Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Anger And Frustration Spills Across The Country For A Fifth Night; At Least 13 States Activate National Guard Amid Violent Protest; Video Shows NYPD Vehicle Driving Through Protesters. Aired 5- 6a ET

Aired May 31, 2020 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:10]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: We are so grateful to have you with us on this Sunday morning. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I am Victor Blackwell. It's good to be with you this morning.

PAUL: Absolutely. So, it is a tough night or was a tough night and we have the scenes for you this morning as to what was happening from these new protests in Los Angeles, in Chicago that are really unnerving a lot of people.

BLACKWELL: Listen, people across this country are angry and frustrated and there are protests across the country, a fifth night, people going into the streets calling for change and some of those calls have turned into clashes with police in dozens of cities.

This is a level of unrest we haven't seen in the United States in decades.

Now, this social and political element is slamming right into an economic and health crisis.

PAUL: The centuries-old challenge of racism is meeting an unprecedented tragedy of 102,000 people dead from coronavirus in the U.S. and more than 40 million Americans are out of work.

BLACKWELL: Right now, we're showing you some of the video from across the country. The protests from coast to coast, most of them, many of them nonviolent. But you likely have seen maybe in your city, protesters and police clashing, some of these have ended in death. One person died last night Indianapolis, a young man died in Detroit on Friday night.

PAUL: And we're seeing law enforcement pushing back with some strict new measures as well. The National Guard being deployed in more than a dozen states, and millions were put under curfew in more than two dozen cities.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we're still seeing some of the looting and vandalism that we have seen throughout the week and after scenes like this, this was the Target. Target says it has temporarily closed 175 stores across the country, 71 of them in Minnesota where this all began after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

PAUL: And a lot of these protests are really hitting New York hard as well this weekend. CNN's Polo Sandoval is there. Walk us through, Polo -- and good morning to you -- what happened last night and what we have been seeing across the country.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Christi, simply put. It was yet another night of fiery clashes not just across the country, but as you mentioned, here in New York.

Some of the arrests even happening here in Times Square, obviously, a very different morning today. But, look, what you hear from protesters, they say that that call for justice, it will not go silent.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (voice over): A wave of protests over the death of George Floyd spread from coast to coast on Saturday and spilled over into the morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be able to go into a white neighborhood and feel safe. I want to be able -- when a cop is driving behind me, I don't have to clench and be tense, okay? I want to be able just to be free and not have to think about every step I take.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL (voice over): Authorities responded to a fifth night of protests while 25 cities across the country enacted curfews. Peaceful protest took place, as well as acts of vandalism in cities large and small.

Numerous states have either activated or requested National Guard forces to assist their cities.

There was a scuffle in Times Square when several New York City police officers in helmets took down a protester to affect an arrest, and an NYPD vehicle could be seen burning at Union Square.

Another incident, an NYPD vehicle appear to drive into a railing, blocking protesters after items were hurled at the car. At least three --

The Minnesota National Guard had more than 4,100 citizen soldiers and airmen responding to the Twin Cities according to a tweet from the Guard. The tweet said, over 10,000 National Guard members are expected to join the response.

A group of protesters who were marching from Minneapolis to St. Paul tried to cross the Lake Street Marshall Bridge but were met with teargas. Protesters could be seen running back in the direction that they came from.

CNN's Miguel Marquez nearby, as protesters held their hands in the air as some people shot off fireworks. Law enforcement let off teargas and the crowd scattered.

Cars were set on fire in Los Angeles, Seattle and Miami. Members of the California National Guard were deployed to LA to support law enforcement authorities amid protest.

Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement to CNN, one demonstrations in Los Angeles led to clashes between police and protesters. Police vehicles were vandalized by some protesters who kicked in the windows or sprayed the cars with graffiti.

Police fired rubber bullets at demonstrators who chanted "Black Lives Matter" and "George Floyd."

Looting could also be seen as protesters went under a metal gate inside a store and walked out with various merchandise in Los Angeles. There was also extensive looting in Philadelphia.

Protesters there also vandalized the statue of former Mayor and Police Commissioner Frank Rizzo in front of the city's municipal services building as CNN live aerials from CNN affiliate KYW.

