Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Tropical Depression Could Form in Caribbean; Michael Brown Shooting; Journalists Become Targets in War; Learning From Cincinnati's Riots In 2001; Perry Seeks Momentum Despite Indictment; "The Bullet Bucket Challenge"

Aired August 23, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: The FBI finishes a key part of its investigation into the police shooting of Michael Brown while protesters rally today in support of the slain teen and the officer who killed him.

The unrest in Ferguson, Missouri; the violence, the tear gas; the police in riot gear -- Cincinnati faced it after a similar police shooting 13 years ago. Today we'll talk about what leaders there did to turn a bad situation into positive change.

Also defeating ISIS terrorists in Iraq -- the Pentagon says it can't be done without going after them in Syria. Is that the next step? Are U.S. air strikes on Syria coming? New information about what U.S. officials are doing to prepare for all the options.

Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Fredricka this morning.

We begin with a severe weather threat. We're watching some storms out of the Atlantic that could cause some trouble this weekend so I want to get right to meteorologist Jennifer Gray. Jennifer, fill us in on what's happening right now.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. We were thinking this could be upgraded to a tropical depression or a tropical storm -- did not happen. The hurricane hunters have been flying in this throughout the morning, did not find that low-level circulation. That's one of the characteristics you need for a tropical system.

Still carrying an 80 chance of development though within the next 24 hours, even a higher chance of development within the next five days. This is very close to the U.S., even closer to the Turks and Caicos and the Bahamas. And so that's why we need to keep a close eye on this. It dumped a lot of rain across Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic.

Good news is it's pulling away from that area; bad news is it is leaving some really rugged terrain. It does have the capability of starting to become a little bit better organized as it leaves that rugged terrain and entering some more warmer water. It is going to enter into the Bahamas, the southern Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos. So it does have that 80 percent of development over the next couple of days. Here are those computer models and they are all over the place. So confidence is very low on where this is going to go. If you're anywhere on the East Coast of the U.S., including Florida and even the Gulf of Mexico, definitely need to keep a close eye on this because there are a couple of different scenarios on how this could play out.

If it does keep a fast-forward motion, it could get picked up by the jet stream and that would keep it away from the U.S. If it does keep a slower path it could skirt the U.S. and it could drift towards the East Coast. And the most unlikely scenario is it could head into the Gulf of Mexico.

So Ana, we are going to keep a very close eye on this and we will update you with any further developments.

CABRERA: All right. Do keep us posted. Thank you, Jennifer.

GRAY: All right.

CABRERA: Now let's go to Ferguson, Missouri. The streets will be full today for rallies supporting Michael Brown as well as Officer Darren Wilson, and this all follows another calm night in that town. Some protesters gathered, but there was no violence, no riot gear, no tear gas.

It has been two weeks since the unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Wilson. Last night, the FBI finished canvassing neighborhoods for the Justice Department's civil rights investigation. And we've learned agents interviewed more than 200 people. They made about 400 contacts in all.

St. Louis authorities also giving some more details about the grand jury that's looking into the local case there; we've learned nine of the people on that grand jury are white, three are African-American. And today Michael Brown is remembered in a moment of silence before his high school's football game.

In several hours, the NAACP will hold a youth march in Ferguson and supporters of Officer Darren Wilson are also expected to rally, and that's supposed to happen at the top of the hour around noon Eastern.

For Michael Brown's family, a somber weekend again lies ahead. The teen's funeral has been set for Monday. Ferguson schools will also be back in session on Monday after delaying the first day of school for more than a week, because of the unrest and the protests there.

