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Baltimore's State Attorney to Announce Autopsy Report. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired May 01, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:25]

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DEP. KEVIN DAVIS, DEPUTY BALTIMORE POLICE COMMISSIONER: The second stop has been revealed to us during the course of our investigation and was previously unknown to us.

ANTHONY BATTS, COMMISSIONER, BALTIMORE PD: Getting to the right answer is more important than a speech.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR, NEW DAY: The police are sitting here and watching this, so it's about a balance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Here we go. You're watching CNN's special live coverage from the city of Baltimore. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Carol Costello has the day off. Thank you so much for being with me here on this Friday. A lot happening right now.

In a matter of 30 minutes, for the very first time, we've just learned we will be hearing from Marilyn Mosby. She's the 35-year-old state attorney here in the city of Baltimore. She is the one who has been handed this police investigation a day early. We reported on that yesterday. We will be hearing from her just across the street from where I'm standing here at the War Memorial. We will bring that news conference for you as soon as it happens.

Also breaking at this moment, the medical examiner's investigation is officially complete. This is a big deal. This is the autopsy report that has now officially been handed over to the state's attorney's office this morning. This is according to an official in the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

So a lot to talk about here this Friday morning. Let me bring in our CNN legal analyst and former federal prosecutor Sunny Hostin who's here with me in Baltimore. Also I have CNN law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes. He is also the former FBI assistant director.

So welcome to all of you this morning. And wow. We have several bits of news that just dropped on us. First, Sunny, to you, the fact that we will now be hearing from

Marilyn Mosby. It's just worth -- just reminding our viewers, 35 years old, been on the job for four months.

SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes.

BALDWIN: She's new at this. She has a massive case on her hands. She is the one who has the power to potentially bring criminal charges against any of these six suspended officers. What should we expect to hear from her?

HOSTIN: You know, I think this is very smart. I think she needs to take the lead and get in the front of this especially given the fact that the medical examiner's report was handed to her today. I think that people have already been critical of her because of her experience. She has never tried a violent crime felony. She's never tried a murder case. And so this will be a real test of her leadership in terms of how she's able to handle this investigation from the top.

I think that in terms of the medical examiner's report, people are going to want to hear what is in that report.

BALDWIN: Right.

HOSTIN: And perhaps she's going to give us an idea as to why she -- I think she's going to be able to give us an idea as to what is in that report. And she needs to do that because the public is, I think, going to demand it quite frankly both. And I think that this is probably the most important piece of evidence in this case.

BALDWIN: It's the why. Right? So everyone here has been demanding to know how is it that 25-year-old Freddie Gray died.

Tom Fuentes, here's my question to you. And let me just make sure all of our viewers are caught up on the reporting that we have this morning before we talk about what we can expert in this M.E. report.

So our affiliate in Washington, D.C., WJLA, says this, that the Baltimore police investigation found no evidence that Freddie Gray died as a result of injuries caught during arrest. It goes on, "The medical examiner determined Gray's death was caused by catastrophic injuries after he slammed into the back of the van." And let me quote, I just want to be precise here. "Apparently breaking his neck. A head injury he sustained matches a bolt in the back of the van."

Tom Fuentes, when you hear all of those details, right, and "The Baltimore Sun" takes it a step further and says that injury happened inside the van. What does that tell you?

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, Brooke, it tells me that -- you know, that you have all of this coming out as a result of a leak and I tend to mistrust most leaks anyway. And I just -- I think in this case the way it's worded and from what we hear, it just doesn't quite sound right to me that they could be so precise, a particular bolt inflicted a particular injury in the back of that van. There's other ways to word that but it just sounds a little bit too precise for what a medical examiner normally says about a killing.

[10:05:02] BALDWIN: That's interesting you say that. You want to jump in, Sunny.

HOSTIN: Yes. And I think what's going to be important in terms of the M.E.'s report, generally a medical examiner will make a -- two determinations, cause of death and manner of death. And so certainly we're going to hear about what caused his death. Was that a cervical spinal, some sort of a break.

