Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Dallas Police Department Request No Media Coverage of Search Following Information of Suspicious Person Near Headquarters Building; Police Set up Extensive Perimeter to Conduct Exhaustive Search of Garage Near Dallas Police Headquarters. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired July 09, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[20:00:02] MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They are going about praying. They are going about paying their respects. At the same time, less than 25 yards away, there are the police vehicles blocking the roadways; there are the officers that are out. You can see some officers in the distance. They are now wearing head cover. So that's the kind of juxtaposition that you see here.
They're not going to be made afraid, the people aren't, and yet at the same time, you can tell that the City is fearful. I look at the windows - there are apartment buildings nearby, and there are people up against these windows and they are watching everything else that is happening out on their street. There are people in hotels that are on the rooftops, that are looking out. It may be out of curiosity. It may be out of concern. The streets, of course, are lined with people who are kept on the outskirts.
The focus, whether they are visually looking at it, listening to it on television, because it's being broadcast everywhere, this town is very aware of what is happening and you can sense the dread, even if the posture doesn't look like something is desperately (inaudible).
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: It's a fair question; I wonder just - I don't want to make any conclusions. God knows we're far from making any conclusions about what's happening here with this threat, but based on the fact that you still have people moving in front of the Headquarters, which is very close, as the crow flies, to where this police parking lot is, Martin, does that give you the sense that they have then contained the area of risk?
SAVIDGE: Right; yes, you definitely would not be having the public have access - even the media would not be having this kind of casual ability to walk around if it was felt that the threat on the front side, or by the entrance, the Police Department here, was the real area of focus.
Now it's clear, you have a huge police building that is separating us from the building in question, which is the police parking lot. So, you're right, the primary factor here is that architecture is proving to be the saving of most of the people here. They aren't out to create panic; definitely not. They are out to just secure, and then much of the activity is going to be focused inside that parking area.
They know that this is a town that's traumatized, but they also know that his is a town that can't let its guard down, and that's a very difficult situation for police.
You had the mayor, just yesterday, proclaiming "our city is safe," but then here you've got all the police out on the street and here you've got an area of the city, the heart of its police department on lockdown. You can see the mixed message there is, but, again, people understand this is all because you want to err on the side of caution. Regardless if this is just some sort of threat that was phoned in, you're going to take it seriously.
SCIUTTO: Well it's a delicate balance that police have to strike, particularly after an incident like this. They want to give people confidence. They want them to feel safe, but they want to exercise caution where necessary; Martin Savidge.
If you're just joining us now, I want to update you on this situation because, as always, the first reports are often -- aren't correct; but we've been doing our best here.
What we know now, Dallas police have received a threat. We know that they are now systematically searching, they say, a parking lot just behind the Police Headquarters. In fact, as they've done that search, they've been breaching some gates there. They've used a shotgun; they've warned the public that they're going to use a shotgun to breach a gate inside there as they search that parking lot.
We know that as a precaution they've set up a security cordon further around, a few blocks in each direction from that parking lot in Police Headquarters, to keep members of the public away. We have several CNN reporters in and around that cordon, but we also have some that are inside; and there are still members of the public inside that security cordon because many of them had been coming to visit and continue to come to visit that memorial that has gone up in front of the police headquarters there.
The police are taking this very seriously, but our reporters on the ground, and just to be clear, as they watch the posture of the police, they're not hiding behind their cruisers. They're not telling members of the public to hit the deck. They're taking this seriously, but it does not appear to be an active shooter situation, from what we can tell from the ground now; of course, that could change at any moment, and we're going to update you as it happens there.
One thing I will also add, just if you're joining us now, is we've accepted a police request not to broadcast live video from in and around the scene because they don't want to, if there is a perpetrator, they don't want that person to be able to watch on television or on his/her phone and see how police are reacting to this. So we are complying with that request from the Dallas Police Department.
I want to bring in CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, Cedric Alexander. He's on [20:05:02] the phone. Mr. Alexander, thanks for joining us again here.
As you watch all these steps that the police are taking, help our viewers understand why they're doing that and what that tells us about how serious this threat is?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, you've got to remember, Jim, just 36 hours ago Dallas came across a very horrific, violent act and whatever is going on there at Police Headquarters, at this very moment, they're taking all precaution. They're not taking any chances. They're pushing their perimeter out to keep everyone safe; but also, more importantly than that, what it appears they're doing, this search, whatever they may be searching for, that is being reported of a suspicious person, is going to take some time.