Let's go live to Ferguson now and our Victor Blackwell. Victor, what is going on there this morning?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, I mean, there's definitely the calm from the last night spilling into today. We're expecting an influx of people here in Ferguson. But it's early here still 10:00 a.m. And the people en route here most of them have not yet arrived. We're expecting maybe larger crowds in the late afternoon and those evening protests as we've seen for the last two weeks. But I can tell you what happened just a few moments ago. The high school from which Michael Brown just graduated, Normandy High School -- the football team there, the Vikings, they held a moment of silence before the game. Let's take just a moment to see the crowd there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At left guard, number 90 --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: That's the team -- the Vikings there. There was a moment of silence that was held in honor of Michael Brown. We're told that the school will hold other memorials and there will be other honors throughout this season, throughout the school year.

Let's also talk about this St. Louis County police officer because there is still this palpable distrust of authorities here in this community by some. He's now on administrative leave after a video surfaced in which he rails against President Obama, gays, Muslims, others. Now, Officer Dan Page, he pushed CNN's Don Lemon and some protesters back when they were live on television.

He's the man -- you see his back here. You'll actually see a profile shot of him in just a moment, but the comments that were posted on YouTube and then on Facebook -- this happened back in April -- those prompted his bosses to relieve him of his duties and call his rant downright bizarre and offensive.

CNN's Nick Valencia has more for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Front and center, a St. Louis County police officer on camera making controversial comments about women, gays and among others, President Barack Obama.

DAN PAGE, POLICE OFFICER: Now, this here is Kenya. I had my own airplane. I had me a Lear jet. I said I'm going to go find where that illegal alien who claims to be our president, my undocumented president lives at. So I flew to Africa and right there and I went to our undocumented president's home. He was born in Kenya.

VALENCIA: Seemingly nothing out of bounds for Officer Dan Page, during a speech at an oath keepers meeting believed to be recorded earlier this year.

PAGE: Did anybody read the "USA Today" of this little homosexual Sodomite here? Incidentally there are four Sodomites on the Supreme Court. Has anybody read this?

Former Justice Stephens wants to change the constitution and he listed six things in here that have to go. Number one, the Second Amendment -- why would he pick that one out? Because he's an idiot.

In the military right now, you have open sodomy. People holding hands, swapping spit together. Sick. It's pitiful. You've got women trying -- by the way, and I deeply resent this, we had our first female green beret. Of course they had to re-do the qualifications.

We've had our first marine infantry officer come out but first they had to re-do the qualifications. What's wrong here? We have our first female ranger. What happened here? Something's wrong.

This here is the foundation for this. You can't separate them. I don't know what them black perverts don't understand down there, but they need me to talk to them. I'll square them away for you. Take me about a minute. Yes.

VALENCIA: Page, a 35-year veteran of the force, has been put on administrative leave for wide-ranging and inflammatory comments.

PAGE: Do you know how the Muslims take care of you? They cut your head off. Obama is allowing hundreds of thousands of them to come in every week.

VALENCIA: Oath Keepers calls itself a non-partisan group of police, military and first responders. Founded by a Yale law grad in 2009, they say they are defenders of the constitution. In a statement, the group said, "Dan Page is not a member of Oath Keepers at St. Louis-St. Charles. He was our guest speaker on one occasion

PAGE: I personally believe in Jesus Christ as my lord and savior but I'm also a killer. I've killed a lot. And if I need to, I'll kill a whole bunch more. If you don't want to get killed, don't show up in front of me.

VALENCIA: Police say the views of one officer don't reflect the majority of St. Louis County law enforcement but could potentially tarnish the image of other officers.

CHIEF JON BELMAR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE: The bottom line on this is we expect our police officers to hold themselves to a higher standard. He didn't do that here. His topics were wide-ranging. They were offensive -- patently offensive to everybody. Frankly, they were bizarre.

At the end of the day, what disturbed me more than anything else was when we talked about the killing. That's out of bounds, in my world.

VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Well, CNN has placed several phone calls to what's believed to be Page's home number. Of course, we're looking for comment on the video, also the disciplinary action against him. We've not yet received a response.

