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Three Officers Dead, Three Wounded In Baton Rouge; President Obama Expected to Make Statement on Baton Rouge Shooting; Of Three Wounded Officers, Two Stable and One in Critical Condition. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired July 17, 2016 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:08] ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: President Obama will speak later this hour set to be at 4:30. You'll see both live here on CNN.
For now let me get you up to speed on what is happening in Baton Rouge, at least three police officers are dead after the daylight shootout. Now we have some new information we are just starting to get in. Video recorded, seen by a civilian, watching the police response and firefight this morning.
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COOPER: One man who was shooting at police officers is dead now. A law enforcement source tells CNN that a man matching his description was seen sitting in a car not far from the city's police headquarters shortly before this shootout.
It happened near a number of businesses and stores and homes. Police responding initially to reports of a man with a rifle exchanged fire with one gunman, possibly others. That has not yet been determined.
Witnesses say at least one of the men shooting at police officers was dressed head to toe in black wearing some sort of a mask. Right now, we know at least one suspect, one shooter, is dead.
Again, the latest information from our Pamela Brown is that according to one source, a man matching that man's description was seen sitting in a vehicle out near police headquarters before the shootings.
The situation is definitely not over. Police are on an area wide manhunt for other possible suspects. Everyone who lives in that area of Baton Rouge needs to stay inside and lock their doors.
CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now from CNN Center in Atlanta. Polo, I may have to interrupt you if the governor does begin this press conference. But let's update our viewers on the manhunt and the police situation in Baton Rouge right now.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, a few hours ago, we heard from police officers on the ground who said there could be two other individuals that they are still trying to seek out.
Keeping that in mind, we have to understand there are people who not only live in Baton Rouge, but also work and go to school there, including Louisiana State University.
In fact, just a few moments ago, I read a statement that was released by LSU a few moments ago. Officials there saying although the shooting actually occurred a good distance from the campus they're taking security measures to make sure that everybody stays safe.
COOPER: All right, let's listen into -- Polo, let's listen into Governor John Bell Edwards as well as state police officials. They are just gathering right now for the news conference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here today to give you an overview of what occurred today in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Today with us that will be speaking will be State Police Superintendent Colonel Mike Edmonson. He's going to give a rundown, an overview of what we can provide, what info we have available now.
Following the colonel will be Parish Sheriff Sid Gotreaux (ph) to speak to his deputies that were lost today followed by Baton Rouge Police Chief Carl Dabadie (ph), who will speak to his officers that we lost today followed by U.S. Attorney Walt Green, who will give a comment on the federal perspective, followed by remarks by Baton Rouge Mayor Kip Holden, and our governor, John Bell Edwards.
We will not be taking questions at the end. We're going to provide you everything that we know up to this point, so the briefing will conclude with Governor Edwards' remarks. Thank you.
COLONEL MIKE EDMONSON, SUPERINTENDENT, LOUISIANA STATE POLICE: First of all, thank you all for being here. I'm Colonel Mike Edmonson, superintendent of the Louisiana. First, let me tell you something, we're getting phone calls from around the nation and around the world. We want and need your prayers.
Baton Rouge is in need of those prayers right now, so we thank you for those. We want you to know we appreciate every single one of them going on at this time. We're not going to take questions at the end of this because it is an active, it is an ongoing, investigation that has a lot of moving parts right now with multiple agencies.
Louisiana State Police is the lead agency with regard to the investigation itself. We'll be working very closely with these Baton Rouge parish sheriff's office and the Baton Rouge Police Department from a local perspective.
And then we'll be joined from all our federal partners as we work to many, many leads that has taken place right now. We're going to give you a 1-800 number for the public to have as we move forward.
Let me make something clear right now. You're getting a lot of information. You're interviewing a lot of people. If it does not come from myself, the chief of police, or the east Baton Rouge parish sheriff, we cannot confirm its being factual. Just know that out front.
We're going to have another press conference tomorrow afternoon at 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time. We want to allow our detectives and all our investigators -- the crime scene, it's a very large crime scene.
[16:05:01]We're going to tell people in the Baton Rouge area if you do not need to be in that area of Airline Highway and Old Hammond Highway, stay out of that area because we're going to be working that throughout the evening and throughout the night.
Please also note that there is not an active shooter scenario in Baton Rouge. No active scenario that involves a shooter in the city of Baton Rouge. We do believe based on the information that we have -- again this is ongoing.
We believe the person that shot and killed our officers, that he is a person that was shot and killed at the scene. That's what we know right now. What we do not believe is we have any other shooter held up in the Baton Rouge area.
But understand this investigation has a lot of moving parts and pieces. We'll be moving and going on each one of those, but right now there is no active shooter scenario going on in Baton Rouge.
I'm going to read it to make sure you have the information. Today at approximately 8:40 a.m., several Louisiana law enforcement officers were shot near Airline Highway, Old Hammond Highway.
A call came into central dispatch of the Baton Rouge City Police Department saying that there was a guy carrying a weapon, carrying a rifle, walking in that particular area at Airline.
That was the information that came into us. Local officers were transported to local hospitals for treatment. Three officers have died from injuries. Two from the Baton Rouge Police Department and one from the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office.
