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N.C. Protests Turn Violent After Police Shooting; Donald Trump Meets With Pastors in Ohio; N.Y. Bombing Suspect Hit with Federal Charges. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired September 21, 2016 - 10:00   ET

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

[10:00:00]

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. Just minutes from now we are expecting to hear from the family of an African-American man killed in the latest police shooting in North Carolina. Charlotte police now say that man was armed with a handgun and they have recovered that gun. But the family of the suspect, Keith Lamont Scott, the Scott family says he was sitting in his car and he was reading a book. He did not have a gun. But this man's death, fueling protests as anger rose up and boils over in yet another American city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: You can see protesters filled the streets in Charlotte last night. 16 police officers injured in all, several police cars damaged. Only one arrest so far. This after the justice department announces the investigation into the police killing of this man, Terence Crutcher. This went down in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Police now say Crutcher was not armed but he ignored their commands. The latest incidents, pushing the concerns of African-Americans into the political spotlight, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump touching on the tragedies as they try to connect with African-American voters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: There is a lot to cover this morning. CNN's Brynn Gingras is here with the latest. You listened to that long news conference in Charlotte which was surprising because they gave out a lot of information.

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They really did give a lot of information, Carol, but we still don't know a lot because the investigation is really just getting under way at this point as that chief made so very clear. First I want to talk about Scott. -- His family says 43 years old, he had seven children and as you said, Carol, he was a family man. And they say he was actually waiting for one of his kids to get off the school bus, sitting in his car reading, and not armed when officers approached. Of course, different narrative than we just heard from the police chief. They say that when officers got there, they were going to that apartment complex to serve a search warrant to another man and that Scott allegedly got out of his car with a gun, got back in, and then when officers approached, authorities say Scott didn't listen to their commands, got back out of the car and that's when the shooting happened. And police said, Carol, as you said, gun was found on Scott, no book. Take a listen to what the police chief had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KERR PUTNEY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE: He exited the vehicle armed with a handgun. The officers -- observed him get back into that vehicle, at which time they approached the vehicle to engage the subject. The officers gave loud, clear verbal commands which were also heard by many of the witnesses. They were instructing the subject once he got out of the vehicle to drop the weapon. In spite of their verbal commands, Mr. Scott as I said exited this vehicle armed with a handgun, as the officers continued to yell at him to drop it. He stepped out, posing a threat to the officers. And Officer Brentley Vinson subsequently fired his weapon, striking the subject.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: Now the officer who fired the shot also an African-American man. Police identified him as Officer Brentley Vinson. We know he's on paid administrative leave. We also know he was in plain clothes at that apartment complex but there were other officers around. We know that he was not wearing a bodycam. As you can imagine, this has sparked protests that led into the early morning hours. There was looting. 16 officers were injured. Protesters were injured. It was a tumultuous night in Charlotte. Here's more about what the police chief had to say about all that unfolded on Charlotte's streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTNEY: About quarter until 2:00 this morning an additional group of protesters and agitators gathered. They made their way down to Interstate I-85 and they blocked both lanes, northbound and southbound. They broke into the back of a tractor trailer and started setting items on fire. We gave multiple orders for dispersal to the crowd. When they were unheeded, we deployed gas to disperse the crowd.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRAS: And now among the people frustrated, angry, is Lyric Scott. That is Scott's daughter. And she posted a video on Facebook showing the moments after she found out that her father was dead. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYRIC SCOTT, DAUGHTER OF MAN KILLED BY POLICE: I want the [ bleep ] police officer that [ bleep ] shot my [ bleep ] daddy and killed him! He's dead. That's on the news, he's [ bleep ] dead!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You going to explain that? --

SCOTT: I'm about to set [ bleep ] off!

(END VIDEO CLIP) GINGRAS: And again, this is just the beginning of this investigation. We are expecting to learn so much more. Police saying they reviewed witness statements,

[10:05:16] they have video of -- dash cam video, also looking at as well as bodycam video, Carol. So, we are really only at the beginning and hopefully we'll learn some more in the coming hours.

COSTELLO: All right. Brynn Gingras reporting for us live. Thank you so much. I want to bring in Congressman Robert Pittenger, a Republican from North Carolina. This is his district where these protests are going down. Welcome, sir.