My colleague, CNN correspondent Alina Machado is in Ferguson as well. Now, that officer is with St. Louis County but I understand that you just saw the police chief here in Ferguson, where you are. ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I did Victor and it's been a few days since we've seen the Ferguson police chief, but just a little while ago we saw the chief come out here and talk to this group of protesters that's been out here for several days. It was a very cordial exchange. He asked the protesters if they need anything and then he came back with bottles of water, with food and then even that tent that you're seeing right now, the city just came out and installed that tent to give these protesters a place of shade, a break from the sun that's been out here all day.

When we approached the chief, we tried to ask him a couple of questions. Ask him where he's been, he didn't want to talk to us but he did say that he was working behind the scenes listening to people, talking to people and he also said, Victor, that he plans to be at the rally that's planned for today.

BLACKWELL: Yes. Part of healing this community is these conversations that are happening. We don't, of course, want to question the motives of anyone, but we do know that the city has hired a public relations firm to help them get through this. Maybe this is the first step in healing -- that or changing the image of Ferguson.

Let's talk more about the grand jury as well. There is new information we're learning about the grand jury, the makeup and there are some people that are questioning the demographic makeup of this group.

MACHADO: Yes. I mean there are few details out there about this grand jury, because grand jury proceedings are meant to take place in secret. This is not meant to be out in the open, but we have learned that the jury is comprised of three blacks and nine whites. Most of its members are men. What we don't know, we don't know the ages. We don't know anything about the background of these people, and we don't even know what these people do for a living.

We do know that these people were chosen at random, from St. Louis County, and that they were seated back in may. So they've been a part of this grand jury for a while. They presumably have been listening to evidence for other cases and were not specifically chosen to listen to evidence for this case -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Yes. There's some elements of the grand jury process that we won't learn but we can learn more about what they will learn about the, what happened that day, and officer Wilson, and Michael Brown, of course, we're still asking those questions and getting those answers. Alina Machado here in Ferguson as well -- Thank you so much.

Let's turn it back to Ana in the studio -- Ana.

CABRERA: Seems like two weeks, still going and we have a lot more to learn in this Michael Brown shooting. Victor -- thanks for staying on top of it for us there on the ground as well as Alina and Nick.

When we return, the President's plan to defeat ISIS terrorists. Will it include air strikes on Syria? New details on possible military options and the militants' execution of American James Foley. Was that a turning point for President Obama? A live report from Iraq, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: There are talks going on right now in the Pentagon about how to take out the ISIS terror group for good, and that could involve a stepped up military campaign in Iraq possibly air strikes in Syria as well.

Now, our Anna Coren joins us live in Erbil, a city right near some ISIS strongholds there in Iraq. Anna, I know you're learning more about the options the U.S. may be considering in Syria?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESONDENT: Yes, absolutely, Ana. You'd have to say that the tone and rhetoric coming out of the White House has certainly changed following the horrific execution of James Foley. We heard from Ben Rhodes, the deputy national security adviser saying that an attack on a U.S. Citizen no matter where it is it considered a terrorist attack on America.

We're hearing now that ISIS poses an imminent threat, that we've have seen nothing like it before. It is sophisticated, it has funding well surpasses anything that al Qaeda has ever had, and the feeling is now certainly here in Iraq and obviously in Washington, D.C. That is if they're going to defeat ISIS, not just hold them back or push them out of towns and cities if they are going to defeat them, then they need to go into Syria. The reason being is that that is their safe haven. That is their sanctuary.

The United States can conduct air strikes all they like here in Iraq and to date from what we know they've conducted 90 air strikes of which 63 have been focused around Mosul Dam. But those air strikes are no good just here in Iraq. Those terrorists, the ISIS militants will flee into their safe haven, into their sanctuary which is where they have their training grounds in Eastern Syria and that is where they're stale, re-arm, consolidate, before they launch another attack -- Ana.

CABRERA: One of the big issues, of course, has been the sheer number of ISIS militants that started out to be estimated at a few thousand. I mean we're talking about this and their threat a few months ago. Now some estimates have their numbers up to 17,000.

