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Unrest In Charlotte, North Carolina; Scott Family Requests To Watch Shooting Video; Video Not Absolute Evidence For Pointing Of Gun; Video Not Being Show To Public; White House Addresses Charlotte Unrest; Lawmakers March To Justice Department To Protest Shooting; Black Lawmakers March over Police Shootings; FBI to Speak with Rahami's Wife. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 22, 2016 - 13:00   ET

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

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: -- 1:00 p.m. here in New York, 8:30 p.m. in Tehran. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We cannot tolerate violence. We cannot tolerate the destruction of property. Protesters were smashing glass everywhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rioters came down this street and just ransacked this store.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They put out pepper spray. People were running from it. Jeremy (ph), get out of there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police stand in a single-file line and shot pepper balls at them to get them off the highway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are a lot of people with their hands up. Whoa, OK. They clearly want us out of here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm really nervous about what's going to happen tonight.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: In Charlotte today, a state of emergency has been declared. The National Guard alerted and a community on edge. Despite that, Charlotte's mayor said today, the city is open for business.

This is new video from this morning. Many business owners are spending the day cleaning up shattered windows and graffiti sprayed on walls and cars. One resident told CNN he worries the situation will get worse before it gets better. All of this after a violent protest broke out for a second night following the fatal police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott at an apartment complex.

A family member says the 43-year-old was reading a book in his car when police officers approached and shot him. The police say Scott had a gun and refused to listen to police officers when he was ordered to drop it. There is body and dash cam video of the incident and police say they will try to accommodate the family's request to review it.

I want to bring in our National Correspondent Polo Sandoval. He's outside police headquarters in Charlotte. Paulo, Mayor Jennifer Roberts and someone from the Scott family have requested to watch the video from the Keith Scott shooting. So, police release the video to the public?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, (INAUDIBLE) that, Wolf. They feel that, obviously, it would be appropriate, especially for the family who has already been enough -- through enough. But it also -- part of this ongoing investigation. They say that footage is still key evidence here and this is something that they are still going through.

And it's not just some of that dash cam video, but also, potentially, some of that body camera video that you also mentioned. Perhaps some footage that may have been -- may or may not have been taken by some surveillance cameras in the area. So, they are highly protective of that video right now.

And this is also very important because there are two competing narratives here. You have police who say that Keith Scott had a weapon, that he had it with him at the time of the shooting. But then, you hear from his family, and some other witness accounts, that suggest that he simply had a book.

So, ultimately, people here in Charlotte want to see the video so they can make up their mind for themselves. But, at this point, again, officials here at the city of Charlotte saying they do not plan on releasing that video for the public. But they do plan on at least allowing (INAUDIBLE) family to see some of that footage for themselves.

BLITZER: This morning, the police chief, Kerr Putney, said the video is not absolute evidence that the gun was pointed at police officers. What does that tell us?

SANDOVAL: We do know that we have had several other folks also weighing in, particularly a member of a police shooting here in Charlotte who says that he had an opportunity to see this video for himself.

And, according to him, he believes that he actually saw Scott not being compliant with police and also saw that weapon for himself. I want you to see -- hear for yourself the account of what we would likely see in that dash cam video if it would be release -- be released. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TODD WALTHER, FORMER PRESIDENT, CHARLOTTE FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE: It's a very short video but it's very clear that, like the chief has already said, he was armed when he exited the vehicle. He didn't listen to commands from the officers and dropped the weapon. And he made a -- he made an obvious threat to the officers. And, unfortunately, the outcome is not good.

So, we understand the frustration of the family. They want answers. Well, our investigative team and our department wants answers, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Once again, that a member of the police (INAUDIBLE), so that's important to keep in mind. But, ultimately though, again, people here want to see this video for themselves, especially because there is so much speculation about what happened. And there is very little evidence that's been released publicly, so many people here want to see that footage.

But then, Wolf, there is also that debate, exactly how much would the release of that video actually do? Would it calm concerns or would it simply fan the flames, especially with concerns that we could see more demonstrations, potentially violent ones, again tonight for the third time.

[13:05:07] BLITZER: All right, Polo, thanks very much. Polo Sandoval reporting from Charlotte.

Let's take a closer look at where the investigation goes from here. Cheryl Dorsey is with us. She's a retired Los Angeles police sergeant, author of the book, "Creation Manifesto Black and Blue." Also with us, CNN Law Enforcement Analyst Matt Horace. He's a former executive with the ATF, a senior vice president at FJC Security Services.

Guys thanks very much for joining us. So, Cheryl, what should they be doing? Two nights of violent protests. You saw the video, very dramatic. What should they be doing to try to prevent that from happening tonight, a third night?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED SERGEANT, LAPD, AUTHOR, "CREATION MANIFESTO BLACK AND BLUE": Well, what they should be doing is they should be releasing that video. Now I believe that the reason that they won't release the video is because it doesn't show what they purported in the very beginning. We were led to believe that there was evidence on that video that supported the officer's version.

