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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Grand Jury Does Not Indict Officer Wilson; Obama Urges Calm in Wake of Ferguson Ruling

Aired November 25, 2014 - 04:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to EARLY START. I'm John Berman.

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Deborah Feyerick, in for Christine Romans. It's Tuesday, November 25th, 4:00 p.m. in the East.

BERMAN: And we do begin with the breaking news this morning. Chaos on the streets of Ferguson. Protests around the country in the wake of the grand jury decision not to indict Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown.

These were live pictures right now of Ferguson at this moment. It's 3:00 a.m. there, 4:00 a.m. in the East. Wee hours of the morning. Smoke just pouring out of buildings. Protesters set buildings on fire. Police cars on fire in the downtown area throughout the night.

FEYERICK: And there was gunfire, rock-throwing and looting throughout the night. Many protesters breaking out store front windows, emptying shelves. Among the businesses hit, a car dealership, also a recreation center. There were 29 arrests.

All of the violence unfolding after the St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announced the grand jury decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: After their exhaustive review of the evidence, the grand jury made their final decision. They determined that no probable cause exists to file any charges against Officer Wilson and returned a no true bill on each of the five indictments.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It was so chaotic overnight that a temporary restriction for incoming flights was put in place at the main airport in St. Louis. A no-fly zone has been instituted in the skies above Ferguson because of shots fired into the air.

We want to go straight to the ground right now. Our Stephanie Elam has been up all night in the midst of this violence really and this protest.

Stephanie, give us a sense of what's going on right now.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right now, it's quiet, John. We are standing here and streets have been swept of most protesters. A couple that may still be out here now, but most, all you see is the Technicolor from the police vehicles on either side of the street. I'm outside the police station right now. The police were out here for a long time, maybe an hour and a half or so. They went inside.

But it's a different picture than what it looked like earlier in the night. And where I was on West Florissant, it's probably a mile away from where I am now. When we arrived, it was as if no one was in control of the situation. In fact, we saw police leave and there was nobody out there. It was just mayhem on the street during that time and later, the police returned, but this time in their riot gear -- John and Deb.

FEYERICK: And, Stephanie, I was watching you overnight and you were really in the middle of what was active gunfire. And now, the police chief of St. Louis saying that there are 150 shots were fired and yet, police did not fire back, which was miraculous that nobody was killed.

The tension that was there and the people that were doing all of this, what was their anger? What were they telling you?

ELAM: There is a lot of anger. I talked to a few people on the street. The anger that I heard was about the fact that there's a feeling among people that black lives don't matter. And the fact there wasn't even one count that Officer Darren Wilson wasn't indicted on led that feeling to permeate. That's where the anger was coming from.

The relationship between young black males and law enforcement in this country is flawed and troubled and it's not getting better.

Now, you say that, but at the same time, you look at what was going on. I literally saw with my own eyes a wireless shop being kicked in and about 20 or 30 people going in there and just looting, which obviously does not help the case. I saw two young women go up and start yelling at people in the store and tell them to stop doing this and they were hurting their communities and this is not beneficial, trying to sort of police the situation.

Pretty quickly, the young men in there did come out. But not helping the case as we heard from so many people leading up to this. People who wanted the protests and these demonstrations and this movement to continue, but hoping that there would not be the violence that we saw playing out over the last few hours.

BERMAN: We are looking at pictures of windows being crashed in. We saw a liquor store being looted. You mentioned the cell phone store that was looted. You are right, Stephanie, there's no connection between looting there shouldn't be a connection between looting and theft in whatever feelings may exist to the criminal justice system. This is a night, I think it is safe to say, the level of violence was

unexpected. That is what we heard from the chief of St. Louis County Jon Belmar; also Ron Johnson, head of the highway patrol. They spoke a little bit earlier.

Stephanie, let's listen to a little bit of what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON BELMAR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE CHIEF: I'm disappointed in this evening. I don't have hesitation in telling you I did not see a lot of peaceful protests out there tonight. And I'm disappointed about that. I'm not saying there were not folks out there for the right reason. I'm not saying that wasn't the case. But I am saying, unfortunately, this spun out of control.

