everything that happens?

Well, a town in Florida is already doing that and as Alina Machado report, it's made a big difference.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is a police body cam. This is the recording device. This is the actual camera. Police here in Daytona Beach, Florida, have been using these devices since 2011, and they save already helped ease tensions in a few cases.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO (voice-over): This is video taken from two body cameras last September when Daytona Beach police officers knocked down a door and saw a man armed with a knife threatening a woman. Moments later --

Officers fired several shots, an action they say saved the woman's life. But that's not the end of the story.

CHIEF MIKE CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE: I arrived on the scene 15 minutes later. There's at least 100 residents screaming at me as I get out of my car that my officers gunned down a guy laying in bed.

MACHADO: The video Chief Mike Chitwood says helped ease tensions because it showed what really happened.

CHITWOOD: And what could have been a really bad thing in the community, people start to look and say, I understand what happened now. That's not what I was told.

MACHADO: That's not the case in Ferguson, Missouri, where the police chief says no video exists of the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

CHITWOOD: It would make a huge difference.

MACHADO: Chitwood's department is one of more than 1,200 law enforcement agencies in the country using body cameras.

CHITWOOD: The positive so much outweighs the negative.

MACHADO: Daytona Beach police have 75 cameras right now with plans to add 50 more by the end of the year. Each camera costs $950 and the department is paying $23,000 a year to store the video. It's a lot of money, but Chief Chitwood says it is money well spent.

CHITWOOD: I can tell you just from the few incidents we had here how it has been just a godsend for us.

MACHADO (on camera): Why is there so much resistance? Why doesn't every police department in the country have these body cams?

CHITWOOD: Change is number one. Cops don't like change. Cost is number two.

MACHADO: And another reason according to critics --

BERNARD KERIK, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: Every single thing you say is going to be recorded, scrutinized and so forth. And I think that would put a hindrance on cops. It would create a problem with them in dealing with the everyday public.

CHITWOOD: I feel that I can do my job a lot better now.

MACHADO (voice-over): Officer Dale Kelly uses a body camera every day.

CHITWOOD: This camera will protect me.

MACHADO: We were with him as he responded to a call. His body camera engaged, capturing his drive to the scene and what he did once we arrived.

CHITWOOD: What's your name?

MACHADO (on camera): When would you say the camera is most useful?

CHITWOOD: I would say anytime that you come in contact with the public.

MACHADO (voice-over): We wanted to see for ourselves how they work.

(on camera): Right now, you are recording.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, we're recording.

MACHADO: Everything you see, everything you hear is being captured by that camera.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.

MACHADO (voice-over): After a brief demonstration, Officer Mike Oteri helped me gear up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Line it up with the tabs and push down until it clicks.

MACHADO: The recording device on my belt, the camera on my head. It's not that uncomfortable, kind of like wearing a headband. I turned it on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You press the button twice.

MACHADO: And went for a walk recording my every move.

(on camera): Right now, we're in the shade. If I were to walk out into the bright sun, what would happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The camera will adjust.

MACHADO (voice-over): The technology, Chief Chitwood, says is invaluable.

(on camera): Is this future?

CHITWOOD: In my heart, this is the future. It's here. We might as well embrace it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MACHADO: The man we showed you at the top of the story, by the way, did survive the police shooting and was charged with a felony. Meanwhile, there are a handful of companies that make these devices and one of them tells us that their sales have jumped 80 percent just in the last year -- Fred?

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Alina Machado.

So there have been a lot of twists and turns in this story coming out of Ferguson, Missouri. Next a Missouri lawmaker and two of our contributors who have following this story very closely, all joining me to talk about the way this case and investigation is unfolding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tensions in Ferguson, Missouri, are extending beyond the protests on the streets today. We just learned that the Department of Justice objected to police releasing that surveillance video of a convenience store robbery just yet.

Police say this surveillance shows Michael Brown stealing cigars. They released it yesterday saying the media asked for it, but the chief also said the robbery is not the reason the officer first stopped Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF THOMAS JACKSON, FERGUSON POLICE: There were two separate officers. This -- this robbery does not relate to the initial contact between the officer and Michael Brown. The initial contact between the officer and Mr. Brown was not related to the robbery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did he stop Michael Brown?

JACKSON: Because they were walking down the middle of the street blocking traffic. That was it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: But the chief also told the "St. Louis Post Dispatch," Officer Darren Wilson saw the cigars in Brown's hand and realized that he might be the robber. Again, conflicting reports, because the chief also said that this Officer Wilson didn't know about that alleged robbery before confronting Michael Brown.

So now we're learning the Department of Justice didn't want that video out at all, fearing that it might increase tensions. Here now to talk more about this story is Democratic Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed from Ferguson on the phone with us.

And CNN commentator L.Z. Granderson in Detroit and CNN political commentator, Charles Blow, joining us from New York. All right, glad that you could all be with us.

State Senator, let me begin with you. I know you're on the phone. Give us your reaction to what the Justice Department is now saying, or at least sources are now telling us that the Justice Department warned that this surveillance tape should not be made public as yet for fear of inciting anymore problems. Your response to that?

STATE SENATOR JAMILAH NASHEED (D), MISSOURI (via telephone): I would just say this here. Chief Jackson needs to resign. He has ignited a riot and this in the Ferguson District. He incited it. When he released that tape, of that young man shoplifting, they knew exactly what they were doing.

And so I just don't believe that they're working -- that he's working in the best interests of the community, and he needs to step aside. He needs to resign or he needs to be fired. It's appalling, it's unfortunate when the governor came in, in town and allowed for the depolarization of the law enforcement.