BALDWIN: Right.

HOSTIN: Was it a voice box being crushed. But I think what's going to be very important is whether or not the medical examiner determines this was a homicide. And if the medical -- examiner, rather, determines that this is inconclusive, that is going to be troubling for this prosecution.

BALDWIN: That will be in this report?

HOSTIN: It should be.

BALDWIN: OK. What about this undisclosed van stop, Tom Fuentes? Let me go back to that. The fact that, you know, we heard from the police commissioner here yesterday, Anthony Batts, saying yes, there was an additional stop. No, we didn't tell the public about it until now. There were follow-up questions and they're not really saying much beyond that.

You know, we've been in the communities. People here are very angry. They -- you know, they've already questioned the transparency of Baltimore Police but, you know, I've read some of what you said and you say -- first of all, let me back up a half step.

Whose responsibility is it, Tom, to report each and every stop this prisoner transport van makes along the way to the police station?

FUENTES: Well, the driver should radio that into dispatch that he's making a stop for whatever reason, used whatever stop that they used, 10-7, you know, at a certain location and what the reason is for pulling over, do I need backup? Is there a problem with people in the van that he wants additional officers to come provide assistance. But that would come up on the police, you know, recordings, the radio dispatch recordings, and they would have had that the first day.

So the fact that he doesn't radio it in that he's stopping is one problem. And the second problem is he didn't apparently tell him that he had made that stop. So that's a second problem. And, you know, it does -- it does make other things possible. That van could have pulled over and waved over another police car driving by and nothing would be on the radio and say come here and it's not impossible that other police officers and the driver got in the back of that van and hurt Freddie Gray and in this case, you know, mortal injuries. So that's all possible. We just don't know based on that. Now as far

as police management at the top, or mayor, I don't -- I don't blame that on them if the officer that drove that van withheld that information. Now they're getting it because they're reviewing thousands of videos that many of these shop owners aren't even aware that their video recorded street traffic where a police van pulled over and stop especially if they're blocks away from the actual incident. They may have never known that van went by them.

BALDWIN: No. And it sounds like in this particular -- right. In this particular bodega or market, it was looted. Apparently he lost his laptop. So yes, to your point, you know, that would be --

(CROSSTALK)

FUENTES: Yes, but they thought -- but they had -- they had the recording from that laptop before the looting. So the police had gone -- they're going door to door to door along the route asking business owners, do you have security? Do you have a video? In this case they did. They were allegedly able to download that information from the laptop before it was looted and stolen.

BALDWIN: It's important information to include in the conversation.

Tom and Sunny, stand by.

I want to go now to Rene Marsh. Rene Marsh is at this intersection that's referred to as Penn North. Right? This is the intersection right by that burned down CVS.

I see police over your shoulder, Rene. I understand that the presence of people from the community is really ramping up right now.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what's really ramping up but I would say within the last five minutes or so you see those buses there. Five buses filled with officers dressed in riot gear just arrived at this intersection. I mean, take a look. This is just one side of the street right now. You see the state troopers there in their gear, their riot gear, their masks are up. And you have the National Guard here as well.

We are standing right in front of that CVS. But if you look at any corner here in this area, you can see that there is a large presence. I want you to swing. If you just swing right over there across the street, and you can see again every single corner. This area just essentially in the last five minutes they essentially flooded the zone here.

I spoke with one officer who said this is simply in response to the fact that they know that that medical examiner's report has been delivered to the state attorney's office and, you know, one would believe that they're preparing for whatever may happen.

It's been pretty quiet out here. I would say the presence of police officers much larger than any protesters. I don't see anything like that at this point but they are clearly prepared -- Brooke. BALDWIN: OK. Rene Marsh, we're going to keep a close eye on you

there, especially now that the news is out that the medical examiner has officially handed over this full autopsy report to Marilyn Mosby, she is the state attorney.

[10:10:02] And just a quick head's up before we go to commercial break. Again we are watching and waiting from a news conference. This is the first time that we've really heard from this 35-year-old state's attorney. This is the city prosecutor here who ultimately has the power to determine whether she wants to charge any of these six currently suspended Baltimore police officers, charge them criminally in the wake of the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray.

