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Video Emerges Of Officer's Rant; Rally To Support Officer Wilson; U.S. Weighing Options To Fight ISIS; How Accurate Are Eyewitness Accounts?

Aired August 23, 2014 - 12:00   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: Hello again, I'm Ana Cabrera in for Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks so much for spending part of your weekend with me. Here are the top stories we're following right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

A rally this hour for the white police officer who gunned down an unarmed black teenager, what Officer Darren Wilson supporters are saying and new details emerging about the grand jury that's deciding whether or not to indict him.

Plus, ISIS militants in Iraq, a growing terror threat in the Middle East. So, how will the U.S. counter it? We are learning about a possible military option under review. Air strikes on ISIS strongholds in Syria.

And the ISIS murder that shocked the world. The horrifying beheading of American James Foley. The journalist's fearless work to report in the world's most dangerous war zone. That's later this hour.

We start in Ferguson, Missouri. The streets will be full again today. Several rallies, one supporting Michael Brown as well as a rally supporting Officer Darren Wilson. And this all follows another calm night in the town.

Some protesters gathered, but there was no violence. No riot gear. No tear gas. It's been two weeks since the unarmed 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by Officer Wilson and today, Brown will be remembered in a moment of silence. This was before his high school's football game.

In several hours, the NAACP is planning to hold a youth march in Ferguson and supporters of Officer Darren Wilson are rallying right now. We'll get to that rally in just a moment.

But first, we want to talk about another officer in the spotlight in St. Louis County, Dan Page, seen here pushing back our Don Lemon the other night. He's a 35-year veteran of the police force in St. Louis County. He is now on administrative leave after some controversial comments came to light.

He gave a speech back in April where he spoke against affirmative action among other things. Listen to this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAN PAGE, POLICE OFFICER, ST. LOUIS COUNTY: We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. That does not mean affirmative action. That means we're all equal. And then we work through life to become unequal. Some of us get to be lawyers. Like a car sales man, maybe, I don't know.

But we're all equal. God does not respect persons. So, we have no business passing hate crime laws. None. Because we're setting side a group of people special.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: I want to bring in CNN's Victor Blackwell in Ferguson. Victor, we should mention that that officer, Officer Page, has not responded to our request for his comment. What else are we learning about him?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, we have definitely tried to call the number believed to be his home phone, but we have not received a call back, any response, but we know that he is a veteran of the military.

A 30 plus year veteran of the police force here in St. Louis County, but I think what's most important here is the context of the moment. You have these comments from this Officer Page.

This comes on the heels of the other officer from St. Ann's, in which the officer pointed a semiautomatic assault rifle at protesters saying he would kill them, identified himself as officer go-f-yourself, of course, that we know that's not his name.

But in the context in which this comes goes speaks to the level of distrust that many in the community have for law enforcement here. And if you consider we're going to play another sound bite here from Dan Page.

But if you consider what he says here and his involvement in these protests, hundreds of people at some point, should he be here working essentially for the people and with the people of this community. Listen and we'll talk more about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAGE: I personally feel that 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 bunch more. If you don't want to get killed, don't show up in front of me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: So, consider that the protests essentially are about the killing of an unarmed black teenager and you have the officer here saying he's killed before, he'll kill a bunch more and the way to avoid being killed is you don't show up in front of him. Pair that with the military style response that we've seen first from Ferguson City police, then from the highway patrol and then from the National Guard. And you see the story line here. You see the narrative that has been built here, that people in the community do not trust law enforcement and this does not help their case.

Especially when we have the rally that's happening in support of Officer Wilson and the people there who say he's done nothing wrong, that is for the grand jury here in the county and FBI agents and the attorney general's office to determine if he'll face a crime.

But in the context, you have the St. Ann's officer, you now have Dan Page and you see the narrative that is built and it's not just after Michael Brown's death. It's something from the people we speak with here that say it's been going on. It is a common thread in social fabric of this community -- Ana.

CABRERA: And the St. Louis area that community being larger than just Ferguson since we're talking about a St. Louis County police officer there. We were talking about a St. Ann's police officer also on administrative leave after some questionable actions earlier this week. So thank you, Victor, for breaking it all down for us.