One East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's deputy is in critical condition, just got out of surgery a short time ago. The sheriff and the chief are going to speak on those. Two additional officers suffered none life-threatening wounds. They are in stable condition at the hospital right now.
At approximately 8:40 a.m. Baton Rouge PD officers at a convenience store observed the individual. He was wearing all black standing behind a beauty supply store holding a rifle. At approximately 8:42 a.m., reports received of shots fired. At approximately 8:44 a.m., reports received of officers down on the scene.
At 8:45, reports received of more shots being fired. At 8:46 a.m., reports received of the suspect -- again, he was wearing all black standing near a car wash located right next to the convenience store.
At 8:48 our Emergency EMS units started arriving at the scene. They were staging so they could start approaching and getting the bodies at the scene to render first aid.
Officers engaged the subject at that particular time and he ultimately died at the scene. Those were officers that were responding to the scene itself. State police and multiple agencies responded to the scene in an attempt to secure the area and identify possible potential suspects and the further threats in the area.
We in law enforcement ask the public to stay vigilant. We want to know if you see something suspicious -- and you know what's suspicious and out of the ordinary in your particular area. Call your local police department. You know that number. Call that particular number.
If you see suspicious activity and you don't contact your local police department, call the following number, 1-800-225-5324. Again, we do not have an active shooter scenario in the city of Baton Rouge. We are working the investigation.
It's going to take us in multiple directions. A lot of leads out there we're following on. If you see something out of the ordinary, please call us. We'll have a 1:00 p.m. press conference tomorrow afternoon. We'll completely update you on anything that's going on with this. Sheriff?
SHERIFF SID GAUTREAUX, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Thank you, Colonel. As the colonel has just stated, shot today in east Baton Rouge parish. Three of which are Baton Rouge city police officers, two of which are deceased, one is still alive and Chief Dabadie will speak to those individuals in a minute.
We've had three East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs deputies that were shot. One is deceased, a 45-year-old. One is in critical condition fighting for his life as we speak, 41-year-old, and one had non-life- threatening injuries. He's in surgery right now. He's 51 years old.
Each one of these individuals married. Each one of these individuals have family. We're grieving as a law enforcement community. We're grieving for each other. We're grieving for our loss and we're grieving for our families.
And we ask for your prayers. Not only for us, like I say for the deputies, but the families and the co-workers. As law enforcement, we are a family and we stand here together as you can see.
[16:10:10]But our number one priority is the safety of our community, the safety of the people that live here, the safety of law enforcement. We have activated the Louisiana Sheriff's Association Task Force.
As you can see behind me, several of my fellow sheriffs are here. We want to assure you we are having a coordinated effort that is going forward to ensure that we continue to provide the services necessary to protect the citizens of this parish.
With God's help, we will get through this. To me, this is not so much about gun control as it is about what's in men's hearts. And until we come together as a nation, as a people, to heal as a people, if we don't do that and this madness continues, we will surely perish as a people.
So I would just ask for your prayers and your support for all of the families of those that are involved here today and continue to pray for this parish, this city, this state, and this nation.
CARL DABADIE, BATON ROUGE POLICE CHIEF: It's with a heavy heart that I stand here today. As the others have said, we've had six officers shot today. Three of those officers would be our PD officers. Two were killed in the line of duty. One is 41 years old and has just under a year of service.
The other was 32 years old with ten years of service. One non-life threatening injury. The officer was 41 years old and has nine years of service. We would ask for prayers for this community, for our officers, for the families that have been affected by today's senseless shootings that went on this morning. Prayers for all law enforcement.
Not just BRPD, but for all of us. We stand united. This is a united front. Make no mistake about that. This is very united. Public safety remains our priority and we will continue to do our job in the light of what's happened.
We have several agencies from outside that are coming in to lend support and help. Our officers have been depleted for the last 12, 14 days. There's other agencies who are coming in to help us and back us up, and that is for this community's safety.
As the sheriff said, we have activated the sheriff's task force. And it is a coordinated effort going forward. We'll get through this as a family. We'll get through this as a community.
But I want all of the BRPD officers to know I support you. Every single one of them, I stand with you. I stand beside you and we are going to get through this and we'll get through this together. This is not going to -- this is not going to tarnish this city or this department. We're going to move forward. Thank you.
J. WALTER GREEN, U.S. ATTORNEY MIDDLE DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA: This is indeed a tragic day for the city of Baton Rouge. On behalf of the attorney general of the United States and myself, I want to offer my condolences to the families as well as the officers that are involved in this shooting.
I can promise you with the backing of the Department of Justice and the attorney general all federal law enforcement assets that are needed will be given to this investigation.
We will go wherever it takes us to conclude this investigation. I would tell you that our continued support with federal, state, and local law enforcement in this matter has been great.
We have agents from the ATF, the FBI, as well as the United States Marshals Service as well as people in my office currently assisting with the investigation, and we'll continue to do so until justice is served. Thank you.
MAYOR KIP HOLDEN, BATON ROUGE: Let me tell you what. This is truly a sad day in Baton Rouge as we now meet again behind senseless killings. We continue to ask the question and continue to make the statement, let peace prevail in Baton Rouge and this parish.
We must look ahead. The president has acknowledged this violence and will reiterate those things in about -- I think around 3:30 our time. But again, the people that you see here today -- let me say unequivocally, the president has responded to the needs of Baton Rouge. Not only that.