Stay right here. I'm Brooke Baldwin live in Baltimore. This is CNN's special live coverage. We will be right back.

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BALDWIN: OK. All right. Here we go. We're looking at live pictures just outside of the War Memorial here just across the way from city hall. You know, tremendous media presence because we're watching and waiting to hear really for the first time from this 35-year-old state's attorney. The city prosecutor here who now has been handed the case one day early, the case of 25-year-old Freddie Gray and his death in police custody.

She is Marilyn Mosby. This is a huge, huge deal and we'll hear a little bit from her for the first time. She is the one who has the power ultimately to decide whether she wants to bring criminal charges against any of these police officers in the death of Freddie Gray. Watching for that. That's happening in mere minutes from now.

Let's also now go to the National Guard staging area here in the city of Baltimore and my colleague Joe Johns. And Joe Johns has spoken with the medical examiner's office and this is significant, too. This is the other piece of news we've received just in a matter of minutes that we also know that autopsy report has been complete and handed over to the state's attorney's office.

What did the M.E. office tell you, Joe?

[10:15:18] JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Well, first, let me say this. I sat down with them probably 24 to 48 hours after the death of Freddie Gray. The medical examiner's office was telling me at that time that they didn't expect results for up to 60 days from that date. So it's absolutely extraordinary for them to be saying now that they have completed their investigation.

This M.E.'s office in the state of Maryland sees itself as very best practices oriented. Very by the book. So they obviously pushed this thing through just as quickly as possible to try to get it in the hands of the state's attorney's office.

It was also clear to me at least at that time that the medical examiner's office was going to be very reluctant, Brooke, to push out any information because they say that simply not the way they do things. One other point, as you know, there has been a private autopsy done on the body of Freddie Gray. I asked the medical examiner's office about that at that time. And they were very welcoming of it. They essentially told me the more eyes the better on this. So they were not opposed to that idea -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Joe Johns, thank you so much.

Let's broaden out the conversation, let me bring Empowerment Movement president, Reverend Jamal Bryant.

Reverend, it's lovely to see you. Good morning.

REV. JAMAL BRYANT, PRESIDENT, EMPOWERMENT MOVEMENT: Good morning. My pleasure. Good morning.

BALDWIN: Let's begin with this notion that, A, we now know and this community now knows that this autopsy report has been handed over to Marilyn Mosby, to the state attorney, and also we know that the police investigation was handed over to the state's attorney a day early. That said, you're enmeshed in this community.

BRYANT: Yes.

BALDWIN: What's happening next? You're headed where?

BRYANT: I'm headed to the community. What happened when Commissioner Batts a few days ago first made his press conference, he said we would have answers on May 1st. The community interpreted we will have a verdict as to whether or not they will be indicted.

BALDWIN: Which is not the case at all.

BRYANT: Which is not the case remotely. And so we've been spending the last couple of days in the local high schools to really do educational process on how long this really takes in real time, not in "Law & Order" time but how long it really takes to get all of the findings done and we're going in the community this afternoon to feed a thousand families in that community to let them know we've not forgotten that economy is still a major issue in the social justice fight.

BALDWIN: To your point you were saying to me in commercial break this is about feeding and not fighting.

BRYANT: Yes.

BALDWIN: Which we were just showing pictures -- if we can throw them back up -- of that Penn North intersection, right?

BRYANT: Yes.

BALDWIN: Where you see this ramped up presence of law enforcement.

BRYANT: Yes.

BALDWIN: In anticipation perhaps of a gathering of folks in the community who are frustrated. They wanted answers. And now that they know that this autopsy report is out, they're not getting anything tangible. We will hear from Marilyn Mosby in a matter of minutes.

BRYANT: Right.

BALDWIN: But why is it so important to keep it off fighting and how do you talk to these young people in the community to stop?