I want to bring in Nick Valencia who is also live in Ferguson. He's at that rally for Officer Darren Wilson, the officer accused of shooting and killing Michael Brown.

Nick, what's going on at that rally right now?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, people are just starting to show up here. This as you can see is largely in support of Darren Wilson. It's made up of law enforcement officers. People that support the community and really just, they wanted to show force here, show that there is a large ground swell of support for Officer Wilson.

You can just take a look behind me. You see the lead organizer is starting to set up here for a press conference. They've got hot dogs, free chips, things like that. This is predominantly a law enforcement bar and they wanted to do this here in St. Louis because they feel that Officer Wilson has been portrayed negatively in the media.

And they wanted to show the public there is still a large contingent of support for him. You see these supporters standing by here gathered in the back. If you take a look, there's signs reading innocent until proven guilty, peace and unity.

We've already seen a lot of people as they drive by, honking in support of Officer Wilson. There is some sort of fear and uneasiness though here as well, Ana. People fear that because they've been threatened, not only on social media, they fear they've also been threatened on social media and in person.

In fact when I talked to the lead organizer, she was very hesitant about giving her name. She fears for her own safety as others do here, but you know, they've really wanted to come out here today to show that, you know, there is some strong support for Officer Darren Wilson.

CABRERA: I'm kind of curious about that support, Nick, because we still haven't really heard Officer Wilson's story. So are these people who know him directly or people who think they know what happened?

VALENCIA: These people believe that Officer Wilson was in the right that day and that he was doing his job. As the facts continue to come out, they feel more and more empowered by their belief that he was right that day and he was doing what an officer should do in a situation like that.

Some people do know Officer Wilson. Other people are just you know, supporters of law enforcement and feel that you know, because of what Officer Wilson has gone through, he may never work in law enforcement again. He may not be allowed to live in this town again.

They've raised more than $230,000 on a go-fund-me site. They say that's not enough. They fear he won't be able to have a normal life after this because of all the attention that he's gotten and in fact, Ana, I was told by the lead organizer that she is disappointed in the coverage.

The media has been sort of one sided in support of those demonstrators in Ferguson and not really focusing on how difficult the situation Officer Wilson was put in that day -- Ana.

CABRERA: I think everybody's waiting to find out really what the facts are in the case. Thank you to Nick Valencia. We do appreciate your reporting and as he mentioned, you know, there is the supporters of Michael Brown as well as supporters of Officer Darren Wilson.

In fact, those who support Officer Wilson have raised more money as far as the online campaigns than that of the online campaign supporting Michael Brown's family.

Still to come, different witnesses, different accounts in the shooting of unarmed teenager, Michael Brown. We'll discuss how the discrepancies of witnesses could play out if this case goes to trial.

Also ahead, the secretary of defense now says ISIS is a threat we can no longer ignore. Next, what options the White House has right now. We'll check in with the former ambassador to Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: The U.S. is looking at all options to counter the growing threat from the terror group, ISIS. U.S. officials tell CNN this includes possible air strikes on ISIS strongholds in Syria and this would be a significant escalation in the U.S. response to the ISIS threat.

Possible reason, of course, is the ISIS execution of American journalist, James Foley. The White House now calling Foley's beheading a terror attack on the U.S. and every American. Meantime, U.S. air strikes on ISIS targets in Iraq are having an impact. The U.S. says it has carried out three more hits on militants near the strategic Mosul Dam and that's in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of air strikes now to 93.

So, what can the U.S. do to battle a terror group that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has called unlike anything we've ever seen? Erin McPike is at the White House. Erin, officials have made it clear that ISIS and its threat is very grave. What are you learning about a possible U.S. response?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, right now, the U.S. is in information gathering stage about ISIS in Syria. A senior administration official is telling CNN's Michelle Kosinski that the president has not yet been presented with military options for Syria.

But I want to play for you something that Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said just yesterday about where things stand.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN RHODES, DEPUTY NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Again, I don't want to get ahead of the decisions the president hasn't been presented with specific military options outside of those that are carrying out the current missions in Iraq.