The reason they're asking you not to put any cameras on their location is so that - we have to remember that the bad guys have the same kind of technology that they use just as much as we do. So that was a very smart move on their part.
This is going to be a very patient operation. It's going to take some time, but I think it's important to remember that that city, and this entire country at this very moment is feeling the stressors of still what happened a day and a half ago; and this is a very difficult and challenging time that we're in. So, they want to be safe.
We want Dallas and the officers and their communities to be safe. I think it's just we continue to monitor this and take whatever information they are releasing to us. We need to be careful not to read too much into it, but allow them right now to be able to do their search there, at Police Headquarters and in and around that community. I'm more than certain that as the minutes and hours go by, they're going to share more information with us.
SCIUTTO: I'm sure they will. They're going to want to let the public know as soon as this threat, if there is a threat, is neutralized. They want to take care of it. They want to be - they want to take precautions but, of course, they want to give the public confidence, when they reach that point that they can do so.
I want to check in again with our reporters who are on the scene there. We're going to be speaking to them by telephone because, at the request, again, of the Police Department, we don't want to show live pictures that could help any potential perpetrators there.
Ed Lavandera, we've been speaking to you throughout. I know you're close. What can you tell us? What are police sharing with you now?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, via telephone: Well as we said a little while ago, they are continuing to sweep through that parking garage area and as you kind of see the body language of the officers out here on the street, much more relaxed and quiet, definitely not as tense as it was about an hour ago. So, we'll read the tea leaves on that one as we wait for official confirmation from Dallas Police officials as they continue to do their work in that parking garage behind the Dallas Police Headquarters.
But essentially what has changed most is what we can tell from the body language. Not many of the officers are sharing any kind of information out here on the scene, all that coming through official channels here at this point; but a much more relaxed scene, in terms of just watching the officers and how they're moving around at this point.
SCIUTTO: And that's an important point, Ed, because these are experienced police officers. They just lost five of their colleagues. That posture is telling. If they're looking more relaxed, if they're not taking precautions that they would take if there was an active shooter or even thoughts of an active shooter, telling members of the public to leave, run, go, taking precautions, getting behind their cruisers, having their weapons drawn, these are things, to be clear to our viewers, we are not seeing now; our reporters are not seeing now on the ground there. That could be telling. It's too early for any conclusions. We're going to watch this very closely, but that could be telling about what they discovered inside that parking lot as they've taken this precaution of searching it there.
Let's be fair, from the beginning the police have said they are taking these threats very seriously and they're going to act with an abundance of caution, and you would expect them to.
Art Roderick still with us, here. Again, we can't make any judgments here. These things change on a dime, but as we hear from our reporters that police close to the scene of this are looking relaxed, what does that tell you?
ART RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I mean, I think we've talked about it before, the demeanor, the stature of the police is a key indicator of how heavy-duty this threat is. Although they've extended the [20:10:03] perimeter out quite a ways, they seem to have established a well-shaped out perimeter and then you've got the SWAT team working on the inner perimeter and it seems like they have the situation very well under control. It seems like the inner perimeters -
SCIUTTO: Art, let me interrupt you there, only to share this latest information from the Dallas Police Department. They say, "Officers have completed a manual search of this garage" we've been speaking about, police garage out behind Police Headquarters. "No suspect found." They just followed that tweet up with this one, saying that "as a precautionary measure, K-9 is conducting a secondary search," that K-9, the dog search, which will be, presumably, explosives trained, able to smell threats like that. That potentially the relief we've been waiting for.
Ed Lavandera, you're down there on the scene. I know you've been speaking to police about this. Do you have the sense that they're getting close to calling an all-clear here?
LAVANDERA: I'm definitely getting that sense and suspect that the roads will be reopened here in a moment. You just have to understand, as we watch this unfold over the last (inaudible), you know, a parking garage like that is a very dangerous situation for officers. You know, there's a lot of places to be. If there was, indeed, a suspect in there going to cause harm to officers, very easy place to hide, to lay traps, whether explosive traps or human traps, whatever the case might have been. You could imagine for teams searching that area, a parking garage has to be one of the more difficult situations to monitor and to check out. Obviously, the number one issue for them is ensuring the safety of
their own officers. So, navigating their way through a parking garage has got to be one of the more treacherous assignments and missions that they have to do. So that would explain the very methodical, very, kind of, slow approach and seriousness of what we saw. Now we're starting to see officers more freely move around the scene; they had been holding kind of barricaded positions behind cars and trees around that parking garage. Now we're starting to see a much more relaxed atmosphere here. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Parking garage, difficult to search under any circumstances. Of course, parking garage was where that shooter was hiding and eventually killed after killing those five police officers in the early morning hours Friday morning.
