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Investigation into Shooting of Baton Rouge Police Officers; President Obama Labels Shooting 'Cowardly and Reprehensible'; Aftermath of Failed Coup in Turkey; Republican National Convention Starts Tonight. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired July 18, 2016 - 03:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:00:00] GEORGE HOWELL, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world in our breaking news coverage on CNN. I'm George Howell.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN NEWSROOM SHOW HOST: And I'm Natalie Allen. Thank you for joining us as we continue to follow this fatal shooting of three police officers in Louisiana.

This is CNN Newsroom.

HOWELL: In the State of Louisiana -- well, in the State of Louisiana, police there are trying to figure out the motive of a man who ambushed three police officers in Baton Rouge early Sunday. Three other officers were wounded.

Police received the call of a man carrying a rifle dressed in all black walking along the highway. And when the police arrive that's when the shooting began.

Here is part of the dispatch call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. Officer down. Shots fired. Officer down. Got a city officer down. Shots fired! Shots fired on airline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The gunman died later in a shooting with police that shootout that happened and you can kind of hear it there. Keeping in mind, tough, the situation in Baton Rouge is already tense after the police shooting of Alton Sterling on July 5th.

And just week, Louisiana state police received they had received threats against officers in the City of Baton Rouge.

ALLEN: U.S. President Obama called the Baton Rouge shooting a cowardly and reprehensible assault and again, condemned all attacks on law enforcement.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA PRESIDENT: Regardless of motive the death of these three brace officers underscores the dangers that police across the country confront every single day. And we, as a nation have to be loud and clear that nothing justifies violence against law enforcement. Attacks on police are an attack on all of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The gunman had been active online. And in part of what he had to say was he openly talks about the need to "fight back."

Senior investigative correspondent Drew Griffin has more on the shooter.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: 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 hours 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, he's 29 years old, African-American out of Kansas City, Missouri, which means he would have to drive about 800 miles just to get here.

Police believed based on where he was this morning that he had been here, he moved a terrain and he had actually staked out where he would strike and kill these police officers.

On social media, YouTube postings, he talked openly about the need to do more than just protests, the killings of blacks by officers. He basically gave a call to action and he even gave instructions as 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 do what the Alton Sterling, the killing that took place in Baton Rouge that sparked massive protest in the city.

All of this going on while the republican national convention gets underway in this country and people are trying to get through what is been a very deadly summer.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Baton. Back to you.

HOWELL: Drew, thank you. And here we are again, Natalie, you know, we're talking about the fact that, you know, police officers killed in the United States before that, and, you know, we dealt with Dallas before that, and there was Orlando. It's been a very tragic time.

ALLEN: Certainly have.

HOWELL: This day, three police officers killed, one of them posted on Facebook about how tired and physically and emotionally exhausted he was.

Montrell Jackson talked about trying times in his post from July, one day after that Dallas police ambush that I mentioned in three days after Alton Sterling's death.

ALLEN: It's quite poignant what he wrote. Here's part of his post. "I swear to God I love this city but I wonder if the city loves me." He wrote about Baton Rouge. "In uniform, I get nasty and hateful looks and out of uniform some consider me a threat. I've experienced so much in my short time and these last three days have tested me to the core."

That's says a lot, doesn't it?

HOWELL: It really does.

ALLEN: Those he's dealing with.

HOWELL: Earlier, Anderson Cooper spoke with Montrell Jackson's uncle and he said that he's nephew is dedicated to making Baton Rouge a better place.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FRED JACKSON, MONTRELL JACKSON'S UNCLE: He was 33 years old going to be 34 this December and just a tremendous dedicated individual. He really believed in what he was doing, believed in helping people. That was his whole thing, he wanted to help people.

ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 SHOW HOST: And he had a young baby.

JACKSON: Yes. Haven't been that long, I think three or four months old. Just, you know, every time I have time to talk to him he was all about what he could do to help some other people. He just want to do things that he just thought he could do. He talks about Baton Rouge to be a better city which that he had been a just a tremendous he wanted to show.

[03:05:14] COOPER: He had written online in the wake of the Alton Sterling shooting about some of the pressures he was facing, the difficulties he was facing. But being this police officer is that something that he always wanted to do?

