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Charlotte Under State of Emergency; Charlotte Police Shooting Sparks 2nd Night of Unrest; Charlotte Mayor Considers Curfew Amid Violence; Charlotte, North Carolina Under State of Emergency; Unrest in Charlotte, Prayer Virgil in Tulsa. Aired 9-9:30a ET

Aired September 22, 2016 - 09:00   ET

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

[09:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: -- of protests and violence and now under a state of emergency. National Guard troops rolling in to Charlotte this morning after the Governor mobilizes the soldiers and Highway Patrol to assist local law enforcement.

Protests triggered by two states' fatal police shooting of an African- American man spiral into chaos. Was Keith Lamont Scott holding a gun as police claimed, or was he merely reading a book as his family insists? The answer may rest in video recordings of the altercation. Officials won't say when or if they will release that video, feeding the distrust and anger.

Vandals shatter store fronts in downtown Charlotte and clash with police. Four officers are hurt and even the media is harassed and assaulted. Watch as a man knocks down CNN's Ed Lavandera while he's reporting on live television.

OK. Ed popped up there and he was A-Okay. In fact, the man who shoved him down later apologized to Ed Lavandera. One man, though, is fighting for his life. Witnesses say he was shot by another civilian in the crowd. The city now considering whether to implement a curfew to prevent new violence overnight.

We expect to hear from the Mayor of Charlotte and the city Police Chief in the next hour. In the meantime, we are covering this developing story from every angle for you. Our reporters on the ground, experts from law enforcement, and one big city mayor tested by similar outbreaks of violence. This as we wait to hear if the city of Charlotte will release any of the videotape of that deadly shooting.

Let's begin, though, in downtown Charlotte. That's where Nick Valencia is this morning. Good morning, Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Last night, the city of Charlotte was seemingly torn from within by riots. What started as peaceful protests ended in violence.

Tonight -- or, I'm sorry, today, we're in front of a store front that shows you the aftermath, the indicator, of what happened here last night. Things were anything but peaceful at the end of it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Overnight, a state of emergency declared in Charlotte. The Governor deploys the National Guard.

GOV. PAT McCRORY, (R) NORTH CAROLINA: We cannot tolerate violence, we cannot tolerate the destruction of property, and we'll not tolerate the attacks towards our police officers.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Violent protests erupt for a second night. In the chaos, a man lays bleeding on the ground from his head. Authorities say one person was shot by another civilian outside the city's Omni Hotel. That person is on life support and in critical condition. Police descend on demonstrators in riot gear, firing flash grenades and deploying tear gas to disperse crowds. CNN's Boris Sanchez in the middle of the intense scene.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Whoa, OK! They clearly want us out of here.

VALENCIA (voice-over): CNN'S Ed Lavandera also caught in the fray.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's OK. It's OK. It's OK.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Knocked over by a protester while reporting on live TV. The protester later apologized.

LAVANDERA: Someone taking out their frustrations on me.

VALENCIA (voice-over): Police confirmed several police officers suffered injuries. Charlotte officials say, if unrest continues, they'll explore, quote, other options including curfews to keep people off the streets.

MAYOR JENNIFER ROBERTS, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: We are working very hard to bring peace and calm back to our city. We know that this is not who Charlotte is. This is not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Adding to the anger here among demonstrators is what they call a lack of transparency. They want to see the police cam footage, the body cam footage. Police say that is currently part of the investigation and no timetable on when or if it will be released.

Meanwhile, back outside here in front of one of those damaged store fronts, a heart wrenching story. I just spoke to the owner of this store behind me. Believe it or not, Carol, 25 years ago, they had their convenience store in Los Angeles looted during the riots there in the '90s. They moved here 15 years ago, they say, because they wanted a safer place to raise their children. They saw their store front being vandalized live on CNN last night and felt helpless because they were too scared to do anything about it. They say they never could have imagined what happened here on the streets of downtown last night. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Nick Valencia reporting live from Charlotte, North Carolina this morning. When you see the pictures of what went down in Charlotte last night, you can't help but think what was happening in Baltimore just last year. Intense anger, rioting, destruction of property.

Baltimore's Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake led Baltimore through that crisis. She joins me now live. Welcome and thank you so much for being with me this morning.

MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, BALTIMORE, MARYLAND: Thank you.