Now, we're hearing from both the mayor and the police chief that there's not definitive, absolute evidence which sounds like code talk double-speak for, we said something that wasn't true.

And we understand that police officers do sometimes misrepresent what happened, as in the case of Walter Scott when he was shot by Michael Slager who said that he took my taser. And when Sam DeBose was shot and killed, the officer said he was try to run me over with a car. So, I believe that once we see this video, we're going to see that it doesn't substantiate or justify the shooting.

BLITZER: It'll be important to see the video. They're reluctant, obviously, to release the video. The police chief, Kerr Putney, he said it will not provide definitive visual evidence, Matthew. But you believe they should release the video, even if it doesn't provide definitive, in his words, visual evidence.

MATTHEW HORACE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: (INAUDIBLE) release the video at the appropriate time. Although he said it didn't have definitive evidence, he did say that the individual did not have a book and the individual did have a gun. So, we know both of those facts.

There's a lot of investigating that still needs to be done and I think we have to allow the investigative train to work itself out so that we don't compromise the investigation. And, at some point, they have to release the information. Even if they don't release the video, they're going to tell us what happened.

BLITZER: Yes, they're going to let the family, apparently, look at the video today. They're going to let the mayor look at the video, Jennifer Roberts. When they come out and say whatever they say, presumably, if the family says, you know what? We're calling for calm night. No more violent demonstrations. That could potentially have an impact.

DORSEY: Unless there's a stipulation on the family not to speak on what they saw, right? Because if they show the family with the video with that caveat, they may not be able to tell them, to tell the world, what they actually saw.

BLITZER: But they can't force the family to tailor their words. The family comes out and they can say whatever they want. This, after all, is a free country.

DORSEY: Well, and then, there's the concern of, do they show them the video in its entirely or do they pick and choose what portion they want to show to substantiate that thing they're saying?

BLITZER: All right, hold on for one moment. The White House secretary, Josh Earnest, is speaking precisely on this subject in Charlotte. I want to listen in.

JOSH EARNEST, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY (live): Something that is worthy of careful consideration by policymakers all across the country. This is a particularly complex set of issues, in part because we know what the vast majority of men and women who work in law enforcement are genuine public servants, who keep their communities safe and who put their lives on the line to do so. There are countless examples that the resident has sited (ph) of individuals performing that work heroically and saving lives and saving communities.

What's also true, what the president's also addressed, is there are legitimate concerns that have been raised about inequities in our criminal justice system. These are inequities that break down, in many cases, along racial lines. And those are difficult questions that must be confronted. They cannot be ignored.

And the president certainly played his own role in making sure that these issues are not ignored. The president has talked about them publicly on a -- on a number of occasions. The president's also convened a 21st century -- a task force on 21st century policing that brought together civil rights' leaders, academics leading law enforcement officials to talk about steps that communities can take to build this trust.

And the president continues to believe that it's in the interest of everybody for this -- the relationship between local law enforcement and individual communities to improve and to strengthen. That certainly increases the safety of local law enforcement officials and law enforcement officers. It makes them more effective at doing their jobs. And it also makes our communities safer which is ultimately everybody's goal.

[13:10:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just think there will be quite a few questions on that topic.

EARNEST: OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to ask about (INAUDIBLE) accusing the U.S. of intentionally attacking the Syrian military, saying that multiple planes were involved and what he described as opening (ph) the attack. I just wanted to get the White House reaction to this --

BLITZER: All right, we're going to break away. Josh Earnest, the White House Press Secretary, making it clear where the president of the United States says, yes, there is problems with the criminal justice system in the country. But he was applauding the work of almost all police officers around the country.

Let's get some reaction. Cheryl Dorsey's still with us. Matthew Horace is with us as well. And, Matthew, it's a very, very delicate moment in Charlotte right now. But the fact is and the sensitivities are enormous, Kerr Putney, police chief in Charlotte, African- American. The police officer who shot and killed the victim there, Keith Lamont Scott, a man by the name of the police officer, Brentley Vinson, African-American. Does that make a difference to the community there?

HORACE: Well, I think we have to separate it. The community and the people who are protesting for one reason or the broad community. The Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department has an incredible reputation in North Carolina.

BLITZER: Incredibly good or bad?

HORACE: Incredibly good reputation in North Carolina. And the chief does as well. And I think we have to remember, there's two sets of facts here. There is what the video is going to show which may not be definitive, and there's exactly what happened which may not match the video. So, we have to wait for that information to evolve. And it's my guess that when the family sees the video, they're going to have one reaction. But then, when the public hears what happened, then we're going to know exactly what happened during the incident.