But we would certainly look at what is necessary in the long-term to make sure we're protecting Americans. Again, the long-term strategy is going to have to involve people on the ground and that is Iraqi and Kurdish forces. That is Syrians who we are supporting on the ground.

But if we have a need to protect Americans, and to take action in when we see plotting against the United States and our interests, we'll reserve the right to do so. But I'm not going to get ahead of those decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: And right now, U.S. intelligence forces are collecting information about potential ISIS targets in Syria like where the leadership is -- Ana.

CABRERA: Interesting. Are there any signs on the other side of ISIS changing its tactics since the U.S. began its air strikes in Iraq?

MCPIKE: Well, Ana, just yesterday, Admiral John Kirby, he is the Pentagon spokesman said there is an imminent threat still from ISIS, but they have seen some successes in Iraq, but this is a fluid situation and they're still assessing just how much of a threat ISIS poses.

CABRERA: You know, the U.S. has called on its allies now to join in the fight, saying it has to be a collaborative process in reaching a longer term solution to take out ISIS. Any word on what allies are doing or if they're going to get involved? MCPIKE: Ana, right now, we are hearing from some of the U.S. top allies that they are not there just yet. But Kirby did say yesterday that it must be an interagency and international coalition to defeat ISIS that they're going to need. But right now, not a whole lot of movement yet especially in Europe.

CABRERA: The president has used the word JV to describe ISIS. Is it safe to say the administration misjudged this threat pretty badly?

MCPIKE: Ana, the president himself actually conceded that point a couple of weeks ago, but what we keep hearing from administration officials from the Department of Defense to the White House is that they are not sure just how much of a threat it is.

They don't think yet that ISIS has the potential to attack an American city, but they do say they are threats on Americans and of course, what ISIS is doing is training foreign militants. So there are Americans who are involved with ISIS, who could then come back and try to strike at American interests in other countries.

But right now what they're doing is assessing just how big of a threat it is, but they certainly say that it is a bigger threat than they once thought.

CABRERA: Right. Intelligence experts telling us about a handful of Americans they estimate are now joining ISIS and are currently on the ground there. Erin McPike at the White House, we do appreciate your reporting this morning.

So, the question is, are air strikes in Syria going to be the only real way to effectively counter the ISIS terror threat? I'll put that question to former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Christopher Hill when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: A new warning about the ISIS terror group that has quickly become powerful and very dangerous, even to the west. That includes us here in the United States. The Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel says America needs to pay attention before it's too late.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: ISIL is a sophisticated and well- funded as any group that we have seen. They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, sophistication of strategic and a tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well funded.

This is beyond anything that we've seen, so, we must prepare for everything. And the only way you do that is you take a cold, steely hard look at it and get ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Those are some shocking words and then Secretary Hagel even went on to say that ISIS poses a greater threat than al Qaeda ever did. So, that's the backdrop now as the U.S. launches more air strikes in Iraq, hoping to support the Iraqi and Kurdish troops around the Mosul Dam.

I want to bring in Christopher Hill, the former U.S. ambassador to Iraq, is now the dean of the School of International Studies at the University of Denver.

Ambassador, thanks so much for joining me. Let's talk about what it might take to stop ISIS. The Joint Chiefs of Staff even said nothing significant could be accomplished if you don't go into Syria and do something to stop ISIS there. Do you agree?

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: Yes, I do and I think both Secretary Hagel and General Dempsey are telling people that it looks like we're going to have to be in Syria, at least with air strikes.

And I think Secretary Hagel is signalling that this is not going to be done overnight. We are dealing with a pretty serious foe and we're going to have to spend some time on it.

So I think it's kind of warning to Americans to fasten their seat belts because this is going to be a bit of a rough ride for a while.

CABRERA: Arguably, the president could take a wide range of actions, so I want to start with going through each of these and we begin with conservative approach. If he decides to send in more troops to protect the U.S. personnel in Baghdad, we've heard that mentioned. Is that going to affect the situation in any way really?

HILL: I don't think so. I think they may well happen for the reason of trying to protect Americans in Baghdad. I think what we might see are more of these very specialized, small units to assist the Iraqi and Kurdish army.

