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Six Officers Charged in Connection with Gray's Death. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 01, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

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[15:33:40] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: As we come up on some live pictures here, aerial pictures of what seems to be a number of people here walking through the streets of Baltimore, let me tell you a little bit more about the six police officers charged in Freddie Gray's death. Officer Cesar Goodson Jr. is facing the toughest charges. He drove the van the day Freddie Gray was arrested. Now Goodson is charged with second-degree depraved heart murder. Five other officers also face charges.

Let's bring in senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin with more on each of these officers and the charges they face -- Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And Brooke, I can tell you that it's fair to say that the charges filed today against these officers, it seemed to be characterized as throwing the book at someone. The prosecutor in this case accusing each officer of multiple charges. Charges serious enough to put these officers individually in prison for decades.

And that begins with the driver of the van, as you mentioned. Cesar Goodson Jr., 45 years old, has been with the Baltimore police department since 1999. We've checked his record. We can only find a civil case against him by Citibank for about $5,000 in his past. He faces six charges, including that most serious charge of second-degree murder. All told, he could face 63 years in prison.

Also facing six charges is the most senior officer, Lieutenant Brian Rice. Now he, Brooke, is 41 years old. He's been with the Baltimore PD since 1997. And in his recent past, we have found he's been involved in a nasty domestic situation with another Baltimore police officer. In 2012 these two people were fighting over custody of their child. The mother of that child called police fearing Rice might harm himself. Police responded and actually removed seven weapons from lieutenant Rice's home, including his service weapon. But the case seems to end there. Obviously Rice was still on duty when he was involved with the arrest of Freddie Gray. He faces involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, possible sentence of 30 years behind bars.

The other officers involved, Brooke, much younger. Edward Nero is 29, with the force since 2012, facing five charges, 20-year possible sentence. Garrett Miller, 26 years old, also hired in 2012. It was Garrett Miller who filed that statement that Freddie Gray had the illegal switchblade on him at the time of his arrest. And that is why Freddie Gray was arrested. The prosecutor today saying just not true, the knife was a legal pocket knife. Along with second-degree assault, Miller, Nero and Lieutenant Rice are all facing this false imprisonment charge. Basically, the charge is that Freddie Gray should have never been arrested.

The other two officers, officer William porter, 25 years old, hired in 2012, facing three charges, including involuntary manslaughter. And finally, a woman, Sergeant Alicia White, also charged with three counts, charges that could bring 20 years in prison.

As far as our records show right now, none of these officers have been charged in any crime relating to their duties in the past. Obviously, Brooke, facing very serious charges now.

[15:36:51] BALDWIN: Drew Griffin, thank you very much. We also know according to the mayor, five of those police officers now in police custody as I speak. Thank you, sir.

Coming up next, I'm going to bring in Don Lemon. Because Don Lemon spoke with the woman who announced those charges this morning. What the state's attorney here in the city of Baltimore, Marilyn Mosby, shared with his about this case, next.

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[15:41:26] BALDWIN: If you had not heard the name Marilyn Mosby, you have today. She's the state's attorney here, that's the chief city prosecutor in the city of Baltimore. And she, four months on the job, has the power and has exercised the power to charge every single one of these police officers in the death of Freddie Gray. She spoke with my colleague don lemon. Here she was.

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DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR, CNN TONIGHT: This has been a really important -- it's been a tough time for you. You're in the spotlight, under the microscope.

MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE STATE'S ATTORNEY: I don't think it's tough. The people of Baltimore voted for me to do my job and to carry out justice. And that's what I'm going to do as the state attorney for Baltimore city.

LEMON: Let's talk about what's happening now, what you just did. You just completed. Your investigation has left you with no doubt that these six officers are responsible for Freddie Gray's death.

MOSBY: I can't really get into the specifics of the case, but as a prosecutor, you should not bring charges if you don't believe you have probable cause that these individuals are responsible for the charges.

LEMON: There was a collective cheer probably around the nation, but also during the press conference. You spoke directly to young people, but you also spoke to the police officers as well. You come from a law enforcement family. Was it difficult to -- is it difficult to balance that?

