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Protests Erupt Across U.S. over George Floyd's Death; Trump Admin Blames Left-Wing Group for Protest Violence; Experts Fear Virus Could Spread During Mass Protests; A History of Protesting Racial Injustice. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 01, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: recognizing its best self, realizing its destiny of what it was always meant to become, when majority and minority no longer have a distinction that is found in law. I'm Chris Cuomo. Thank you for joining me tonight. Michael Holmes and Natalie Allen, pick up CNN's coverage, right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Live from CNN Center in Atlanta. Hello to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And I'm Michael Holmes. We begin with a sixth night of protests amid sweeping curfews, lingering tension, and tear gas. Streets are quieter now especially on the East Coast where it is just after 1:00 a.m. but that was not the case earlier in many West Coast cities.

ALLEN: Crowded with demonstrators rallying against police brutality.

CROWD: No justice! No peace!

ALLEN: Hundreds of people have been arrested across the country. More than 20 U.S. state and some 40 American cities have imposed curfews. In New York, thousands of protesters have been marching.

CROWD: (INAUDIBLE)

HOLMES: Lots of sirens, plenty of confrontations as well, and we have seen police with their shields up. Protesters demanding justice, of course, for George Floyd, who died last Monday while being arrested in Minneapolis, after a white police officer kneeled on his neck for nearly nine minutes. That officer scheduled to appear in court later today.

ALLEN: A few hours ago, the Minneapolis police chief told CNN that what happened to Floyd, and these are his words, was a violation of humanity. And he believes the other officers present during his death are complicit. We'll hear more from him in just a few minutes. But we want to begin this hour with coverage on the West Coast. Kyung Lah is in Long Beach, California for us. Dan Simon is in San Francisco. Dan, I'll go to you first. What is happening from your vantage point?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Natalie, as far as we can tell, the streets are pretty deserted tonight in San Francisco. The city is under a curfew as of a few hours ago. And most folks seem to have gone to their homes. There was a situation at city hall where police were squaring off the several hundred protesters but those people seem to have dispersed. Let me explain where I am, though, Natalie. This is Union Square. This is a high-end shopping area in the city of San Francisco.

This is one of the stores that was looted over the weekend and you could see, it's just a mess with all the shattered glass on the floor. This store has been completely ransacked. You have a lot of different stores in this area that have been looted. Now, Mayor London Breed said that she wasn't going to tolerate any more looting. There are many more police officers on the streets tonight, more than 200 additional officers from all over the state to bolster the San Francisco Police Department.

And thus far, at least this evening, we haven't seen any more looting take place. But it has been quite a weekend here in the San Francisco Bay Area, not just in this city, but in Oakland as well as in San Jose in Oakland on Friday night. It did have a situation where a vehicle actually pulled up to the federal building there. And the vehicle shots ring out and two federal Protective Service officers were shot, one of whom died. And so, we've seen violence take place. We've seen a lot of vandalism. But thus far, at least tonight, in San Francisco, San Francisco is concerned things do seem to be calm at the moment. Natalie?

ALLEN: All right. We appreciate that, Dan, standby. Let's go now to Kyung Lah. She has been in Long Beach, California. You've been walking with protesters. What's this thing there, Kyung?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, in just the last couple of minutes, the police have actually cleared off of this street, because they have basically been able to clear this area of protesters. Let me sort of back up, and you were asking, Natalie, about the people we were marching with. For the last couple of hours, we had been watching these protesters, a smaller group than the thousands who had gathered here in Long Beach.

Earlier in the day, a small group of protesters continuing to march through the streets of Long Beach. They were overwhelmingly peaceful. I didn't see them tagging buildings, I didn't see them smashing anything. They were holding up signs, and they were chanting, asking for justice. And they were trying to talk about systemic racism. And as the curfew pass, they continue to march. But then police decided that that was enough, that they needed to clear the streets, and so some were taken into custody.

So, let me tell you, though, that It has been the case, especially in the city of Santa Monica where we were just a few hours ago, there was widespread looting through a commercial district.