That being said, ISIS militants in Iraq did suffer significant setbacks from the U.S. air strikes that allowed Kurdish and Iraqi forces to take back the Mosul Dam, for example. Tell us more about the situation on the ground there now. Are you sensing a momentum shift at all?

COREN: Look, there's no doubt those air strikes are making a huge difference, because it allows the Kurdish and Iraqi forces to make advances, and really make a dent on those ISIS enemy positions. But you'd have to say as well, Ana, that ISIS is digging in and they're also still taking over towns and cities. Obviously, they hold Mosul which is Iraq's second largest city. They seized that back in June.

That has a population of 1.5 million people. As far as the operations go in Iraq that is their headquarters, and ISIS has control of a third of Iraq, which when you think about it, is staggering. They are still trying to make advances. We understand that there is a battle underway in the township Amali (ph) where it's feared there could be a massacre.

It is surrounded at the moment by ISIS militants. 20,000 people facing massacre. The U.N. as well as the Iraqi prime minister designate calling to the international community to help.

CABRERA: All right. Anna Coren reporting in Iraq, thanks so much.

From James Foley most recently to Daniel Pearl in 2002, we are seeing journalists now paying the ultimate price for reporting the news in these world's hot zones. Has the game changed for reporters? Are they more of a target than before?

I want to bring in Kimberly Dozier, she's a CNN global affairs analyst, also a contributor for the "Daily Beast". She is somebody who has firsthand experience with the dangers of reporting in these dangerous areas. In 2006, she was wounded in a car bombing in Iraq that killed several others.

Kimberly, thanks for talking about this sensitive situation with us. Let me ask you this question -- has the dynamic changed for reporters working in countries that are in crisis?

KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Absolutely. Ever since we lost Danny Pearl, there's a different calculation before you go into a crisis zone. Now, the particular car bomb that hit us, it was an al Qaeda in Iraq car bomb, the precursor to ISIS. At that point we didn't feel that we were the target.

However, when it was the U.S. Troops we were with. However, when you go into a war zone like I just went to Afghanistan as a freelancer this past April. You have to think about who's going to pick you up at the airport? Who are you going to hire as a translator? Are they going to tip off someone who might want to kidnap you and sell you to the highest bidder? So that really adds to the stress of going into a war zone and trying to figure out what is safe and how can I get the story and come back from it?

CABRERA: Right. But murder, of course, is horrible. Murdered anybody -- it's very tragic. But does the murder of a journalist have extra significance or maybe carry extra weight in terms of influencing a response be it public opinion about what's happening over in a region or even government action as we've heard U.S. officials essentially calling Foley's death an act of terror?

DOZIER: You're right. Terrorists know exactly what they're doing when they target journalists. They know that our job is to deliver a message to the rest of the world, and they also have figure out that one of our own is hit, we tend to cover it pretty wall to wall.

At the same time, what taking out, what attacking Jim Foley has done is concentrated the U.S. public opinion on this subject in a way that it hadn't before. You know, we had been reporting from U.S. intelligence sources, from defense sources that ISIS was on the ground beheading people, executing 50 to 80 to 100 people in one fell swoop, and it didn't have the impact until they'd done this.

Now, I think that's going to possibly fuel public opinion. We can see public opinion in favor of air strikes, and possibly the White House won't have an uphill battle to face if it wants to step this up and really send in more intelligence officers and special operations forces to help the forces on the ground of the Iraqis and Peshmerga to fight back.

CABRERA: All right. Kimberly Dozier we really appreciate your insight this morning. Thank you.

Thank you.