Philadelphia police say protests at City Hall and the Art Museum began peacefully before a group of others began committing criminal acts including vandalism said authorities.

[05:05:12]

SANDOVAL (voice over): Aerial footage from CNN affiliate WLS showing protesters in Chicago vandalizing police vehicles, some throwing water bottles at police officers in riot gear while others were seen lifting police barricades and throwing them at police cars.

At a press conference last night, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said that she had been engaged the past six hours in quote, " ... watching a tragedy unfold in our city. What started out as a peaceful protest has now developed into a criminal conduct."

In Washington, D.C. U.S. Secret Service police vehicles near the White House were vandalized by protesters with graffiti seen in a video shot by CNN.

In another incident, a fire could be seen burning behind the historic Hay-Adams Hotel near the White House.

In Atlanta, members of the National Guard gathered at Lenox Square Mall after the police department said that it would be assisted by about 20 other agencies to monitor activity and protect retail centers.

In downtown, the Atlanta Police Department said one of their officers appears to have been struck by someone riding an ATV and sustained significant injuries as a result. The Georgia Governor signed an Executive Order on Saturday night

authorizing the activation of up to 3,000 National Guard Troops statewide.

Kemp calling for the activation in advance of several planned protests on Sunday.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine activated the Ohio National Guard to respond to protests in Columbus according to a release from his office.

Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin says she and Democratic U.S. Representative Joyce Beatty of Ohio were among those sprayed during a protest in Columbus Saturday morning. Beatty twitted a photo sequence of the incident.

Democratic Representative John Lewis releasing a statement Saturday night, saying he understand protesters' pain, but he called on them to refrain from rioting. "I know your pain, your rage, your sense of despair and hopelessness. Justice has indeed been denied for too long. Rioting, looting and burning is not the way. Organize, demonstrate, sit in, stand up, vote. Be constructive, not destructive."

"History has proven time and again that nonviolent, peaceful protest is the way to achieve and equality that we all deserve."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL (on camera): And ahead of what will likely be another wave of demonstrations, the NYPD is recommending any of those peaceful demonstrators, simply move away from anybody that might be appearing to actually provoke police.

Authorities want to focus on them instead and not the peaceful protesters, Victor and Christi, is truly, the message that we're hearing across the country from law enforcement officers.

BLACKWELL: Polo Sandoval with a look around the country as we are seeing this national moment for us there. Polo, thanks so much.

PAUL: Thank you, Polo. So, in Minneapolis, officials say a large group of protesters threw objects at police there. CNN's Josh Campbell is there with the very latest.

Josh, good morning to you. What are you seeing this morning?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, good morning. Just another night of chaos here in Minneapolis. You could see behind me a convoy from the National Guard. They have been out throughout the night patrolling certain neighborhoods.

As the Governor said yesterday, residents here will be seeing a show of force, overwhelming force in his words, and we are seeing that as they moved throughout the streets, checking on certain neighborhoods.

They have also been protecting firefighters who are battling different blazes that were set. And I want to walk over here and show you something real quick. We are

at the Fifth Precinct here of the Police Department in Minneapolis, and what we see today that was different from yesterday is you see this fortified -- these barricades outside. You see razor wire that was now put up.

Now, this was a scene last night of a clash between protesters and police officers, some of it turning violent as people threw projectiles at the cops.

You can see some of this equipment that was brought in to keep them back.

We know just days ago, the Third Precinct near where George Floyd was taken into custody by police officers and then later died, that police department was set ablaze, so they don't want that same thing to happen here to another police facility.

You see and around different projectiles that were fired into the crowd. The place is littered here with this type of material, the dispersants that tried to get this crowd out.

Now, one thing I want to also show you and this is heartbreaking really when you think about it.

Yesterday, at the end of the day, we were here covering the story. All of this area was cleaned up by local residents. You had people that were out in droves with brooms, with mops, cleaning up trash.

As you can see, it's essentially a repeat of what it was the day before as protesters came out here and this really points out a key point that some of the peaceful protesters have been telling us that is their movement here to try to shed light on what they see as police brutality has been hijacked by those who are causing destruction that are really tearing up these neighborhoods, yet to be seen even with the show of force from the police, from the National Guard whether these protests will continue -- Christi and Victor.