We're not there yet. Police have not declared an all-clear here, but they have given some good news, just in the last five minutes: (1) that they've completed this search of this building that they have been focusing on; that is a parking garage behind the Police Headquarters, a manual search, meaning there were hands on in there. There were police in there searching. No suspect found. They're now taking a secondary search with K-9 units. These are dog search teams, as a second precaution. It appears, we don't know yet, they're moving closer to an all-clear.
I want to go to Drew Griffin. He's also been on the perimeter of this police cordon that they set up around this search. Drew, what are you seeing and learning there?
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm seeing a helicopter now moving in over the scene, very low; we had not seen that. That either means that they've given the all clear to at least take a look or that helicopter doesn't feel endangered in any way.
We're also seeing, for the first time since this began, Jim, an apartment building in back of me, I'm seeing people coming out on the balcony now and taking a look. You asked earlier if there was any evacuations of the residential units. Obviously there was not, but perhaps there was some kind of warning to stay off the balconies because we are now seeing people on the balconies.
But, again, this perimeter exists. It's pretty wide. We can see the officers behind me. We are waiting for those guys to get in their cars and to pull away and to tell the people of Dallas here, at least these streets, right here, are safe and clear.
Everybody is relaxed at this point, though. Everybody just waiting to get back to normal. Jim?
SCIUTTO: I'm sure they are. I suppose though we should prepare ourselves, the people in Dallas, our viewers, the people in many communities, for this kind of footing, that police departments, certainly in Dallas, but not confined to Dallas, are concerned now. They're going to take threats seriously now, they always do, perhaps more seriously in light of what we saw happening in Dallas before. I want to bring in Art Roderick, if I can. Art, you've been in law enforcement a long time. Should we be bracing ourselves for this kind of state of alert, these kinds of warnings, some of which are going to turn out, thankfully, it appears in this case, to have not been a threat. Is this a new normal?
RODERICK: I think it is, Jim; I mean, particularly in this city where this is still fresh and raw. You know, we're only talking about 30 hours ago that this incident occurred. So here it's going to be - it's going to be like [20:15:02] this for a little while. I think in other cities around the country, especially when they're having these peaceful protests, police are going to be hypervigilant, at all these incidences.
Also, you know, we've got the RNC and the DNC conventions coming up, and I'm sure that security is going to be really ramped up for those two particular conventions as they initiate in the coming weeks.
SCIUTTO: No question; you've got the Democratic Convention the Republican National Convention. Even before these events they were concerned about security, about protests getting violent, about protests interaction with police, about protestors interacting with supporters of some of the candidates. Goodness, it's something we're certainly going to be watching for, and likely to see. Art, thanks very much.
I want to go to our Stephanie Elam. She's been down by the scene there. Stephanie, are you able to show us pictures now. Okay; so you're back. Cameras are back on. Before, keep in mind, we turned the cameras off so that - at police request. What are you seeing there and what are you hearing now, Stephanie?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, I'm back in front of the camera, but we are still not shooting down towards the police headquarters at this point, just because they said that the preliminary check turned up nothing but they're going through with that second K-9 check. So we're just going to - we're not going to rush the gun here and make a decision that may be too fast here.
But I can tell you there's something that reminds me a bit of when I was on UCLA's campus a couple of weeks ago for that tragedy. There is a definite stiffening of posture. There's a tenseness you feel, that you can feel when it changes. The same thing happened out here, with the police officers that are out here on the street. You can tell that there was a change in tone, as far as they were looking at what was going on here.
There are now some police officers that are standing in the middle of the street. There are some that are on the sides. From where my vantage point is it definitely seems that things have relaxed here, even with the helicopter that just flew over Police Headquarters, which we hadn't seen. The helicopters had been keeping their distance up until just a couple of minutes ago. So there is definitely a change in energy and tone out here. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Stephanie Elam, thanks very much. Ed Lavandera, I know you've been speaking to police and, at times, they've asked you not to share certain information as a precaution. Are police sharing more with you now about the status of this search and next steps?