The agencies you see here have always been partners with the state police, the sheriff's office, and the city police. We are one family all seeking justice for all of our people.
And so let me thank the president and also Ms. Jarret for their calls -- and the governor will elaborate also on the call he got from the president. But we must say that we ask you now for your prayers.
We also pray for those who were killed or injured today in the incident. We want you to pray for their families and be with them not only today but in the future. They are our first responders.
Now we pledge to them and their families that we will be their first responders. We must strive every day to be one nation under God and the decibel for liberty and justice for all.
We thank our officers who are fallen in the line of duty. We pray for their families. We pray for peace everywhere. God bless you.
GOVERNOR JOHN BEL EDWARDS (D), LOUISIANA: Well, today has been a very tough day here in Baton Rouge and in Louisiana and in our country. An absolutely unspeakable heinous attack on law enforcement here in Baton Rouge claimed the lives of two Baton Rouge police officers, one sheriff's deputy, and injured three others, one of whom today right now as we speak is absolutely fighting for his life.
It's unjustified. It's unjustifiable. The violence, the hatred, just has to stop. And it's at times like this I wish the command of the English language that I have were more adequate to the task to convey the full range of emotions that I am feeling and to express them on behalf of the state of Louisiana.
Earlier today, I along with Mayor Holden and the law enforcement community here gathered with the family members of the victims at the hospital. And when I tell you unspeakable tragedy, it's unspeakable that these men risking their lives to protect and serve this community were taken out the way that they were.
They are our real life, everyday heroes. As you have been told by Colonel Edmonson, this is an ongoing investigation. There are a lot of moving parts and multiple agencies.
I want to reassure everyone here in Baton Rouge and the state that we're doing everything humanly possible to make sure everyone is protected. Every resource is going to be available to be used to bring these perpetrators, if there's more than one, to justice.
And obviously, it means federal, state, and local. You just heard from the U.S. attorney from here in the middle district in Baton Rouge, but we're being aided by the FBI, the ATF agencies as well.
But I also spoke with the president of the United States a couple of hours who called to express on behalf of himself and the first lady but also the people of the United States their condolences, their best wishes for those who were injured for their full and speedy recovery.
But also their prayers for the people here in Baton Rouge and around the country. We have to do better. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. And the people who carried out this attack, the individuals, they do not represent the people of Baton Rouge or the state of Louisiana or what's best about our country.
They don't represent the values we stand for. Obviously, our community is hurting and only through peace and unity can we heal and that's going to take constructive dialogue. There simply is no place for more violence.
That doesn't help anyone. It doesn't further the conversation. It doesn't address any injustice perceived or real. It is just an injustice in and of itself. And we are not going to tolerate more hate and violence tearing apart the communities and families of Louisiana.
[16:20:07]So as I did just a few days ago, I'm inviting the people around the country to join their prayers to mine that our nation, that our community here, can heal, that we can get past this.
And certainly pray for the recovery of those officers who were injured today, but pray for all of their officers. All of our officers here in Baton Rouge and around the state and around the country and their family members, who every day expose themselves to great risk of harm simply so they can protect$ and serve as they have sworn to do.
As you were told by Colonel Edmonson, we are not going to take questions at this point. There will be another briefing, press briefing, tomorrow at 1:00. And we will then update you all with any additional information that we gather between now and then.
So I want to thank you for covering this press conference. And again, I ask everyone to join with the folks of Louisiana in solidarity so as a nation we can heal. We can get past this and we can be what we're supposed to be in the United States of America because we're not there today. God bless you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 1:00 tomorrow, we'll have a briefing. Anything significant that happens before then, we'll make sure you're notified of it, but please stay with us on that. Thank you all very much for being here.
COOPER: All right, you heard a number of officials. Governor John Bel Edwards was the last to speak, but earlier we heard from Colonel Mike Edmonson from the state police. The headline from Colonel Edmonson that there is no active shooter scenario right now in Baton Rouge, that the person who shot and killed the police officers in Baton Rouge and wounded three police officers in Baton Rouge they believe now was shot and killed. That was the person wearing all black said to be with a mask and a long gun. That person was shot in a shootout with police they believe. Unclear right now -- they said, look, this is an ongoing investigation with multiple agencies and a lot of moving parts.
Unclear if that person had help, but they believe there was only one shooter was involved. There is no active shooter scenario right now in Baton Rouge.
They said the initial call came in around 8:40 a.m. A guy carrying a rifle was seen walking down the street dressed in black. Around 8:42, there was reports of shots fired. There were exchanges of gunfire around 8:45 and 8:48 when the EMS units were heading to the scene and that is when police were able to kill the gunman.
Right now the condition -- we know three law enforcement personnel are dead. Three others have been wounded. Two are in stable condition with non-life-threatening injuries thankfully.
One is an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy who is in critical condition right now and as they said fighting for his life. A lot to process, but again the headline for people in Baton Rouge, according to the state police, there's no active shooter scenario in Baton Rouge.
Earlier on, they said there was some concern there might be other shooters or other suspects who were involved in this incident on the loose. They believe that the shooter who engaged with police, the only shooter was killed by police.
