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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Freddie Gray Death Investigation: New Information; Police & Protesters Clash in Philadelphia; Nepal Death Toll Rising; Tampa Bay Bucks Pick Jameis Winston #1. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired May 01, 2015 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:23] CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, thousands demanding answers in the death of Freddie Gray, a man mysteriously injured during his arrest. This morning, a new theory on when and how Gray suffered that fatal injury and new facts revealed about his ride to jail. We are live.

Good morning and welcome to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman live in Baltimore this morning. It is Friday, May 1st. It is 4:00 a.m. in the East.

And let me tell you, Christine, where I'm standing right now, there is a notably reduced security presence. The National Guard troops and Maryland troopers have been behind me the last few days, they're not here this morning. Perhaps it shows a greater sense of calm has really fallen over this city.

Protesters overnight did face off with police briefly as the curfew went into effect at 10:00 p.m. And CNN cameras were there to capture police arresting one man in the crowd there. But the streets quickly cleared and the traffic at that spot began to move. We'll have more on the scene in Baltimore in just a moment.

But first, some really important new revelations or should we say claims in the death of Freddie Gray and how he may have suffered that fatal spinal injury while he was in police custody. Baltimore police handed their investigative files over to prosecutors on Thursday. That was one day ahead of schedule. It caught people here in Baltimore off guard.

Multiple law enforcement sources say those files contain new claims about how Freddie Gray died. Among them, Gray was fatally injured in the police van and not earlier during the arrest. This is the video you are seeing now.

Law enforcement sources tell CNN affiliate WJLA that the medical examiner has determined that Gray died from a broken neck sustained when his head slammed into the back of the police van and injury to Gray's head reportedly matches a bolt on the back of the van.

Now, this is the key. What caused Gray to hit the back of the van is still unknown. It is worth noting that the driver of the police van has yet to give a statement to investigators.

An official in the medical examiner's office says that their report could be delivered to prosecutors as soon as today, although it could drift into early next week.

Now, another important new detail. Police officials say they learned the van carrying Freddie Gray made an additional stop. One more stop we had been told. One more stop than anyone knew about. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DEP. KEVIN DAVIS, DEPUTY BALTIMORE POLICE COMISSIONER: The second stop has been revealed to us during the course of the investigation and was previously unknown to us. We discovered this new stop based on our thorough and comprehensive and ongoing review of all CCTV cameras and privately owned cameras. And in fact, this new stop has been -- was discovered from a privately owned camera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: They discovered that stop, not because police told them about it, not because they listened to radio traffic back and forth, but because they got footage from a private security camera. What happened during the newly discovered stop is also currently under investigation. Those all new details and what so many people want answers did.

Now, as we had been reporting, a third straight night of relative calm here on the streets of Baltimore. Apart from a few tense moments when the curfew went into effect, one protester who's trying to confront an advancing line of police officers as swallowed up right there and arrested.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BERMAN: Police officials say since the unrest began Monday, nearly 100 officers have been injured. Of course, more than 200 people arrested and most of them have been released.

For more on the protests and also the policing, I want to bring in CNN's Rene Marsh standing with me in front of city hall last night.

And again, we are here this morning and we have a half hour left to go in the curfew, but relative calm.

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Last night, an aside from the incident you showed there, it was relatively calm. But really what we want to point out is the calming voice throughout all of this has been Maryland Representative Elijah Cummings. He was out there. He was amongst the protesters yesterday, at one point even arm in arm, singing "This Little Light of Mine", and really just being that voice of calm when things felt like they could go the other way.

[04:05:11] We know that as the curfew approach, his objective there last night was to essentially make sure that people dispersed at 10:00. He spoke to CNN shortly after he was done with the march with the protesters last night. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: We must allow the process to go forward and all I can assure them and others is we will stick with this case until the end. But the fact is, is now we have a state's attorney who we are impressed with and very proud of. We believe in her. We trust her.

I want her to get the facts right. She will apply the law and come to her own conclusions. That's her job. That's her job. I believe in her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARSH: And really that's what it is all about. Everyone is waiting and watching for information. They all want information. But we know this is not a cut and dry case.