COSTELLO: There is a fear that this rioting will happen again tonight in Charlotte. So what do you say as mayor of a city to calm things down?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: It's a very tough situation for any mayor to be in, particularly in today's society. We know that our country is at a boiling point when it comes to race relations, when it comes to police community relations. And it's difficult to strike that right balance, that you want peace. You want there to be order, and you also have to honor the request of the families.

[09:05:11] In Mr. Scott's case, the family is asking for peace. They want to be able to let this process, the investigation, move forward without destruction. I pray and, you know, I beg for those people who want social justice and want progress that they allow that process to happen without destroying the fabric of their community because in Baltimore, we saw what happened.

So many things were destroyed, and it took a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of heartache from community members who were unable to get their prescriptions, unable to get food because the stores were looted. And then those -- the looters are gone and the community is left to rebuild. And I just hope that there's peace in Charlotte so the process can run its course. And so we can work as a community to make things better in our country.

COSTELLO: Charlotte's Mayor Jennifer Roberts, she's going to view the police video of Mr. Scott's death later today. You also dealt with something like this. What will go in to the decision to release this video?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: So they're dealing with laws that are different than Baltimore's, so I'm not sure what would go in to whether or not they will release it based on those laws. But I can say in Baltimore, we worked very hard on our body camera policy with community leaders, with the ACLU, with the FOP, and with other elected officials to make sure that our regulations, when it comes to the body cam video, leads us to a better sense of transparency.

This is all about doing everything we can to repair the broken relationship between the police and the community. And anything we can do in Baltimore, in Charlotte, you know, in Chicago, in L.A., in New York, everywhere across this country, that we can do to help repair that relationship, we are going to be better for it.

COSTELLO: And some say releasing this videotape is so important because of transparency. Earlier this morning, we talked to the spokesperson for the Fraternal Order of Police Todd Walther, the Fraternal Order of Police in Charlotte, he actually watched the video of what went down with Mr. Scott, and here's what he had to say about that video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD WALTHER, SPOKESMAN, CHARLOTTE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: Mr. Scott was armed when he exited the vehicle. A weapon was recovered. A hand gun was recovered on the scene next to Mr. Scott. He was seated in when he was approached, but when he exited that vehicle, he was given clear commands to drop the weapon and he did not do that. So he was armed when he came out of that vehicle and refused to listen to officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So Mr. Scott's family is saying Mr. Scott was sitting in his car and he was reading a book and he did not have a gun. So unless police release this video, how do you get people in Charlotte, those who are really angry, to believe what the police are saying?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: So we know that there are multiple videos, and the officer that you just spoke to saw one version of that. We talk about the video and the transparency as this, you know, this would be -- magically solve all the problems. It won't. We have to deal with the underlying issues, the social justice issues.

The fact that in too many communities there is a clear sense that there is a bias, a racial bias, against African-Americans, we have to deal with those issues if we think that we're going to prevent such violence from erupting in the future. People have to have confidence that no matter what the video shows, that there's going to be justice.

And my hope is that, like as I said, in cities across our country, that we can have a national discussion about things like racial bias, about things like the use of force policy in our police force because it is those broader issues, those underlying issues, that, I think, are fueling a lot of the distrust and this push.

You know, you're saying it's the call for the video but it's really a call for justice, a call for blind justice that, you know, if you are involved in a police interaction, that that interaction shouldn't be shaded by the shade of your skin, that you will be treated equally. And to me, we can't lose sight of the need to do the work in those areas.

COSTELLO: And just a couple of questions that I'd like to ask you before you have to go. You issued a curfew in Baltimore. They're thinking about doing that in Charlotte. The National Guard has been called in to Charlotte but hasn't been activated as far as I know just yet, but the National Guard was called also in the city of Baltimore. Are those the right moves moving forward for Charlotte?

RAWLINGS-BLAKE: You know, I refuse to second-guess Mayor Roberts. She is on the ground. She has access to information that the media doesn't have, the people on the ground don't have. The same thing, you know, has happened in Baltimore. You have to make those best judgments based on your experience and based on what you think is best for the citizens that you serve and your community. [09:10:10] I can say asking or implementing a curfew is tough. It

definitely quelled the violence and got peace on the streets in Baltimore, but it came at a significant cost. The cost to the community, whether it's people who couldn't get to and from work or businesses that had to close and that impacted people's ability to provide for themselves and their families. There are real costs when you do that.