LAVANDERA: No; the group of officers that were around us are more focused on the traffic situation and a little bit of the remaining crowd control situation, but the officers that were on the perimeter of that parking garage, outside of it, as teams and SWAT teams were moving through on the inside, have cleared out of the area; so another one of those indications that this is probably coming to a quick end here, at some point.
Also, it looks like one of the police choppers has moved in over the scene, which had been staying a safe distance back as well, as it monitored the situation from the air. So what I think I'm seeing here, on the road at this point, is just the preparation, just waiting for that final all-clear, as the K-9 units finish up their work inside the parking garage and then they will reopen the road here.
Still a number of people who live in the warehouse apartments just across the street from the Police Department, watching out through their windows, onto the scene as well. Remember, there's also a DART rail line, public transportation line behind that parking garage that feeds people into downtown. That had been shut down temporarily as well. So a lot of the work being done right now is the preparations to reopen up all those thoroughfares and get things back to normal here as quickly as possible.
SCIUTTO: Now, Ed, to be clear about something, if this threat in the parking lot turns out, and it does appear the direction its headed not to have been a threat. To be clear, the police, did the police tell you they had received some sort of anonymous threat, whether by phone, email, social media, before this focus on the parking lot?
LAVANDERA: I don't think they've shared exactly where it came from, or how it came to them; but there are a number of reports that said it was a "credible threat," and obviously given the reaction and the response to what was happening, the Dallas Police Department very much took it that way.
I think it's important to point out that as people have been mourning here, what's happened since Thursday night, the Dallas Police Department, just the grounds around it, has become a focal point. As the shooting scene has been, several square blocks around that area has been, closed off as investigators worked the crime scene there collecting evidence, shell casings and that sort of thing.
The Dallas Police Department Headquarters has become kind of a focal point [20:20:01] and a place where people have come for public shows of emotion and showing their gratitude and affection for the officers of the Police Department. You know, it was the Police Department that put out two police cars there and, as you've seen, that vigil grow over the last couple of days, obviously police know the situation that has created, that in and of itself, also becomes a soft target as well.
You know, you have a very public place where people are coming to mourn, show their appreciation for what the officers do, obviously the kind of place where people gather, not really thinking about what kind of threats there might have been.
It's also really important to point out, I think it was about a year- and-a-half ago or so, there was a very public attack on the Dallas Police Department Headquarters. So these are - this is a Department that, not only here in the last couple of days dealt with this, but it was a gunman who basically pulled up in front of the Headquarters, I think it was a little more than a year, about a year-and-a-half ago, if I remember correctly, and opened fire on the building. So there is a history here that this Department is very much well aware of and has dealt with in the past. So any kind of threat in the immediate area they take very seriously. So this kind of response, I'm not surprised by in any way, especially given the very direct attack that these killings had on their Department and what they've already dealt with in the last couple of years. I'm not surprised by the kind of reaction this particular threat received.
SCIUTTO: Ed Lavandera, thanks very much. We have Martin Savidge back. He's been in the front of Police Headquarters throughout this. There were times that the police asked him not to be on-camera, but also just not to broadcast or report at all. Martin, I believe we have you back now.
SAVIDGE: Yes, I'm with you; I can sense what Ed is obviously hearing and that is that the - they haven't backed off on any of the roadblocks. The roads are still shut down and the police presence is still here, but you can tell, you know, the officers are now getting bottles of water. They're looking at their phones. They're not in that same kind of - their heads were looking in every direction they possibly could, usually every two seconds. So, you know, we've lost that edge. So that would indicate that they've received some communication that's told them, okay; we're getting close to some kind of resolution here.
They have not opened up the streets yet, at least not in front of the Police Department, and it's quite possible you would collapse starting with the farthest out units and then work your way back in, but the traffic directly in front of the Police Department is still closed off and we are, like everyone else, sort of waiting and watching.
But, there's definitely not that electric feel of almost anything could happen, almost any second. That subsided some. You can even see officers in the middle of the street, which was something they were not doing, at least in the area near that parking building. So you can sense it's changed, and changed for the better.
SCIUTTO: Martin, have police told you - have police told you why they focus on that parking garage? What led to the alert, the attention there? Did they see someone? Did they hear something? What was the origin of this?
