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3 Officers Killed, 3 Wounded in Baton Rouge; Trump, Coup Attempt in Turkey; Clinton Condemned Baton Rouge Killings; More Arrests in France Attack Investigation; Protests Expected at Republican National Convention; Lawyer Says Nice Suspect was "Easily Influenced". Aired 1-2a ET
Aired July 18, 2016 - 01:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
[01:00:01] NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: And welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm George Howell. We continue covering the breaking news this hour here on CNN.
In the state of Louisiana police there trying to figure out the motive of a man who ambushed and killed three police officers in Baton Rouge Sunday morning.
ALLEN: Three other officers were wounded. One is in grave condition. We're told police received a call of a man carrying a rifle, dressed all in black, walking along a busy road, a highway. When officers arrived, the shooting began. Listen.
HOWELL: You can hear and see it there, that video from the scene. The gunman died minutes later in that shoot-out with police.
Keep in mind this. The situation in Baton Rouge was already tense after the police shooting of Alton Sterling. It happened July 5th. And just last week Louisiana State Police announced they had received threats against officers in the city of Baton Rouge.
ALLEN: The officers killed have been identified as Matthew Gerald, Montrell Jackson, and Brad Garafola. U.S. President Obama condemned the attack as cowardly and called for unity in America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is so important that everyone, regardless of race or political party or profession, regardless of what organizations you are a part of, everyone right now focus on words and actions that can unite this country, rather than divide it further.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Well, the gunman had been very active online and talked openly about the need to fight back. HOWELL: It's a very confusing picture of who he was. Our senior
investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has more on the shooter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Police are calling this an ambush that took place here in Baton Rouge on this terrible morning in which three officers were killed and three others injured.
The shooter dead. And as they look into his social media presence, they are painting a picture of a confused young man, a former Marine, who's 29 years old, African-American, out of Kansas City, Missouri, which means he would have had to driven about 800 miles just to get here. Police believe, based on where he was this morning, that he had been here, he knew the train and he had actually staked out where he would strike and kill these police officers.
On social media and YouTube postings, he talked openly about the need to do more than just protests of the killing of blacks by police officers. He basically gave a call to action and even gave instructions as to what people should think of him, should anything happen if he would not be around.
Police continue to investigate this terrible shooting while they're also trying to deal with the Alton Sterling, the killing that took place in Baton Rouge that sparked massive protests in the city. All of this going on while the Republican National Convention is getting under way. And people are just trying to get through what has been a very deadly summer.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Baton Rouge. Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Again three officers killed. One of them had posted on Facebook about how tired he was both physically and emotionally. That's Montrell Jackson, we're talking about, the African-American who was killed. He talked about trying times in his post from July 8th, one day after the Dallas police ambush and three days after Alton Sterling's death.
HOWELL: Let's take a moment here. I just want you to listen to what -- some of what Jackson wrote. "I swear to God I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me.
[01:05:02] "In uniform I get nasty, hateful looks, and out of uniform some consider me a threat. I've experienced so much in my short life and these last three days have tested me to the core."
Keep in mind he is -- was a new father and just your heart goes out to him.
ALLEN: Gut-wrenching words there, for sure.
Earlier Anderson Cooper spoke with one of Jackson's friends. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELLY LEDUFF, FRIEND OF FALLEN OFFICER: Yes, I think the Facebook quote that has come out since his untimely passing says a lot. You know, in his Facebook quote he is saying, hey, of anybody, protesters, cops, anybody passing by needs a hug and a prayer, come talk to me. I think that's said it.
I've seen him interact with the community a lot and every time, I mean, he is just a cop's cop. Strong guy, firm but fair. Loving, family man. And you know, the scene at the hospital today with his wife and young child is just -- it's something that I wish the nation could see. I mean, it's very tragic when you see the people that love him. He was a loved man.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You were in the emergency room. You were there at the hospital with family members of these officers. I mean, I can't imagine what that is like.