I'm joined by Art Roderick, CNN law enforcement analyst and former assistant director for the U.S. Marshals Service also here with Bob Reid, also a CNN law enforcement analyst.
So Art, the pieces are coming in slowly into focus. It is still very much an active investigation, though.
ART RODERICK, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, it always amazes me that this damage with three officers killed, three wounded, all happened in a span of seven to eight minutes.
COOPER: Right.
RODERICK: It just amazes me. That's a long seven and eight minutes for those officers on the scene and obviously with three dead, it's absolutely horrendous. It was nice to hear that we had some solid information that came out.
Now the question is, were there others that possibly assisted him prior in the planning stages, did they supply the weapon? Did they supply ammunition? So all of this will come out as ATF moves through this particular case.
We got information that he had a phone with him at the time. Law enforcement's looking through that to see who he had communications with, but it is very odd that there are some reports that he was sitting by the Baton Rouge --
COOPER: Pamela Brown had a source saying that this person was seen in a vehicle outside or near the police headquarters.
RODERICK: Right. And then the shooting took place very close to the headquarters there. It is a strange set of circumstances here.
[16:25:08]COOPER: Was this person intentionally trying to engage with police? Was that the objective? Was that the motive? That's unclear.
RODERICK: Right. Was he taking out the police department? I'm sure they'll have all this information.
COOPER: Right. I mean, clearly what he was wearing, a long gun, it truly raises a lot of concerns and questions.
BOB REID, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: From what I followed there, outside the convenience store that's usually attended by law enforcement officers --
COOPER: In fact there was a law enforcement officer inside at the time the first shots were --
REID: Maybe that's all going to start coming together that this person was stalking them and was outside, but we have to wait and see.
COOPER: Right. This was said to be a store that was very popular with law enforcement officers. They went there not far from the headquarters.
Also with me CNN senior law enforcement analyst and former assistant FBI director, Tom Fuentes. Tom, I should point out, we are about 4 minutes away from anticipated remarks by President Obama. We'll obviously bring that to our viewers as well. Tom, from what you heard in the press conference, what stands out to you?
TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: I have to admit, Anderson, to be kind of confused about the whole thing of when was the first shot fired, how did this thing get started? Were shots fired were before any police officers got there? Was it strictly when they arrived they were met with gunfire?
At what point where they able to return or were at the backup so there was a lot of details which admittedly we'll know more tomorrow at the 1:00 briefing but I found it confusing to get a handle on what occurred when those officers arrived at the scene. Had there been shots fired already or not or did they arrive under a hail of gunfire?
COOPER: Right. Which one eyewitness that we spoke to at the top of the last hour claimed that there had been, but again it's one eyewitness and unclear how reliable what he feels he saw or heard is, Tom.
FUENTES: We also know from the Alton Sterling incident that Baton Rouge officers carry body cams. In that incident the body cams fell off, but you could see they were attached and came off.
In this case as they're driving up, they should have dash cams. Even if they don't have dash cams on the squads as they're arriving at the scene, the officers still have front facing body cams.
I know it's probably gruesome because the officers that were killed probably have their own deaths recorded, but that should give the investigators a lot of information as to what exactly happened when they arrived at that scene.
COOPER: Also with me is retired LAPD police sergeant, Cheryl Dorsey. Sgt. Dorsey, how is it -- when an investigation like this happens, I mean, obviously, all the officers involved have to be interviewed. How quickly does that whole process begin?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: That may vary from agency to agency. Certainly on the Los Angeles Police Department it begins immediately and so I don't really know what the protocols and procedures are there.
But Anderson, one of the things that I would like to speak to is what's going to happen with our men and women in blue uniform going forward? I think the way that we handle ourselves, which has been reactionary, based on what we have seen is now forever changed.
So I think the days of one man units and responding to high priority calls without the presence of an air unit is something that's going to have to be looked at carefully so that our officers are safe day-to- day when they respond to high priority calls and maybe even what we just like to call routine calls because there's no such thing anymore.
COOPER: When you say a high priority call, what would that entail?
DORSEY: That would entail this call of a man with a gun. You're going to go there with your antenna kind of high, right. This is a man with a gun call so you want to be particularly careful.
But I'm not sure anymore that a routine call, a dispute, a disturbance could be a situation where someone may want to ambush an officer. I know on small departments, they do run what we call, L-units, a one- man car.
So great care has to be given now when officers respond to make sure that they have the resources so that they can put themselves in the best position advantageously to be safe when they end that encounter.
COOPER: CNN law enforcement analyst, Cedric Alexander, is also with us. I want to run through the timeline first as we know it according to what we just heard from the state police.
They say that at approximately 8:40 a.m. Eastern Time officers responded to -- I should say local time. Officers responded to a call about a person carrying a weapon.
Two minutes later at 8:42 a.m., reports came in of shots fired. At 8:44 a.m., reports started coming in of officers down on the scene. At 8:45 a.m. more shots being fired.
Another report of a suspect wearing all black clothing standing near a car wash near a convenience store came in at 8:46 a.m.