Still to come, today's headlines from Ferguson, Missouri have been written before. More than a dozen years ago, in fact, riots erupted when an unarmed black teenager was fatally shot in Cincinnati. We'll explore the lessons learned there and how they might apply to what's happening in Ferguson now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The story in Ferguson, Missouri is still pretty fresh, but it is not new -- an unarmed African-American man in this case teenager Michael Brown, killed by a white cop. Now, more than a dozen years ago, a similar tragedy unfolded in Cincinnati. Police shot and killed a suspect who was wanted for 14 misdemeanors, mostly traffic violations. He was 19-year-old Timothy Thomas. Black and unarmed, the officer who shot him was white.

Days later violent protests and riots broke out. Police used tear gas. There was looting, vandalism, and curfews. But Cincinnati has managed to get past that incident and they found a way to bring greater cooperation between the black community and the predominantly white police department.

Joining me now are two people who helped bring about that change in Cincinnati. Reverend Damon Lynch III, who is pastor of New Prospect Baptist Church, also one of the leaders of those. And Ohio State Representative Alecia Reese, who was the vice mayor of Cincinnati when all of that happened there.

Ms. Reese, let's start with you. Take us back to what happened in Cincinnati. Are we seeing deja vu? Is this deja vu for you what's happening in Ferguson?

ALECIA REESE: In similar ways, yes, deja vu. Not just in Ferguson. We've got an incident also here in Ohio. The Crawford case, where we're calling for release of the tapes with the civil rights groups, National Action Network and NAACP. So we're seeing these things that are popping up around the country, and I think that, you know, it was unfortunate that we had similar cases in Cincinnati.

I think that how we dealt with it, working with the community and restoring trust and transparency could be a model that others can adopt throughout the country and throughout the state of Ohio.

CABRERA: And we're going to talk about what has been implemented in just a moment. But I want to get your reaction Reverend Lynch to what we're hearing happening today -- all of these years after what happened in Cincinnati, how surprised are you.

REVEREND DAMON LYNCH III, PASTOR, NEW PROSPECT BAPTIST CHURCH: Not surprised at all. What really bothers me is that the person with the gun is always the person in fear. Police know if that they say those five words, I feared for my life, then oftentimes, they're exonerated for taking the life of an unarmed person.

So when you have this confrontation between an unarmed person and the person with the gun. Somehow the person with the gun is always the one who says I feared for my life, as opposed to the person who's unarmed who ends up dead. As long as that keeps happening, Alecia said, just happened recently here right outside of Cincinnati. As long as that keeps happening we'll see what we saw in Ferguson and what we saw in Cincinnati 12 years ago.

We want to talk about moving forward. I know, reverend, you were part of the group called the Cincinnati United Front that eventually worked to come up with an agreement with the city, a long-term solution that the ACLU of Ohio calls one of the most innovative plans ever devised to improve police community relation. What was that agreement?

LYNCH: We went down to Ferguson last week. We Spent four days in Ferguson, to share with them the agreement that we hashed out and hammered out here in Cincinnati, that brings reforms to how use of forms is used in Cincinnati police. It established a police community, problem-oriented policing. it established oversight, community complaint authority that has subpoena power, investigatory power and we sat at the table.

Alecia was at the table. I was at the table. The department of justice and all seen under a federal lawsuit with a federal judge and Cincinnati is not perfect, but we are light years from where we were in community/police relations.

CABRERA: How would you describe the race relations in Cincinnati right now, Ms. Reece? Unfortunately, I think we might have just lost our connection with the two of them. Hopefully we can try to get them back and continue our conversation.

But the most important pieces did come out of that conversation, and that is what the solution in Cincinnati was to establish this oversight, to improve the way police interacted with the community to build a relationship there, and perhaps those are some lessons learned that the community of Ferguson can take and in moving forward from what's happened there.

Still to come, is Texas Governor Rick Perry laying the foundation for another presidential run, even after his indictment?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CABRERA: Welcome back to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in for Fredricka this morning. Thanks for staying with us. Just before the break, we were having a conversation with Reverend Damon Lynch III as well Ohio's State Representative Alicia Reece, and we lost the connection.