BLITZER: Brentley Vinson, the police officer who shot and killed the victim in this particular case, he had an outstanding reputation by all accounts, in law enforcement as well as in the community. Once again, himself African-American. And the police chief, Kerr Putney, has a pretty good reputation as well. Do you have confidence in that?

DORSEY: Are you asking me?

BLITZER: Yes.

DORSEY: Well, I don't have confidence because they're withholding information. And so, while they say that they want to be transparent and they want everything that they know to be known, they're now saying, well, we're not going to have full transparency. And I don't really know what that means.

And so, unless and until you fill in those blanks, the community is going to fill in the blank. And they may not get it right. So, if this is a justified shooting, if there was a reasonable use of deadly force, then just say it. And if it wasn't, then say that. Because until we admit that maybe this isn't a good shooting, we can have a real dialogue about how to fix it.

BLITZER: And so, very quickly -- very quickly, Cheryl. If the police officer who shot and killed this person says there was a gun, you don't necessarily believe that police officer?

DORSEY: It's an open carry state. And so, having a gun doesn't necessarily mean that there's a threat. And when they say that he presented a threat, articulate it. What was that threat? What did he do? Having displaying brandishing is one thing, being in possession is another.

BLITZER: Do you want to just button it up? Go ahead, Matthew.

HORACE: I say we wait until the investigation is complete. We'll learn every single fact. What happened. Having a gun is not illegal. Threatening with a gun is illegal. And, in this case, we don't have a white officer with a black suspect. We have a black officer that's shooting and a black officer that's dead. Whole different dynamics. If we believe that we're not getting the right information, then we believe that the officer did something wrong and we don't know that he did.

BLITZER: All right, we'll continue to watch. We'll see if they release the dash cam video, the body video, all of that video. We'll see if that comes out.

Coming up, marching for change. African-American leaders in Washington take action. They're demanding more be done to stop the shootings and the violence. Our Manu Raju is live on the scene -- Manu.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Hey, Wolf. Actually, I'm standing right in front of the Justice Department where two senior leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus are meeting right now with attorney general, Loretta Lynch, demanding more action to stop this escalating violence between police and inner city communities. We'll have more after the break.

[13:13:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:17:38] BLITZER: The attorney general of the United States, Loretta Lynch, is answering reporters' questions in Washington, D.C., at the Department of Justice, on the unrest in Charlotte, North Carolina. I want to listen in briefly.

LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL: Policies and how that practice was implemented in a way that was not helpful to community trust and to, frankly, public safety and enhancing the relationship between law enforcement and community members. And so a number of modifications were made to the policy within New York.

Obviously, police officers are able to stop individuals if they, in fact, have articulable, reasonable suspicion that they're involved in activity. That's an important part of police procedure and it has not changed. The issue with stop and frisk in the New York area was the widespread indiscriminate use of that practice, particularly when it was not generating success from a law enforcement perspective in either leads or tips or firearms and the resulting lack of trust that it generated.

As with every police procedure, you know, we want to empower law enforcement to be responsive to community needs. We want to empower them to protect the community. And we want to give them the information and the training that they need in order to do it in a way that is constitutional, safe and, in fact, promotes trust. So it's not really a year or no answer. Sorry for that. So let me come to (INAUDIBLE) and then I'll come back to you (INAUDIBLE).

QUESTION: Thanks, attorney general. In the -- in the New York bombing case, the suspect bought allegedly many of his equip -- parts for the bombs online through eBay. Is the government engaged in any sort of review of its trip wire program to see if they need to alert --

BLITZER: All right, we're going to get back to Loretta Lynch. We're going to continue to monitor the attorney general of the United States. But moments ago, members of the Congressional Black Caucus took to the streets of the nation's capital, marching from Capitol Hill to the Department of Justice to protest the recent police shootings of black men.

Our senior political correspondent Manu Raju is with the marchers right now over at the Justice Department.

Manu, tell us why the lawmakers decided to make this march.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Well, they're frustrated. They don't believe there's been enough action by the federal government to hold these inner city communities accountable and these police departments in these inner city communities accountable. Remember, a lot of these CBC members, Congressional Black Caucus members, represent districts where we have seen this escalating violence and tension between the police departments and these communities. So they're demanding a lot more action from the Obama Justice Department.

[13:20:13] G.K. Butterfield, the congressman who is the chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, is actually meeting with Loretta Lynch at this moment with Maxine Waters, another senior member of the Congressional Black Caucus. He actually just talked to reporters. Here's a little bit about what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. G.K. BUTTERFIELD (D), NORTH CAROLINA: The Congressional Black Caucus is outraged with the dozens of unlawful police shootings that are taking place all across America involving unarmed, innocent African-American citizens. If we were to identify each of these, it would consume this entire press conference. There are dozens of unlawful shootings of unarmed African-Americans. Enough is enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, actually I had spoken with Mr. Butterfield right before this press conference and I asked him, are you satisfied with what the Obama Justice Department has done so far in responding to these episodes of police violence? He said, no, absolutely not. So you're hearing a lot of frustration from the president's own party on this issue, which is one reason why they're meeting with Loretta Lynch right now to try to demand some action. We'll see how Loretta Lynch responds. She's, of course, answering reporter's questions. But, clearly, some frustration from a lot of those members of Congress who represent those districts where we've seen this -- these episodes of violence play out in recent weeks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Lots of frustration right now. Manu, thank you very much. Manu Raju reporting for us.