Today is the deadline, May 1st that so many people heard about and expecting some hard information from the police investigation. The question, what happens is they don't get it? We know the police hand over the information to the state attorney's office yesterday. At this point, we don't have any indication they will give a play-by-play of what they learned to the public.

BERMAN: No, they got what they're going to get and they got it. The day before, I think everyone was expecting, also as you pointed out, Rene, so key that you have people like Elijah Cummings here, an entire group of clergy, officials, people who work with the community here, to try to keep the tensions down. They are out there and they made such a big difference.

Now, today, more protests expected. A big mark expected. And also the police make clear, this curfew we are under will remain in place for a few more days.

MARSH: Right. I mean, we're going to continue to see these protests. Today alone just in Baltimore, we know that there are going to be about four. Of course, we're going to see protests across the country as well. We saw some in Philadelphia.

So, this continues. The call for answers continues. I think the point they want to hammer home is this is not cut and dry. We know it is now in the hands of the 35-year-old state prosecutor here.

She is very young -- the youngest to be in this position in any major city. She comes from a family of police officers. Her husband is a city councilman here in Baltimore. She really does have quite a bit of weight on her shoulders here.

And essentially, what she's going to do is look at the police investigation, but not relying solely on that, she says, to determine if charges can be filed.

BERMAN: That is a crucial point. She will look at a wide range of many sources.

Rene Marsh, great to have you here with us this morning -- thanks so much.

So, there were protests -- there are protests today expected in Seattle and Portland, also in Oakland. Last night in Philadelphia, police and protesters clashed when the group of protesters tried to block the entrance of I-95. You can look at some of the footage right now. That is from above obviously. Officers there pushing back from demonstrators. Many of whom held their hands in the air and chanted "hands up".

Our Poppy Harlow was right in the middle of it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John and Christine.

We are in Philadelphia where there has been a huge march. It began with a protest around 4:30 this afternoon, congregated right at city hall in downtown Philadelphia. And then it turned into a march on the streets of Philadelphia that so far has lasted about three hours. Largely the protest has been peaceful, I want to emphasize that.

The chief of police inspector here telling me that these are people that need to have their voices heard. They deserve to protest and exercise their first amendment right as long as they do so lawfully. And he expects it to be a loud, a large, and a lawful protest. It has been that in large part been that.

I will say, there was a confrontation with police right at the entrance at Interstate 95 where police lined up on their horses and bicycles. Protesters were not allowed to go on the highway. There was a clash between police and protesters there for about 20 minutes. And then it opened up and the protesters were allowed to continue walking on the streets.

What I hear from people here -- from people of really all ages, white citizens, black citizens of Philadelphia, saying they want answers in the case of Freddie Gray. But for them, it is larger than that. For them, it is also about economic disparity and about a lack of opportunity for African-American youth, especially in this country.

So, clearly, one young African-American attorney telling me she wants to see change within the system, more opportunity, more room for economic growth for many people that she feels are not getting a fair shot.

So, they are protesting to have their voices heard here on the streets of Philadelphia. You see a lot of signs where they are aligning with Baltimore in the name of the protest by the group that organized it, guys, is Philadelphia is Baltimore.

[04:10:08] I'll send it back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BERMAN: All right. Our thanks to Poppy Harlow.

In Cincinnati, hundreds rallied in solidarity with Baltimore protesters Thursday night. They marched downtown together, chanting slogans. They had their arms linked. Police and rally organizers communicated ahead of time and escorted the protesters along part of the planned route, maintaining order until marchers there dispersed.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio defending the New York City police officers accused of overzealous policing at Wednesday's Freddie Gray protests in Manhattan. The mayor dismissed claims that demonstrators were mistreated as they protested against police violence. He urged protesters not to exaggerate what happened at the Union Square really Wednesday night which ended in 143 arrests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK: We do know certain individuals attacked police officers -- unacceptable. We know certain individuals attacked property -- unacceptable. We are constantly working to get the balance right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. President Obama has no plans to make an appearance here in Baltimore. No plans at least for now. The White House says he is monitoring the situation here closely.