[01:05:12] When we were walking through that area, it's the Third Street promenade. The streets adjacent to the Third Street promenade. If you're familiar with Santa Monica, California, many blocks of stores had their windows smashed. Commercial stores, retail stores were completely emptied by looters. And what we heard from the police chief of Santa Monica is that there are two narratives happening.

There are two protests that are happening, and not just in Santa Monica, but it's something that we are seeing in other parts, including Long Beach here. Overwhelmingly, the narrative has been that people have been gathering to peacefully protest, to bring up these issues, to talk about the death of George Floyd. But there has been a percentage, and what protesters here Long Beach told me is that, there's been a small percentage of people who have not been here to protest, but to try to take advantage of these protests and use it as a cover in order to steal and cause mayhem.

So, that's what we saw in Santa Monica. There was some looting here, Michael and Natalie, in Long Beach. But again, these protesters told me that they did not believe that it was the group that had gathered here to protest police brutality. Michael? Natalie?

ALLEN: Yes. And Kyung, earlier, you talked with a young woman who was leading the chants. And you talk about the difference between the looters and the peaceful protesters, and she was quite passionate. What have you heard from the people there who have come out just for a peaceful protest and they're able to get out their fury over this situation?

LAH: They're frustrated. They're angry. And they don't know what to do. I mean, that is really -- that's at the core of it, is that they don't know what else to do. That they don't know where to find this justice. That if this is something that can happen in today's America, that a man can have his life taken with a police officer with his knee on his neck, and it's captured on video, and the entire country, which has been in the middle of a pandemic, and watching videos endlessly, can see this.

And what else can they do? So, that's really where they start. They don't know how to get to the point where they feel that there is justice. And so, that's why they are gathering, and that's why you heard that woman who was so passionate. You know, really, it's -- it was one moment with her that you heard, but she has been that passionate for hours and hours. So, it is -- it is an energy that a lot of people that we've seen here carry with them, as they marched to the streets of Southern California.

ALLEN: Right. She certainly expressed her fear of being black in America and the fear of her relatives. Kyung, thank you. Kyung Lah for us in Long Beach. Dan Simon in San Francisco. Thank you both.

HOLMES: Now, the mayor of Atlanta announcing the firing of two Atlanta police officers for using excessive force during protests on Saturday night. Three other officers are on desk duty, pending an investigation into it. ALLEN: Right. This comes from an incident involving two college students in a car, during the protests in downtown Atlanta, Saturday night. We're going to show you a video of that incident and a warning, it is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put him down. Put him down. Put him down. Right there. Right there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zip him up and move him up. Let's go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Police said they tased the man because they believed he was armed. They didn't say why they believe that, and no weapon was found. One officer reported hearing the word, gun, two or three times. As I said, no gun was found.

ALLEN: They were college students, a young man and young woman from nearby college here in Atlanta. And we're just now hearing from the female passenger in that car. She says she is traumatized and disgusted.

[01:10:10]

And that it was the worst experience of my life. That's a quote from her. Protests have also been raging, of course, in Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd died.

HOLMES: Yes, I want to show you the scene just moments ago, where protesters have been demanding justice for that unarmed black man.

ALLEN: The former officer who knelt on Floyd's neck has just been moved to a different jail facility. Officials say they moved him because of coronavirus concerns and because a large number of protesters could be booked into the jail where he was originally detained.

Now, a 35-year-old man has been charged with assault after driving into a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis on Sunday. The event occurred on an interstate bridge.

HOLMES: And according to records from Hennepin County Jail, he's being held without bail. The Department of Public Safety says it appears no protesters were hurt in the incident, thankfully. Now, turning to Washington, peaceful protests there during the day, turned violent on Sunday, as the White House grapples with how to respond to the unrest.