LEDUFF: Yes. And it's hard to describe. I don't have the words in my vocabulary. I've had tragedy in my family. I've had a close family member murdered in this city. And it's -- you know, that phone call that just, you know, makes the hairs climb up your back, is unspeakable. It was horrible. But at the same time, I think our city is bent. I just don't think it's broken, Anderson, I really don't. I think we'll come out of this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: CNN also spoke with Jackson's uncle, who says Montrell was dedicated to helping other people and making Baton Rouge a better city.
HOWELL: Well, the friend of another officer killed in Baton Rouge, he is also paying tribute. He calls Officer Matthew Gerald, one of the three men killed in Baton Rouge on Sunday, calls him a wonderful guy.
ALLEN: Nick Lambert spoke with CNN about the time he spent with Gerald in the U.S. Army. When asked how he wanted people to remember Gerald, Lambert said, quote, "his size. He was a small guy with a huge mentality. He was one of the true Americans that lived to be a patriot. He was honored to have done the things he did."
HOWELL: Baton Rouge is already very tense place, trying to come together after another high-profile shooting, the police-involved shooting of an African-American man, Alton Sterling, on July 5th.
ALLEN: Sterling's aunt pleaded for peace, though. She's very, very upset about violence following violence. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDA WASHINGTON-ABUSALEH, ALTON STERLING'S AUNT: We don't call for no bloodshed. That's how this all started, with bloodshed. We don't want no more bloodshed. So if you're not on the car with us, leave, go home, go wherever you come from. This is our house. You can't come in our house killing us. That's what you're doing. Because at the end of the day, when these people call these families and they tell them that their daddies and their momma's not coming home no more, I know how they feel because I got the same phone call.
No justice -- no justice, no peace. That's what we're calling for. Stop this killing. Stop this killing. Stop this killing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: That's the second time we've heard that particular sound bite from her played. It's just not easy to hear. You know, every time.
ALLEN: Right. It's so nice to see the families pulling together and saying they're sick of it.
HOWELL: Yes.
ALLEN: They're -- they're right in the middle of grieving and this happens.
CNN's Erin Burnett spoke with the governor of Louisiana about the shootings.
HOWELL: He called them unjustifiable and he called them senseless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. JOHN BEL EDWARDS, LOUISIANA: It was a senseless act of violence. It is unspeakable. And as I said earlier, it's unjustifiable. It's unjustified. It just doesn't make any sense. It doesn't further any dialogue that is constructive in our nation today on any issue. And it just needs to stop. And for anybody who thinks that they were doing something that would honor the life of Mr. Sterling here in Baton Rouge, or I should say the death perhaps, the family of Mr. Sterling spoke out powerfully and eloquently about the need not to resort to violence.
And so that certainly -- it's an interesting fact I suspect. But at the end of the day, the race of the shooter and of the officers is really immaterial. This is a terrible act of violence. And it should never happen in our country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOWELL: Keeping in mind racial tension in the United States has increased dramatically this month alone. July 5th, the shooting of Alton Sterling outside a convenience store. That sparked a number of protests across the country.
ALLEN: And then of course a day later, African-American Philando Castile was shot and killed by law enforcement during a traffic stop in Minnesota. His fiancee video-streamed the encounter which went viral. And the debate over law enforcement's use of excessive force was once again thrust into the spotlight.
[01:10:06] And on July 7th, Micah Xavier Johnson gunned down five police officers in Dallas, possibly in response to the previous shootings of African-Americans by police officers.
HOWELL: The shooting in Baton Rouge has shocked the nation for sure. But many people see this as part of a larger division within the country.
Cheryl Dorsey is a retired police sergeant at the Los Angeles Police Department and now joins us live from Los Angeles at 10:10 there in L.A.