I want to bring them back to wrap up our conversation about how Cincinnati has moved past a very similar situation that happened 13 years ago. That we're seeing in Ferguson now.

And Representative Reece, I want to ask you, you were the vice mayor of Cincinnati at the time that you had riots, protesting, regarding a similar situation. What kind of advice would you offer up city officials in Ferguson?

REPRESENTATIVE ALICIA REECE (D), OHIO STATE GENERAL ASSEMBLY: Well, I think it's important that first that they have to be transparent. They have to build trust in the community and I also think it's important that this issue deals with police community relations, which we have come a long way in Cincinnati.

And have great leadership in our police department and the community working together, but also have to understand this is an issue about justice. An issue as fairness and transparency, but also under current issues. Issues of poverty, economic inequality, and so we want to make sure we have opportunity for jobs.

We want to make sure people are participating in the voting process so they have elected officials that can share their experiences when they go into these rooms for negotiation. People who come from the community. So I think it's important that we've got police community relations, economic inequality.

Unemployment as a high rate among African-Americans. Those are the issues that need to be all put together in a package so that everyone can participate in the American dream.

CABRERA: And Reverend Lynch, you might have something to add as far as what protesters and the African-American community in Ferguson might be able to do to move forward?

REVEREND DAMON LYNCH III, PASTOR, NEW PROSPECT BAPTISH CHURCH: They should continue the protests. They should continue to delineate what their demands are and their major demand is justice for the family and reform of how the police operate, not just in Ferguson, but for the entire St. Louis County.

So the community has to remain vigilant and remain out there and eventually -- and have police, better police/community relations as the end goal so that Ferguson moves forward.

CABRERA: How do people do that? Is it a matter of police doing something differently? I mean, where do you start, I guess, is my question?

LYNCH: We started with the Justice Department. We started with the federal lawsuit, and we started with changing use of force policies we have a document. Go to ACLU's of Ohio's website and look at this document.

We've shared it with New York, Cleveland, Arizona, and we think it's a good road map to how communities can rebuild that trust. We want police to serve and protect, not kill unarmed black men or women or children in the streets of any city in America.

CABRERA: All right. Reverend Damon Lynch III and Ohio State Representative Alecia Reece, thanks to both of you.

Comparisons have been made between Michael Brown's death and that of Eric Garner in New York City. Two black men who each died at the hands of white cops. But what if they're cases don't bring an indictment? We'll have a side-by-side look at their stories, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Texas Governor Rick Perry just wrapped up an appearance at a GOP rally in Southern New Hampshire this morning. It is the first time he has been seen in this state since his presidential campaign in 2012. Could it be a sign that he's laying the groundwork for another presidential White House run?

Of course, his trip comes just a day after he was formally arraigned on two felony charges of abuse of office and coercion. These charges center on a veto in 2013. Perry basically wiped out funding, about $7.5 million for the public integrity unit.

A group that looked into alleged corruption. It's run by Rosemary Lemberg. Now Perry and Lemberg had a falling out. He wanted her to resign after Lemberg was arrested and she was convicted of drunken driving. She refused and Perry vetoed funding for her unit.

Joining me now to discuss more, Maggie Haberman, our CNN political analyst and senior political writer for "Politico." Now Maggie, the governor says his actions in that veto were within legal authority.

He says these charges against him are nothing more than politics at its worst, but what happens if this goes to court and a jury actually convicts him? Should he be so nonchalant about this?

MAGGIE HABERMAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It's never great to be running for another office and have people widely believe that Rick Perry is planning another presidential run. Whether he ends up launching that or not remains to be seen, but he is certainly doing the groundwork for it.

It's very hard to run for higher office if there is a trial going on. Witness Bob McDonald, the former Virginia governor, who was widely seen as a 2016 presidential hopeful and is right now on trial in Virginia.

