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Charlotte Authorities Hold Press Briefing at 11am;. Family, Protesters Demand Release of Video; Tulsa Officer Charged With First- Degree Manslaughter; Trump, Clinton Prep For First Face-Off. Aired 10- 10:30a ET
Aired September 23, 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]
COY WIRE, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Even with a third string quarterback. Apparently you could throw Carol Costello in there and the patriots will be all right. Jacoby Brissett knows what he's doing. You know who else knows what they're doing? Bill Belichick, the Patriots' head coach. This guy is amazing. l have never seen anybody who can just plug in any player at any time at any position pretty much is the way it seems, and they still get the job done Carol. It was an outstanding performance by young Jacoby Brissett, first start in the NFL. He just uses his ability. Run the football. Look at this scamper, all the way to the house. The Patriots just find a way no matter what's going on to get the win. Their special teams stepped up and got two fumble recoveries. Their defense stepped up in a big way. Brock Osweiler the Texans quarterback, out there running around for his life. The Patriots swarm him. They shut out the Texans. That doesn't happen very often in the NFL, 27 to zip Carol, an incredible and outstanding performance by the Patriots.
Now, also Sunday's NFL game in Charlotte is going to go on as planned. Earlier Thursday, the Panthers acknowledged that they were in talks with the NFL and pleased in regards to the city's unrest. Now Carol, the Panthers' captains and head coach, they called for peace, they declared that Sunday's game in Charlotte is going to bring together to "put their differences aside and start that process of inclusion." So Carol, the Panthers hosting the Vikings, going to go on as scheduled, 1:00 p.m. Eastern on time.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: That's a good decision. I'm glad. Coy Wire many thanks. The next hour of CNN "Newsroom" starts now.
And good morning, I'm Carol Costello, thank you so much for joining me. One hour from now, city officials in Charlotte, North Carolina will hold a news briefing. They face public outcry that's growing louder even as protests quiet down overnight. The violence of 24 hours earlier largely replaced by peaceful chants of "release the tapes." Protesters demanding that city officials release the video recordings of Keith Lamont Scott, as he was shot to death by Charlotte police. His family shown those videos yesterday, saying it is not clear what Mr. Scott is holding. The gun that police claimed or a book as the family still insists. Just last hour, Charlotte's mayor telling me she wants those videos released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR JENNIFER ROBERTS, (D) CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA: We have had the families see the video. Several elected officials have seen the video. We want some community leaders to see that video. I would like to have it released and I think that we are going to have continuing conversations with our investigators. We now have an independent SBI, State Bureau of Investigation, going on and we want to make sure we're not compromising that investigation, but we are going to continue to have conversations about how soon we might be able to release that. I understand the community's desire and you know, I echo the words of our police chief, the videos are inconclusive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN's Nick Valencia, live in Charlotte with more for you. Good morning Nick.
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol. A welcome sign of relief here on the streets of downtown Charlotte. 24 hours ago, it was a much different scene with business owners cleaning up the aftermath of riots but after two days of consecutive chaotic protests, yesterday was much more peaceful, even a 12:00 p.m. midnight curfew that was technically in effect was never implemented by police. They say because the protests went so smoothly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PROTESTERS: Hands up, don't shoot! Hands up, don't shoot!
VALENCIA: A third night of protests remained largely peaceful Thursday night despite Charlotte officials enacting a midnight curfew, a small group thanking National Guard members for their service.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, sir.
VALENCIA: Others lying down to protest the shooting death of Keith Lamont Scott.
PROTESTERS: Release the video!
VALENCIA: And demanding that police video of the incident be released to the public. Charlotte's police chief concedes the video doesn't show Scott pointing a gun at officers.
CHIEF KERR PUTNEY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE: The video does not give me absolute definitive visual evidence -- that would confirm that a person is pointing a gun. When taken in the totality of all the other evidence, it supports what we have heard and the version of the truth that we gave about the circumstances that happened.
VALENCIA: Despite that, police are standing by their account of what happened, saying Scott refused to drop his weapon.
ROBERTS: The gun in question is a small gun and it was not easy to see with the way the motion was happening. So it is ambiguous. VALENCIA: After massive public outcry, the Scott family saw two police videos capturing the deadly encounter.
JUSTIN BAMBERG, ATTORNEY FOR SCOTT FAMILY: It was very painful. You know, not just to see him shot and killed but to see the reaction on the rest of the family members' face.
VALENCIA: Attorney for the family insists they saw no aggression in the video, issuing a statement saying in part "It is impossible to discern from the videos what, if anything, Mr. Scott is holding in his hands. When he was shot and killed, Mr. Scott's hands were by his side and he was slowly walking backwards." Two wildly different accounts as more evidence is uncovered. This
[10:05:16] photo taken by an eyewitness appears to show a black object on the ground which a source close to the investigation says is the gun recovered by authorities.