REP. ROBERT PITTENGER, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: Good morning.

COSTELLO: So, just your general reaction to what's happening in your district.

PITTENGER: Well, it's sad and it's tragic with any loss of life, and I feel deeply for this family. I do know after 25 years of working closely in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department that they have a record and history of accountability and transparency. I know that Chief Putney will make sure that there is a clear review and evaluation of what occurred to make sure that protocols were followed and we'll get all the facts in together. From what I have heard and what I've seen, the man was carrying an armed pistol and that was a threat.

COSTELLO: Chief Putney, he tried to give us much information to the public as he could. He seemed to be holding himself back and not trying to show his emotions, but one thing he said struck me. He talked about not listening to a voiceless majority. I'm going to play what he said just moments ago and I would like your reaction. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTNEY: People are watching how we respond, how we react and I'm optimistic that the results of our action will be positive, will have positive outcomes, but it's time for the voiceless majority to stand up and be heard. It's time to change the narrative. Because I can tell you from the facts that the story's a little bit different as to how it's been portrayed so far, especially through social media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So congressman, what do you suppose the chief means by the voiceless majority?

PITTENGER: Well, you have several hundred people, their emotions are very high, they have of course the interest of the media and it raises deep concerns. I think many of us understand that these are tragic instances that require the police department to do an evaluation and they are going to do that. I do know after riding shotgun with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police over the last 25 years, from 10:00 p.m. To 6:00 a.m. shift, they face enormous challenges and I have been in the middle of riots where they have had to disperse people. So these are not easy solutions for them, when they are right in the middle of someone who is confronting them with a lethal weapon. And I think those of us who understand this process, we just need to stand and be still, let clear thinking prevail and let the facts come out.

COSTELLO: What message would you send to your district today, sir?

PITTENGER: I would say that the message I would hope was that people would be calm, that they would believe the best about our law enforcement, they would believe the best about each other. I know I have friends in Dallas and in Charleston one thing their community did, get together was to pray. They prayed in their churches. The people in the urban churches, black churches, went to the suburban churches and vice versa. They had a very calming effect that helped make sure that this didn't happen again in those two cities.

COSTELLO: One of the difficulties I think in communities is there seems to, you know, Republicans and Democrats seem to have taken sides. Like the police are always right on one side, the demonstrators are always right on the other. Like how can we bridge that gap?

PITTENGER: Well, let's look for the truth. Let's look for the facts. And I know that they will come out. As you said, that there's video cameras of this and it will be clearly demonstrated. It's also clear that our chief is an African-American. The man who is the police officer is African-American. This was not a racial issue. This is a very tough job for law enforcement to keep order and to keep peace in the middle of violence and chaos. You know chaos and violence and looting, that's no way to resolve a problem. And reason has to prevail among those people who have deep emotions and deep concerns and I really empathize with what they are going through. But those police officers are there to protect everybody.

COSTELLO: All right, Congressman Robert Pittenger from North Carolina, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I want to take you briefly out to Cleveland for a look inside a local church there. Donald Trump is expected to speak but Don King is already speaking to the congregation in support of Donald Trump. We will be back with more on that.

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[10:10:16]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. Let's go back to Cleveland. You're looking at pictures from the New Spirit Revival Center and yes, that is Don King, the famous boxing promoter, speaking to a group of pastors on a Midwest Vision and Values Conference. And you see Donald Trump sitting behind Don King. Don King has finally decided to endorse Donald Trump and I would assume he's speaking on Donald Trump's behalf. So let's talk about that, with me now CNN chief political correspondent Dana Bash, "USA Today" Washington correspondent Paul Singer and politics editor for "TheRoot.com" Jason Johnson. Jason, Don King. So he was not allowed to speak at the Republican National Convention. The RNC chair was not into Don King. But here he is speaking on behalf of Donald Trump, helpful?

JASON JOHNSON, POLITICS EDITOR "THEROOT.COM": I mean it may have a nominal impact in the city of Cleveland. Don King also owns the "Call & Post." But it's not like he's got a tremendous amount of credibility. Again, most of these things that -- Donald Trump is doing at this point are not necessarily to really get black voters. It's much more of an attempt to sort of make himself

[10:15:16] appear less hostile. I have attended Pastor Darrell Scott's church. I have a pretty good idea of what he is about. He's had absolutely no impact on that community. That church has been there for years. No one knows him politically. He literally only magically appeared on the scene once he became part of the Donald Trump campaign. So I don't see this making that much of a difference in the grand scheme of things, certainly not in that Cuyahoga County which is a pretty blue place.