MOSBY: No, I think it gives me a well-rounded perspective. You know, I come from five generations of police officers, so law enforcement is instilled. I understand the time, the commitment, the sacrifice that these police officers make. Time away from their families on a day- to-day basis, you know, risking their lives for the betterment of our communities. But at the same time, recognizing that these officers are making those sacrifices and I'm not saying in particularly with these case, those officers that usurp their authority, you have to be able to hold them accountable because it does a disservice to the really hard-working police officers. So for me, it's about applying justice fairly and equally to those with or without a badge.

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BALDWIN: Don Lemon is with me now. And so, you sat down with her. You were her first interview since she, you know, made the news on the steps of the war memorial just over there. I think it really struck me, and you hit on that in the interview, that she's like, I come from five generations of police officers in my family. Her cousin was also murdered on her front doorstep.

LEMON: Her grandfather was, in Massachusetts, the first member of the law enforcement agency, inaugural member. So she is no joke. And it was just fortuitous because I had an interview scheduled with her to talk about, you know, women in charge.

BALDWIN: You had no idea this was going to drop today.

LEMON: I had no idea. I woke up this morning and went, oh, wow. So as soon as she finished, we set up in her office. And then she walked in and we talked about that. But I also thought it was important that she knows pain when it comes to people breaking the law and in touching her family. She was 14. Her cousin was 17. They were very close. They were on the same track together, going to get their education. The cousin mistaken as a drug dealer, shot and killed. That really inspired her to become a prosecutor. That was her lifelong dream. She's achieved it. But she says the people of Baltimore and the people of this country should have no doubt that this investigation will be handled fairly and quickly, as quickly as possible and accurately.

BALDWIN: So we have that to look forward to tonight at 10:00. Also, just quickly, you talked to the other suspect in the back of that prisoner van that was carrying Freddie Gray.

[15:45:02] LEMON: I spoke to him yesterday. What people didn't realize, I was out here talking to him yesterday. No one knew who he was. The records at the police station show that he's still in jail.

BALDWIN: He was still in jail. But he's not.

LEMON: And he's not. And that was the issue of getting it on yesterday. Because we had it yesterday, we had it first, but we want to be -- I'd rather be accurate than first. And so, today, when we spoke with the prosecutor, they said, indeed, it is him. You'll hear his story tonight.

BALDWIN: OK, Don Lemon, great coverage. Thank you so much my friend.

LEMON: Thank you, Brooke.

BALDWIN: I appreciate it. Don, again, on tonight, "CNN TONIGHT" at 10:00 p.m. eastern right here on CNN.

Coming up next, live from Baltimore, we are getting reaction all across the city after Marilyn Mosby announced this morning those criminal charges now against all six officers involved in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray.

And next, a community leader here will join me. The latest on the march happening through the city. A lot of moving parts on this Friday afternoon. Do not move.

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[15:50:11] BALDWIN: I want to come to a little breaking news here. As we have been reporting that the states attorney this morning announced those criminal charges against all six officers involved in the arrest and death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray. We can now tell you, that it has been confirmed by CNN, that all six of those officers are now in custody. They are now in custody.

Let's move along because we've been hearing from a lot of community voices here in the city of Baltimore, and we wanted to get, also, just reaction to the news of these charges. So let me bring in Ray Kelly. He is with the No Boundaries Coalition. He lives in Sand Town, which is where Freddie Gray lived. It's where, you know, I walked around yesterday.

And so, Ray, just first to you, did you anticipate -- I know a lot of people in these communities thought there would be some real change or a verdict or charges, but no one actually thought it would happen.

RAY KELLY, RESIDENT OF FREDDIE GRAY'S NEIGHBORHOOD: I didn't expect an indictment that fast. So that was -- good for the whole community. So everybody was more waiting to see what would happen, because most people knew it couldn't be a conviction or anything on this day. So I think just today, seeing how expeditious the state's attorney was, proceeding with the case and how diligent she is, just for someone (INAUDIBLE), doing her own investigation before she actually got the policemen's report is saying that there's still hope and our residency, this is the beginning of change in motion.