EDUARDO CURRY, SCOTT FAMILY ATTORNEY: We're just not sure about that photo and other photos that may depict it. We did not see a gun in the video.
LYRIC SCOTT, DAUGHTER OF MAN KILLED BY POLICE: My daddy is dead!
VALENCIA: After the shooting, Scott's daughter suggested the gun was planted by the police.
SCOTT: He was sitting in the car reading a [ bleep ] book. My daddy ain't got no [ bleep ] gun.
VALENCIA: The police are adamant.
PUTNEY: The preponderance of physical evidence there supports exactly what we -- made in our initial statement, that yes, he had a weapon, yes, he refused to drop that weapon and our officer fired as he perceived that imminent threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Part of what's added confusion to the public's perception of the fatal shooting of Keith Scott is the back and forth, the he said/she said if you will, between the Scott family and the police. Scott's family saying he was unarmed when fatally shot by police. The police chief here says that's simply untrue, not the case, and a gun was recovered. The police have demanded -- the family I should say have demanded the police release the video. We are standing by for a press conference to be held at about 11:00 p.m. Eastern where perhaps we will hear more about the release of that video. Carol.
COSTELLO: All right, Nick Valencia, reporting live from Charlotte. Let's head to Tulsa now. The officer who shot and killed an African- American man in Tulsa is out on bail this morning. Officer Betty Shelby has been charged with manslaughter. If convicted, she faces four years in prison to life. Prosecutor say Shelby reacted unreasonably when she gunned down Terence Crutcher after his SUV broke down last week. Crutcher's sister speaking out moments after Shelby was charged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIFFANY CRUTCHER, TERENCE CRUTCHER'S SISTER: We know the history of these cases. We know this is the formality. We know she's been charged. But then we get no convictions. We're demanding full prosecution. We want a conviction. And when that happens, this is a small victory, but we know we got to get ready to fight this war. And so we want for everyone, the community, the world, to join arms, lock arms with us as we go out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: All right. So let's talk about this. With me now is Dimitri Roberts, president and founder of Seven Star Consulting and a former Chicago police officer and David Klinger, former LAPD officer and criminology professor at the University of Missouri at St. Louis. Welcome to both of you.
DAVID KLINGER, FORMER LAPD OFFICER AND CRIMINOLOGY PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT ST. LOUIS: Thank you.
COSTELLO: Dimitri, I want to talk about Tulsa first. According to this affidavit court documents, the Tulsa officer became emotionally involved to the point that she overreacted. In other words, she let fear rule her actions even though she could see no sign that Mr. Crutcher had a weapon. Dimitri, this is a trained police officer so what do you make of this?
DIMITRI ROBERTS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER OF SEVEN STAR CONSULTING AND A FORMER CHICAGO POLICE OFFICER: Well, I disagree with that. She wasn't trained and she wasn't very well trained. As a trained law enforcement officer, you would have taken -- she would have taken different actions and a different approach in that situation. She had plenty of opportunities to peacefully deescalate and resolve that situation without the use of deadly force, which is why now she's charged with manslaughter.
COSTELLO: So David, are you surprised that charges came so quickly in this case?
KLINGER: I'm neither surprised nor unsurprised because all I know about the case is the videos that have been put out, the dash cam and the overhead from the helicopter, and one of the things that I try to do is I try to hold my powder until I have all of the evidence regarding a particular case before I opine about it. Your other guest may be correct that there were opportunities to deescalate prior to that moment when she shot. I don't know. Because one of the issues is the videos don't start until well into the initial confrontation between the officer and the deceased. -- So we need -
ROBERTS: Well, I know because I have arrested dozens of individuals with weapons, period. That's how I know. --
KLINGER: As have I, sir. --
COSTELLO: OK, let's stop right there because we have isolated a bit of video that might help us. We put this picture up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: CNN has actually isolated video of the scene, specifically the car window, because the officer thought the window was down. We have determined that the officer -- or that the window was up and according to the affidavit, the officer in question detected no weapon and she checked out the vehicle before and found no weapon. So David, how can you say that there's no indication that anything wrong was done here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KLINGER: No, no, I didn't say that at all. Your first guest talked about from his impression being that she was ill-trained and had many opportunities to deescalate and I'm saying I don't know that. I'm not passing
[10:10:16] any sort of judgement on the shooting because I haven't looked at all the evidence. One of the things that - we know is we have to --
ROBERTS: There's no judgment being passed.
COSTELLO: David, go ahead.
ROBERTS: I'm speaking from experience.