And that's why I pray that the protesters who want better, listen to the words of the families. There's never been a family that has been impacted by this violence or in custody deaths or death at the hands of police who's asked for looting, who's asked for violence. They want peace. They want peaceful protests so we can get to a better place.

It breaks my heart to see the destruction that is done in the city because that doesn't do any -- it makes a bad situation a lot, a lot worse.

COSTELLO: Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake of Baltimore. Thank you so much for being with me this morning.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, I will talk to one woman who was in the middle of those protests last night, why she says it feels like her home is burning down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:15:28] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It was madness. That's how one witness described a second night of protests in Charlotte, North Carolina, following the police shooting of an African-American man.

So what started off peacefully eventually descended into chaos last night. This were flash bangs being set off by the police. But they did that because protesters were overturning trash cans, they were setting fires. The crowds began breaking up after officers fired off tear gas, as well.

North Carolina's governor saying the violence and destruction of property cannot be tolerated.

Joining me now is the Reverend Amantha Barbee. She is a pastor at Statesville Avenue Presbyterian Church in Charlotte and she witnessed last night's protest. Welcome.

REV. AMANTHA BARBEE, STATESVILLE AVENUE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH: Thank you, Carol. Good morning.

COSTELLO: Good morning. And thank you for being with me. Tell me where you were, and what you saw.

BARBEE: I was in the midst of the chaos. I was at the epicenter last night. And it was just horrifying. Clearly standing off with the policemen and the protesters, and it took a very bad turn. People fighting. Running down the streets. I was deeply concerned that so many parents opted to bring their minor children to the scene of a riot. At one point this --

(CROSSTALK)

BARBEE: Go ahead. I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: Reverend, I understand that some pastors put themselves between the violent protesters and police. Were you one of those pastors?

BARBEE: Yes, we did that two nights in a row. We also did that on the night before. Very often we were all dressed in clergy garb, so very often that will calm the storm. But they were inconsolable last night. It was -- it was quite the scene. And I am a Charlottean and this is like watching my home burn down.

COSTELLO: Do you think that, like police said, the violence is being caused by outsiders coming in to Charlotte? Not residents themselves. Do you agree with that?

BARBEE: In great part, yes. There were quite a few people that we spoke with that absolutely were not from Charlotte. But the anger is all over the nation. And this is just another opportunity until justice is done we're going to continue to see this unfortunately.

COSTELLO: Where were those people coming from that you talked with?

BARBEE: Outer lying areas, different counties. Mecklenburg County is huge, but we joined Union County, Gaskin County, and even a great deal of people from South Carolina.

COSTELLO: So you said it seems as if your home is burning. That sounds ominous.

BARBEE: Yes. It's -- Charlotte is very transient city. And very few of us that actually were born and raised in Charlotte. And we fight to keep the peace and the beauty and the growth that we've seen over the years. And it's -- it's disheartening.

COSTELLO: So will you put yourself in between protesters and police again tonight?

BARBEE: If necessary, yes.

COSTELLO: And you know that's a great risk to yourself?

BARBEE: It is a tremendous risk. But we have to try to keep the peace. And it's not optional for me to sit at home and do nothing.

COSTELLO: Reverend Amantha Barbee, thank you so much for joining me this morning. Wow.

Tensions are likely to remain high because of a lack of trust between the community and the police. So what do you do about that?

With me now CNN law enforcement analyst Cedric Alexander. He's the former chief of police for DeKalb County in Georgia. I'm also joined by senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes.

Welcome to both of you.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Carol.

COSTELLO: So what do you do, Cedric? I mean, tensions are high. They're in for another tense night. It's going to be this press conference at 10:30 Eastern Time with the mayor. What do you say to the community to calm things down?

ALEXANDER: You know, listening to Reverend Barbee there just a moment ago as you can clearly see for yourself, Carol, it's very touching and very hurtful to hear her talk about her hometown in which she grew up in and she loved. And I'm quite sure that thousands of other people that live in that community that feel the same way.

[09:20:04] What we have to do at this very moment is continue to -- they have to continue to work with that community, build those relationships, but this is a time to, where the citizens in that community to truly understand what it is to exercise your First Amendment rights, have to stand very squarely with their police department so that those outsiders, whether they're coming from the metro Charlotte area or whether they're coming from out of state, to be able to say this is not going to be tolerated.