So the worst thing for Rick Perry is if this does goes to trial. That said, at the moment he is politically playing it in terms of conventional wisdom, social media and the general reception to it

He is playing it as best as he can. This is the only card he has, which is the card of public opinion and he is knocking it out of the park.

CABRERA: We know the Republican judge is the one who appointed a special prosecutor who is widely considered bipartisan to handle his case. Perry's claim this is partisan, does it stick?

HABERMAN: It won't if there is a trial. It will be very difficult if there is a trial. There will still be supporters who will say this is political and partisan, but once it becomes strictly about the facts of the case and the case itself, assuming there is a trial, it's going to be much harder to do that kind of influence from outside of the courtroom.

CABRERA: We'll see what happens. Moving forward, Maggie Haberman, thanks so much.

HABERMAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: A number of rallies and protests are happening pretty in cities all around the nation, in fact. Protesters calling for justice for Michael Brown. They'll rally for him in Ferguson as well as in Washington.

And in a site that's less common a rally for Officer Darren Wilson kicks off soon in St. Louis scheduled to start top of the hour. His supporters are holding a fundraiser for him at a local bar. Now Wilson shot and killed Brown who was unarmed two weeks ago today.

Also happening now, a rally in New York for Eric Gardner, another black man who was unarmed when killed in a police choke hold. Michael Brown's parents are expected to there be at that rally in New York. And we've learned a grand jury will hear evidence in Gardner's case next month.

All summer we've been watching friends and celebrities take part in the ALS ice bucket challenge. Dumping icy water on yourself or get someone to do it for you, and you challenge your friends to do the same.

That will wake you up. This seems to be the only respite from the barrage of news about people doing harm to others. Now a different take on this ice bucket challenge. It comes from actor, Orlando Jones. I want to share his take with you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ORLANDO JONES, ACTOR: I'm Orlando Jones and I'm joining lots of other people in bringing attention to this very serious disease by accepting this challenge. OK, I think the intention behind the ice challenge, the ice bucket challenge, sometimes called, it's great.

And I am gladly going to send my $100 check to support ALS. However, man, this past week I've watched an American city become something that came to a war zone. And you know, what's happening in Ferguson looks like a copycat because we've seen it nap so many other cities around the world and around the globe, which I think are the same thing.

This is sort of us versus them mentality. Still alive, Gandhi and Martin Luther King and millions of others are dead. And fighting for human rights. And it all seems to stem from some militarized police force threatening the rights of people to assemble.

I'm a lifetime member of the NRA and I'm an active member of the great state of Louisiana police force obviously a special member. So I'm not pointing fingers here at anybody but myself. And I'm asking something very hard of myself.

I'm challenging myself to listen without prejudice, to love without limits and reverse the hate. So that's my challenge. To me, and hopefully you'll accept this challenge, too.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: I want to welcome Orlando Jones joining me live this morning from Los Angeles. Thanks for so much for spending some of your weekend with us.

JONES: Thank you very having me.

CABRERA: This is kind of a shocking image when you see all the shell casings pouring out on your head. We heard your message following that. What exactly do those shell casings represent to you?

JONES: For me, I couldn't get enough shell casings to showcase the number of people I believe have died for the fight of human rights. For me, it was those people, and also the victim whose have been, you know, lives snatched from violence. A lot involved in the struggle and paid the ultimate cost.

CABRERA: And you say, the people who have lost lives in gun violence, that's a very broad group.

JONES: It is. But the number of people who seemingly were shot and, you know, armed by the police is now a growing number as well. I mean, the truth of the matter is, there is an incredible number of issues going on here and the question on the floor is what can we all do about it?

It's not like we haven't seen it before. It seems like the '60s. Heard a lot of this when Rodney King happened, the famous statement, can't we all get along? So none of these are new things we're dealing with.

But the question for me was where was I when it was happening in other places to other people who did not look like me, why didn't I stand up then and I wanted to stand myself out on that?