JACKSON: Yes. That's what Jose, I mean, his proper name is Jose, was telling me that he always wanted he's somewhere that he could be protective and be dedicated.

He has some people and, you know, he was just a motivated person who thought he could do something to help, you know, just other people be better and he's been like that all his life. And that's how he's a dedicated young man that was just the way he was.

ALLEN: Early this month, African-American Alton Sterling was killed by Baton Rouge police, that was on July 5th. And some believe that Gavin Long, the shooter in this case, may have carried out this as some form of revenge.

HOWELL: The Sterling family came out to call for peace on Sunday, Sterling's aunt made this plea we want you to hear to stop the violence. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VEDA WASHINTGON-ABUSALEH, ALTON STERLING'S AUNT: No justice, no peace, justice is what we are calling for. Stop this killing. Stop this killing. Stop this killing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: She's been through a lot. Their family is like 300 strong there in Baton Rouge. They're all going through a lot.

Earlier, I spoke with CNN senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes about the shooting. I asked him about what kind of impact this violence could have on police work.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: That's very difficult because we had, you know, now we had ISIS threats for two years that have put out messages saying kill police officers and we have the attack of New York police officers with a hatchet a year and a half or so ago.

Then we have white hate groups that want to take our law enforcement. The FBI stop the plot in 2010 involving a militia group -- a white militia group out of Michigan that wanted to kill hundreds of police officers with explosives. That was thwarted thankfully.

And now, we have a couple of black hate groups or individual inspired let's say to avenge black people who have been shot by the police and in their mind getting revenge or retribution by killing white police officers or for that matter, police officers.

HOWELL: White hate groups, black hate groups, mental illness, terrorism, recently, it's just been a very tragic couple of weeks, couple of months.

The U.S. now once again, mourning the victims of a deadly shooting. Police officers murdered for the second time just a few weeks. And we'll have much more of the fatal shooting in Baton Rouge later this hour.

ALLEN: Also ahead, we'll turn to world news. Funerals have begun in Turkey for people killed in a failed coup attempt. How Ankara is dealing with the allege plotters. We'll have that for you coming up here.

HOWELL: And let's talk the republican national convention set to begin in the home of the NBA champion Cavaliers. Why the final -- the four days spotlight will really put the presumptive nominee's star power to test.

[03:10:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: And welcome back. Turkey's government has rounded up thousands of people like 6,000 accused in Friday's failed military coup. And the president says he is thinking about bringing back the death penalty for those responsible.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is urging his supporters to continue rallying in the streets. He credits this pro-government protesting for foiling the attempted coup.

HOWELL: The president there is also demanding that the United States extradite the man that you see here, Fethullah Gulen. He is a Turkish cleric, that Mr. Erdogan blames for the coup. Gulen lives in self- imposed exile in the United States and denies any involvement.

The U.S. Secretary of State spoke earlier about Gulen with our own Jake Tapper. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: 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 standards of expedition in order for our courts to approve such a request.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: At least 290 people were killed in the coup attempt, mourners are coming together for funerals. But Turkey remains a deeply divided nation.

There are growing fears that the president will use the failed coup attempts to purge dissidents.

Our Arwa Damon has more.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The choking sorrow of lost overwhelming both young and old. Some barely able to walk, others collapsing under the weight of their emotion. Loved ones, neighbors, and strangers came to funerals across Istanbul for those who perished.

This is a nation already deeply divided, united in this moment by grief. Forty eight hours after Friday's failed coup, Hulya Gedik is among the many still trying to come to terms with it all.

HULYA GEDIK, ISTANBUL RESIDENT (TRANSLATED): Every bit of news we got that night, every explosion was not something that was just happening outside. It was as if each one tore our soul apart.

DAMON: And few know how or if their country will come together.

[03:14:58] Security is understandably very tight as the president and other top government officials attend these funerals. This is a nation that yet had been bracing itself for more violence, but they were expecting something in the form of yet another horrific ISIS attack or strikes carried out by the PKK.

No one who we've spoken to said they ever imagine that an attempted military coup will brought the country to the brink of such instability.