But as in Ferguson, he wants the police to remain focus on the protesters and not him. The White House is also defending the president's use of there word "thugs" to describe the rioters here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president was trying to draw a clear distinction between individuals who engaged in criminal acts like burning down a CVS or throwing a cinder block at a police officer, from the vast majority of people in the city of Baltimore who found a constructive and appropriate way to publicly raise their concerns about the treatment of Freddie Gray by the Baltimore Police Department.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The president's spokesperson, Josh Earnest, there says that a visit to Baltimore could be added to the schedule if necessary and if possible.

But again, Christine, the president said wherever he goes, he needs to bring huge entourage of security and it would pull some of the police and law enforcement presence here in the city to him rather than to where they are needed right now, which is out helping to maintain the calm.

ROMANS: Right. There is the optics of being supportive and being there, and showing how important it is to the -- to the -- you know, the highest office of the land. There's also the real security concerns on the ground in taking too much attention away from what Baltimore needs to do.

John, you know, Josh earnest mentioned CVS. I want to tell you that CVS employees are still getting paid. They are still being paid after those Baltimore stores burned down. Two locations actually sustained such heavy damage during the riots. They remain closed, but CVS is paying the 45 workers, paying them for their regularly scheduled hours. No word on how long CVS will keep paying. We'll keep asking.

But the company says it could transfer all of the workers to nearby stores. Some workers have already started at other locations.

Both of those closed stores, by the way, were among the few options residents had for medications and groceries. I'll tell you, city officials for a long time had been pushing to get those locations opened in the neighborhood to serve the neighborhood. Those workers still being paid.

All right. Our other big story. Nepal, time running out to find survivors in Nepal's devastating earthquake. Rescue teams searching through rubble as the death toll rises.

We are there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:16:58] ROMANS: The death toll keeps climbing in Nepal. The official death count from the earthquake topping 6,100 and rising. Search teams still struggling to reach remote villages one week into this disaster, hope now fading for anymore miracle rescues. Those miracle rescues have been something, but they have been the outliers sadly.

I want to bring in CNN's Sumnina Udas live from Kathmandu.

What's the very latest? Some of these -- some of the tales of survival for five days have been amazing, simply amazing. But they are not -- they are not the rule. They are the exception, aren't they?

SUMNINA UDAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They certainly are, but it is reigniting hope that there could be more survivors. One the Israeli rescue workers I was talking to said in the past, they have another countries, they found survivors nine days after an earthquake. So, they are still hopeful and they're still very much calling a relief and rescue mission.

And the way it works is quite amazing. I mean, this particular building that we were where they found the 24-year-old woman alive, the Israelis have been digging for two days. They found four bodies. They knew two others missing. They pulled out this 24-year-old woman because the French arrived. They had heard something on their devices and the Norwegians arrived with their sniffer dogs and the dogs started reacting positively. That's when they started digging. The whole ordeal took eight hours. To see this joint effort, three

countries and Nepalese were there, too, the Nepali police officials. But this joint effort of three countries, they are saying this is what makes it worthwhile. Even if at that time, they did not know what they would find, that perseverance, that dedication, to be able to bring out someone alive. It makes this whole rescue mission worth it.

ROMANS: Unbelievable. French technology, Norwegian rescue dogs and people working feverishly for eight hours to free her.

Tell us a bit about what officials are saying about the death toll, 6,100 now. I mean, do they think that they are getting into the remote areas and they've got a sense of just how vast the devastation is or are they still in early days of determining the extent of this?

UDAS: They still don't have a complete picture. And they say they still don't know the number of missing.

I mean, we went on a chopper with the army on the surveillance chopper, they were sort of going from village to village, to see if there were any survivors or see from the air what they could find. You know, so many parts of the country in rural Nepal where no one has gotten to.

There's no aid. The army and government is simply overwhelmed. They say they are doing what they can as much as they can, but there is so much devastation. The villages are so spread out high up in the mountains. The weather hasn't been helping.

A lot of areas have been landslide by road, by truck and the army and police have not been able to get to these parts.