SAVIDGE: No, we have not been told that and, quite frankly, the police that are manning these roadblocks don't talk, other than to say you either can come in or please go to the other side of the street. They will issue orders but they're not taking questions. Now, some of it is that they may not have been informed exactly what this threat was or how it came in. (Inaudible) have been told they have to take up a position and they've probably been told what kind of posture to take once there, but we're not seeing the helmets on, the guns up. But they're not communicating with us, right here on the scene, exactly what happened, or whether it's all over and they're about to open things up.
The streets are all still closed; the police are still here. Flashing lights are still very evident. A lot of people are still watching.
SCIUTTO: You know, Martin, I just want to remind people, just of the broader context, we've talked about security threat there; the abundance of caution; but also there's the emotional side and here you are, there, in front of the police station, where there's this touching memorial that's built over these two police cruisers. We're not showing pictures of it now because they've asked us not to broadcast from there in light of this - here's a still photo.
People were coming there today to pay tribute to these fallen officers, to meditate, to say a prayer, and here they are, chased away by a threat or perceived threat. It must be difficult. They wanted a moment of peace. The police, the people, the public, wanted a moment of peace and yet, because of [20:25:02] the level of threat, they had to leave; they had to leave, not in a panic, but they had to leave out of real fear.
SAVIDGE: I mean, there are people that are still here. They are continuing to pay their respects. You're right; this is the emotional epicenter. This is, of course, not where the shooting happened, but it is the place where people have been drawn, in part, because of the cars that have been set out, the memorial that's growing. There's also been officers that have been in front of the building, and this has been that opportunity for people to come up and speak to an officer.
You see a lot of hugs. You see a lot of photographs. You see a lot of families posing with police, not at this moment but that was the atmosphere here today. You see people on their knees, praying, in tears; so in the depth of grief.
You see others where parents are talking to children and, clearly, this is a learning moment, as you try to explain to a child the horror of what has happened. There is all of this that is happening and this is the place where people come, either to think, to grieve, to cry, to pray or to contemplate what comes next. It's all kinds of people. There's no sort of one kind that we see here. It's all kinds of people.
I'm just looking to watch. Police are waving somebody through the police line. More than likely it's probably food being delivered, because life has to go on inside the police station as well. But, again, the roadblocks are here but you do get a sense that it's relaxed a notch or two.
We're likely to go through these aftershocks. These are the emotional aftershocks, similar to the physical kind you get with an earthquake. You're going to have these moments. The fact that it's right at Police Headquarters, though, is quite striking and it shows you how on edge the city is.
SCIUTTO: It is; it's a good metaphor, the aftershocks following a major quake, and it was an earthquake, these shootings just some 36- hours ago and I just wonder if, as a country, we have to prepare for this kind of thing going forward, these warnings? Some of them are going to turn out to be false. Sadly, some are going to be real and that's the situation we're in today. We're going to have to prepare ourselves for them, brace ourselves to some degree, and, I suppose, stick together in the midst of it. It was great that Martin brought that up.
A lot of what folks have been doing, before this, and even while it was going on, this alert, that they've been going up and hugging police officers there because police officers there are a member of the community as well. We're all members of the same community.
Art Roderick, if you're still there with me, it's been great to have you because it's been great to have someone experienced in law enforcement, just to help us put this all in context. Police forces, they want to strike a balance. Of course, protect and serve, their focus is on keeping people safe and, sadly, now, keeping themselves safe; right? I mean, they're under threat. They are literally in the line of fire, and always have been; more so now.
They also want to give the public confidence and comfort, a difficult balance to strike; we see that playing out here today. The threat turns out probably not to have been a threat, but they did the right thing. How do police departments make that decision?
RODERICK: It's a very - it comes from leadership within the police department. You have a great - Chief Brown here is excellent. The Assistant Chief, he's very good. It comes from leadership in all of these communities. To have these police departments reach out to these communities on a regular basis and establish a rapport with them, and you see that in Dallas here. It's a shame that this occurred anywhere in the U.S., but especially here because this police department has been held up as a model agency when it comes to community-type policing.
It is a very delicate balance between arming yourself for these type incidences and yet serving the community and remembering that you're here to serve the community. So it is a very tough balance and I think we're starting to beginning to see the swing back to this community policing that we used to do in the Eighties and early Nineties, where you have beat cops out there that knew the people at the stores, that knew the neighborhood, that knew the kids running on the street, and hopefully we're seeing a little bit of a shift back to that type of policing.
SCIUTTO: Well, let's hope so. Let's really hope so. All sides want that better relationship, that more trusting relationship.