[05:10:08]

BLACKWELL: Hey, Josh, I want the pull the thread that you mentioned there. The Minnesota Governor, Governor Walz talking about people who don't share the values of the folks in Minnesota Cities, what more did he say? What do you glean from those comments?

CAMPBELL: Yes, his comments yesterday were interesting in two regards. First, in which he said that, you know, there will be a show of force.

The residents here will be seeing the police and the National Guard actually coming out. But he also had a message to the protesters and he wanted to make it clear that those who are coming in, they don't share the values of the local residents. Let's listen here to his impassioned plea to his community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. TIM WALZ (D-MN): Minnesotans, this is a challenging time. Our

Great Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul are under assault by people who do not share our values, who do not value life and the work that went into this, and certainly, are not here to honor George Floyd, and they need to -- they need to see today that that line will stop and that order needs to be restored.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL: And those comments were echoed by some of the police officers we talked to just this morning. I can tell you, this is a lot different than what we've experienced over the past couple of days.

As our crew arrived here, our caravan, we were met by about 12 police officers here. Six vehicles that came near our area, made contact with us. They wanted to know who we are.

What was interesting is, they also said they saw us coming. There's a police helicopter up that's up right now. It is in what is called stealth mode. You can't actually hear it, but it is looking at these different neighborhoods and as people move in and around, they're trying to identify any groups that might be agitators, that might be causing destruction.

Police officers were very cordial with us. They were very, very polite. But the one point that the officer was making is that, so many of the people coming here aren't from here. That's something that we have continued to see.

PAUL: That's not just a claim that's happening in there in Minneapolis either. We're hearing from that other cities including Atlanta. Thank you very much, Josh Campbell. Always good to hear from you.

CAMPBELL: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: Thank you, Josh. Our next guest says that Black America is in a state of emergency.

With us now, Tamika Mallory. She is an activist and co-founder of Until Freedom. Tamika, thanks for waking up so early for us this morning.

I want to start right there with the classification of black America being in a state of emergency. Expound that for us.

TAMIKA MALLORY, ACTIVIST AND CO-FOUNDER, UNTIL FREEDOM: Well, first of all, thank you so much for having me on this morning. You know, I am here in Minneapolis, but I arrived in Minneapolis traveling from Kentucky -- from Louisville, Kentucky, where Breonna Taylor was murdered in her home.

I then traveled to Indianapolis where there were three murders -- police murders in the 24-hour period including a pregnant woman who was ran over by a police officer driving a police car and then of course, I came here to Minneapolis. And before we got on the road headed to Louisville, we were in New

York dealing with some very serious issues of police abusing people in the name of social distancing enforcement.

And so what that says is that all across this country, all across this nation, the issue of police abuse and the lack of relationship between police and community is real.

We are seeing people dying on camera from Ahmaud Arbery who was not necessarily killed by police, but what we know now is that police officers knew about what the McMichaels were planning to do there in Georgia and Mr. Arbery was blown away on camera.

The second situation, you know, obviously as we've already talked about Breonna Taylor.

These issues are consistent. It continues to happen, and if we had the time, we could go back and speak about years and years and years of trauma and pain.

And so now, we understand that we are in a state of emergency that black death is no longer going to just be accepted as the norm.

BLACKWELL: You know, there was one point with your remarks that were actually carried live on CNN on Friday, up until we got the report that Derek Chauvin had been taken into custody, you referenced something that the President said and connected it to police interactions with black people specifically. Let's play that. This is from the summer of 2017.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When you see these towns and when you see thugs being thrown into the back of a paddy wagon, you just see them thrown in, rough. I said, please, don't be too nice.

Like you guys put somebody in the car and you're protecting their head, you know, the way you put their hand over -- like, don't hit their head and they have just killed somebody. Don't hit their head.

I said, you can take your hand away, okay?

[CHEERING AND APPLAUSE]

[05:15:06]

BLACKWELL: Yes, I remember that day, and more than the comment, what stood out was the laughter and the applause after that statement.

The role of that endorsement from the President do you think in what we're seeing across the country?