Cheryl, it's good to have you with us. So let's talk about this. But first, let's set up the context. We don't know the motive behind this shooting. Police have not indicated anything one way or the other. We're still waiting to hear from them. But there is a larger sentiment and a greater concern about threats against police officers, in Baton Rouge, in the state of Louisiana. They were concerned about threats against police officers.
What can you tell us about how officers are dealing with that?
CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Well, these are very difficult times, George. And certainly there is tremendous pain and grief on both sides. And you know, this is not an either-or situation. This is an and conversation that we should be having.
And unless and until police chiefs are honest about the things that are affecting our young people that are causing them to feel so helpless and hopeless in their situations that they get to a point where they're fed up and they act out in a way that is unconscionable -- understand, I don't condone violence against police officers and I do not condone violence by police officers. But to ignore the elephant in the room and pretend like there is not a causal effect is disingenuous.
And so we need to have an honest dialogue about how to bridge that gap between minority communities and police officers so there is no more loss of life on either side.
HOWELL: And Cheryl, I'm sure our viewers around the world could appreciate, you know, you getting into the things that are -- that are leading up to this. But I do want to just ask you, though, you know, as a retired law enforcement official, and, you know, for other law enforcement officials, people who go to work each day, they go out to protect and serve. They want to come home to their families. How are they dealing with this concern that persists?
DORSEY: Well, you know, they're going to go out and they're going to do their job as they always have. They're going to be professional. But they're going to be mindful. Because understand, we recognize that complacency kills. And, you know, the days of routine traffic stop, routine radio calls are no more. And so police officers are now going to have to be mindful on every call, whether it's a high priority or a routine disturbance call that this could be a setup, that someone could want to hurt you for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with you.
And so that's when we rely on our training. And that's when we do that thing that we practiced and learned so that we do play like we practiced, keep ourselves safe, and make it home to our family at the end of our shift.
HOWELL: Cheryl, there is that old saying that there are always some bad apples in the bunch. But you can't, you know, throw the baby out with the bath water, so to speak there. There are a lot of good police officers out there who do their job day in and day out. So a question to you. Does it make officers second-guess themselves at times?
DORSEY: Well, I hope that officers don't second-guess themselves because in that moment that's when things can go awry, and that's when we can get hurt. And so listen, 99 percent of the officers who have come on the job do it for the right reason. They do a tremendous job day in and day out. And so I don't want a broad blanket the procession to say that all officers are acting inappropriately any more than I want a broad blanket a group in the community to say that they are somehow anti-police.
So we have to be honest about our differences, have a real dialogue about our angst. And when we find officers who are errant and who are violating policy and/or law that results in deadly force, the police departments need to deal with those officers. Families, victims of those police officers want accountability. They want there to be a consequence for the choice that the officer made. And until that happens, I think we're going to see a lot of angst based on people who are not able to really resolve those issues in their own head.
HOWELL: Cheryl, good to delve into the nuance in this with you.
Cheryl Dorsey live for us in Los Angeles. Cheryl, thank you for your time.
ALLEN: We'll have more on that story in a moment here. But coming up, we're going to turn to some other news we're following. Funerals have begun in Turkey, for people, hundreds killed in a failed coup attempt there.
HOWELL: How Ankara is cracking down on the alleged protesters, as CNN NEWSROOM continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SPORTS)
[01:18:42] ALLEN: And welcome back. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is urging his supporters to keep up their rallies after Friday's failed coup in that country. He says pro-government protesters who took to the streets foiled the takeover. At least 290 people were killed, though, when anti-government forces tried to seize power.
HOWELL: Here is the thing, though. The government is cracking down hard on anyone suspected in this attempted coup. Official says around 6,000 people so far have been detained.
CNN's Ben Wedeman has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the crackdown against coup plotters continues in Turkey, an ominous sound.
Crowds chant, "We want the death penalty," at the funeral of a civil servant, killed in Friday's clashes. And by the president a reply.