I want to take this opportunity, if you're joining us now, just to update you on the situation. There was a perceived threat in a parking lot, police parking lot, behind the Dallas Police Department Headquarters there. Police [20:30:02] searched the entire parking lot, first with officers on foot; then with K-9 units. These are trained K-9 units, dogs. We are waiting now for an all-clear.
We don't have an all-clear yet. This was the police acting in an abundance of caution there. As they did, they cleared a pretty large area around that police headquarters, five blocks or so in each direction, police cruisers blocking streets. They asked the media, ourselves included, and we continue to honor this request, not to broadcast images of the area, so that if there was a perpetrator that person would not know how the police was reacting. That's where we stand now; but our reporters on the ground sense, we don't have this hard yet, sense that he police are relaxing, which seems to be that they have eliminated or found no threat where they perceived there to be a threat.
We're going to take a quick break right now. We're going to keep you updated on this story. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:35:11] SCIUTTO: Welcome back; I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. We at CNN have been monitoring a tense security situation in Dallas around Police Headquarters there, attention focusing on a police parking lot. Police set up a cordon several blocks in each direction. They searched that parking lot on foot and with K-9 units for a potential threat. Our understanding, at this point, is they have not found a threat there, or a suspicious person found in that garage. They have yet, though - I want to emphasize this - to issue an all- clear. That said, our reporters on the ground there, and we have several, have noticed the police state of alert seemed to relax as time has gone on, but we continue to monitor.
I want to go first to the ground there. We have our own Stephanie Elam. She is there, nearby. What are you seeing and hearing now, in these last few minutes, Stephanie?
ELAM: Well, Jim, I can tell you from where I'm standing there were officers that were armed, that were located in different points out here. I can tell you that they're no longer there. So it's another sign that things have eased here on the street.
We also saw a SWAT like vehicle seemed to pull around. We saw some officers get out of it, as well. So, on this side of the building there's definitely been a change in energy, down from where those two police cars that have become the memorial for the five fallen officers, right there in front of Police Headquarters.
It's still blocked off here, let me be clear. It's still blocked off, nothing has changed as far as that is concerned, but it's definitely a change in tone about what is happening here. You can see some officers in the street. It definitely seems less tense when I look down the streets now. A change of energy here, but still we have not been given the all-clear. The Police Department making it very clear that this was not a lockdown, that they were looking for a suspicious person. Nothing was turned up. They didn't find anyone, but just as another precaution they're going through with a K-9 unit and then we will wait for the all-clear, which has yet to come at this point. Jim?
SCIUTTO: They took a lot of precautions today, including that search. They activated a SWAT Team, just in case. Thankfully these are tools they didn't have to use in the end. That said, we still don't have that all-clear.
I want to go to Drew Griffin. He's on another side of the security cordon that the police have set up. Drew, are you seeing the cordon being broken up at all; any relaxation there?
GRIFFIN: Not at all. We keep waiting for this officer to jump in his vehicle and pull away, give us the all clear; but I wanted to add, Jim, to your conversation with Art Roderick, talking about whether or not this is the new normal. I've been working on a story all day today, concerning the treats that were being made via social media and internet sites against police departments nationwide before the attack that took place here in Dallas.
There is a heightened sense of alert of police being potential targets across the country. So when you say, maybe this is an over exaggeration or an over precaution, the police know, especially here in Dallas, that they have been targeted and there has been this kind of call to attack police and they are being extremely cautious, not just with the public safety but with themselves. So that is kind of the backdrop here as we watch what hopefully is a false alarm. Jim?
SCIUTTO: No question, and it's a fair point; this particular alarm may not have been borne out, but keep in mind the police did receive an anonymous threat. That is real, and it's not the only one to Dallas, and it's certainly not the only police department facing threats like that. So, yes, this may be an abundance of caution, but a very understandable one as police react to this.
Art Roderick, again, it remains, though, a delicate balance for police to strike because they want to protect and serve. They want to keep themselves safe; but they also want people to feel safe?
RODERICK: No, you're exactly right, Jim. It is a very tough balance here and I think what you're seeing now is really what we've just been talking about. This is going to be a new normal, unfortunately.
As you recall, as we move through in changing the way we respond to active shooters, any time there's any call at all now, everything, everybody rolls out. Everything shows up and it takes a while for that all-clear to be given. We're seeing the same thing here. The Chief is being very cautious here, as is every police department around the country for any of these incidences that occur within their cities. You're going to see this type of response and this type of caution as they move through to clear the particular situation.