(CROWD CHANTING)

DAMON: Amid the pain of one of the mass funerals calls for capital punishment and banned by Turkish law.

(FOREIGN LANGUAGE)

DAMON: In response, President Erdogan pledge he would take that demand to the relevant authorities. And that decision cannot be delayed. A chilling promise.

Erdogan has been a deeply polarizing figure, he does have significant support and most of those who oppose what they describe as his increasing authoritarian rule do not support removing him from power in a coup. But there are growing fears that he will uses to purge the nation of any voices of decent.

Thousands have been rounded up in sweeping operations. Most members of the military including the commander of the Incirlik Airbase from where the U.S. launches its anti-ISIS attacks in Syria and Iraq.

Also, detained, judges, prosecutors and others. And the government is demanding that the U.S. detained and extradite Fethullah Gulen, the cleric in self-imposed exile in America whom the Turkish government says is behind the coup.

An allegation he has denied. The people power that arguably saved Erdogan is still in the streets continuing to heed his call, creating an odd celebratory atmosphere as Turkey is dragged in unchartered territory.

Arwa Damon, CNN, Istanbul.

ALLEN: Joining us now live is CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson. He's outside the courthouse in Ankara where 27 of the alleged leaders will face trial. Hello there, Nic.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Hi. Well, one of those alleged coup leaders is a four-star general, we've seen videos that's clearly been authorized by the government to be filmed while they're in detention. And still photographs of this four-star general. The others are senior commanders.

But this particular four-star general looks as if he'd been beaten. His ear was bandage, his face were looked bruised. And photographs of his arms show bad rope burns on his arms as if he's been sort of strung up by his arms behind them.

But all the 27 flexi cuff with their hands tightly, tightly grip behind their back. What we understand from lawyers we've been called upon to come and represent these 27 alleged coup leaders is -- the lawyers haven't been able to see them until now and indeed won't be able to see them until they get into courtroom.

Another photograph has emerged of detainees, the government has rounded up more than 6,000 people. That process continues, the justice minister yesterday said it would -- the 6,000 include several thousand senior army officers, several thousand judges.

We have seen photographs now that show or appear to show a number of those detainees, several dozen on near knees with their hands flexi cuff behind their backs, stripped naked apart from their underwear in a horse riding stables. And that's where they were being held.

So, it just raise questions clearly about the detention and the legal due process of those being afforded to all those who accused of being behind this -- being behind this coup.

The 27 that are appearing in here there's no doubt where some of the public support and sympathy is certainly not with the coup plotters. It's with the government. There was a group of people out here a little earlier who support President Erdogan calling for the death penalty to be reinstated.

We know the parliament are not far from here is going to be debating precisely that issue. That would be a reversal of the law here. But this is what Erdogan supporters are calling for and something that he seems to support as well. Natalie.

ALLEN: Nic Robertson for us, covering this incredible times there in Turkey. Thank you, Nic.

HOWELL: The latest in the investigation in the deadly terror attack that happened in Nice, France. Authorities there have arrested an Albanian couple in couple with that massacre but are not providing any further details.

So far six people are still in custody. The suspect's estranged wife was released Sunday without any charges.

ALLEN: Authorities are trying to determine why Tunisian national Mohamed Bouhlel drove that truck that we've all seen by now, a 20-ton truck into a crowd that had gathered of course to watch fireworks Thursday, 84 people, that's the death count now, 200 were injured.

[03:20:13] Bouhlel's brother said he received a photo from him just before the attack that showed the suspect among the crowds gathered there to watch the fireworks.

HOWELL: The French President Francois Hollande is currently presiding over a Security Council meeting to discuss the lessons learned from this attack. The country now entering a third of three days of mourning.

CNN is live in Nice, France this hour. Our Max Foster is at the side of Thursday's attack. Before we start talking about as I mentioned earlier are the lessons learned, Max, from these attacks. Let's just talk about the scene there, a poignant setting, if you could explain to our viewers.

MAX FOSTER, CNN LONDON CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is the point in which most people died. The truck came zigzagging down this road, and over the (Inaudible) area targeting the thickest parts of the crowd, the clusters.