[16:30:00] And two minutes later, at 8:48 a.m., Emergency EMS units started arriving at the scene trying to render first aid to the officers who were shot. And it was sometime in that time frame that the active shooter -- that the shooter who had killed the officers and wounded others, was himself shot and killed. So Cedric, what do you make of what came out from the press conference?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, those timelines that you see probably came straight out of their 911 center as they were called in that really give you somewhat of a picture of what occurred every two minutes. And it appeared to be an event that took about six minutes. We don't know -- I agree with Tom on this, is that there are some things that appear a little sketchy that is I believe being deliberately left out and probably appropriately so merely because they're still an active investigation going on.
They probably are taking a look at some very gruesome footage that's taken from those video recorders on those officers that may have lost their lives and those that were injured. So, it's probably a lot of information in there Anderson, but they have to be very careful in terms not being able to give out too much information right now because it is still very early in this and this is a real very sensitive matter as well too because probably it's going to be captured -- probably will have been captured on some type of video.
COOPER: Which is a sickening thought or rather for law enforcement to have to even have to look at that, to see what happened to their fellow officer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's correct.
RODERICK: Not only do you have the body cams, but my understanding is that this is a business area, so you've got all the businesses with surveillance cameras set up in that area, and law enforcement will be pulling those also. And that could give them a very good view of this individual moving from the police station, getting out of his vehicle, and walking down the street. I'm sure they'll have whole story put together, if not already fairly quickly.
COOPER: We should point out we're awaiting -- you see on the side of your screen -- we're waiting for President Obama to make live remarks about the shootings in Baton Rouge. You know, I guess the main question still remains and it bears repeating the motive of this person. Was this to lure police officers? Was this to directly engage with police officers? Was that the motive of this person when he woke up this morning?
RODERICK: That's the key part. I mean, we've got to figure out what his motive is because this could affect law enforcement across the country. If this is just similar to the individual in Dallas where you have one mentally disturbed person that's coming out and wants to engage law enforcement, that's one thing as opposed to what we thought earlier, where we could have had a conspiracy involving two or three people. It seems to be narrowing it down now to possibly just one individual. And that, as horrible as it sounds, calms a lot of fears around the country.
COOPER: How it would -- I mean, we heard from Cheryl who is saying, you know, some of the ripple effects it could have. Do you agree with her in terms of how this may affect how police respond to even routine calls?
RODERICK: I think that's exactly what's going to happen. After every one of these incidences, law enforcement always goes back and reviews all their standard operating procedures, their policies, their guidelines to make sure this particular type of incident doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, a lot of times law enforcement is reactive as opposed to proactive, but we've got to get to that part where we're a little more proactive.
REID: And one other thing is officers that are in one-man cars are now in two man cars. That affects the citizenry of the communities where it takes longer to get to calls because you don't have those numbers of cars. It still always going to be serve and protect, but survival is getting up there.
COOPER: And in terms of weaponry, you know, does the average police officer have a long rifle in their vehicle that they can respond (ph) in kind say to somebody?
REID: Some do. Some departments that I'm familiar with, they have one car that's equipped with S.W.A.T. equipment that's on that shift. But for the officer that's under fire, that doesn't help if he's ten blocks away.
COOPER: Right. Time is of the essence. I mean, this went on for at the very least some six minutes or so. I remember reading FBI studies of active shooter situations. Most of the people who were killed by active shooters are killed within the first six minutes and oftentimes it takes several minutes for police to even get on the scene, but in this case they were there. Not only according to the state police, was there somebody already in that convenience store, a police officer, but the headquarters was very close.
[16:35:00] RODERICK: It sounds like they engaged them right away. In you know, that six minutes is a long time and it sounds like, you know, thank goodness that police officer was in that convenience store, did see this, engaged him right away. We don't know exactly what officer was where when they were shot and killed so, you know, law enforcement wants to look at that and figure out tactically, you know, is there something we can do better.
COOPER: We also had this eyewitness report of somebody already down when police got there, which again I don't know how accurate that was or what this person actually saw. I mean, that doesn't fit into the narrative that the police have given out so far. We don't know who that person was.
REID: Yes, exactly. COPPER: We are waiting again -- President Obama expected to make
statements. He already had put out a statement earlier this afternoon responding to the shootings. The condition of the three wounded officers in Baton Rouge, two of them are in stable condition thankfully with non-life-threatening injuries we were told. But according Colonel Mike Edmonson' State Police, one of the sheriff's deputies, the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's deputies, is in critical condition and fighting for his life.
Cheryl, the LAPD, I mean, I remember there was a shootout many -- I don't, you know, recall the year. This is just coming from my memory -- where a heavily armed individual with sort of makeshift tactical gear. I think he attempted to rib a bank and he engaged with a shootout with police in L.A. who were heavily outgunned by this person. And that really -- that changed the tactics, that changed the weaponry that the LAPD began to use or began to routinely carry. Didn't it?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Yeah, that was at north Hollywood and I was actually assigned to north Hollywood division when that occurred. And you know, as a police officer, I mean, we're always outgunned, right. I mean, we have to follow certain guidelines and procedures and you know, we're only allowed to carry those of us in uniform in a black and white a certain type of weapon and we, you know, certainly in my time, I went from a .38 revolver to a .9 millimeter and I think they're carrying something much different now.
And in terms of -- even the ammunition that were given -- and so much like in that north Hollywood shootout, we were outgunned and so we had officers who commandeered a gun shop and thankfully the owner was amenable to some of our officers arming themselves with automatic rifles so that we could just at least have a level playing field. And so, you know, I don't know what's going to happen, but this is not good, Anderson, and so, you know, it's important that our officers are mindful.