ALLEN: Some of President Trump's aides say the President should formerly address the nation and call for calm. Others say he should more forcefully condemn the people in the streets and the looting. Atlanta's mayor has another suggestion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS, MAYOR OF ATLANTA: He should just stop talking. This is like Charlottesville all over again. He speaks and he makes it worse. There are times when you should just be quiet and I wish that he would just be quiet. Or, if he can't be silent, there's somebody of good sense and good conscience in the White House, put him in front of a teleprompter and pray that he reads it, and at least says the right things. Because he is making it worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And joining me now to get more on the politics and the social aspects of all of this, CNN political commentator Van Jones, good to see you again, Van. Thanks for making the time. The situation clearly not calming. It's accelerating in many ways. You're seeing mistakes made on both sides of the line. There's looting and arson, but you're also seeing some excessive force in some cases on the police side. And amid all of this, the real issue, the pain of African Americans. What needs to be done to hose this down?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, three things need to happen. First of all, all four officers need to be arrested and charged. And there was a very positive development lost in all of the commotion in the streets. The governor, Governor Walz of Minnesota, appointed someone, Keith Ellison, the Attorney General in Minnesota, to take over the case. This is a dramatic move. Ordinarily, the cases are handled at the local level with local prosecutors.

There is a state level office called the Attorney General, or nearly does not get involved in local cases, unless in the rare exception, the governor says get in there. The governor said get in there. Keith Ellison is -- he's African American. He's very well-respected. He's very tough. He's very smart. I think you're going to see Keith Ellison arrest all these officers and come with much tougher charges that could be seen when it if it happens, as a turning point, and an opportunity for the protesters to leave the streets.

That needs to happen. Also, there needs to be legislation at the federal level. And it needs to be some economic package put forward into some of these communities that were hurting long before COVID and long before these protests.

HOLMES: Yes, certainly, a lot of people are saying that the other three officers need to be a arrested soon. I want to ask you, Donald Trump's blaming the anti-fascist group, Antifa, says it's going to be designated a terrorist organization, which he probably can't legally do. But that aside, speak to the risk of making some sort of blanket assessment of who's protesting, who's organizing, and so on.

This isn't a monolithic group. And yes, most of those peaceful protesters have genuine grievances. Speak to the risks of blanket blame. JONES: Well, it's just counter factual. I mean, the one thing you want to be is factual, if in fact, that what was going on was there was one group out there that was doing bad things, even if it made people mad, the President should say so. Unfortunately, it's just not the facts. You have four groups out there, you have the vast majority of people who are just peaceful demonstrators, as you have pointed out many, many times. And then you have a smaller -- three smaller groups.

One are, Antifa, Black Bloc anarchists who are intent on property destruction and they're proud of it as a part of their ideology. They're out there.

[01:15:07]

There are also right-wing groups that are out there as agents provocateur, just trying to make the protesters look bad, and they've been caught on video over and over again. And then there's another group, they're just local troublemakers and knuckleheads who are just taking advantage. So, you have a whole mix, extreme right-wing groups, extreme left-wing groups, very political people with high principles, people who are not political at all.

If you're going to solve a problem, you have to define it properly. And blaming one of those elements for everything is just -- is just not the right way to approach the problems on.

HOLMES: Yes. Simplistic blame gaming is not what's needed here. I wanted to ask you, I mean, to that point, in many ways, I want to ask you about leadership. In many ways, you know, Donald Trump fans flames because division in this country, helps him in his election process, but you know, what does he need to do, and in fact, anyone in Washington? We haven't heard anything in terms of leadership. Who's going to be that leader who steps up, the voice that can calm the streets and lead to change?

JONES: Well, first of all, you just had the mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, she is emerging as a voice of some reason. You know, she's not only tough on President Trump, she was also tough on the rioters, the people who were engaging in property destruction. In fact, she's tougher on them than she just was on Donald Trump. So, I think she's emerging as a voice. And I think she's going to have a big, big future in American politics.

The other thing I will say is, and do fairness, President Trump can be credited for his Department of Justice sending in the FBI, and the FBI is on the scene and that gives a third possibility of justice. The local prosecutor totally blew it with this cupcake-nothing charge of third-degree manslaughter for the most heinous murder of the century.