For example, that candy shop where children were queuing up. The attacker drove straight into it intentionally to kill people including children. That's one of the most poignant things about this memorial.

So, the struck up along the route all of the cuddly toys laid for the children. Twelve of them died in total, 28 others were injured and all of those injured children lost a family member.

So, effectively what do you have there was a family torn apart on this scene, they watch their parents die.

This frightening to think of -- if I come over here, these smaller clusters, a point to which each individual died, how do we know that? Because is where the bloodstains were. And of we look down the road we get a real sense of the carnage that unfolded here.

Each cluster, a flowers and candles representing a body, so many have been children. And all those families now grieving and broken as a result.

So, he was this murderer, this attacker the man responsible for all this.

Here's Will Ripley.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mohamed Bouhlel was a delivery driver with a wife, three children and a volatile personality. In March, he threw a wooden palette at another driver in feat of road rage. Corentin Delobel was his lawyer in that case and got him a six-month suspended prison sentence.

"I told myself I did my job," he says. "But if I have done my job badly, he might be in prison and maybe would have never done what he did."

He struggles with a sense of guilt and shock. Delobel says his weight lifting and heavy drinking client was not an extremist but he did have a record of domestic violence, accused of beating and humiliating his now estranged wife.

"He was very much the stereotype of a petty criminal, he says, there was nothing that would have suggested in reality he was a Jihadist."

He said the attacker didn't really stand out in a crowd and wouldn't have raised any suspicion when prosecutors say he came here to the Promenade des Anglais not once, but twice in the days leading up to the attack. His brother said he even sent a photo that night of himself looking happy in the crowd. Prosecutor also say Bouhlel sent a text message to someone just before

the attack telling them "bring more weapons." Police are questioning several people. A source tell CNN those who knew Bouhlel say he began speaking in support of ISIS. A terror group has called him one of his soldiers.

"He wasn't very intelligent," he says. "I imagine he could have been easily influenced by religion." Bouhlel was never overtly religious, never on a watch list.

France's interior minister says he likely radicalize very 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.

FOSTER: People are just trying to find a way of expressing how they feel. And this is the site where one person died, literally. And it's very weird being here but this has taken shape in the form of pebbles, people are writing messages on pebbles from the beach and putting then here.

Each memorial is different and so where each had its own character, which is strangely perfect when you think that, you know, a character died here. But we didn't know them. Most people coming here to look at them better. Somehow -- something deeply personal for everyone involved here and across France. George and Natalie.

HOWELL: And, Max, we look over your shoulder and we see one after another, after another, after another, and after another. Thank you so much for your time.

[03:24:59] ALLEN: Thank you, Max. I am sure it's comforting in some small ways for the family perhaps to seeing the outpouring of love and support to these memorials that keep popping up. I can't imagine in the world they are dealing with this grief.

Well, Baton Rouge is just the latest U.S. city force to reckon this type of senseless violence. Coming up here more on how the community is reacting to the shooting of six police officers.

HOWELL: And why the U.S. political reality show is about to change dramatically as republicans converge on Cleveland to officially name their presidential nominee.

[03:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: It is another day of breaking news here at CNN. Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOWELL: And I'm George Howell.

Here is the latest that we know for authorities in the State of Louisiana they are investigating the motives of a man who shot and killed three police officers, three others wounded Sunday in Baton Rouge.

ALLEN: The gunman who is from Missouri had belonged to several anti- government conspiracy groups and had talked openly online about the need to, quote, "fight back."

CNN's Nick Valencia has been updating us those wounded officers from the hospital in Baton Rouge.

HOWELL: He has more now on the challenges facing that community.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: George and Natalie, it has been a very dark time in Baton Rouge. Over the course of the last two weeks this city has seemingly been torn from within by violence. Violence that began with the shooting death of 37-year-old Alton Sterling at the hands of police.

In the days that followed we saw massive demonstrations that nearly turned violent. While no one was injured. there were plenty of arrests. In the course of three days there was nearly 200 people arrested.

Just days after that, police say they thwarted a plot to kill police officers by suspects who had broken into a pawnshop. That no one was officially charged with the plot to kill police officers. That certainly underscore the tension and anxiety not just among residents here but people wearing badges in the city.