COSTELLO: Wait Let David talk and then Dimitri will get in.
KLINGER: We have to wait until we have all the evidence. That is why the integrity of the investigation is so important and if the prosecution has decided to move forward with the prosecution, fine, they believe they have met the probable cause standard. The prosecution moves forward, the prosecution presents its case, the defense presents its case. Let's not rush to judgment.
COSTELLO: Well Dimitri -- the other thing to consider is the other officers had their Tasers out. This officer did not. She had her gun drawn. And she was consumed with fear, according to court documents. She saw this large man. He was not obeying her instructions. He was walking away from her although he clearly had his hands up. So Dimitri, from a police officer's standpoint, what do you say?
ROBERTS: What I say is when you have an opportunity to deescalate a situation and you don't see a weapon present, you put your gun away and you go and arrest them. You don't shoot and kill them. And this is the same type of rhetoric that has led to riots in North Carolina. We have to change the narrative and we have to call facts, facts. I have worked in the toughest crime-ridden neighborhoods in the city of Chicago and maybe even in the country and my arrest record speaks for itself. I have arrested dozens of people with guns that were fleeing and none of them ended up dead. So to your other guest, let's talk about facts, let's be honest here and let's not continue to --
KLINGER: -- Don't accuse me of lying, sir. ROBERTS: -- to the American people. That causes the unfortunate situation to not be rectified as soon as they should, sir. OK? So I challenge you to look back at that video and let's be honest about what's going on here. --
KLINGER: I'm not being dishonest. --
ROBERTS: Let's have an honest conversation with the American people. --
KLINGER: I'm saying let's wait until we have all the evidence. Why is that difficult, sir? --
ROBERTS: Hey, the officer is already -- she's already indicted. She's already indicted. It's our responsibility -- now to have --
KLINGER: So she's already been convicted, sir? Has she been convicted?
COSTELLO: OK. OK. David -
ROBERTS: It's our responsibility to have an honest conversation with the American people and call facts, facts. I understand the thin blue line but that has to change, because people are dying, period.
KLINGER: Has nothing to do with this thin blue line sir. It has to do with the rule of law. And you well know that an indictment does not equal a conviction. And all I'm saying is let's wait for the fullness of time. I look at the video and I say this is a stinker. I don't look at it and say hey, she did the right thing. But what I'm saying is before we reach a conclusion that a crime has occurred, let us let the justice process play itself out. What other suggestion do you have? Do you think she should be imprisoned right now?
COSTELLO: Well, let me ask you this David. What -- to you says that this might be a justifiable shooting?
KLINGER: I have no idea, because all I know is the video and then the prosecution's theory of the case as it's been laid out at this early point. I want to wait for the defense to go ahead and raise its case. Then we make a decision. That's how it works. The prosecution presents, the defense presents.
COSTELLO: All right. --
ROBERTS: Isn't it very easy for us to say we should wait when somebody's dead? He can't wait. His family is not waiting. Did you hear his daughter crying on national TV about her dad?
KLINGER: It's awful, sir. -- But I just want to get this clear. You believe that right now, she is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? That's what you're saying?
ROBERTS: No. What I'm saying is --
KLINGER: Exactly. ROBERTS: She was poorly trained, as I said in the beginning. She was poorly trained. She choked and well-trained officers don't choke.
KLINGER: -- I don't disagree with the fact that well-trained officers don't choke but I think it is difficult to make an argument from training to conviction of a crime. And that's all I'm saying.
COSTELLO: All right. I have to leave it there, gentlemen. And thanks to both of you, Dimitri Roberts, David Klinger. Still to come in the "Newsroom," the protests continue in Charlotte but on a much more subdued note. So, what's behind the change in tone?
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[10:15:16]
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COSTELLO: Last night's protests in Charlotte were mostly peaceful. At one point, demonstrators actually thanked and hugged and shook hands with members of the National Guard. A major change when we thought earlier in the week when protesters smashed windows and used tear gas to disperse the crowd. So what changed? I'm joined again today by Reverend Jay Leach. He was out and about amongst the protesters last night and the night before. Welcome back.
REV. JAY LEACH, SENIOR MINISTER AT UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST CHURCH OF CHARLOTTE: Thank you.
COSTELLO: So what changed last night?
LEACH: Hard to say exactly what factors contributed to the change in the tone last night. I was part of the Charlotte coalition -- Clergy Coalition for Justice and we did a march back to the site of the tragic shooting that had taken place the prior night and -- did a ritual, series of prayers, interfaith prayers across many faith lines, and consecrated that site as sacred. I would like to think that our presence and our effort contributed to that but I know that many, many people and especially the young courageous leaders in this city helped create a different tone in what was going on last night.