But now, Keith Ellison has a shot at the state level, and the FBI is in there. I want to give the Trump administration credit where it's due for at least at an operational level, having the FBI on the ground trying to get something done. The tweets and all the other stuff make things worse, but at the operational level, I have no complaint about Department of Justice.

HOLMES: All right. Van, I wish we had more time, we do not. Van Jones, appreciate it. Thank you.

JONES: Thank you.

ALLEN: We have much more on these nationwide protests still to come, including a powerful moment from Minneapolis.

HOLMES: Yes, Sara Sidner caught up with the city's police chief right in the middle of all the protesters and he addressed George Floyd's family directly, live on air. That emotional exchange is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: With unrest erupting across the country, George Floyd's family heard from the Minneapolis Police Department for the first time, Sunday.

HOLMES: Yes, it was an amazing --

ALLEN: It was.

HOLMES: -- scene too, wasn't it? During Don Lemon's interview with George Floyd's brother, Sara Sidner was able to relay family questions directly to the police chief. Have a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Floyd family has asked if you are going to get justice for George Floyd, by making sure that the other officers are arrested and that eventually convicted, they want to -- and I know that there are things that you cannot control, but they want to know if the other officers should be arrested in your mind. And if you see that they should all four be convicted, in this case.

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, POLICE CHIEF, MINNEAPOLIS: And this is the Floyd family right now?

SIDNER: This is the Floyd Family.

ARRADONDO: To the Floyd family, being silent or not intervening to me, you're complicit. So, I don't see a level of distinction any different. So, obviously, the charging and those decisions will have to come through our county attorney's office. Certainly, the FBI is investigating that. But to the Floyd family, I want you to know that my decision to fire all four officers was not based on some sort of hierarchy. Mr. Floyd died in our hands. And so, I see that as being complicit.

So, that is about as much as I and I apologize to the Floyd family if I -- and not more clear, but I don't see a difference in terms of -- the ultimate outcome is he is not here with us. SIDNER: You don't see a difference between what Officer Chauvin did, and the three other officers who some of who kneel down as well. But some of whom just watched. You see that all as the same act.

ARRADONDO: Silence and inaction, you're complicit. You're complicit. If there were one solitary voice, it would have intervened and act. That's what I would have hoped for. Unfortunately --

SIDNER: That's what you would have expected from your officers, yes?

ARRADONDO: Absolutely. And that did not occur. So, to the Floyd family, I hope that that's my -- that's my response. Yes.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you so much.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Philonise, do you have another question? What's your response? What's your response to Philonise?

PHILONISE FLOYD, BROTHER OF GEORGE FLOYD: They arrest guys every day. They had enough evidence to fight him. But they have enough evidence to arrest him. I don't know who he's talking to. But I need him to do it because we all are listening. Black Lives Matter.

LEMON: Sara? That was an incredible interview that you did and it was the first time you know, I don't -- have you -- hang on, Sara. You haven't spoken to anyone at the police department. I'm not sure. Philonise, correct me if I'm wrong. Have you spoken to them directly?

So, that was really the first interaction that you've had with the police department since your brother's death. So, Sara, in the course of this broadcast, we have been able to connect the family with the police department through your interview.

SIDNER: That's right. Right. For the first time. I can't tell you, Don, what that's doing to me to hear them have this conversation through me, to the -- to the chief -- sorry.

[01:25:12]

To hear the pain and the Floyd family's voice and to have to convey that. I hope that I did the right thing for them, because I know that they are hurting so, so badly. But I do want to recognize that when the police chief, every time I said, that the Floyd family has a question for you, he took his hat off. So, he wanted to make sure to be respectful. And I know that they are angry. I know you are angry. And I know you are hurting. And I know it's not enough. You cannot bring George Floyd back.

But you heard what he said, that each and every officer who did not speak up against what was happening, is complicit. This is the police chief saying that. This is the police chief, Don. Have you ever heard that before in your life? I have not. In all of the 12 years, I have covered so many protests across the world. And I have never seen a police chief say this. But I know it doesn't cure the ills, but the Floyd family is dealing with, and that all the people in this neighborhood are dealing with right now. So, I hope, I hope and pray that I was able to convey what they wanted to the chief in this first time being able to hear from the chief directly, their questions, their concerns.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: An emotional interview it was.