PRES. RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, TURKEY (Through Translator): My dear brothers, I expressed this yesterday as well. In democracies, people's requests cannot be ignored. This is your right. This right will be evaluated by the appropriate institutions within a constitutional framework and a decision will be made.
WEDEMAN: Two days after an attempted coup to oust Turkey's President Erdogan, the government has detained some 6,000 people, including senior aides and senior members of the military. The Turkish government has demanded that Fethullah Gulen, a Muslim cleric and self-imposed exile in the U.S. and accused of plotting the coup be extradited to Turkey, claims he denies.
[01:20:11] U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry responded today to extradition demands.
JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We've never had a formal request for extradition, and we have always said, give us the evidence, show us the evidence. We need a solid legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request.
WEDEMAN: A key ally in the region and in the fight against ISIS, Turkey's stability is critical to the United States. But with President Erdogan asking his supporters to stay out on the streets, scenes like this across Turkey may become even more common.
Ben Wedeman, CNN, Istanbul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOWELL: CNN is live in Turkey this hour. Our international correspondent Ian Lee on the story in Istanbul.
Ian, good to have you with us. So an investigation there is under way, as Ben pointed out. Many people behind this failed coup. They are detained. And now the president there considering bringing back the death penalty. There are a lot of moving parts to this thing.
IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And we've seen pictures of some of these people who have been detained, and there are a lot of them. And one picture has them in a stable only in their underwear. So, you know, there is a lot of people that they've been rounding up. As Ben pointed out, there are senior aides, senior people in the military, and others that have been rounded up. 6,000 -- at least 6,000 in total. And here in Istanbul, it seems like we're not out of the woods yet.
At least that's according to the government here. They're still calling for the people to take to the streets every night. Last night we heard them and saw them. Tonight we're expecting the same. They want to keep up this pressure to show that people who are leading the coup, if there's anyone still remaining who hasn't been picked up, that the people are still with the president.
HOWELL: Ian Lee live for us in Istanbul following this story. Ian, thank you so much for your reporting this day.
ALLEN: The coup there -- the coup attempt in Turkey is affecting its ties with the United States. During the failed takeover, Turkey closed the airspace at a base the U.S. uses to target ISIS. Ankara has also demanded the U.S. extradite a cleric it blames for the coup. The U.S. secretary of state spoke earlier on the coup with our Jake Tapper. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KERRY: I talked three times yesterday with the Foreign minister of Turkey. They assure me that there will be no interruption of our counter ISIL efforts. It is a fact that there was some difficulties at Incirlik, but apparently there may have been some refueling that took place with the Turkish Air Force with planes that were flying in the coup itself. And I think that has something to do with what's taken place there. It's not focused on us.
They have absolutely assured us of their commitment to the fight against Daesh. Their Foreign minister will be coming to Washington with their Defense minister in three days for a major conference that we have with 45 country, Foreign minister, Defense ministers to keep pushing forward on the strategy against Daesh.
So, Jake, I expect that, you know, operations will get back to normal very quickly. But we don't know the details of the coup. And I think the Turkish government itself is trying to figure out the full measure of who was involved and how.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR: Has this affected the fight against is, or as you call it, Daesh?
KERRY: No, it has not. According to our commanders, there may have been a minor delay here or there or something. But it has not affected the fundamental direction or commitment to the fight.
TAPPER: As you know, on Saturday, the president of Turkey, Erdogan demanded that the U.S. arrest or hand over one of his enemies, Fethullah Gulen, the person he is holding responsible for this coup who is living in self-imposed exile in the Poconos, in Pennsylvania. Is the U.S. going to comply with this demand for extradition?
KERRY: Well, first of all, we have not had a formal request for extradition. That has to come in a formal package. It has to come with documentation for the request, and go to the Justice Department. And we will deal with it. I made it very, very clear to the Foreign minister of Turkey yesterday, the United States is not harboring anybody. We're not preventing anything from happening. We've never had a formal request for extradition. And we have always said give us the evidence. Show us the evidence. We need a solid legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request.