That was wreaking havoc in that community, he allowed them to get out. He asked them to leave, and when he asked those individuals to leave, meaning the police officers, county, we saw a sense of calmness the next day.

It was only until the release of those pictures and the video that people became much more angrier, much more angry, and they decided to go out and wreak havoc in their community. That's what we saw yesterday.

WHITFIELD: State Senator, what you're feeling as to the intent of the police department releasing this video?

NASHEED: Well, I don't know if you had the opportunity to watch -- Bob McCollen. Bob McCollen said that it was not right and he was angry that the governor came in and asked that those police officers who, who the part of the county to leave, because they were doing -- they were doing more harm than good.

And you get that, and Bob McCollen got mad and launched out against the governor in the state of Missouri, and as a result of that, we had a total sense of calmness, when the governor decided to make that decision, and after that, they came out and released those tapes.

I think that it was a malice move. It was move that does not work in the best interests of peace and calm in the state of Missouri, especially for Ferguson. I'm sorry.

WHITFIELD: And, L.Z., let me bring you into this because this whole story, this investigation taking a lots of twists and turns, but there are a lot of diversions, too, that have risen to the surface. There are still so many unanswered questions.

Particularly as it pertains to what happened at that moment when Michael Brown was shot. What's your biggest question this morning about how this is unfolding?

L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN COMMENTATOR: My biggest question is, what happened between those moments in which the officer confronted Michael Brown and his friend and led to what has been reported by witnesses at least seven shots.

Some of which were at multiple tens of feet and reported with Michael Brown's hands up and facing the officer. This is what the -- what the police chief needed to talk about yesterday.

What we saw was the playbook, and what I mean by that is, when there is questions about whether or not a police officer, or multiple police officers, acted wrongly towards an unarmed black male, what typically happens, they do something to put the dead, young black person on trial.

You saw it with Trayvon Martin, with Martin Davis and we're seeing it again with Michael Brown.

WHITFIELD: Charles, do you see that the Department of Justice, that its involvement will change the tenor of this investigation? We already hear from sources, the Department of Justice recommended that Ferguson police not release the surveillance video.

However, it was done anyway, against the wishes of DOJ. But how do you see DOJ's involvement, either offering some clarity to the investigation or helping to put it back on track?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I don't know how off track it is, in fact, at this point, because I don't know very much what's happening in the local investigation, or the DOJ investigation. I do believe, however, that the DOJ being involved in it gives the citizens of that community a little bit more comfort.

Because a lot of what we've heard from people who have talked to the press is that they don't trust the local police departments, and I think that that's distrust gets at a bigger issue, that the shooting of Michael Brown is the tip of it. And what you're seeing is an exhaling of a tremendous amount of pent- up frustration, not just with police encounters with African-American men, but also just a larger issue of how people are treated. Certainly people of certain races are treated in America.

What disenfranchisement looks like particularly when it's systemic and perpetual and it is chronic, and what you're what you're saying I think with these flash points where people kind of gather around shootings because they are kind of a focal point.

But there's a bigger issue here, which is how do you deal with this sort of chronic disenfranchisement where people feel like they are separated from the aspirational parts of the American dream and they are also structures and systems that are reinforcing that separation.

And until we get to dealing with those root causes of what is causing people to really be upset and really be outraged, not just this, because I think sometimes, we want people to calm down and just be happy, docile, that's not the root cause.

WHITFIELD: Hold it right there, Gentlemen, and State Senator. We're going to take a short break right now and will continue this discussion on the other end.

I know that Senator Nasheed, you are looking for an independent prosecutor to be brought into the equation and perhaps you at home have some questions that remain unanswered about Ferguson, Missouri. The situation unfolding there. The tactics being used by both sides. Tweet us and we'll get some of your questions to our panel of experts throughout the day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, so, lots of unanswered questions involving the shooting of an 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri. Back now to talk more about the questions that remain, Missouri State Senator Jamilah Nasheed from Ferguson on the phone with us, CNN commentator, L.Z. Granderson in Detroit, and CNN political commentator, Charles Blow from New York.

And we also understand, everyone, that Governor Jay Nixon will be heading back to Ferguson. He tweeted today saying long night, thanks to all who tried to stop unnecessary violence. I will be in Ferguson today.

State Senator, I know you're on the phone with us now. You had mentioned that you believe an independent prosecutor needs to be brought into the equation because you say you lack the trust in the St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough. Why?

NASHEED: It's not only me. It's the community. The community, they just don't have the trust level that's needed in order for him to move forward with this investigation. They don't believe that he can be fair and impartial.

They believe that he's been here before and that's certain. There was a situation where years ago, there were two men sitting on a jack in the box lot and the police officer shot into their cars 20 times.

Now, the federal investigators, they said that those individual police officers, they lied doing their interview and that the car was not moving towards the police officer. That it was backing up and the police shot and killed those unarmed men and guess what Bob McCullough did?

He ruled the chase justifiable homicide, so we have a long history with Bob McCullough working alongside and in favor of the police officers. His father was killed by a black man while he was a police officer.

So that's so many gray areas here that the community cannot trust him and they really want to see a special prosecutor and that's why we're pushing a petition to do just that.

WHITFIELD: All right, State Senator Jamilah Nasheed, L.Z. Granderson, Charles Blow, we're going to talk some more about this. We're at the top of the hour right now. It's the noon Eastern hour of the NEWSROOM. Much more in the hour about Ferguson, Missouri and beyond.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)