MALLORY: Absolutely. I mean, we know there has been a spike in the actions of white supremacists in this country, and the President himself, he is a very dangerous person and has a powerful bully pulpit in which he is using it to spew hate and also to put people's lives in danger.

He has been doing it since he ran for President. In 2018, he spoke about a nationalist and that for us is a serious dog whistle because we know that white nationalism has been an extreme threat to black America.

And so, the President has the power to use his voice to either tone down or turn up what we see happening on American streets and he has done nothing of the sort, in fact, he has incited riots and what see happening here.

BLACKWELL: You know, some of the comments that were not aired live is that you got to the point of the looting and the arson and you said, you know, don't talk to me about looting, I don't give a damn if Target burns down -- I am paraphrasing there. I want you to talk about because we have just heard from Congressman Lewis that the arson, the looting distract from the message and should not be part of this call for justice. What's your view there?

MALLORY: I think that obviously we don't condone violence or looting or any of that. But what we also understand is that the looting didn't just start out of nowhere.

The looting and the violence that we have seen, the vandalism that we have seen began because George Floyd was killed on camera and the officers responsible for his murder at the time had not been arrested and now, although there has been one arrest, not all four, and therefore people I believe in this country are extremely fed up.

I don't think that folks are just dealing with the isolated incident of George Floyd. I think people -- that is obviously -- that was like the straw that broke the camel's back, but overall, we have already talked about groups like Until Freedom and others traveling across this country dealing with police abuse, dealing with violence and other issues that are happening.

We have to remember that we are still dealing with this pandemic and the fact that this country failed to protect over a hundred thousand Americans. People are hurting.

And so what we see while we again, we want people to understand that vandalism and looting is not going to get us to the end goal. At the same time, we have to understand that buildings can be rebuilt, but lives can't be brought back.

BLACKWELL: Tamika Mallory, thanks so much for being part of this conversation this morning. Thank you so much for your time.

MALLORY: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: So, Don Lemon is going to have a really important conversation later today, it is about "Black Men Living and Dying in America," "I Can't Breathe." tonight at 8:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

PAUL: And when we come back, the NYPD under scrutiny this morning after a police cruiser apparently drove through a group of protesters. We have more of that video. What happens now? We'll talk about it. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:22:39]

[VIDEO CLIP PLAYS]

BLACKWELL: Yes, it drove right into the crowd there in New York. There's now an investigation after this video was posted, a police vehicle in New York driving into a barrier knocking people to the ground. This happened yesterday.

PAUL: Yes, the person who shot this video said protesters -- and you can see them there were throwing trash and water bottles at the vehicle.

A second police vehicle here approaching the crowd, continued to drive, no word as to whether anyone was seriously hurt in this.

The New York Mayor Bill de Blasio called the video troubling. He said it is inappropriate for protesters to surround police vehicles, and that's just one of the scenes that we are seeing across the country.

Now, of course, police are trying to get a handle on these large crowds, these angry crowds and questions are being raised about how they are policing the protesters.

Cedric Alexander is with us now, the former President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and the former Chief of Police of DeKalb County in Georgia.

Cedric, it is always good to see you. Thank you so much.

I want to get your reaction first of all to the video that we just saw there from New York. Is it possible that was unintentional? But if it was intentional, surely not a tactic.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: Well, certainly it was not a tactic, but I will tell you, this is a very unprecedented time for us and I think that the types of social unrest that we're seeing is very different, Christi and probably what we have seen in the past.

It is very intense. It is very longstanding. And it just seems to be becoming more and more challenging for police every night.

I don't know what was on that officer's mind when he stepped on that gas. He probably saw himself being attacked and doing the best that he could. But here again, we won't know until that's more -- looked at more closely the video and witness statement, statements of the officer's and so forth.

But it is just a really, really tough time. The police is doing the very best they really can with the resources that are available to them and certainly, I think we all understand the anger and the passion that people are having right now at this very moment in this history of our nation that centers around Mr. Floyd's death and also just the overwhelming stress of the economy and everything.

[05:25:05]

PAUL: And speaking of George Floyd, there are moments that are absent in that incident that needs to be addressed.

One of the things I have had a lot of people ask me about is, we have video of him complying with police officers seemingly and walking across the street in handcuffs.