COSTELLO: Yes, a 26-year-old man died - you know, right near that Omni Hotel where you held your vigil last night. We still don't know the circumstances. We know he was shot in the head but we don't know by exactly who. I know that you met with the mayor and you talked about the shooting and you wanted a thorough investigation. I talked to the mayor this morning and she told me that the investigation is ongoing but
[10:20:16] she couldn't provide any more information. Have you talked to her again?
LEACH: I have not personally spoken with her but I know that representatives from the clergy have been in constant contact with the mayor and I have to say she's been very communicative with us in terms of trying to update us and also in terms of expressing appreciation for our role in this right now.
COSTELLO: There's the videotape. There's going to be a news conference out of Charlotte in just about 40 minutes or so. And the mayor also told me that she wants to release that video right now but she has to convince investigators to do so. Your feelings on that?
LEACH: I spent a lot of the morning after the shooting -- at the site. I spoke with a number of people who were there, who were witnesses to various parts of that. I spoke to people who know Mr. Scott. The story I heard from every single person that I spoke with personally is in contradiction to the story that we are hearing. I don't think that the video in and of itself is going to change the narrative. What it will take away is the sense that there is a cover- up even on that part. So I'm very much in favor of us being able, as a community, to see the video, especially because -- and I think this is a critical point, the family has seen the video and now the family is asking that the community see it. So their concern previously for their feelings and for their privacy, now that they have made this request, I think it's especially important for us all as a community and as a nation that's looking in on this story to be able to see what transpired and the interaction between Mr. Scott and the police officers.
COSTELLO: We'll see what happens later today. Rev. Jay Leach thanks for joining me once again. Coming up next in the "Newsroom," the gloves set to come off Monday night as Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face-off for the very first time. So what can we expect?
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[10:25:16]
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COSTELLO: Monday night's presidential debate is one of the most hotly anticipated face-offs in the 2016 campaign. Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, both engaging in their own forms of debate prep, a Clinton aide telling CNN she expects to spend much of the event fact checking her GOP rival. In the meantime, team Trump sent out a 30-question debate prep survey to his supporters asking among other things whether he should attack Clinton's policies or defend his own more. The shootings in Tulsa and Oklahoma will likely be on the agenda as both candidates weigh in on the dynamics between police and the communities they serve.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Those peddling the narrative of cops as a racist force in our society. -- And this is a narrative that is supported with a nod by my opponent, you see what she's saying and it's not good.
HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There is still much we don't know about what happened in both incidents but we do know that we have two more names to add to a list of African-Americans killed by police officers. (END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: OK. So let's talk about the big debate coming up on Monday. Patrick Healy is a political correspondent for "The New York Times." Rebecca Berg is the national political reporter from "Real Clear Politics" and Lynn Sweet is the Washington bureau chief of the "Chicago Sun-Times." Welcome to all of you. I would say, Rebecca, that this is the most anticipated debate in the history of presidential politics.
REBECCA BERG, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER "REAL CLEAR POLITICS": I would agree Carol, because we have two of the least popular candidates of all time for president. You have Donald Trump who is one of the most unusual candidates for president ever and completely unpredictable when it comes to the debate stage, and no one really knows what is going to happen here. And the stakes of course are very high because the polling is close right now. The "Real Clear Politics" polling average has the candidates within just a few points nationally and debates do matter, especially when you have so many voters who are thinking of staying home, who just like both of these candidates, it's an opportunity for both candidates to win people over. --
COSTELLO: Patrick, I wonder if the debates will really change minds because we hear so often that most voters have made up their minds and absolutely nothing can change them at this point. So is the debate that momentous for these candidates?
PATRICK HEALY, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT "THE NEW YORK TIMES.": I mean the Clinton campaign definitely thinks the debate can change the minds of some suburban voters, particularly suburban white women who may be on the fence in places like Northern Virginia and Ohio, outside of Philadelphia, you know, who are still -- it's not that they haven't decided, do I like Hillary more than Trump or Trump more than Hillary. They haven't really tuned in that much. They are waiting for this. This first debate, these three debates, to really kind of pay attention so the Clinton campaign, we have a story out this morning, is really kind of looking at how to get under Donald Trump's skin. It's not enough for Hillary Clinton to catch him in a lie and to fact check him all through the debate sounding like a tough, tough, touch teacher. She needs to bait him into some temperamentally unfit moment that really shows women, men, everyone -
COSTELLO: OK. I'm glad you brought that up. There's a new campaign ad out by the Hillary Clinton camp. I would like you to take a look at it. It has everything to do with what Mrs. Clinton call Trump's misogyny. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: I'm Hillary Clinton. And I approved this message.