CABRERA: In some ways, I get this is your way to protest what's happening. You make the point you're coming not from an anti-police or anti-gun stance. You mention you're a member of the NRA, an honorary member of the police department there in Louisiana. How important do you think that part is to your message?

JONES: Well, I think anytime you're attempting to have a conversation to try and effect change you have to find a common ground, and we can't do that by pointing the finger at others. Truthfully, black on black crime is the number one killer of black people as white on white crime is the number one killer of white people.

So to point the finger at those organizations and paint them in a color that says that they are all bad or do not have members that are in fact people of color who are just as outraged as we are, I don't think that's a, it's not a reasonable conversation. It's a ridiculous point.

So for me to say if we're going to solve this problem it's something that we all do together, and us versus them. To me, us versus them is really a simple group.

There is us, the people who want to spread love and lead the world better for our children, leave it better, and them. The people OK with the status quo and really don't see any reason to affect any change.

CABRERA: We're out of time. I have to ask, what kind of response have you received?

JONES: It's been an amazing one. I think the most important one is the guy who accepted my challenge and then dumped a bunch of ballots over his head and said that the best way you could vote, would be voter registration block.

When you look what's happening in Ferguson, you saw less than 10 percent turnout among African-Americans in that city and so with that, you know, now is unfortunately too late.

Those officials already there and the next time that comes around is and incredible way and a powerful way to affect change and to make a stance for people who share your beliefs on human rights.

CABRERA: Your bullet bucket challenge certainly does send a powerful message. Orlando Jones, thanks so much for joining me.

JONES: Thanks for having me.

CABRERA: Up next, an uplifting story about a new small business in Ferguson and how it managed to stay open during all this unrest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: In today's "American Journey," let's talk about a different aspect to the last couple of weeks in Ferguson, Missouri. It's been a tough time. It's been a test for the community in countless ways. At times, the city streets were convulsed in chaos.

It wasn't the ideal time to open a small business, and yet, a new restaurant did open its doors night after night through the thick of it. What happened next is rather remarkable. Here's CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Charles Davis will look back on these last two weeks and ask himself how did he make it, but right now, he's too exhausted to think about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome to Ferguson's Burg Bar and more where the food here is going to tap dance on your taste buds.

LAVANDERA: Davis bought the Ferguson Burger Bar and opened for business the day before Michael Brown was shot and killed just around the corner from his restaurant. It's been trial by fire for Davis. He's never run a restaurant and he's learning in the midst of chaos.

(on camera): So, this experience, the last almost two weeks has been crazy for you.

CHARLES DAVIS, OWNER, FERGUSON BURGER BAR: Very, very crazy. I don't feel threatened by it, scared, I don't feel any of those things.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Davis' Burger Bar has been the only business left stand standing at night. Some places have reopened during the day, but when the sun goes down on this stretch of road and the demonstrations start, Davis refuses to lock his doors.

(on camera): You never stopped and said, why am I still opened?

DAVIS: Not once, but people have came up and said thank you for being open.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): On some nights, looters and vandals have ripped through the stores around him, but the Burger Bar still stands, opened late into the night, even when the tension erupts and often a safe haven for frightened protesters to hide from the violence.

DAVIS: They are throwing off tear gas right here on my lot. I'm standing in my window seeing these big truck, tanks, artillery, just drive by. I'm just sitting here watching, they're shooting off tear gas on the lot where the smoke is coming up and I just sat there and watched.

LAVANDERA: So many people have counted on his burgers late at night, that the wait is often close to an hour. The tables are a front row seat to the violence.

(on camera): Do you feel like staying open was a strong message? Did you think about that?

DAVIS: Opening up is letting them know, look, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I don't care what you do. If you break the windows, I'm going to board them up. If you steal my food, I'm going to go buy more. I'm going to keep it cooking and still try to serve the people.

LAVANDERA: Charles Davis has survived another long day. It might be closing time, but the lights will come back on tomorrow. Ed Lavandera, CNN, Ferguson, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)