I don't think we're going to see brigade combat teams on the ground again. I don't think we're going to see big American formations. I think one of the problems in this whole issue is that we're not just dealing with ISIS.

We're dealing with the Sunni-Arab world that at this point, is a little conflicted about what they want to see accomplished. So we need to have a real diplomatic component to this. We need to be dealing with the Saudis and dealing with the Saudis day and night on the issue of funding some of these radical groups like ISIS.

So we need a component there. We also need to be very reassuring to Arab audiences far and wide that the United States is not interested in taking territory in the Middle East.

And when you talk about diplomacy and politics in all of this, I remember early on, just months ago, when ISIS suddenly came on the map in a much larger scale.

We were talking about how so many voices are saying well, you have to change the politics inside Iraq. That is really where the solution starts. Is that still the case or has is taken this to another level where really politics is a secondary issue?

HILL: I think we're in a whole other level. I think it was right to encourage the Iraqis to come up with a prime minister not named Maliki, but I would argue the issue of Maliki and the issue of the failure of his Shia led government to do enough Sunni outreach is fairly secondary when you look at the aims, the goals of this group ISIS.

They are not interested in any Shia leader reaching out to them. They're interested in killing Shia leaders. They've made that very clear, so I think we are in a whole new ball game and I think it was important to go through that piece with Maliki to show the other Sunni-Arab leaders.

That the we're hearing them about the fact that the Shia led government in Iraq hasn't done what they need to do, but now, those Sunni leaders need to speak up and do something about curtailing this kind of radical force.

CABRERA: All right, Ambassador Chris Hill, thanks so much.

Our legal guys are going to be coming up next. We're going to talk about the Michael Brown shooting and take a look at the case now that it's in the hands of the grand jury there locally. Are there problems with the case if it goes to trial? Richard and Avery are coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Back to Ferguson, Missouri now. We know at least five people who say they saw Officer Darren Wilson shoot Michael Brown. But as Kyung Lah reports their stories aren't all the same.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shot this boy outside my apartment.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Seconds after Michael Brown was shot, witnesses from three different angles recording with wildly different account of that critical moment from this recording, audio from a nearby man who says he saw Brown moving towards the officer.

But Brown did not run towards the officer say two women who recorded from these two other angles.

TIFFANY MITCHELL, EYEWITNESS: Puts his hands up and the officer continues to shoot him until he goes down to the ground.

PIAGET CRENSHAW, EYEWITNESS: So, while he was running away, he was getting shot at.

LAH: Who is telling the truth? Maybe everyone or at least they believe they are.

ELIZABETH LOFTUS, UCI PROFESSOR: Just because somebody tells you something with a lot of detail, just because they say it with confidence, express it with emotion, it doesn't mean it really happened that way.

LAH: Cognitive Psychologist Elizabeth Loftus says she's testified in 300 cases since 1975 and says over and over again, eyewitnesses are often wrong. The Trayvon Martin case, one witness saw a black man with a hoodie on top of a white man. While another witness recalls a man with a white shirt on top of another.

The 2002 D.C. sniper shootings. Multiple witnesses described a white van or box truck. Police shut down freeways to frisk scores of van drivers, but the real car used, a blue Chevy four-door sedan.

The 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Loftus testified in the criminal case and says a key eyewitness rented Timothy McVeigh the rider truck that carried the bombs used in the attack.

LOFTUS: That rider truck employee remembered that McVeigh was with another person and that there was now a mad hunt for John Doe number two, but there was nobody with McVeigh the day he rented that rider truck.

LAH: That witness was not intentionally lying, says Loftus, memory is flawed and affected by stress when eyewitnesses become courtroom witnesses, flawed testimony leads to bigger problems.

LOFTUS: The major cause of wrongful convictions is faulty eyewitness testimony. That's the major cause. Maybe about three quarters of the cases.

LAH: As time grows from the shooting witnesses might unknowingly shape and adopt their own memories of what happened based on what they see and hear in the media. Truth often only found in the evidence recovered. Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: This is kind of a big deal. So let's bring in our legal guys. Avery Freidman, a civil rights attorney and law professor joining us from Cleveland today, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor, who's joining us from Las Vegas today.