[01:25:02] So we're waiting for that. They tell us they are putting it together and will send it to us. But we think it's irresponsible to have accusations of American involvement when we're simply waiting for their request which we're absolutely prepared to act on if it meets the legal standard.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Secretary of State speaking with CNN's Jake Tapper there.
HOWELL: Let's now talk about the situation in Baton Rouge. It joins a growing list of deadly incidents involving police in the United States. And we will discuss the impact that these killings are having going forward, next.
ALLEN: Also two more people have been detained in connection with the terror attack in Nice, France. We'll have the latest on the investigation coming up here.
HOWELL: Live in the United States and around the world this hour, you're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
HOWELL: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. We continue following the breaking news here on CNN. I'm George Howell.
ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. The U.S. is reckoning with yet another deadly shooting, a gunman in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, killed three police officers and wounded three more early Sunday. Investigators are still trying to unravel what his motives were.
HOWELL: They found that 29-year-old Missouri man Gavin Long, that he subscribed to several conspiracy groups online. Long identified himself as a black separatist, as well as a host of other things from freedom strategist to spiritual adviser. The Baton Rouge sheriff says we must bridge the divisions in our country in order to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[01:30:00] SID GAUTREAUX, SHERIFF, EAST BATON ROUGE PARISH SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: Until we come together as a nation, as a people to heal as a people, if we don't do that in this madness continues, we will surely perish as a people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALLEN: Poignant words there.
The shootings have left a city and the country deeply shaken.
HOWELL: CNN's Nick Valencia has more on the timeline, a breakdown of what happened there in Baton Rouge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 8:40 a.m., a quiet Sunday morning in Baton Rouge when officers spot a man dressed in black, holding a rifle near a convenience store.
(GUNFIRE)
VALENCIA: 8:42, reports received of shots fired.
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: We have an officer down behind, we need the Bearcat now for an evac.
VALENCIA: Responding officers locked in a gun battle.
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: When we pulled up and looked around through the windshield, he had a mask on.
VALENCIA: 8:48, with medics on the scene, trying to get to the fallen officers.
UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Officers engaged the subject at that particular time, and he ultimately died at the scene.
(GUNFIRE)
VALENCIA: The ambush-style attack leaves three officers dead, three others wounded. The shooter later, identified as 29-year-old Gavin Long. The crime scene remains active for several hours after the shooting. Police uncertain whether more shooters might be on the run. Many in the immediate area sheltering behind closed doors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're on a lockdown at the moment. Everyone is in 2 back. We cannot leave. And even if we could leave, the police are blocking down the street. So everyone has to stay where we are.
VALENCIA: Baton Rouge is already a city on edge. The shooting comes less than two weeks after a black man was shot dead by a white police officer.
After consoling the families of the victims, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards addresses what he called the unspeakable tragedy.
JOHN BEL EDWARDS, LOUISIANA GOVERNOR: It's unjustified. It's unjustifiable. The violence, the hatred just has to stop.
VALENCIA: Nick Valencia, CNN, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: CNN law enforcement contributor, Steve Moore, joins me now from Los Angeles. He is a retired FBI supervisory special agent.
Steve, you and I always talk when there is something like this. So that's unfortunate. But let's just look at what we know. We just heard the timeline from nick there. This gunman was able to shoot those six police officers before police shot and killed him. It seems they may have been ambushed. It might have been a set world cup the 911 call. That's not confirmed. What do you make of what you're hearing?
STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Well, if you take the totality of the circumstances, yeah, it's all but certainly an ambush. The guy can't -- the guy is an avowed black separatist. He has belonged to organizations that espouse violence. He calls whites crackers on his Facebook page. And he shows up from Missouri, in the place where the first of these police shootings were, and he guns down some police officers. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's -- I mean this is domestic terrorism.