[04:20:02] So, even now, you know, the death toll keeps going up. They say they still don't have a complete picture of just how bad this is.

ROMANS: All right. In Kathmandu for us, with another tale of survival, but still very grim prospects, as they get into those countryside. Thank you, Sumnina.

All right. U.S. Navy warships will accompany commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. The Pentagon is concerned Iranian military ships could try to seize vessels as they did a U.S.-flagged cargo ship earlier this week. You know, if it becomes necessary, defense officials say they will escort U.S. vessels throughout the entire gulf.

Pentagon sources telling CNN avoiding a confrontation is Iran is high priority right now amid those ongoing nuclear talks heading down to the wire.

The second city transformed into draft down USA. Chicago hosting the NFL draft for the first time in 51 years. Andy Scholes has the details in the bleacher report. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROMANS: Round one of the NFL draft is in the books as the season premiere. It was mostly uneventful, all eyes on the top two quarterbacks.

Andy Scholes in Las Vegas for the big fight this weekend. He has more in this morning's bleacher report, Las Vegas and Chicago. Las Vegas won.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Christine, good morning.

NFL draft is great because of the fans are still optimistic about their teams' chances coming into this season.

[04:25:00] And as expected, the Tampa Bay Bucs, they kicked off the draft last night by selecting former Florida State quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston with the top overall pick. You know, despite all of his off-the-field issues, the sexual allegations and the whole crab leg incident, the Bucs decided Winston is just too good to pass up after winning a national title and moving just one game in his college career.

Now, Winston did not attend the draft in Chicago and watched it from home in Alabama. As you can imagine, he was thrilled to be the number one pick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMEIS WINSTON, 2015 NFL #1 DRAFT PICK: I'm just blessed. I'm blessed with this whole opportunity, the chance to make something of myself and to be able to provide for my family. It is just the beginning. You know, that's the great part of this. It is only the beginning. I thank God for everything that has happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Now, the big question mark of the draft is what was going to happen at pick number two. The Tennessee Titans did not surprise anyone with a big trade or anything like that, but Roger Goodell surprised everyone when he announced the pick. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER GOODELL, NFL COMMISSIONER: The Tennessee Titans select Marcus Mariota. Quarterback, Oregon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: So, Marioto otherwise known as Marcus Mariota will be a Tennessee Titan. Not surprise in the first round. Only three trades were made, Roger Goodell was booed every time he did come out to announce a pick.

In the NBA playoffs last night, the Chicago Bulls put a beat-down on the Milwaukee Bucks. It was one of the biggest blowouts in NBA playoff history. The Bulls won by 54 -- 54! The Bucks did not score more than 19 points in any quarter. The Bulls are now going to move on to face the Cavs in the highly second round match.

The Clippers meanwhile, they were able to keep the season alive beating the Spurs, 102-96. They now play a winner-take-it-all game seven on Saturday which will add to what is shaping up to be the best sports days ever.

The main event tomorrow will, of course, be Floyd Mayweather versus Manny Pacquiao. Later tonight, we're going to have the weigh-in. Usually these things are free to the public, but, they sold tickets for $10 each. But guess what? Those are now going for $75 on Stubhub, Christine.

And tomorrow, what you can say? You got NHL playoffs, NBA playoffs, Kentucky Derby, Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao -- you can literally sit on your couch for more than 12 hours and have an amazing sporting to watch.

ROMANS: Unbelievable, 54 points for the bulls? That's unbelievable. That is a beatdown. Go Chicago!

SCHOLES: I have never seen anything like it. It was unreal. You are right.

ROMANS: All right. Thanks. Happy Friday. You're going to have a very busy weekend. Thank you so much. Nice to see you, Andy.

SCHOLES: It's still Thursday for me, Christine. Nice to see you, too.

ROMANS: Its like New Year's and Christmas and the Super Bowl wrapped up in one day. All right. Thanks.

Twenty-seven minutes past the hour.

New information in the death of Freddie Gray. What police are saying about Gray's van ride to the police station? That's next.

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