Avery, I want to start with you. And we just heard about the witnesses and the varying accounts. One witness in one case can be heard telling police that he actually saw Brown come toward the officer.

The other says he turned around, was running away, was shot. So, we have different accounts. Will this be a problem b if the case gets to trial?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: If it gets to trial, Ana, it will be an enormous problem because again, remember the burden on the prosecution is to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. But remember where before a count grand jury. And while much has been made of the issue of the racial composition of the grand jury, the fact is the standard is quite low on the question of whether or not there is some basis for a claim against Officer Wilson and that's what this grand jury among other things will be considering.

CABRERA: Richard, what do you make of these varying witness accounts?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the varying witness accounts are going to play into the defense hands here. The great yogi bear coined the phrase deja vu all over again and this looks from the early stages and it's way too early to be definitive.

But it looks like a Trayvon Martin all over again because the government has the burden of proof here, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt their claims and if you have conflicting eyewitness testimony, that means there's doubt.

That means you can't believe everyone, someone's wrong, someone's lying. It's going to lead to an acquittal here and as harsh as that may sound based on the result that happened here, it may very well be that the actions of the police officer were justified and that's going to be the issue before the jury. Everything else is not going to matter. Where his actions justified --

FRIEDMAN: The county, the county jury.

CABRERA: Right.

FRIEDMAN: We're going to have two grand juries. Federal and state here. We're dealing right now with the county grand jury --

CABRERA: And I want to bring up a point on that, because there's been a lot of debate about whether the county prosecutor should stay in his role or not. In fact, we know thousands of people have signed petitions asking him to recuse himself from the case because his father, a police officer, was killed in the line of duty.

I want you to listen to his response to those critics and then we'll talk on the backside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: I was 12 years old, nobody said a policeman was killed in the line of duty tonight. No one said your father, the policeman, was killed tonight. All I heard was your father's not coming home.

And I know what it was look back to watch my mother grow old and die without the only man she ever loved at her side, so I know the pain of that and the fact he was a police officer and killed in the line of duty had nothing to do with any of that.

Did it affect me? Absolutely affected me. And what it did for me is or to me was made me I think a fierce advocate for victims of violence. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: So, Richard, is a special prosecutor necessary even to eliminate perceptions of impartiality?

HERMAN: I don't believe so, Ana. I really do not. This gentleman has been serving office. He was voted in office by public. There's been no evidence whatsoever that he has any issues with respect to prosecuting this case. You open a flood gate of recusals every time a situation like this would come up again in the future.

I think he's competent. I think the justice system has to take its course here. It's incredible to me that Attorney General Holder even came here. I don't know what the feds are doing there now. Let the state go through their process. See if they can get an indictment here.

See if they can do that. To bring federal civil rights charges, you have to prove an intentional, willful misconduct here on behalf of the officer. Based on what we've been hearing, there's no way they can come close to that. There won't even be a murder.

If he gets indicted, it will not be for murder. It will be manslaughter maybe. That's how it's going to come down.

CABRERA: Avery, you're shaking your head.

FRIEDMAN: Yes, look, what goes on before a federal grand jury and what's involved in St. Louis County are apples and oranges. The fact is, a lot of factors will go into a federal grand jury. What kind of training, procedures the police use.

What went on specifically in this case? I think there's some likelihood that you'll see a very different result coming from a federal grand jury. I think they're two different worlds. That's all.

CABRERA: What about the fact --

FRIEDMAN: And I don't think the county prosecutor should resign. I'm in accord with that.

CABRERA: OK, so you both agree that he should stay put, but the fact he even turned this over to a grand jury, was that a good idea? Some have said that's just a stall tactic of sorts.

HERMAN: It's not a stall tactic. It's the proper procedure to give it to a grand jury and to see if there's probable cause for the indictment. The grand jury will make a determination whether a crime was committed and whether it was more likely than not the officer committed the crime.

Well, we know he shot him. We know his bullets caused the death of this young man, we know that. But what we don't know is what led to that shooting and that is the focus, that should be the tunnel vision for this particular case to see if it was justified. CABRERA: Avery, last word.