Frankly, what I am seeing tonight and I have been here all evening along with Captain Johnson, what I have seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Worse than the protests in August. Stephanie, you heard the chief, Chief Belmar, say he was disappointed in the level of violence last night. I think there will be questions raised in the coming hours about how the police and how law enforcement responded. It's remarkable.

Chief Belmar says, Stephanie, the police did not fire a single shot he claims overnight.

FEYERICK: Yes. And, Stephanie, the police chief said that officers expectedly were told to back off, so there would be no escalation. Do you think that played a role in what you saw in terms of a lack of response when this looting happened?

ELAM: Sure. I think that was part of it. We saw them back away. That's true. They definitely backed away.

Law enforcement backed away to the point that they left. And for a good probably 30 minutes, we were standing out there, there was no law enforcement that I could see anywhere on the streets. They did come back.

But, yes, I do think there was a concerted effort to not have things escalate out of control. I think from the actions I saw this time versus in August, that the police made a concerted effort not to over- respond and were very controlled in their response over the last few hours.

And when they did come back, even looking at the fires that were burning near us, I watched this beauty supply shop next to the McDonald's there start to smoke and burn from the inside. Eventually, the fire department did show up. But we started hearing gunshots. It sounded like it was getting closer to us where we were standing. And we could hear, "Hey, we got to get out of here." They left. I

would argue they left because the gunshots were getting closer. That is a family-owned business that is now demolished, gone. We watched it burn to the ground over the last few hours.

Another building, the same thing, because it was too dangerous for anybody to be there. We ran and took cover a couple of times during the night because of that.

So, I think there was a concerted effort to not over-escalate the situation on behalf of the police. But it was almost to the point, I felt they weren't even there.

BERMAN: Stephanie Elam, we are glad you are there for us. We thank you for being there and our eyes and ears on the ground. We are glad you are safe and just so grateful for your terrific reporting.

Stephanie Elam on the ground for us tonight in Ferguson, thanks so much.

And, of course, this is all in reaction to the decision by the grand jury. Shortly after the decision was made public, St. Louis County prosecutors released photograph evidence from the case. These pictures show the cruiser with spent bullet casings littered on the ground. It was confirmed through the evidence that Officer Wilson fired 12 shots.

So, also released by prosecutors new pictures of Officer Wilson's injuries which he claims came from two punches thrown from Michael Brown. You can see some light bruising there on the cheeks of each side of his face.

FEYERICK: And clearly that's key evidence that the grand jury weighed. Looking at that, they said it wasn't just the witness testimony, but it's also the evidence that they analyzed.

Now, exactly what Officer Darren Wilson told the grand jury about his confrontation with Michael Brown, it accelerated quickly into a fatal shooting.

CNN legal analyst Lisa Monet Wayne says the transcripts reveal that Wilson say that he responded with deadly force because he feared for his life. He said that Michael Brown was the one throwing the punches.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LISA MONET WAYNE, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: When Darren Wilson testifies, he said immediately that to make sure the grand jury knows, he was not the initial aggressor. He says -- immediately tells the grand jury that when this confrontation takes place, it's interesting because the two communication escalates because Wilson is telling him, telling Mike Brown, you've got to get off the sidewalk. He wants them to go in a certain direction, and he is trying to control them and the confrontation takes place. And it escalates between the two of them. It is interesting to me to read the transcript because Wilson places

himself -- he is actually coming back at Mike Brown and there is -- they are cussing at each other. So, it comes down to this point suddenly Brown reaches for him and he goes into the car. Wilson says he feels afraid of himself. He tells the grand jury, "When I grabbed at him, I felt like I was a 5-year-old holding on to Hulk Hogan." He said, "He was so big and I felt so small."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And Wilson also described how he put his hands up to shield him. He had a couple of options, mace and a flashlight or simply going for his gun. He says that Brown then grabbed for that gun, which went up twice in the car.