The next video is of him on the ground. No one seems to know what happened in between that time. Why do you think it is that we haven't seen the body camera videos yet? We know that there are some.

At this point, why would they not be released yet?

ALEXANDER: Well, it's interesting, in some jurisdictions they may release those body cameras very quickly. In other jurisdictions, they may tend not to.

In this particular case, for whatever reason in Minneapolis, here again, you have to remember that the DA says, this is still under investigation.

But here is what I suspect, Christi, and here's what experience tells me and a lot of my colleagues. You're not going to see very much anything different other than maybe how he got on the ground, but he was on the ground.

And one thing we know for certain is that you had a knee in his neck. The man could not breathe. He had his hands behind his back.

And there is just not going to be any way to rationalize however he got on the ground.

PAUL: Cedric, I wanted -- I'm sorry, I just wanted to interrupt you so our viewers know what they are looking a t.

This is new video that just came from Cup Foods, we understand there. And it doesn't show George Floyd at all, but it does show and apparently this was after the incident that police are struggling with someone or something in the back of one of their squad cars. But that's all it shows.

So we can't read anything into it, but wondering if something like that is going to give us any indication as to how he came from complying and walking to being on the ground with a knee on his neck.

ALEXANDER: The fact of the matter is, I will still go back to, we don't know what's going on in that video, but we have clear video of him being on the ground with a knee in his neck, held down by two other people where stood -- another officer standing there overlooking everything. What we saw in that footage, for almost nine minutes, Christi, we

cannot dismiss or minimize the fact that a knee was in his neck as he begged for help. They were not -- being with him on the ground. He was subdued.

They didn't let the man -- so, regardless of what's in this video, I don't know, time will tell. But if they're struggling to get him out of the car, we know they got him to the ground, but we can clearly see once he was put on the ground what transpired from there and that was their responsibility to keep him safe.

And if nothing else, let the man damn breathe. It's just that simple, it is not that hard.

PAUL: Cedric Alexander, we always appreciate your expertise and taking the time to talk with us. Take good care. Thank you.

ALEXANDER: You, too. Thank you very much.

BLACKWELL: And what started as peaceful nonviolent protests in Los Angeles turned into this -- violence, looting, destruction along Rodeo Drive. Some stores are there getting ransacked. We have got a full report from LA ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:32:58]

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Let's go to Los Angeles now. A protest there that really started as a nonviolent demonstration descended into chaos.

The protesters started looting high-end stores near the Grove and Rodeo Drive.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, and some people set fires to police cars, to buildings. There were reports of vandalism. CNN correspondent Paul Vercammen has more for us of what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am standing on Fairfax Avenue. This is a major north/south artery in Los Angeles and you can see over here, we have mass arrests. This is past the curfew and everywhere you look it seems, there are people in some sort of handcuffs. Flexi-cuffs as they are often called.

The police moved in here. There had been looting in this area. We can't say if these people have been arrested for looting or disturbing the peace, violating the curfew -- just what. We see a lot of young people here.

All of this started today in Los Angeles not far from here in a park. It was a peaceful protest, and after a while, the protesters went down the street and there was a confrontation at 3rd and Fairfax. That's where we saw police cars vandalized, damaged, set on fire. That's where we saw police push back, swing batons at protesters and

it evolved into utter chaos. You may know not only is a curfew in place, but the National Guard is being called in. You can hear fireworks being shot off in the distance, all because of what happened this Fairfax area of Los Angeles, when it got completely out of hand, the tension between police and protesters.

Reporting from Los Angeles, I'm Paul Vercammen. Now back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL: Paul, thank you so much. The protests happening in Minneapolis and across the country right now bring back memories for a lot of people of the 1992 LA riots. It is nearly 30 years later and it seems obviously that not enough has changed when it comes to the relationship between police and the black community, it is still the same fight.

[05:35:09]

BLACKWELL: With us now is Sylvester Monroe, he covered the uprising in Los Angeles after the not guilty verdicts in the Rodney King case. Also, a senior fellow at USC's Edinburgh Center on Communication Leadership and Policy. Thanks so much for being with us this morning.

You are in Downtown Los Angeles. What are you seeing and if you could compare and contrast what you're seeing tonight versus -- or this morning, rather, with what you saw 28 years ago.