COSTELLO: And we should mention Jason that you are from Northeast Ohio, you're from Cleveland, right, you spent a lot of time there so you know what you're talking about. So why choose this event, you think?

JOHNSON: Well, the reason why is because Pastor Darrell Scott is the only place Trump can go. I mean this is the thing, you know. There are not a lot of places where he's going to be welcome. And let's be clear. We've seen this is now the third African-American church that Donald Trump has attended. The first one, there was hardly anybody in the room. The second one, he attempted to make a political speech and then cowered in fear because the pastor had the audacity to tell him to actually talk about the church instead of making it political. He's now in a safe environment with a pastor who has no credibility locally, who has no credibility throughout the region and it is going to be a safe place for him to have a town hall and promote his agenda.

But again, if we look at the numbers, it doesn't change anything. Donald Trump is still at zero, two percent in places like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Ohio. But I think this is part of his overall campaign to claim that I am a functional candidate as opposed to someone who continually associates himself with terrorist organizations like the Klan.

COSTELLO: So Dana, do you agree with Jason that this doesn't help at all with the African-American community?

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: I think that the way to look at Donald Trump's outreach to the African-American community is less about trying to get people on Donald Trump's side and more about trying to get the African-American community, -- at least chip away a little bit at Hillary Clinton's numbers. Because when you look at a state like Ohio, perfect example, for Hillary Clinton to win, she's got to win big in the urban areas and she's got to win big with the African-American voters. That's the Obama coalition. That's how President Obama did well in some of these -- many of these battleground states.

So for the Trump campaign to go into places like this and to you know, -- just as Jason was saying, to appear less objectionable but more importantly, to make people stop and think maybe even if it's just a small, small, small percentage, well, I'm not going to go out and vote for Hillary Clinton, even if they're not going to necessarily take the plunge and go for Donald Trump, that could make a difference, especially when up until last week or so, the enthusiasm for Hillary Clinton among black voters is not very high, especially among Millennials and that is what the Clinton campaign and the Democratic party in general, they are working very hard on in these communities. --

COSTELLO: And Donald Trump has in the last several days trying to garner some support or enthusiasm among African-American voters, listen to what he said last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to rebuild our inner cities because our African-American communities are absolutely in the worst shape that they have ever been in before, ever, ever, ever. You take a look at the inner cities, you get no education, you get no jobs, you get shot walking down the street, they're worse -- I mean, honestly, places like Afghanistan are safer than some of our inner cities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Mark, there are so many untruths in what Donald Trump just said. Does he really think that the African - no, I'm sorry I will pose this question to Paul. So Paul, there are a lot of untruths in what Donald Trump just said. So who is he speaking for? Because some African-Americans would listen to that and they would be appalled.

PAUL SINGER, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "USA TODAY": And -- keep in mind, that he was doing that in North Carolina and the shooting last night and the -- protests, riots that broke out afterwards were in North Carolina, and North Carolina at the moment is a swing state between Clinton and Trump. It is basically neck and neck in the polls. Notice this morning, Donald Trump sent out a couple of tweets saying that the violence and the unrest need to stop. For the African-American community, frequently when you say well, their streets are dangerous, they will reply yes, because the cops are shooting at us. So I think -- you will see that Trump is in North Carolina trying to reach out or at least trying to appear he's reaching out to the black community but I'm not sure he's speaking a language that they are particularly attuned to. He is focusing more on the law and order portion of this discussion about we shouldn't have protests in the streets. That is not something I think that is appealing directly to the black community, particularly in a state like North Carolina, particularly after last night.