Up next, questioning on hold. New York's mayor changes the tone a bit on two men wanted in connection with the New York bombing, this while the main suspect stays silence. The latest on the investigation and the view from Capitol Hill. Congressman Mike Pompeo of the House Select Committee on Intelligence, there you see him, he's up on Capitol Hill. He's standing by to join us live. He'll answer our questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:25:56] BLITZER: Right now we're getting these live pictures coming in from the Charlotte Airport where the National Guard is about to deploy. The governor of North Carolina has deployed National Guard troops to help try to deal with potentially a third night of violent demonstrations in Charlotte.

Also, just moments ago, we got a statement from the NBA legend Michael Jordan, one of the owners of the Charlotte Hornets, the NBA basketball team. It says this. "First, I want to express my condolences to the Scott family for their loss. I also wish for a full recovery to those who have been injured. In light of the tragic events of the past three days, it is more important than ever that we restore calm and come together as a community in peaceful demonstration and conversation, and in constructive and non-violent ways. As part of the fabric of Charlotte, the Hornets organization is committed to working with civic leaders, our elected leaders and law enforcement to foster more trust, transparency and understanding so we can heal and grow together as a community." That statement from Michael Jordan.

We also just received a statement from the NFL regarding the NFL game on Sunday. "We are planning to play the game as scheduled on Sunday." The NFL statement says, "we're monitoring events in Charlotte and have been in communication with local officials and authorities in both the Charlotte Panthers and the Minnesota Vikings." So the game, at least for now, on schedule on Sunday in Charlotte.

We're going to have much more on what's going on in Charlotte. Stand by for that.

But I want to move on to the latest in the investigation into the bombings in New York and New Jersey. The main suspect, Ahmad Rahami, is unable to talk with police. The FBI says he's unconscious and unlikely to move anytime soon from his Newark, New Jersey, hospital bed. But FBI investigators do expect to get some answers today from Rahami's wife, who's returning to the United States. She left the U.S. only days before the bombings.

We're also seeing new video of the suspect's journal. And you can see his blood on the journal. He had it with him during the shootout with police in New Jersey. In it he talked about his admiration for both Osama bin Laden and other -- not only al Qaeda leaders, but ISIS leaders as well.

And here's a video of the Rahami family's backyard. You can see the evidence of where the suspected bomber tested some of his explosives. A neighbor says the family also had bonfires and more frequently in the past few months. That neighbor said the family burned things like furniture and clothes.

Here to talk a little bit more about this is Kansas Republican Congressman Mike Pompeo. He's a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

Congressman, thanks very much for joining us.

REP. MIKE POMPEO (R-KS), INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Thank you, Wolf. Thanks for having me on today.

BLITZER: I know you've been briefed together with other members of the committee on the investigation. First of all, what are federal investigators hoping to learn from his wife?

POMPEO: Look, Wolf, there's a lot that we already know. There's many questions that remain unanswered from his wife. They want to understand his pattern of life. The things he did. The individuals he hung around. Trying to draw any connections out that might suggest there are further links and further individuals who are out there intending to do the same kind of harm that Mr. Rahami intended to do.

BLITZER: Yesterday, investigators released this picture, and I'll put it up on the screen, of two people they want to talk to as witnesses. After stressing that the two men aren't suspects, the New York City mayor, Bill de Blasio, was a little less adamant this morning when he was interviewed on CNN's "New Day." Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK CITY: We do not know if they have an involvement or not. We know we need to talk to them

ALISYN CAMEROTA, ANCHOR, CNN'S "NEW DAY": What makes you think they have an involvement?

DE BLASIO: By the video, there's a -- you know, obviously a question of whether they were somehow associated. But we want to be very careful about this. It's not a confirmation that they were involved, but they may know something about the devices that were used. They may even have been people who were stopping by, but still could give us some context to what they saw.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, congressman, is there a reason for this apparent change in tone from the two men simply being asked to come in and tell an eyewitness account of what they saw, what they did with what duffel bag, or to this other suggestion, were they, in fact, potentially involved?

[13:29:56] POMPEO: I think we all have to be very careful about jumping to conclusions, including conclusions that individuals aren't involved. I remember the immediate aftermath where Mr. de Blasio suggested there were no links to radical Islamic terrorism, but we now know that's not the truth.