It didn't slow Michael Brown down apparently. Wilson said, quote, "At this point as he came out of the vehicle, I started back pedaling. Again, I tell him, 'Get on the ground, get on the ground.' He doesn't. I shot another round of shots. Again, I don't recall how many hit him, every time I know at least one because he flinched again. It looked like he was bulking up to run through the shots like it was making him mad that I'm shooting at him."

Officer Wilson also says, "Just coming straight at me like he was going to run right through me. When he gets about 8 to 10 feet away, I look down and I remember looking at my sights and firing. All I see is his head. That's what I shot."

And, John, he shot 12 of 13 bullets that were in his clip. So, he basically emptied his firearm.

BERMAN: You know, there is a lot of information that is coming out overnight released by the prosecutor in this grand jury. We are still poring through it all. But one big question is, you know, why was the grand jury seemed to believe Officer Wilson? They seem to buy his story, which is very interesting, the forensic evidence may lend itself to Officer Wilson's story.

But clearly, based on the decision they made, his account is what they are going by here, and it's very interesting.

FEYERICK: But they did hear from 70 witnesses. And one the prosecutor said there were witnesses who testified and when their testimony was refuted by physical evidence, for example that Michael Brown was shot in the back and ultimately he wasn't shot in the back, what ended up happening is those witnesses either stopped telling their story or they changed their story. The grand jury weighed all of that. Seventy hours they spent or 70 witnesses I believe they interviewed. So, there was a lot --

BERMAN: Very, very high bar to indict a police officer. And this seems to suggest that they believe he had probable cause to use force --

FEYERICK: That's exactly right.

BERMAN: Eleven minutes after the hour.

Michael Brown's parents will speak at a news conference at noon Eastern Time this afternoon. His father said to be devastated by the grand jury ruling.

The family released a statement after the decision. Here is part of it, says, "We are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his action. We understand that many others share our main. We ask you channel your frustration in ways that make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen."

Officer Wilson's lawyers released a statement after the grand jury announcement saying in part, law enforcement personnel must frequently make split-second and difficult decisions. Officer Wilson followed his training and followed the law.

FEYERICK: And the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson on any of the five charges he was facing touched off a protest outside the White House. About 300 demonstrators closing down U Street as they march on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Inside, President Obama addressing the nation from the White House briefing room, calling for calm in Ferguson and also around the country.

We get more from White House correspondent Jim Acosta.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JIM ACOSTA, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: In a late night statement here at the White House, President Obama called for calm in Ferguson, Missouri, calling on people in that community to respect the wishes of Michael Brown's family. Brown's family saying in a statement earlier that they don't think that people should not lash out in violence in reaction to the decision reached by that grand jury in the case of Officer Darren Wilson. The president going on to say that he does understand that racial discrimination does plays a role in the application of justice in Ferguson, not only in Ferguson but around the country. But he said this is no time for violence.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Folks, we are a nation built on the rule of law. And so, we need to accept that this decision was the grand jury's to make. There are Americans who agree with it and there are Americans who are deeply disappointed, even angry.

ACOSTA: After a statement, I had a chance to ask the president whether or not he would personally go to Missouri and check the situation on the ground in Ferguson. He said he would have to take a look at that and see how things are going in that community. But he also at the same time called on the media to play a constructive role in reporting on this story, saying that they could fan the flames of violence in that very fragile community.

Jim Acosta, CNN, the White House. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: And our thanks to Jim.

We have seen that violence all night and all morning. Quiet on the streets right now, but the buildings still in flames and in some places smoking. We will cover the mayhem in some cases in Ferguson. More on the breaking news coverage ahead.

We will look at what happened to some of our own, some of our reporters, some of our anchors who are in the middle of this violence.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: This is CNN's breaking coverage of the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri.

All night into these early morning hours, gunfire and looting and arson. All this in the wake of the grand jury decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Michael Brown. Police confronted protesters with tear gas, demonstrators responded. They set buildings and police cars on fire, some protesters. Some of them also broke a store front windows and emptied shelves.