SCIUTTO: Thanks very much, Art Roderick. I want to go to our Martin Savidge. He's been in front of the police headquarters there. He's on the phone now. [20:40:02] We continue not to broadcast live images from there, in and around the Police Headquarters, this at the request of the police as they were responding to this threat. They did not want to give any potential perpetrators a heads up as to what precautions, what movements they were making and taking.
Martin Savidge, what's the latest your seeing and hearing where you are?
SAVIDGE: The roadblocks are still here and I asked one of the officers going by me, I said, hey, is it over and he just said, no, not that I've heard and not that we've heard. So, the flashing lights are still on. The streets are still closed to the immediate perimeter to the police station. Not that same kind of edge that you felt and they're not - they're engaging members of the media here, sort of talk to them, mostly friendly; so that attitude has changed but, you know, the area is still basically blocked off, immediately in front of the Police Department.
Going back to, you know, what Drew was talking about. We were up at Louisiana, of course, covering the shooting up there of Alton Sterling and even before Dallas, there was a sense going through state authorities up there that Saturday night, and I don't know where this was coming from, but Saturday night they were going to be on heightened alert; and I've heard that, actually, from a number of jurisdictions all across the country. Now, whether this is an abundance of caution or whether there is some intel to back this up, Saturday has been very high on the list of concern ever since this week of tragedy began and now we're seeing a very specific action taking place in a city that suffered a tremendous loss to its police force. So, these are the kind of things that are going to reverberate across the country. Just because something hasn't happened in your neighborhood doesn't mean that the police there aren't on edge, they are. They're on edge everywhere and they're very concerned for their own safety, the public safety and they have to go about and do their job at the same time.
SCIUTTO: No question. I'll give you an example. New York Police Department, for instance, officers now going out in pairs only, even for patrols, for instance, beats that they might normally do alone, they're now doing in pairs; just one of many precautions that other police departments in other cities are taking. Martin Savidge, thanks for being there in front of Police Headquarters throughout this.
We're going to take another short break. Please stay with us. We continue to monitor events in and around the Dallas Police Department Headquarters. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:46:06] SCIUTTO: Welcome back; I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. We continue to cover an ongoing security situation around the Dallas Police Department Headquarters. Their attention had focused on the police parking lot, a suspect possibly seen inside. Police searched that parking lot, first on foot then with K-9 units. They did not find someone. They have not issued an all-clear yet but our reporters on the ground there have seen their security posture relax somewhat in the half-hour, hour or so, but we continue to monitor. Police there clearly acting out of an abundance of caution. We also know that the police have received direct threats; this is
real. This is serious and it's a situation that they have to handle, and will likely have to handle going forward, as many police departments, in many American communities are facing today.
We have a whole team of reporters in the area there. I want to begin, if I can, with Drew Griffin. He's been just at the security cordon that police have set up, a number of blocks in each direction around the police headquarters, and I know Drew, you've been watching that cordon to see if police are ready to relax it. Have you noticed that yet?
GRIFFIN: Jim, they are ready -
SCIUTTO: Let me just give you -
GRIFFIN: -- to get in their cars and get off their feet, I can tell you that.
SCIUTTO: Drew, one brief interruption; I'm sorry. The Dallas Police Department has just tweeted, "First and second floors have been cleared" this, presumably, of that parking lot "police employees have been allowed to access their vehicles and leave." So safe enough for police to go into that parking lot, get into their vehicles and leave. Another step forward, but, from where you are, Drew, they haven't yet relaxed the police cordon?
GRIFFIN: No, they haven't and that's one thing people have been pointing out to us, people who are actually - people who are outside this perimeter now for a couple of hours now, trying to get home to their residences inside the perimeter, questioning how anybody could have gotten that close to the Police Department or gotten into an actual garage where mostly police officers park. I'm sure we'll find that all out as we learn more about what this threat really was or how it was called in or what kind of a witness actually saw something or thought they saw something.
But, again, the perimeter, Jim, remains. We're about, I think, five blocks, four to five blocks outside it. These police officers have been here from the get go. They evacuated all the civilians that they could find, that were just outside. We did not see any residences actually being evacuated, but it's just been kind of this standoff ever since, as those SWAT teams and dog teams now go to work, as you said, clearing the first two floors, presumably moving on to all the rest of the floors out of an abundance of caution, which we all can understand after what happened in this city.