FRIEDMAN: Turning it over to the grand jury is also advancing this concept of impartiality. I think that's the right thing to do rather than the county prosecutor handling by himself. I think it's the appropriate proper approach in dealing with this.

CABRERA: All right, Richard Herman and Avery Friedman, thanks so much.

We've all been watching the looting and the protests over the past couple of weeks. Those actions have really changed life dramatically for the people who live in Ferguson. How they're getting by with no work, limited public transit and their community in the global spotlight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Life in Ferguson, Missouri has changed drastically over the past couple of weeks. The ongoing and sometimes violent protests have turned parts of the city upside down. Normal operations grinding to a halt.

Our George Howell spoke to some of the people there who had to turn to the united way for help.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's not just because of the protests though. We were already suffering before that happened, but it's just gotten so much worse because even like the public transportation, it's hard to get on the bus to get to work and things like that for some people.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At night?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even in the daytime because sometimes in the daytime, the buses don't want to go up and down the street because the other day, my brother was on the bus and almost got shot at. I don't know who did it, but it's just dangerous. The buses don't even want to go through the area anymore.

HOWELL: You're here, I know the kids aren't loving this, it's pretty hot out here. But you think you can get some help here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hopefully.

HOWELL: What you see here, you see all around. You take a look right now, we're at a center that has been set up to help people with food needs, with the utilities. People who have rent needs because a lot of people can't get to work or work has looted because work doesn't exist anymore. Just go through here, it's a lot of people in the community right now who are waiting in line for any help they can get.

REGINA GREER, UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST. LOUIS: Started at 5:00 this morning and by 8:00, we had about 200 people that were here to seek services. We have tons of counselors, that's a major critical need people need right now.

So we've got several of our partners that are family life, boys and girls club, a number of people that are here just to be on hand to provide services for adults and children because we're finding that the children are needing a great deal of counseling, too.

HOWELL: What's it been like for her?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been a little clingy, on edge. I hope it gets better. We can't afford for it not to get any better. If it gets any worse, we're all probably going to have to relocate up out of here.

We want justice, don't get us wrong. We want justice, but we want it in the right way. We want it in a peaceful way. We want to respect the family of Michael Brown. They're going through enough as it is.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CABRERA: Let me bring in another resident who lives just 10 minutes from Ferguson. He's a law student, married, has two young daughters. Theo, thanks for joining us. We heard the woman in that last piece say we want justice, but let's get the agitators out. Do you agree?

THEO LIPSY, LIVES NEAR FERGUSON: Yes, ma'am, I do agree.

CABRERA: What's your reaction to what's happening in that community?

LIPSY: I'm not surprised because growing up in a community like Ferguson, being 10 minutes away, I have experienced a lot of harassment. I think a lot of it has to do with a lot of political pressure on law enforcement to generate revenue.

And in order to generate revenue, you have to make a will of traffic stops and considering the demographics of our community is predominantly black, a lot of times, we are the victims of this harassment and --

CABRERA: But yet you say the situation there in Ferguson isn't just about racial tensions. Explain further what you mean.

LIPSY: Like I just said, I think a lot of it has to do with socioeconomic class. I think a lot of times, people stereotype communities such as the ones we live in and they associate poor people or middle class working people as criminals and I think the police and law enforcement has done a bad job of disassociating themselves with that stereotype.

CABRERA: We've heard a lot of people, at least I have talked to a lot of people when I was in Ferguson within the last couple of weeks, talk about how the world is getting a bad perception of what it's really like in Ferguson. What was it like for r you growing up there?

LIPSY: For me, it was a little different. I remember being in school. We, the first time I was introduced to law enforcement was in kindergarten. We had police officers at the school that knew us by name. We knew them by name.

Whereas now, I think a lot of our youth are introduced to the criminal justice system when they're pulled over or they have a lot of bad experiences with law enforcement.

CABRERA: I've read you want to fight the problem with the law, but admittedly, so many people in your community have said they don't trust the justice system and that the political system is broken. What's your take on that?

LIPSY: We have to trust ourselves. We have to educate ourselves and rely on our own resources. So many people have access to smart phones. We should use those devices to do just do our research. We should study and learn the constitution of the United States of America.