Right now, for real, for real, when you go out there, you are a a disadvantage. Wear your uniform issued bulletproof vest because I see officers throwing them on at the last minute when they get in a tactical situation. And in an emergency, that's not the time. So, we just need to be safe and mindful so we can get home to our families at the end of the evening.
COOPER: Cedric Alexander, again, no -- according to State Police, no active shooter situation ongoing right now in Baton Rouge, which is certainly a relief to a lot of the residents in Baton Rouge because earlier the police had said there may be other suspects -- armed suspects who are out there.
They're saying right now they don't believe that is the case, that the person who shot and killed the police officer was himself shot and killed, but that doesn't mean that there aren't concentric circles of people who knew what this person was planning, perhaps helped plan with this person or in some way aided and abetted this person.
ALEXANDER: Absolutely, Anderson, and that's going to be part of the continuing investigation. The good news is the lone gunman has been put down. Still what we don't know is who may have been involved with him in the planning, in the execution of this horrific event. But they'll get to the bottom of that I'm quite sure here pretty soon once they identify him, identify who his contacts are, identify his relationship in that community or wherever he may have come from. And I think we'll find that out here pretty soon.
COOPER: And Cedric, obviously, I mean, because they believe or Tom Fuentes, because they believe the gunman himself -- they know the gunman himself was shot and killed, it's only a matter of time before they can identify that person and then that's when the investigation actually kind of gathers speed.
FUENTES: True. I'm sorry. Is that for me?
COOPER: Sorry, Tom, go ahead.
[16:40:00] FUENTES: A point I'd like to make, Anderson, is that they make it clear that he may have been the only shooter on the street, but they're looking into whether others assisted him or were co- conspirators. And so when they get the information off his cellphone or maybe when they go to his residence, computers or other family members that may lead them to go to other residences, there's nothing to say now that those other suspects might be lying in wake to ambush the police when they come knocking on their door.
COOPER: And Tom, in a situation like this, is the FBI -- do they have a role in this?
FUENTES: Absolutely. All the law enforcement agencies are out there. And, you know, in the beginning, they don't know is it domestic terror or is it some other, you know, type of crime, but they all know they need to work together. The FBI has a large office in Baton Rouge. I learned that they were there immediately assisting the police. Also often provide a great deal of forensic assistance with the Evidence Response Teams, but also the ATF, the Marshals, DEA, everybody that can lend a hand comes out there as well as all of the state county and local city police in the area coming to help.
Unless, as the chief mentioned, Baton Rouge has been depleted because of all the extra work they've had the last week and a half of trying to cover protests and other situations. So, they need all the help they can get just to put officers on the street.
COPPER: Cedric Alexander, in terms of the investigation, what are the main questions that police are looking at now? I mean, if you were in this investigation, what would you want answers to other than the motive of the shooter and the identity of the person?
ALEXANDER: You want to identify the shooter -- Absolutely. You want to identify the shooter and you want to try to determine what that motive may have been. And that's going to be gathered certainly through his associations and any other technical evidence they're able to come up with, but that's the first and foremost thing in terms of this investigation, Anderson, is who is this shooter. And that's going to tell us a lot about his history. And who has he
been associated with and of course doing search warrants at his residence or wherever he may reside to his vehicle, and it's going to reveal a lot of information, and that's going to take a little time.
COOPER: Again, we are waiting for President Obama, any moment now. He was to have spoken at 4:30 we were told. You see that on the side of your screen. We're waiting for his comments. His statement earlier expressed obviously support for those who lost their lives and those who are in the hospital. And as I said, the three wounded officers -- thankfully two of them do not have life-threatening injuries.
The third officer, an East Baton Rouge sheriff's deputy, is said to be in critical condition right now. And also the State Police wanted to emphasize this is very much an ongoing investigation. Multiple agencies are involved with multiple moving parts. Our justice correspondent, Pamela Brown is also joining us now. What are you learning? Before the press conference, we got a report from you about a possible sighting of this gunman.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. According to the preliminary information, there was a possible sighting of him in a car wearing all black, the mask, and the long gun. And then there was a 911 call that we've now know where the person calling in said that there's a person walking down the road carrying this long rifle wearing black. The description of the one suspect we know of that is down and that we have learned that the law enforcement has a potential ID and that they're now trying to figure out who he's been in contact with and who else may be involved.
COOPER: So you've learned they do have a potential ID.
BROWN: There's a potential ID. We're not ready to say the name yet, but there is a potential ID and we know that they've been up on his cellphone trying to figure out who else he's, you know, who else he's been talking to, whether there is a bigger conspiracy at play here. I can tell you that in the wake of what we saw in Dallas, there was an increasing chatter among domestic terror groups, hate groups that want to target police about wanting to do something similar.
That has been a bit concern. We have no idea if that relates to this situation because the big question is, were police responding to something else? Another crime taking place or was this a police ambush? I will mention one scenario that officials are looking at right now, and it's just a scenario as whether -- as possibility that someone could have called 911 to lure in police.