SCIUTTO: No question, and we just have another progress report, not up on screen yet, but this from the Dallas Police Department; another tweet, they say that the search of the Third Floor now, of this parking lot, will conclude, they say, in a few minutes. No suspicious person or items found inside.
As Drew mentioned there, we don't know who called in this potential threat, but remember, this is what police have been telling us for a long time, and that is, if you see something, say something. Whether or not this turns out to have been a real threat, a real suspicious person, that guidance remains the same. They want us, members of the public and others to call in if they see something suspicious. Better to act out of an abundance of caution than not to act. That is the guidance. If you see something, say something.
I want to go to my colleague, Stephanie Elam; she's also in and around the Police Headquarters. Stephanie, are you seeing any change to their posture now?
ELAM: Definitely. IN fact, we just saw a couple of, I'd say, two - there [20:50:02] were two SWAT like vehicles that just left the scene here, that just came away from the Police Headquarters. We've also seen a couple of police vehicles -
SCIUTTO: Stephanie? Stephanie - I'm just going to interrupt you there because we have what we've been waiting for for some time, and I'll share this with you, that they've issued an all-clear. Dallas Police Department saying, "This threat is all-clear. It is no longer a security situation there."
Stephanie, I imagine as they issue that you're seeing police movements that reflect that all-clear call?
ELAM: Completely. It was almost as if, on cue, all of the officers heard it at the exact same time. They're opening up this street now. The police officers here yelling "back to the sidewalk" because they are now about to get these cars out of here and they are going to have cars moving on the right side of traffic.
But it was all about the same time that those two SWAT vehicles left and these police officers started getting the road open here. The police officers are leaving. We've seen a couple of civilian cars pull out from here as well, too.
It was like a blanket was just lifted off this area of Dallas here, so that they can go back to what they need to be doing, and if you really think about what this means for these officers who feel like - I mean, think about how rough this week has been, how they've been targeted, how they've lost people, they have people that they love, that they work with that have been injured and just a thought about that memorial that is up there, in front of the police station is something that I can tell you is very American.
It doesn't matter who has been lost or who has died, we always, always find that people go to one place where they want to remember those who have lost their lives, and that is the same thing here. That is something that I have seen across the country, and it is very important to people, to be able to get up there to those two police cars, to pay their respects and to remember these officers and to thank them for what they have done.
So opening this back up is also meaningful for a lot of people here who wanted to come and convey their support and love for these officers here in Dallas. Jim?
SCIUTTO: Stephanie Elam, thank you. We're seeing live pictures there now. Police cars leaving, this around the security cordon that Dallas Police had set up, several blocks around this police parking lot where they have been conducting this search, police just tweeting now that the search is concluded, and we've gotten word from the Dallas Police Department that an all-clear is being issued, section by section of this security cordon. So, that's the good news there.
This is a police department on alert. This is a police department that lost five of its officers 36-some odd hours ago. It's a police department that has received real threats, and continues to receive those threats, and they take those threats seriously. So when they saw, heard reports of a suspicious person, they acted.
Here they are now saying, "Out of an abundance of caution officers searched the garage to ensure reports of a suspicious person was thoroughly investigated." Art Rogers, thankfully a happy ending to this - Art Roderick, rather, a happy ending to this alert.
RODERICK: Absolutely; and, Jim, one thing I wanted to point out too was that, can you imagine what these police officers feel like over the last 36-hours? Adrenaline pump and then release. Adrenaline pump and then release. This wreaks havoc on you mentally and physically, and I'm sure Chief Brown has thought about this, thought about how he's going to relieve these men and women to get some sleep, but again, even more credit than we've given them, and they've got a long week coming up, because I have to assume they're going to start, unfortunately, burying their heroes, which, again, is going to create another heightened state of alert in the City of Dallas.
SCIUTTO: Art Roderick, thanks very much for joining us throughout this tense afternoon.
That tweet there, from the Chief, "Great job by our officers." A sense of relief for the people there and the public and the police in Dallas.
Before we leave you tonight, a reminder of just why this city of Dallas has been so on edge, a vicious killing of five officers little more than 36-hours ago. I want to show you some of the messages people left outside the Dallas Police Headquarters, where this large memorial continues to grow around those two police cruisers.
[20:55:00] [Video of memorial plays]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