I think a lot of times, the U.S. Constitution has become outdated. It's supreme law of the land and we have to rely on it. It's for you, for me, for everyone, and we have to know our rights.

And I will be, me personally, I will make sure in my communities and school and work that I will distribute copies of the constitution and the Bill of Rights.

CABRERA: All right, Theo Lipsy, thanks for taking the time to talk with me today and good luck to you and your community moving forward.

Moving to Iraq now where the militant group, ISIS is posing a very serious threat, the brutal death of journalist have shocked the world this week. We will look at the incredible work James Foley did before he was captured, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Welcome back. Let's get you caught up on what we know about the Islamic militant group known as ISIS. Today, the United Nations is calling for action to help group under attack by ISIS under attack.

President Obama has authorized targeted air strikes to protect U.S. personnel in Iraq including military advisers there, as well as minorities that are being brutalized by ISIS.

U.S. officials confirm that Washington is mulling the possibility of going after ISIS fighters in their stronghold in Eastern Syria. However, a Pentagon spokesman is not confirming that any concrete plans are being made, there are still decisions under way.

Now the violent and gruesome murder of American journalist, James Foley shocked the world this week. It showed the brutality of this group, ISIS, and was just gut wrenching for the news world. Amber Walker looks back at Foley's career working in these war zones.

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AMBER WALKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): James Foley knew the dangers of being a war correspondent. He spent time embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan and reported from the front lines in Libya and Syria.

He shot this video of rebel fighters in Syria used in a 2012 CNN report risking his life to cover the story. Capturing the often gruesome cost of the country's bloody civil war.

WAFFA MUNAYYAR, CNN DIRECTOR, THIRD PARTY CONTENT: He always conveyed to me that he wanted to be right there in the field at any risk, even if it's the ultimate risk of death, to cover a story firsthand and that was very important to him.

WALKER: In 2011, while reporting in Libya, Foley and several other journalists came under fire. One of his friends, a South African photographer, was hit and lay dying.

JAMES FOLEY: He said, help, I said, are you OK, he said, no. And more bullets came in and I said, I called out to him again and I was, there was no response. It's unreal. Why him and not me?

I was maybe 20 meters away from him and you know, he had a family, three kids. Beloved photographer for many years in Johannesburg and he wanted to do a two week story on the battle of Barega.

WALKER: Foley and several other reporters were kidnapped by Gaddhafi loyalists, held in a cell and interrogated for weeks. After 44 days, Foley and the others were finally released. Later in an interview with CNN, Foley says he left Libya with a larger perspective on life.

FOLEY: I have to understand that the grace that is happened and there's a reason for me to be here. There's a reason all these people have reached out and what can I give? What do I do from here on out?

WALKER: Foley continued to cover conflicts in the Middle East. In 2012, he went to Syria and spent weeks filming the flight of doctors in Aleppo. He even helped raise money for an ambulance for their hospital. Friends and colleagues say that kind of generosity was typical.

NICOLE TUNG, JAMES FOLEY'S FRIEND: He was more than just a journalist. He really cared about his subjects and the stories he reported on.

WALKER: Even in his death, Foley showed humanity amid the horror of war. Amber Walker, CNN.

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CABRERA: More news right after a quick break.

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CABRERA: Let's turn to a story in New York that has some similarities to what's going on in Ferguson. We have live pictures of a rally happening in Staten Island. Thousands of people are expected to show up to protest the death of Eric Garner and this is a picture from our affiliate, WABC. You can see there are at least dozens of people who have already come to the streets there to protest. He died last month after a cop who was seen in video, put him in a choke hold. He was trying to arrest him for allegedly selling cigarettes illegally.

Now that officer has been stripped of his badge. The New York Police Department prohibits the choke hold tactic and his death has sparked several antipolice demonstrations in New York City in the month after this happened.

It actually happened on July 17th. Demonstrators calling the police response there excessive and criminal. Prosecutors say a grand jury going to hear evidence next month and Michael Brown's parents are expected to show their support for him at this rally, happening again now in New York Statin Island. Our next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.