COSTELLO: And you know it will be interesting to see what he does say in this Cleveland church about the shootings that have taken place [10:20:16] over the last several days involving police officers and African-Americans. Hillary Clinton was on the "Steve Harvey Show" yesterday. She brought up the shooting in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: This horrible shooting again, how many times do we have to see this in our country? In Tulsa, an unarmed man, with his hands in the air, I mean this is just unbearable and it needs to be intolerable, and so you know, maybe I can by speaking directly to white people, say look, this is not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: A couple of things here. First of all, we don't have all the facts in the Oklahoma case. We don't really know exactly what happened or why police felt they had to open fire. So isn't Hillary Clinton jumping the gun? That's a terrible -- forget I said that. Isn't Hillary Clinton getting ahead of herself?

JOHNSON: No, Carol. Not -- from the experience of most people in this country. We have to -

COSTELLO: From the perspective of white voters, though, isn't she? Some white voters? --

JOHNSON: Not necessarily because I think at this point, we have even seeing this online in the last couple days. There are people who were previously, for example, criticizing Colin Kaepernick who after the shooting in Tulsa have turned around and said you know, Jerry Rice and other athletes said OK, we get it, that's pretty bad. This guy had his hands up, his car was messed up. So I don't think that Hillary Clinton is in any way harming her chances with white voters. Her key demographic right now which is why she's on something like a "Steve Harvey Show," if she's got to get black Millennials and Generation Xers, she will actually be enthusiastic about voting for her. That's what she's trying to do there. She's got the number of white voters that she's going to get. She's not going to increase or decrease. It's the black vote she needs.

COSTELLO: All right, I want my panel to stay right there because I'm going to talk to you some more about all of this after a break. Still to come in the "Newsroom," we'll take you back to Cleveland and maybe listen in to Donald Trump or monitoring what he says. I'll be right back.

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[10:25:16]

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COSTELLO: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. I want to take you right back to Cleveland, Ohio, where Donald Trump is now speaking to a group of pastors at the New Spirit Revival Center. Let's listen.

TRUMP: -- somebody said we're up in Maine. Maine is not a state where Republicans are exactly, you know, flocking to. But we're up in Maine. It's an amazing, amazing thing. We're doing great in Connecticut. We're doing great all over, actually. So we're winning Florida, we're winning Ohio, I see we're winning North Carolina.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: We're winning -- it's just an amazing thing. We're winning Colorado. We're up four points. And we're up in other places that are just amazing places and great. And we're thrilled. We just had very good polls from New Mexico. New Mexico. So we're winning areas that are not usually areas that people consider in play. That's why you're seeing the board, you remember the board three or four weeks ago, the whole electoral map, well, Trump has a very -- now all of a sudden all these states are opening up. They're saying wait a minute, what's going on here. Then they're writing about it and we are working very, very hard and hopefully at the end - I want to also -- I have to thank Mike Pence. What an unbelievable person.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: And you know, the first time I met Mike, I liked him a lot and he was very much considered that this was going to be his position. A lot of people wanted him to run, right? He's run incredibly in Indiana, very, very popular. Has one of the most successful states. They have AAA bond rating. Their taxes have gone down. Their employment has been incredible. And they brought companies in, one of the few places that's has actually brought companies. It's been a great story. And the story he's done is incredible. But the first time I met him, we had a wonderful meeting, lasted 20 minutes, and I actually asked him for his endorsement because I was running in Indiana which we won in a landslide. And he couldn't do that because of the fact that he had other commitments and he endorsed Ted Cruz. But the next day when he made the endorsement, I thought it was more of an endorsement for me because he started talking about how great Donald Trump is. Then he said I'm voting for Ted Cruz and let's get back to Donald Trump. The guy is unbelievable.

(APPLAUSE)

TRUMP: In fact, Ted Cruz didn't know whether or not he was endorsed. Most people thought he endorsed -- I thought it was one of the great -- but I liked him -- regardless. I liked him a lot. But he said something after that first 15 or 20 minutes, I left. And he said, Donald, may we pray.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right. We are going to hop out. When Donald Trump starts to address issues of the day, of course we will take you back to Cleveland. But we want to move on to the terror investigation here in New York and New Jersey. New court documents revealed chilling details about the bombing suspect, Ahmad Khan Rahami. Among them, allegations that Rahami bought materials on eBay to build his bombs, tested out explosives days before the attack and praised Osama Bin Laden in his journal. Now Rahami is up against federal charges including use of weapons of mass destruction. We have also learned that his wife is now cooperating with authorities. Our justice correspondent Evan Perez has more for you this morning. Good morning.