Police remained on a heightened state of alert fearing that they could be next that what happened in Dallas could happen here. And on Sunday, it did.

Six police officers were shot, three of them fatally wounded and they ranged in age and experience. The youngest being 32 years old Montrell Jackson, a veteran of the Baton Rouge Police Department with more than 10 years of experience, who taken to Facebook recently and talked about those years and concerns being a cop in the city right now, saying that he loves Baton Rouge but he wasn't sure if the city loves him back.

The oldest victim 51 years old from East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office, he's currently is critical condition, he's clinging to life. George and Natalie?

ALLEN: Thank you, Nick Valencia for us. We're all pulling for other officers in grave condition. The Baton Rouge police chief says the city is struggling of course with this tragedy but will move forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARL DABADIE, BATON ROUGE POLICE CHIEF: We are mourning right now. You know, any time you lose an officer, but you lose three officers in one day and one time, it's just traumatic. Not only, you know, all of our officers with all the agencies but with this community, we're a community that's been hurting for the last two weeks. This didn't help, this does not help. And so, we got to pick ourselves up here, you know, the men and women

in Baton Rouge Police Department are hurting but they are going to continue to do their job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Earlier I spoke to a U.S. Congressman from Louisiana about the shooting in the state and I asked him about why this would have happened and how the community is dealing with it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARRETT GRAVES, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: You can start to think you can think about strategy, this whole shooting that occurred today leads to nothing positive, leads to no outcome no matter what group you're associated with.

It was just stupid quite frankly. And to have this type of death and injuries in our law enforcement officers the folks that are out there defending our community, is just helpless.

HOWELL: I want to ask you again just from people you've talked to today, you know, again, what are people saying about this and how is that community trying to heal, you know, even given what happened?

GRAVES: People are -- people are really just disgusted by what happened today. Look, this isn't us. Right after we heard about the shooting, we were talking to people and said right then and there. This is not somebody local.

It's just not the way we react to things, it's not the response that somebody from here would have. And we didn't know anything about this the suspect, only to find out later that he's from out of state.

You know, the protests and everything that happened here after the Alton Sterling shooting for days. There were peaceful protest, the police weren't even in the vicinity.

And it wasn't until outsiders, folks from other state came here and began making this a more aggressive protest that actually try to engage police officers, they came right here to protest at police officers, rather than where they've been having peacefully for days.

HOWELL: The mayor of Baton Rouge, Kip Holden spoke to our colleague Don Lemon earlier.

ALLEN: And he said it's up to the public now to support the police who were to protect them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIP HOLDEN, BATON ROUGE MAYOR: Basically, this was just a major God blow. I mean, you know, nobody even expected this to happen. We were winding down from all activities with the Sterling family.

And then we pretty much started getting into a mode of drawing down some of the officers that had been working 18 hours a day and saying we will relieve you now and cut back on some of the time you have in your foot in.

[03:35:01] And then this morning, the first thing, I mean, we are hit in the face with another incident. I called the bond the community to understand. Those people killed and injured are first responders, and I said now is our time to be first responders.

But those who are victims of this senseless killing and let them know we are standing there for them and we are not going to be with them and know we are not going to let this define Baton Rouge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: The mayor of Baton Rouge there. Events in Baton Rouge and elsewhere casting a long shadow over the race for the White House this year but the stage is set in Cleveland for the republican national convention.

And why Donald Trump is on the verge of officially defining conventional political wisdom. That story is coming up next here.

HOWELL: Meanwhile, we also talk about the funerals that started in Turkey for people killed in that failed coup attempt, how that nation is mourning as CNN Newsroom continues.

[03:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: In Turkey, funerals had begun for the nearly 300 people killed in a failed coup. At least 290 people are dead from that situation. And more than 1400 injured after military elements tried to seize power Friday night.

HOWELL: This is the government there continues to crack down on allege coup plotters. Authorities say around 6,000 people so far had been detained and the arrest will continue. Among these arrested the commander of an airbase there. The U.S. uses that air base to launch air strikes on ISIS.