BALDWIN: I don't want to interrupt you, but I don't know if we have a camera, but approaching me, and you will hear their chants in a moment. They are chanting, no justice, no peace. They are coming. And I don't know if this is the march we've been watching through the city of Baltimore, but, you know, this is just one example of what we've been seeing around your city today.

KELLY: Right. And I hope the city sees that our voices have been heard. Despite all of the chaos, the actual concern of the people got recognized.

BALDWIN: It's a long process, right? This criminal justice system. It will take a while to play out, but in talking to congressman (INAUDIBLE) earlier, he was saying to me, Brooke, he was out and about in Sand town, another community in saying these young, for the first time in their lives, feel like they are experiencing history. Do you get that sense?

KELLY: Without a doubt. This is -- even myself. It's been that way in Sand Town since I've been alive.

BALDWIN: What way?

KELLY: Just the corruption in the police department. It's instinctual if a cop skirts up on you to run. You never know what's going to happen. So for us, this is like breaking ground on something uncharted for a lot of us. Forty-four years and we're so used to the -- we see that this is change. It's never been immediately all of the officers are indicted, and that's the changes we want to see. But we also recognize that justice won't come just from convicting these officers and it won't come from getting a settlement for Freddie Gray's family. It's going to come when they actually change the policies so we don't keep having to have --

BALDWIN: What policies? What policies?

KELLY: Well, they just have to change the whole structure.

BALDWIN: So all of the city --

KELLY: All the law enforcement bill of rights. They have to change the structure of the civilian review board here in Baltimore city. They need to actually restructure the CRCs that are in every police district, which is the community relations councils, where they should be a bridge, not just an information from the police department, but information to the police department.

BALDWIN: You know, you said something a minute ago that struck me. You said in Sand Town, it's instinctual to run from police. A lot of people can't relate to that. They say, you see a police officer. You do what he says.

KELLY: Exactly.

BALDWIN: But that's a different reality where you come from?

KELLY: Depending upon your location. If there's an unmarked car that pulls up on the corner, you don't know it's the police. You don't know what's going on. If there's a certain look from a policeman walking past you, sometimes it's intimidating, and like you said, he had a knife, he didn't know what was going to be the deal. He's scared. We're all scared sometimes.

BALDWIN: Do you think a time will come in your lifetime or the life times of young people in Baltimore in which they won't have that instinct, that they will be able to trust? KELLY: I hope so. I have to (INAUDIBLE). So that is one of my

biggest fears is that my sons will be at the end of this, because they decide to stop on the corner and holler at one of their home boys they go to school with and before you know it, they're in the back of a paddy wagon, getting whipped around, or whatever happened. So I hope that just the fear of consequence is starting to get injected into the police department, where they will change the way they interact with the community.

[15:55:04] BALDWIN: Ray Kelly, an honor and pleasure. Thank you so much for your perspective. Quick break. We are surrounded by dozens and dozens of people here chanting "no justice, no peace" right in front of Baltimore city hall. Quick break. We are back in a moment.

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[15:54:16] BALDWIN: And we're back live in Baltimore. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're looking at aerial pictures here. This is just feet from the where I'm standing in front of city hall. So several dozen people. We've seen several organized marching through the city streets and it's landed right smack dab in between city hall and the war memorial that's the steps of the war memorial where we saw the big breaking news this morning.

The states attorney, Marilyn Mosby, she has been on the job four months. She is 35 years of age and she s the one who had the power to charge every single one of are those officers involved in the arrest and the death of Freddie Gray. Charged criminally as she has done.

And you know, I've been here a week. And if I may, just say, I have spoken with several young people, Carde, Kiarria, and they are going to stay with me for a long time. Because once we all pack up, it's the stories of these youth, it is the how they feel on these streets, how they need to feel invested in, how things need to change, how they want a sense of hope, how they feel like they are now experiencing history here.

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