That is something that we've seen elsewhere where someone has called 911 just to get police in one place and then launch an attack. There was chatter about that and then there were some arrests made in Hollywood, Florida. So, that is certainly a scenario. I've also learned through my sources that there was a police officer in a little coffee shop right next to where the shooting happened.
About ten minutes before, his relatives said he was in that coffee shop. So the question is, did he engage the shooter initially and then did the police arrive. They're still trying to fill in those gaps as we speak, Anderson.
COOPER: The idea that this could have been potentially a 911 call used to lure somebody in -- to rather explain earlier and there were point of others of our law enforcement analyst. I mean, that does have ramifications for police all around the country. I mean, of all the 911 calls coming in, if you suddenly are now second guessing the validity of these 911 calls, that's a huge concern.
[16:45:00] BROWN: Absolutely. I have been speaking to law enforcement officials early across the country today and every one of them said that this is scary. This is a dangerous time. And as one person said, you know, law enforcement's job is to go in and protect the community, but who is going to protect us now? There is really this feeling among law enforcement that it is open season against them. Again, we don't know the context around the shooting, but it certainly raises that concern.
And since we're here in Cleveland, Anderson, the talk is about how, you know, how do you protect police and people? You've got the open carry law, which does raise concern among law enforcement, that there could be people with nefarious intentions mixing in with the protesters. And then you have a large presence of law enforcement, as one official said, that's like a tinder box with a spark, there's a lot of concern.
COOPER: All right, you had mentioned that the cell phone, that the police may already be up on the cell phone of this shooter. Do we know was the cell phone recovered at the scene?
BROWN: I don't know -- I don't know those specific details. I mean, the first as we just heard Cedric state, you know, the first thing they want to do is identify the shooter, see who else they've been in contact with. So, that was definitely something that they did very early on. But we don't know if it was on the shooter or if they found it elsewhere.
COOPER: OK. Tom Fuentes, this idea of second guessing 911 calls, I mean again, the ripple effects for this could be dramatic for police forces around the country.
FUENTES: You know, it's interesting Anderson as this type of possibility -- when I went through a police academy training in 1973, they talked about situations where that's exactly what happened. A call went in, whether it was a family disturbance or suspicious subject. And when the officers arrived, they were ambushed. So, it's nothing that hasn't happened for decades, it's just like we haven't heard about it for a while and all of a sudden it's coming up now as a new technique, but it's not new. It's just -- it's happening again more recently in greater numbers than it used to.
COOPER: Yeah. President Obama, again, expecting his remarks very shortly, anytime now. Gloria Borger is also joining us. I mean, you know, I think back to just last week in Dallas, President Obama saying, "Look, I've had to do this too many times." Here he is yet again speaking in the wake of a horrific shooting of police officers.
GLORIA BORGER, CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, I understand. He's had to do this 15 times since 2009.
COOPER: Some sort of mass shooting.
BORGER: Some sort of mass shooting. First I believe it was Ft. Hood. And this is a president who is sick over this honestly. Whether its gun control that he keeps talking about or whether it's ISIS or whatever it is that inspires any of these people. I think this is a president who doesn't want this to be his legacy when he leaves office, to have this kind of unrest and this kind of outrage, whatever sparks any of this.
And I think what you heard from the president in his statement was his talk about the rule of law and about civilized society and that these attacks have to speak (ph) because they're conducted by cowards, but you know, these are words that we have heard from him. And every time I see him do something like this, you can just -- we'll see in a few minutes. You can see the anguish in his face having to preside over these kinds of things.
COOPER: Did you want to say something?
BROWN: We had mentioned earlier, Anderson, that there was a possible ID of the suspect that was down and we have now learned Baton Rouge police shooter has been identified as 29-year-old Gavin Long. This is according to two law enforcement sources. He was born, the sources say, on July 17th, 1987. So, fairly young, named Gavin Long.
Of course, right now we're trying to figure out where he's from? What his connection is? Why he was in that area, but this coming from my colleague (inaudible) and Evan Perez as well, these two sources -- and Gavin Long, 29 years old, was the shooter.
COOPER: Once now, I mean, now that they have an ID, it's just a matter of time now before they go to his home. They go to his circle of people to try to find out more.
BROWN: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, that is really what they're doing now as we speak. We know they've interviewed relatives of some of the police officers who were involved and they're also going to interview those who knew this gunman. We talked about, Anderson, you don't like naming the gunman because so often they do things just to get attention.
COOPER: Was this somebody who witnessed what happened in Dallas and thought, you know, in some sick way he wanted to do a similar thing?
BROWN: And as I mentioned earlier, in the wake of Dallas, law enforcement picked up an increase in chatter from these hate groups saying we want to do something similar. Maybe we can call 911 and lure in cops in this way. And so, they're certainly on edge and you know, they're certainly -- law enforcement knew there was a possibility to be a copy cat attack. The motive here is still very much unclear and we're still trying to figure out if there was more than one shooter. That is still a bit murky as well for law enforcement officials.
[16:50:00] COOPER: Although, I mean, that's one of the things, because the governor did talk about suspects, plural, potential suspects plural, and yet they have come out and said that there is no active shooter situation in Baton Rouge.
BROWN: That was my first question.
COOPER: That the gunman himself, the person that shot and killed the police officers was himself shot and killed, which seems to indicate that there were not other people armed shooting at police.