To talk more about the situation in Turkey let's bring in CNN international correspondent Ian Lee, live in Istanbul. Ian, good to have you with us this hour.

So, as this investigation is underway there are also many funerals that are taking place throughout Turkey. People who are killed in this failed coup attempt and the death toll continues to rise.

IAN LEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. And you will hear at these funerals that these people have that the family members those here in Turkey are calling for the death penalty which has been previously outlawed and Erdogan is retaining the idea of bringing back the death penalty for the people who are involved in the coup.

And they are still rounding up people. Even today we are hearing that raided the air force academy and arrested a major. And here in Istanbul they are still calling for people to take to the streets every night to show that show a force that the people are still with the government.

They don't feel like they're at ease quite yet. There's extra security here in Istanbul as well. So, still not out of the woods yet, George.

HOWELL: Ian, you mentioned that these, you know, protests or rather shows of solidarity, people coming together in the streets to show their support for the president there. At the same time they are those who do oppose the president. And at this time is there a sense though, that given what happened, that President Erdogan is actually getting a bump in popularity.

LEE: You know, this is very interesting. Because Turkish politics are historically quite divisive, you have the opposition and then Erdogan, and the two rarely see eye to eye on anything. But when it comes to this coup, they have been united.

But for the opposition they really are -- they are the real losers in this whole situation because with Erdogan, we are seeing a bit of a bump in his popularity. He even said when he arrived in Istanbul that this was a gift from God and what does he exactly means, you know, it's hard to tell.

But definitely seeing that this will help improve his standing here which he does have a lot of support. But for the opposition, you know, again losing on both ways. Because one, they don't like Erdogan, but on the other hand, they are united because they don't like the coup. They want to keep democracy moving forward here in Turkey.

So, right now, they are with him against the coup, but there is a lot of fear that this will embolden him to crack down further on opposition on journalism on academics. Anyone he see as an opposition to his rule.

HOWELL: Yes, that's critics have also pointed out to the thing the military there. Our international correspondent Ian Lee, live for us in Istanbul. Ian, thank you for your report there.

ALLEN: We begin a new week and all eyes in this country are on Cleveland, Ohio as the republican convention is about to get underway in just a few hours. We'll have a report for you coming up here.

[03:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Recapping once again our top story in the State of Louisiana. Police there are trying to figure out the motive of the man who ambushed and killed three police officers in Baton Rouge early Sunday.

HOWELL: Three other officers were wounded in that attack. Police received a call of a man carrying a rifle dressed all in black walking along the highway, and when police arrived, that's when the shooting started. Listen here to part of the dispatch call.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. Officer down. Shots fired. Officer down. Got a city officer down. Shots fired! Shots fired on airline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: It is chilling to hear that. That call and then the gunman he died minutes later in a shootout with police. Keep this in mind, the situation in Baton Rouge was already very tense after the police shooting of Alton Sterling on July 5th.

And just last week, Louisiana state police they announced that they had received threats against officers in the City of Baton Rouge.

ALLEN: U.S. President Obama called the Baton Rouge shooting a cowardly and reprehensible assault, and again, condemned all attacks on law enforcement. They're the three that died.

HOWELL: We switch now to U.S. politics and the race for the White House. The republican national convention set to start in just about nine hours' time from now. And it will take over the cue in Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. That is where the NBA champion Cavaliers play.

ALLEN: And where Donald Trump is set to defy the many pundits and others who thought he never could win a major party nomination. The roll call of states will make it official on Tuesday and Trump will speak two days later. His wife Melania addresses the convention Monday, and his running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence, will speak Wednesday.

HOWELL: Both presumptive presidential nominees are responding to what happened in Baton Rouge, the shooting there. Their statements came as Trump made the TV rounds with his new running mate.

[03:50:09] We are getting more now from CNN politics reporter, Sara Murray.

SARA MURRAY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton sharply condemn the killings of police officers in Baton Rouge today. As another horrific shootings scrambled the political landscape.

Clinton released a statement saying there is no justification for violence, hate and for attacks on men and women who put their lives on the line every day in service of our families and communities.

And Trump took to social media, saying, "We are trying to fight ISIS 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 stepped out with his new running mate, Indiana Governor Mike Pence.