BRYANT: It's understanding that this is part of the process and peaceful protests always make progress as long as we're focused on Camden Yards, the Orioles and CVS, we lose sight of what it is that we're supposed to do. Keep the main thing the main thing which is police reform, social justice initiative to do away with every area of corruption within the police department.

That's not going to happen overnight. It's going to take some time and so walking them through that. Our people are angry but they're still intelligent. And you have to talk to them in clear terms about what the expectations should be.

BALDWIN: Will you have special guests coming to Baltimore today?

BRYANT: Yes.

BALDWIN: The second you leave me, where are you headed?

BRYANT: Going to pick up one of the comrades in our struggle, the family of Trayvon Martin have come to stand with us and the call for calm and peace. They are also going to have a strategic meeting today, meeting with the Gray family to lend for them some moral support because they know what this journey feels like.

BALDWIN: You know, I have been in this town the last couple of days and I've been talking to young people, and I've asked them because there are so many people expecting, you know, charges today.

BRYANT: Right.

BALDWIN: That's not happening --

BRYANT: Right.

BALDWIN: Two sides of this. One group has said yes, we are going to -- you know, we saw what happened here on Monday.

BRYANT: Right.

BALDWIN: There were worries that there could be repeats of that tonight and into the weekend. A young woman I spoke with yesterday said, no, not at all. She's not worried about that.

BRYANT: Right.

BALDWIN: You're in this.

BRYANT: Yes. BALDWIN: What are these young people telling you?

BRYANT: That they are very upset. They are very frustrated. But they are very open to understanding. They want to be heard. And --

BALDWIN: Will it be peaceful this weekend?

BRYANT: I'm praying with everything that's in me that it is. And I think that you've noted over the last couple of days since Monday, we've had tremendous shrinkage night by night.

[10:20:08] BALDWIN: Absolutely.

BRYANT: And I'm praying that if we get through today, I think that we'll be on the right road and the right path.

BALDWIN: What do you think of all these other cities across the country, Chicago, Ferguson, Philadelphia, New York, all these people coming together because they want to say we've got Baltimore's back?

BRYANT: Simply because you have to understand it's not a Baltimore issue, it's a black America issue. When it was Sanford, it was isolation. Ferguson, it was a fluke. But what we're seeing is this is a constant pattern of behavior that Loretta Lynch, the new attorney general, is going to have to deal with and do a scrub from top down because black and brown people are tired of being abused by people in blue.

BALDWIN: Reverend --

BRYANT: Thank you so much.

BALDWIN: Thank you. I appreciate you.

BRYANT: I appreciate it.

BALDWIN: Again, we are waiting to hear from the state's attorney, the city prosecutor here, Marilyn Mosby. She will be speaking really for the first time. Don't expect major news as far as obviously her announcing any kind of charges as some people in the community have anticipated but we now know she has that full police investigation from the city of Baltimore and she also has that full autopsy report.

Stay right here. We'll take it live as soon as it happens.

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BALDWIN: All right. You're watching CNN live here in Baltimore, watching this podium get set up. A lot of microphones because a lot of people want to hear what 35-year-old Marilyn Mosby is about to say. She's the state's attorney here in the city of Baltimore. She's the one who now has in her hands the Baltimore City police investigation into the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray and she also as we've learned just this last hour has the full autopsy report from the medical examiner's office.

[10:25:21] We will be hearing from her in a matter of minutes. Stay tuned. We'll take it live.

Now this autopsy here should help clear up some of the lingering questions over the death of Freddie Gray. Let me share with you this fact. CNN affiliate WJAL-TV out of our nation's capital citing multiple law enforcement sources, reporting Gray's head wound appears consistent with a bolt in the back of the police van that was carrying him.

Gray's death has provoked deep skepticism among protesters about the police version of events. I can tell you at least four more rallies are planned today here in Baltimore to demand answers. Demonstrations are also expected as we've seen over the course of the last couple of days nationwide.

One question, these protesters here are asking why that police van, that prisoner transport van carrying Freddie Gray, why did it make that additional stop that wasn't disclosed until video of it came to light? Remember we heard from the police commissioner here just telling the public about that just yesterday.