ALLEN: But he shot a black police officer.
MOORE: Yeah, yeah. Maybe he wasn't that good a shot. Or maybe he just didn't realize that he was -- when you're 100 yards away from somebody or 50 yards away, sometimes it's hard to tell who it is. I think the fact that he shot a black officer does not for one second change my mind about what his possible motives were.
ALLEN: I understand, because in a shooting there is all kinds of duress and emotions going on.
MOORE: In a shooting, the last thing you see is a person's skin color.
ALLEN: OK, thank you.
And speaking of the African-American officer, Montrell Jackson, we know that he did some posts on Facebook before he died, of course. And I just want to read you a little bit of what we wrote. Because it really speaks to what police officers are dealing with in this country. He wrote, "I swear to god I love this city, but I wonder if this city loves me. In uniform I get nasty hateful looks. And out of uniform some consider me a threat. I've experienced so much in my short live. These last three days have tested me to the core. And certainly he speaks for other officers that are going out on their shifts and not knowing what they're walking into."
MOORE: Yes, yes. I've -- I've heard this. I've got relatives who are police officers. I can't imagine what it's like. And, you know, quite frankly, as a black man, I'm sure that he got his share of -- got his share of prestigious, of wrongful treatment out of uniform. He saw it from both sides. And I -- my heartbreaks for him.
ALLEN: And right now, how should police departments be responding to this tension and the violence that we're continuing to see? We know that in New York City they're having police officers double up on their patrols. We heard the governor of Louisiana talk about officers being wary. How should police departments help their officers cope these days?
[01:35:26] MOORE: By taking actions like that. By -- there are fundamentals of officer safety. I mean, that's not going to protect you from sniper attacks or anything like that. But the officers are now going to have to take calls like man with a gun, man with a rifle in a totally different -- totally different manner. And it's just essentially the fact that there is potential war on our own streets. Some deranged individuals want to make our streets in America Beirut. So these officers are going to have to learn new tactics. But above all, they're going, they can't lose their base values, their basic human values because the way you win this is not to cave in to this kind of terrorism.
ALLEN: We feel for all the officers right now having to deal with this. On the other side, the black community is wary and tense as well. These are really troubling times right now.
Thank you so much. Steve Moore for us. Thanks, Steve.
MOORE: Thank you.
HOWELL: Just to add to Steve's insight there, you know, he pointed out that we are hearing that he was part of this black sovereign group. But we're also hearing from law enforcement that Gavin Long followed several conspiracy groups devoted to government surveillance and monitoring and described himself as a freedom strategist, a mental game coach, a nutritionist, author, and spiritual adviser. So that suggests, as Cedric Alexander pointed out earlier, perhaps a mental illness. The situation is until we hear from police about motive we simply don't know.
Switching now over to politics, the presumptive Republican and Democratic presidential nominees are responding to the Baton Rouge shootings.
ALLEN: Their statements came as Donald Trump made the TV rounds with his new running mate.
More now from CNN politics reporter, Sara Murray.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICS REPORTER (voice-over): Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sharply condemned the killings of police officers in Baton Rouge today as another horrific shooting scrambles the political landscape.
Clinton released a statement saying, "There is no justification for violence, for hate, for attacks on men and women who put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and our communities."
And Trump took to social media, saying, "We are trying to fight is, and now our own people are killing our police. Our country is divided and out of control. The world is watching."
The latest incident comes as Trump steps out with his new running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence. And argues they are the ticket most prepared to take on security threats, as Trump reiterated his call to declare war on ISIS.
DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE & CEO, TRUMP ORGANIZATION: We have to wipe out ISIS. These are people --
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: With troops on the ground?
TRUMP: I am going to -- I have very few troops on the ground.
MURRAY: Trump touted his decision to team up with Pence as a step toward party unity.
TRUMP: One of the big reasons that I chose Mike. So many people have said party unity, because I'm an outsider.