BROWN: Or it could have been people who -- they've figured out to give (ph) him a car or accomplices in some way, but not actually involved in the shooting. But I will say typically in situations like this, the initial thinking is that there is more than one shooter. And so police moved forward as though there is more than one and prepare for that, but typically ends up being one lone shooter.
COOPER: Well, a lot of that also as we've talked about before, is contradictory eyewitness statements. I mean, eye witnesses from different vantage points see different things, calling different things and say or even confuse sometimes police with, you know, in tactical gear with the shooter wearing all black. We've seen that in other shootings as well. So, oftentimes you have reports early on, the initial reports, of multiple shooters.
And then, I mean in Dallas, you know, there were those early reports of multiple shooters triangulating, and turned out the shooter was actually just shooting and then moving using a tactic that he had practiced.
BORGER: You know, that's one reason you see the president waiting to a degree because he wants to talk to the FBI, he wants to talk to other law enforcement. He wants to determine exactly what they know, because before he addresses the American people and of course, we know part of what he's going to say, but he wants to have as much information as he can because the president of the United States should be the last person to jump to conclusions about anything.
And so, you know, you can be sure he was in contact with law enforcement as we were told immediately. But there's a need, I would say, to talk to the American public at a time like this because we are getting all different kinds of information, and it's scary to people. And what a president does at this time is try to calm people down and say, "Wait a minute, okay, take a breath. Let's mourn and let's figure this out."
COOPER: Law enforcement analyst Cedric Alexander is also with us as we wait President Obama's comments. Cedric, how do, I mean, as they said this is very multiple agencies involved in this ongoing investigation. How confusing is it in a situation like this to have all these different agencies working -- how is that all sorted out, who does what?
ALEXANDER: Well, that may sound complex, Anderson, but the reality of it is, is that we have been working together for a lot of years across this country -- a multitude of agencies and particularly in the climate that we're in now, post-9/11. So, this is not new to us. We all have very specific roles. We all got coordinated and planned for events that we often see today, so it's not unusual. It may sound like it, even though there are a number and a variety of federal, state, and local agencies involved, but everybody is very respectful of each other.
Everyone shares information, and everyone understands the importance of working together so that the bad guys are caught and the community remains safe because for all of us, it's about public safety and make sure that we protect that respective community and the same time respect being -- in supporting each other during the investigation.
COOPER: Pamela Brown, you're getting some more information. Is that it?
BROWN: No, we're just making a point that it just registered, as I was reading on air the gunman's name that it's his birthday today. The shootout happened on his birthday. It does raise questions a little bit about whether this was just a spur of the moment crime that was being committed or something he wanted to do to go down in flames on his birthday.
And as was Cedric was saying, I've been speaking to people on the ground in Louisiana, and there is a bit of confusion because there are so many law enforcement officials involved in different agencies. There's a bit of confusion in terms of delegation of duties, and so that is why too in the very beginning, you need to be so careful with the preliminary information because it could be a bit of a game of telephone when it comes to those.
COOPER: I think Athena is standing by. The White House, I think that we've been -- we expected President Obama to speak about 25 minutes ago. Any word on when he's going to speak?
[16:55:00] ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, Anderson. We believe he'll be coming out any minute now. As you mentioned, he was scheduled to speak several minutes ago. He's likely still coming up with the right words to say. We've heard the president say really over and over again, but certainly during the memorial service in Dallas, how words are not enough. Action is needed to deal with the tension that's going on in these communities. And so, I think he's well aware coming out here today.
He's going to talk about to support the police. He's going to condemn the attack as he's already done in a paper statement, and as he had to do a couple weeks ago of course in Dallas. This is becoming all to routine him having to come out and play the role of consoler in chief, comforter in chief. He said already in a statement put out today that we don't yet know the motives for this attack, but there is no justification for violence against law enforcement. None.
These attacks are the work of cowards who speak for no one. They right no wrongs. They advance no causes. So, I suspect when he comes out to deliver what we expect to be brief remarks, maybe five minutes or ten minutes. He'll talk about the need to make sure justice is done, to make sure this crime is investigated, to offer support for police, and to come together. The president has been trying to argue that America is not as divided as a lot of these recent events would suggest.
But for a lot of people those words don't sound true. When you wake up on a Sunday morning, maybe with some people heading to church and see this news. So, he has to strike a balance as he comes out today to of course offer support for police, try to offer words of comfort. All of course as we're still waiting to find out more about just what went down in Baton Rouge, Anderson.
COOPER: Well, more details to come no doubt. We will await President Obama. We'll bring you his remarks live. We're going to take a short break. Our coverage continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN THE SITUATION ROOM SHOW HOST: Happening now, we're following breaking news out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer and you're in "The Situation Room."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BLITZER: We're live here in Cleveland on the eve of the Republican National Convention. We're waiting to hear from the president of the United States any minute now on the deadly Baton Rouge police shooting. We're learning from our sources that the Baton Rouge police shooter has now been identified as Gavin Long, a 29-year-old who shot three police officers dead, three other police officers are wounded. One of the wounded is in critical condition right now fighting for his life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible)
(Gunshots)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir! Sir!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[17:00:09] BLITZER: This was the scene. Now, you can hear the heavy gunfire. Civilian reported this video of this morning...