And this chaos erupted as we found more of the testimony. The officer claimed to the grand jury that Michael Brown charged him and kept running through the shots as Officer Wilson kept firing. The officer told the jurors before the shooting that the unarmed teenager punched him in the face twice and he feared another blow could be fatal.

FEYERICK: And the streets of Ferguson turned dangerous very quickly after that once the grand jury decision was announced. CNN correspondents were caught in the chaos. They got caught in the chaos.

Take a look at the tense moments for Chris Cuomo and Don Lemon last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The police are taking her.

Tear gas just dropped near us. It's going to get very bad here if we don't have masks.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

CUOMO: They are throwing it back.

There are a lot of bean bags shown and tear gas.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

CUOMO: We'll go to Susan Hendricks right now as we clear the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP) FEYERICK: And Cuomo and Don Lemon found themselves engulfed in smoke when police begun lobbing tear gas in the direction where they were standing. One officer, at first, officers denied using tear gas, claiming they were only smoke bombs. They quickly backed off those claims.

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner was also in the path of danger. She also escaped injury when a demonstrator hit her in the head with a bottle during a live report. She is nursing a very large bump this morning, but she says that she's OK.

BERMAN: You know, our reporters and anchors are there because it is important to see what is happening on the ground. It is important work.

Now, the fallout in Ferguson did spark demonstrations in New York City. You see the demonstrators headed to Times Square. One person was arrested.

Our Miguel Marquez was in the middle of this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the scene here on the streets of Manhattan, this crowd which started at Union Square, about 40 blocks that way has skated (ph) through this city all the way to Times Square, and now up north of Times Square. We are moving to Central Park now.

You can see that they have taken over the city. It is about 1,000 strong now, perhaps more. It has grown in strength, grown more boisterous, more angry as the night has gone on, and they have picked up people along the way. What is amazing is New York Police Department, NYPD, has tried to make way for the protesters all the way from Union Square to here -- much to their surprise.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: Yes, it's interesting the reaction of NYPD. They are used to handling this kind of thing. I heard the helicopter in the sky last night. That is one way they do it. They give protesters latitude to express themselves, to voice anger. There is really a sense of injustice with everything that has gone on with the officer and with Michael Brown.

BERMAN: Indeed. All right. We're going to have much more on everything happening in Ferguson and around the country. Our breaking news coverage continues right after this quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: All right. Our breaking news coverage: Ferguson, Missouri, is smoldering this morning. These are live pictures right now from Ferguson. You can still see the smoke as they are battling the blazes there. At least 12 buildings, we're told, set on fire overnight. Also, some police cars, this by demonstrators and protesters in the

wake of the grand jury decision not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting death of Michael Brown.

The governor of Missouri overnight announced he will send in additional National Guard troops to bolster security. There were a lot of people wondering why they were not there overnight. CNN cameras captured protesters breaking store front windows and clearing out the shelves. There's a word for that. It is looting.

Police in riot gear lobbed smoke bombs and tear gas through the night. Many of our reporters were caught in the middle of it. This was to keep some of the demonstrators for advancing toward the police station.

You can see the seasons greetings sign there. The most ironic sign in the country tonight as you see the tear gas swelling and the demonstrators running underneath.

FEYERICK: Yes, exactly.

And a powerful reaction from the Congressional Black Caucus in the wake of the grand jury ruling. The head of the caucus, Congresswoman Marsha Fudge calling the decision, quote, "a miscarriage of justice," unquote, and a, quote, "slap in the face of the American people." She goes on to say this decision seems to underscore the unwritten rule that black lives hold no value, that you may kill black men in this country without consequences or repercussions. This is a frightening narrative for every parent and guardian of black and brown, and another set back for race relations in America."

Thought we do have to state that, again, there was cause for Officer Wilson to react the way he did, if you believe the testimony and transcripts -- which is what the grand jury did when they ruled not only that testimony, but also the evidence as well.

BERMAN: That's what the grand jury decided. We're going to have more on the breaking news coverage from Ferguson. It's been an overwhelming night going into the morning hours. We'll tell you what's happening on the ground right now when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)