MURRAY: Even as divisions on policy and on presentation emerge within the ticket. While Pence decries negative campaigning, his running mate has a habit of branding his opponents with insulting nicknames, something Trump says he won't pressure Pence to take part in.
TRUMP: I called her Crooked Hillary. She is Crooked Hillary. He won't -- I didn't ask him to do it. But I don't think he should do it. Because it's difficult for him.
MURRAY: Ultimately, RNC Chair Reince Priebus says those splits will elevate the ticket, not divide it.
REINCE PRIEBUS, RNC CHAIR: A difference in demeanor is something that will be very valuable.
UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure.
PRIEBUS: Well, you know what? But people want strength. People love that about Donald Trump. But it's also good and reassuring to see a diversity in style.
MURRAY: A long-time Pence ally, Indiana GOP chairman, Jeff Cardwell, echoing that sentiment in an interview with CNN, and insisting Pence isn't harboring hard feelings over reports that Trump had second thoughts about his V.P. pick.
JEFF CARDWELL, INDIANA GOP CHAIRMAN: This is the most important decision that any presidential nominee makes. He wanted to take time. He wanted to be sure about that selection. In tend he felt very comfortable with Mike Pence. He chose Mike Pence. And they're going to be a great president and vice president.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: And we're going to follow up with this. Trump also tweeted, "President Obama just had a news conference. But he doesn't have a clue. Our country is a divided crime scene, and it will only get worse."
HOWELL: Donald Trump and Mike Pence will be the stars of the show here. The Republican National Convention, it is just hours away, though protests have already started. How city officials plan to draw the line between free speech and public disorder.
[01:40:02]ALLEN: That's coming up here. Also, a couple has been taken into custody in connection with the Bastille Day massacre in France. We'll update you on the investigation, right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOWELL: Now to the latest in the investigation into the Bastille Day massacre in Nice, France. French authorities have arrested an Albanian couple in connection with that attack.
ALLEN: Six people are now in custody. ISIS has claimed the suspect as one of its soldiers and say he carried out the operation in response to the terror group's call to attack French nationals.
Meantime, a support center has opened up in Nice for the families and victims of the tragedy on Thursday. It will be open 24 hours a day and offer both psychological and religious report.
HOWELL: CNN is live in Nice, France this hour. Our correspondent, Max Foster, on the ground following the story.
Max, good to have you with us.
That city certainly and the nation observing three days, the third day of mourning for those killed in the deadly attack. If you could, just set the scene for us there where you are.
MAX FOSTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I went up to support center and actually spoke to the minister for victims who is a very senior role in French government. We've had multiple attacks, and they have a permanent now victim minister in the cabinet. She was talking largely about the children. So we had -- there were 40 children caught up in the events on Thursday night. 12 have died. Five are still in intensive care. And all the surviving children have lost a family member, most of them having lost a parent. So that just says it all really. When you look at these memorials that have really developed all along the path of this massacre, you see all these cuddly toys. And you see lots of children's drawings. And it's really striking the way children are really remembered most, partly because that's what marked this attack out in a way. Previous attacks targeted adults and this one targeted children.
[01:45:16] We know there's a candy store down there and the truck driver, according to three witnesses who saw the truck, actually drive into the candy store.
What you see is collections of flowers and candles with messages on them. Each one marks the position where one of the bodies laid after the attack. If we look down the road, that visualization how the truck thundering in all direction, wiping people out as they came along. And, not to be too gruesome about it, but the way people have been able to locate where the bodies laid with blood stains and now is covered up by the flowers.
This is how people are remembering things and it is very early in the morning. Later, you will see people just standing around and looking.
HOWELL: Max, just looking at that, really gives me chills. How far down the street does that go?
FOSTER: Effectively, it goes down to the end of the tree. This was a two kilometer massacre, the car that struck drove two kilometer along here and it was thick with people and the truck was zigzagging because we know that he was aiming at the most concentrated part of the crowd. This road did not open up. Clearly authorities -- really intensive, got rid of the e memorial overtime.