SYLVESTER MONROE, SENIOR FELLOW, USC EDINBURGH CENTER ON COMMUNICATION LEADERSHIP AND POLICY: Well both protests, the unrest of 1992 and the protests we're seeing today in Los Angeles are borne of the same frustration and anger that people felt over incidents of police violence against black individuals. However, there is a marked difference.

The anger -- this protest even though there are people arrested, police cars have been set on fire, right here in Downtown LA, very near where I live, last night, there were clashes between the police and the protesters.

But there seems to be an organization in this one, the Black Lives Matter Movement. It's young people. It's interracial among the protesters.

In 1992, it was not organized. There were no Black Lives Matter Movement. It was simply an eruption.

There were flash points all over the city. One was the famous was at the corner of Normandy and Florence in South LA where a white truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled from his truck and beaten nearly half to death with a cinder block.

And these protests sort of just erupted and spread all over the city, spontaneously, as I have said. No Black Lives Matter Movement, nothing. But as I said, the comparison is that both were sparked by police

abuse.

PAUL: So, you wrote a piece in "The Washington Post," Sylvester, and you wrote that there are still videos of abuse and murderous police behavior and officers are still going unpunished for it. The only thing that's changed are the names. I am reading this verbatim, you said, "Instead of Rodney King, it's Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Philando Castile and so many more."

When you look back and see this fight, though as you pointed out, it's different in the way that it is being moved logistically because of the operational differences, but it's still the same fight. Would you have believed if somebody had told you 28 years ago that it is still going to be happening today? Would you have believed them? Or do you have hope that that was going to make a change back then?

MONROE: A lot of people had hope that it was going to make a change. I mean, it was the worst unrest in U.S. history. A billion dollars' worth of damage, 50 people died. More than 50 people died, 2,000 people were injured.

And there was a feeling then that we finally had or black people felt that they finally had the attention of the people that they had been talking to for years and years -- for generations actually, because the same thing actually happened in 1992 happened in 1965 in the Watts riots.

Excessive police force resulted in an explosion borne of years and years and years of frustration -- people's frustration that, you know, we've been telling you, this has got to change, you've got to stop. And the same thing happens over and over.

Thirty years later now, the feeling is exactly the same -- that nothing has changed.

BLACKWELL: Let me ask you about your feelings 30 years later, you wrote this and let's put it up on the screen, "I couldn't help but think how much I identified with the young man screaming at the police officers. His screams echoed decades of pent up anger and frustration over the use of excessive force by police officers against black victims, not just in Los Angeles, but all over the country."

That was your feeling in '92. Do you still feel that way in 2020?

MONROE: I feel exactly that way. Because I mean, if you look, it seems as if now, in 2020, just in the last couple of months there have been a series of these -- Ahmaud Arbery. The gentleman who was killed by a white father and son in Georgia.

And then George Floyd just a couple of weeks later. It's like -- it's like nothing has changed.

Black people are still being killed, abused and the people who do it are not being brought to justice.

[05:40:06]

PAUL: What do you think has to happen for there to be change? Do you have any newfound or renewed faith and hope in this new generation of people who are speaking out?

MONROE: No, I think the onus is not on the protesters. The onus -- and the demonstrators -- the onus is on the people who run the criminal justice system to finally listen and do something about the inequities in how that system is administered.

When black people -- I mean, the issue is, when black people are accused in the system, they're treated much, much harsher than the people who commit the same or similar crimes, and when they are the victims, they get much less justice than other people would get in those circumstances and that's what needs to change.

BLACKWELL: Sylvester Monroe, thank you so much for the insight, the context and your time this morning.

PAUL: Thank you, sir.

MONROE: Thank you. Thank you.

PAUL: Listen, we are going to take you to Indianapolis next. We are learning right now, three people have been shot, one of them has died. This was during protests overnight. We'll give you the latest. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:52]

PAUL: I want to talk to you about what's happening with some violence in Indianapolis now. On the second night of protests there, police say at least three people were shot and at least one has died. Indianapolis police say none of the shots were fired by its officers.

Police used pepper spray to break up the crowds there. Three officers were injured Friday night during protest, but we know the Police Chief there, Randall Taylor tweeted that downtown is not safe and that people needed to stay away.