And argues they are the ticket most prepared to take on security threat. As Trump reiterated his call to declare war on ISIS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We have to wipe out ISIS. These are people that chops off heads...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With troops on the ground?

TRUMP: I am going to, have very few troops on the ground.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Trump touted his decision to team with Pence at a step toward party unity.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: One of the big reasons that I chose Mike, so many people have said party unity because I'm an outsider.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Even as divisions on policy and on presentation emerged within the ticket. While Pence to cried negative campaigning his running mate has to brand his opponents with insulting nick names. Something Trump said he won't pressure Pence to take part in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I called her crooked Hillary. She's crooked Hillary. He won't -- I don't -- I didn't not ask him to do it. But I don't think he should do it because it's different for him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: Ultimately, RNC chair Reince Priebus says those slips with elevate the ticket not divided.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REINCE PRIEBUS, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN: Their difference in demeanor is something that will be very valuable.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's for sure.

PRIEBUS: Well, you know what? But people want strength, people love that about Donald Trump. But it's also good in reassuring to see a diversity in style.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MURRAY: A long time Pence's 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.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF CARDWELL, INDIANA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIRMAN: This is the most important decision I think that any presidential nominee makes and he wants to take time, he want to be sure about the selection. In the end, he felt very comfortable with Mike Pence, he chose Mike Pence. And they are going to be a great president and vice president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein joins me now from Cleveland, Ohio. Ron, thanks for joining us. I want to begin this interview first with your reaction to the president and the candidates and Clinton and Trump on the shooting death of these police officers in Baton Rouge.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, it is striking how often the president and the frequency with which the president is having to make the statements. And you can see the weight of it on him, I mean just physically as he is -- as he is speaking as we kind of spiral through this, you know, horrible summer in the United States.

For Clinton, I think, you know, this is very much of a tight rope, because her predominant focus really since Ferguson has been on the question of police mistreatments or violence against African-Americans and in minority community.

And here she's having to reassure Americans I think that she has a balance view of this challenge and certainly is unforgiving and condemning any of the kind of violence that we are now seeing and the any other directions.

And then with Trump, you know, you have a candidate who essentially is challenging the Richard Nixon 1968 argument that at a time of chaos, he is the one that who restore order. That has appeal for a lot of voters. But this is a very different country than it was in 1968 demographically attitudinally.

And Trump is kind of hard line may cause him as much with white collar white voters as it gains him with blue collar white voters.

ALLEN: And so this leads us into the republican convention there in Cleveland. What do you expect from Donald Trump this week? Is he going to be the same bombastic Donald Trump or is he going to be the teleprompter reader Donald Trump that's a bit toned down and what's at stakes for him?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, you know, the honest answer is who knows, right? I think even if we ask Paul Manafort he would say, who says. Because with Donald Trump, what you get one day may not what get the next day. And there been several new Donald Trump.

I suspect you will not you'll get something in between. You will not the sedated teleprompter reading Donald Trump we had on the few occasion. And you will not get the kind of three formed beat poet of the campaign trail that we've had at other moments kind of saying whatever comes into his head.

What's at stake is Trump, this is Trump's best single opportunity other than perhaps that first debate to erase what are the historically high negatives that he is dealing and particularly with those white collar whites that I mentioned before.

[03:54:59] You know, you kind of look at this electorate -- election in broad terms, Trump is on track of slightly underperform among non- white minority voters. I think there's very little that he can do to improve that.

He's probably going to over perform relative to Mitt Romney and other recent republicans among those working class, white voters and the key. I mean, the key fact in this campaign, the key fact that he has to change this week if he can is that he's also underperforming among white collar white voters, who question whether he is qualified to be president and also if he won't be racially divisive.

If he can't make some of that go away this week, I think it's going to be very hard for him in the end.

ALLEN: Political analyst, Ron Brownstein there in Cleveland. Thank you, Ron

HOWELL: And thank you for being with us here at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'm George Howell.

ALLEN: And I'm Natalie Allen. Early Start is next for viewers here in the U.S. For everyone else, stay with us for more news with Zain Asher from here in Atlanta.

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