HOWELL: Max, thank you very much for showing us all of that and thank you for the report.
ALLEN: Well, we certainly know this man was a sick person in the fact that he plowed into a line of children waiting at a candy store. An intelligent and easily influenced as how Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel's lawyer describes the man who carried out this attack.
Here's CNN's Will Ripley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mohamed Bouhlel was a driver with a wife and three children in a volatile personality. In March, he threw a wooden pallet at another driver in a fit of road rage. His lawyer in that case got him a six month suspended prison sentence.
UNIDENTIFIED ATTORNEY FOR MOHAMED BOUHLEL: If I had done my job badly, he maybe in prison and would have never done what he did.
RIPLEY: He struggles with a sense of guilt and shock. His heavy drinking client was not an extremist but he did have a record of domestic violence of his estranged wife. He was very much the stereotype of the petty criminal, he says. There was nothing that would have suggested in reality that he was a jihadist.
(on camera): He says the attacker did not stand out in a crowd and would not have raise any suspicious when prosecutors say he came here to the promenade not once but twice in the days leading up to the attack. His brother said he sent a photo of him that night looking happy in the crowd.
(voice-over): Prosecutors also say Mohamed Lahouaiej Bouhlel sent a text message to someone telling them to bring more weapons. Police are questioning several people. A source tells CNN, those who knew Bouhlel says he began in speaking of support of ISIS. The terror group has called him one of their soldiers.
"He was not very intelligent," he says. "I imagine he could have been easily influenced by religion." Bouhlel was not overtly religious and never on a watch list. France's
interior minister says he likely radicalized rapidly, committing one of the worst terror attacks in recent history, and nobody, not even his lawyer, saw it coming.
Will Ripley, CNN, Nice, France.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[01:49:37] ALLEN: We'll have more of that story coming up here. The street protests are well under way in Cleveland, Ohio, hours before the Republican convention kicking off there. We'll tell you how the city plans to keep them from getting out of hand.
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(WEATHER REPORT)
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HOWELL: The Republican National Convention just hours from now. Republicans are in Cleveland where they are set to nominate Donald Trump for president.
ALLEN: Large protests are expected outside the arena known as the Q.
Martin Savidge explains how officials plan to control the demonstrations without trampling on peoples' right to be heard.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Establishing a protest zone in Cleveland has issues because you run up against two very different ideas, security versus freedom of speech. Eventually, this was a compromise. This where it all start. Is got access to public transportation and a wide open area. From here, you don't see the Q unless you are up at altitude like you are now across the valley and over the river, which is why demonstrators will be allowed to march about a mile towards downtown over the roots that took months of negotiations.
(voice-over): That's one of the guardians of transportation of this architectural feature of this is beautiful bridge. They get a great view of the Q but they cannot get near it. From a security point of view, it works out.
If there's going to be trouble, it'll be on the other side. There is no law specifically stating how close demonstrators can approached. Court rulings say it should be close enough for them to be seen and heard.
[01:55:18] This is closest that the demonstrators will be able to get a Quicken Loan arena. We're at the end of the bridge we just crossed over.
From here, they're supposed to turn in the opposite direction, something they are not likely to do because they want to be seen and heard.
And this is also with the police presence is likely to be heavy. That's why if there is conflict, it is going to happen here. Demonstrators and protesters will be pushing in and law enforcement will be pushing back.
But police say as long as everyone remains peaceful, that won't be a problem, but if that changes, they'll be ready.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Cleveland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN: Be sure to tune in to CNN's special coverage of the RNC. Christiane Amanpour, Kate Bolduan and Hala Gorani are among the staff we have there in Cleveland, ready to go.
I am Natalie Allen.
HOWELL: I am George Howell.
Our breaking news continues here on CNN right after the break.