BLACKWELL: Philadelphia's Mayor has signed an executive order, it could lead to another citywide curfew tonight. The goal is to make Monday morning a different one from last night.

There were fires there, at least 38 people arrested, more than a dozen police officers were injured. CNN's Brian Todd has more from Downtown Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDNET: This is the scene in downtown Philadelphia tonight. Walnut and 17th Streets in Downtown Philly, the center city area of the city. The scene of absolute carnage on Saturday afternoon and evening. Widespread looting in this area of Center City, stores, other

facilities and other businesses broken into it, looted, burned. Firefighters here are battling a three-alarm fire in this building right here.

We can see some of to water being deployed. There is a hose right there going into this building. These two buildings -- actually these three buildings seems to have caught fire. This is a three-alarm fire which required about 125 firefighters to respond to.

We don't have word of any injuries here, but this is emblematic of the situation that unfolded all afternoon and evening in Philadelphia.

We are told that more than three dozen people have been arrested, that number will certainly go up. More than a dozen law enforcement officers have been injured, a few of them with chemical burns to the face.

Law enforcement was really up against it in Philadelphia earlier and they responded forcefully. They have a curfew in effect until about 6:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

There will be another curfew in effect on Sunday evening from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Philadelphia Police determined to get their arms around this because the scenes earlier today were of absolute carnage, burning, looting, fires, arrests, injuries and it's not over yet in Philadelphia, still a very, very tense scene here in the Center City area of Philadelphia.

Brian Todd, CNN, Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL Brian, thank you. You and crew there, too.

So, we want to take you to Chicago next. The city is still under curfew until 6:00 a.m. there. The Mayor calls the situation tragic after she says there were nonviolent protests, that quote, "devolved into criminal conduct." We'll show you. Stay close.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:52:45]

PAUL: We want to show you some of the latest pictures we're getting out of Chicago where several businesses were looted and damaged as that curfew took effect.

We know looters were arrested after they stormed the Macy's on State Street and had several windows broken out. And stores along the Magnificent Mile were covered in graffiti and some of those windows were smashed in.

BLACKWELL: And some of the demonstrators climbed buses, spray painted buildings and even set fire to a police car. Mayor Lori Lightfoot condemned protesters who she said came prepared for a fight. In Atlanta now, one officer was injured, was run over someone on a

four-wheeler, but the city says that the roll out of a curfew and backup of the National Guard helped keep or at least contain the violence. Here's CNNs Martin Savidge.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the damage that was done to CNN Center on Friday. By Saturday night, the building had pretty much been spared. But the City of Atlanta wasn't.

It was still another night of tension, teargas and protests. One of the most serious events though was when a police officer was struck by a person on an ATV. That's a kind of a four-wheeled motorcycle.

The police officer's condition is unknown, but the person driving the ATV has been taken into custody.

It was a very different atmosphere here tonight mainly because of two things. You had a curfew that went into effect in the City of Atlanta at 9:00 p.m. and you had a much heavier and much stronger police presence.

Take a look. This is still what is left over from their presence tonight.

You had not just police officers, but officers that came in from surrounding counties and areas and then on top of that, of course, you had the Georgia National Guard that was here as well.

There have been at least 50 arrests made tonight. The most serious moment came when that curfew went into effect at 9:00. Police with a strong show of force firing teargas pushing away a smaller crowd of protesters and eventually, it turned into skirmishes throughout the city throughout the evening.

That curfew remains in effect until daylight. Meanwhile, a state of emergency has been declared throughout all of Georgia by the Governor. Many are wondering what Sunday will bring. Martin Savidge, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[05:55:08]

PAUL: Martin, thank you. Still ahead in our next hour, some context for you as you see these images of solidarity protests in New York, a reminder why these demonstrations are just one part of the many emergencies that America is juggling right now. NEW DAY continues next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

BLACKWELL: Top of the hour now. Good Sunday morning to you. I'm Victor Blackwell.

PAUL: And I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: We're starting this Sunday with a familiar expectation of what could come for the rest of this day as we look at the scenes across this country overnight, starting to feel pretty familiar.

[06:00:10]