We want to address the issue that is at hand. But we're not going to do it in a violent manner. And we're going to stand with our local police department and the local police department must be willing to stand with those citizens, such as Reverend Barbee in order to push those people back out of the way, and just don't allow them to overtake that city and did what they did to that city last night.

COSTELLO: And, Tom, you know, Tulsa's having its own problems with the police involved shooting of an African-American man but there were no violent protests there. Take a look at the pictures from Tulsa. There were protests. They were very, very peaceful. The clergy is also very involved in Tulsa and working with protesters and community leaders and police.

So it worked in Tulsa but not in Charlotte. Why do you think that is?

FUENTES: That's a very good question, Carol. I don't know. And I don't think it's, you know, anger within the community that's at a greater level in Charlotte than in Tulsa. And I think when you have people that come in from outside areas to an area to cause trouble with police, all the community policing in the world in Charlotte isn't going to be effective against people that don't live in Charlotte. That aren't regularly dealing with the Charlotte Police.

So I really don't know the answer to why one community and not another in a situation like that. Maybe it has to do with the public comments that were made locally that we really didn't hear what was being said in the local media by leaders, by police official. There could be an explanation. But I'm not aware of it. COSTELLO: Something interesting was posted on Facebook, Cedric, by an

African-American Tulsa police office officer. This is his Facebook page. His name is Officer Popsy Floyd. He said, quote, "I work for you." And he's talking about the community. "I will protect you. I do not take the authority that comes with my badge for granted. I know you may be upset about the recent events all over the country and now here in Tulsa. I don't have the answers that you are looking for but I will continue to be a solution."

Needless to say that post got lots and lots of hits. So Officer Floyd is saying the right things? Just your thoughts about that.

ALEXANDER: I think he's saying the right things. And if you read between the lines, he's also describing himself as a guardian with that community, a person who is involved in the community, want to be involved. He's going to stand tall. He's going to do his job. And he's going to do what's right by the citizens of Tulsa. And I think that's a very courageous and bold statement that he made. Very much publicly through social media. And those are the type of police officers that we want to see across this country.

Those that want to come into a community with a guardian spirit of helping and supporting communities, but community also is going to have to be mindful in spite of the challenges that are in front of us. They also have to be supportive of the young Officer Popsys that we just heard and the statements that he made.

COSTELLO: And Tom, I expect more NFL players to protest on Sunday in light of what's happened in the past few days. But the Seahawks' Richard Sherman, he says he won't kneel but he is speaking out and I found it interesting what he had to say. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHERMAN, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK: You can try to inspire, say to inspire a person when you say, hey, we need black fathers to be in the community to stay there for your kids, but they're getting killed in the street for nothing. For putting their hands on their cars. And I think that's the unfortunate part. That's the unfortunate place that we're living in and something needs to be done. And so when a guy takes a knee you can ignore it. You can say -- you can say he's not being patriotic, he's not honoring the flag. I'm doing none of those things. I'm saying it straight up. This is wrong and we need to do something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And I ask you about Richard Sherman's comments, Tom, because during the riots in Baltimore Ray Lewis made an appearance and he did calm things down. He brought calm to the city. Is something like that needed in Charlotte?

FUENTES: Possibly. It would take somebody that's a role model or a community leader that has some respect and authority to be able to speak out like that. But if they do speak out, they have a great responsibility to not jump to a conclusion and immediately say that someone in their community was murdered by a police officer or they only, you know, were putting their hands in the car or had their hands up when it turns out they didn't.

So there's a lot of responsibility that comes with that in my opinion. When someone speaks out they should at least not come to conclusions that have not been established yet.

[09:25:03] COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there. Cedric Alexander, Tom Fuentes.

ALEXANDER: Thank you.

COSTELLO: So we will continue the conversation I'm sure throughout the day. Thank you so much.

Up next in the NEWSROOM, I'm joined by the NAACP president in the Charlotte area. I'll get her reaction to last night's violence and the conflicting reports on whether or not Keith Scott was holding a gun. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: And good morning, I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

It is quiet now in Charlotte but police are gearing for more possible violence tonight. All of this as protesters demand police video be released of the shooting death of Keith Scott. That's what you heard last night in the streets.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's no unrest. Release the dash cam video. Release the video.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Police clashed with demonstrators amid growing cries for justice for Scott. Officers in riot gear firing flash grenades. Tear gas filling the air. Police say one man was shot by someone in the crowd. He remains in the hospital this morning clinging to life. Businesses in the heart of Charlotte --