I've got Peter Moskos. He's a former Baltimore police officer, and I have Antonio Hayes, Maryland House of Delegates 40th District, with me here.

Gentlemen, good morning to both of you.

And Delegate Hayes, let me just begin with you, as we are -- as we can see out of the corner of our eyes, the massive media presence here in front of the War Memorial where we'll be hearing from the state attorney. You know Marilyn Mosby, you know her husband, he's a city councilman here in Baltimore. She's got a lot on her plate.

ANTONIO HAYES, MARYLAND HOUSE OF DELEGATES, 4TH DISTRICT: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: Tell me about her.

HAYES: Marilyn, you know, she lives not very far from the epicenter of all this where everything is taking place. She, like me, or one of the newly elected representatives in that part of West Baltimore, where she ran a very serious campaign dedicated to, you know, finding justice in many of the communities that are plagued with crime and building partnerships to protect victims in those neighborhoods.

She has a lot of energy, she has a lot of great ideas. I know in the interim when she's been through the primary election and general election, she traveled throughout the country working with other state's attorneys, learning what the best practices are to make sure that Baltimore was equipped, and she was prepared to be a leader as a state's attorney, as our top prosecutor here in Baltimore City.

BALDWIN: You have confidence in her?

HAYES: Absolutely.

BALDWIN: OK. Peter Moskos, to you. Let me just pivot and talk a little bit about, you know, listen, you are a former Baltimore police officer. So, you know, and you also wrote this opinion piece entitled, "Why Just Blaming Cops Won't Help Baltimore," and I read it and you said police abuse has less to do with race and more about poverty and class.

Can you explain that for me, sir?

PETER MOSKOS, AUTHOR, "COP IN THE HOOD": The Baltimore Police Department is about half nonwhite. I mean, the city, 65 percent African-American. It doesn't matter what race you are as a cop. Generally you don't like the ghetto. But they're not talking about the geographic area. They're talking about specific people in the ghetto that act ghetto. And that is a very strong class of distinction especially among African-Americans police officers.

BALDWIN: That's right. Did you say act ghetto?

MOSKOS: Yes, act ghetto. That's to say, I'm from the ghetto but I don't have to be ghetto. You hear that a lot particularly among African-American cops who are from districts like the eastern and western districts. But this is a class distinction. It's the distinction between middle class, working class, and ghetto class. I mean, it's a problem.

BALDWIN: Do you want to respond to that, Delegate?

HAYES: I don't know who this gentleman is but --

BALDWIN: Former Baltimore officer.

HAYES: Right. Yes. It's unfortunate that he classified those communities as that. You know, I spent the last couple of days --

(CROSSTALK)

MOSKOS: I didn't classify the communities. I was trying to --

HAYES: Or trying to make that way. Sounded like you did to me. And so, you know, I've been a part of the community, grew up in a community where residents and neighbors take care of each other and look out. Some of our seniors and other community leaders are some of the biggest supporters of law enforcement.

MOSKOS: Of course --

HAYES: And work in partnership to rid their neighborhoods of some of these things.

MOSKOS: Of course. The thing is police don't have to --

HAYES: You know, I don't agree with the gentlemen --

MOSKOS: Police don't have to deal with those people because they're dealing with -- they can handle things themselves. The point is, and the point I've been trying to make is police have to deal with the problems that we as Americans refuse to deal with. So I'm talking about the poverty, the crime, the racism, the unemployment. These are America's problems and somehow it all gets stuck on the hands of police.

We send them there and tell them to do the best they can and then blame them all when one of them makes a mistake as one inevitably will. But let me be clear. I'm not saying everyone in that community is bad. Of course not. But police have to deal with a very small segment of that community.

BALDWIN: Peter, let me stay with you because as a former officer here in this city, you know, when you hear the commissioner here, Anthony Batts, told everyone yesterday for the first time that there was this previously undisclosed stop, this prisoner transport van made, you know, that makes people in the community who I've --

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