ALLEN: Yes, and seeing his brother break down and cry there. You know, after that moment, it's heart wrenching.

HOLMES: And emotional for our Sara Sidner as well. Extraordinary moment there. We are going to take a short break. We come back here on CNN NEWSROOM. Just how much are outside groups instigating the violence and the looting that we are seeing?

ALLEN: Yes, we heard Van Jones talk with you about that, Michael. Law enforcement officials blame extremists on the left and the right. But President Trump is targeting one group in particular, we'll have that story, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ALLEN: And welcome back to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

HOLMES: And I'm Michael Holmes.

We want to update you on our breaking news.

The protests against police brutality that have gripped the U.S.

ALLEN: Some peaceful, some turning violent like this one here in Kansas City, Missouri. More than 20 states and dozens more cities have been enacted curfews which are underway right now. but there are still people in the streets, especially on the West Coast.

HOLMES: Now, this is in response to the growing outrage over the death of George Floyd. He was, of course, killed nearly a week ago after a white police officer in Minnesota knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes.

ALLEN: That officer, Derek Chauvin is scheduled to appear in court later today.

HOLMES: I want to bring you some live pictures now. These are coming to us from Long Beach in California. Firefighters there, putting out a blaze at a business. Both Long Beach and nearby Santa Monica have seen widespread looting. Businesses being torched amid protests. It looks like they have that one pretty well handled at the moment.

And we have seen chaos, of course, in Philadelphia as well. Officials there actually asking for help from the National Guard.

ALLEN: There's been reports of looting and attacks on police despite the curfew that is in place.

CNN's Brian Todd is there.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here in Philadelphia, police have been chasing down looters and other people committing violence and setting fires, and setting police cars on fire. Also, people confronting police and attacking them.

That's been going on since Saturday evening. And it's still going on as police are trying to chase down these pockets of chaos.

Here on Broad Street in northern Philadelphia, we just came upon the scene and police have rounded up several people who they believe were looting this VTLR (ph) sportswear store. They're leading this young man here in zip ties over to a police van as we speak.

Again suspects who they believe were trying to loot the store. This has been going on since Saturday. And police are chasing these pockets down. It's almost like playing whack-a-mole. They've got to kind of come upon these scenes, sometimes they get to them on time, sometimes they don't.

Also police have been attacked with Molotov cocktails, had bricks thrown at them, rocks thrown at them and had police cars set on fire on Sunday as well. We were caught up in some of that as police in west Philadelphia swept an area where police cars have been set on fire.

Our team got fired own with tear gas and rubber bullets, and just barely got out of there.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALLEN: That was earlier this evening in Philadelphia.

President Donald Trump is placing the blame for the violent confrontation squarely on what he calls the radical left. On Sunday, he tweeted the U.S. would designate the left wing group Antifa, a terrorist organization.

HOLMES: Yes. This is the blanket blame we were discussing with Van Jones earlier.

CNN's Jake Tapper spoke to the White House national security adviser who also blamed the group for the unrest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, WHITE HOUSE NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: This is being driven by Antifa. And they did it in Seattle. They've done it in Portland. They've done it in Berkeley.

This is a destructive force of radical -- I don't even know if we want to call them leftist, whatever they are. They are militants who are coming in and burning our cities, and we're going to get to the bottom of it.

And as far as our foreign adversaries, look, we always have foreign adversaries who are on Twitter, on Facebook, and other places, trying to sow discord among Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ALLEN: We should note the U.S. government does not have the legal authority to label a domestic group a terrorist organization in the same way that it does a foreign group.

HOLMES: Indeed.

All right. We'll take another quick break.

When we come back, as these protests rage across the U.S., experts fear the coronavirus is being forgotten amid all of those crowds.

ALLEN: We will hear what city leaders are saying about these mass gatherings as it relates to the virus.

Also, the skyrocketing cases in what is being described as the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

[01:34:45]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALLEN: Coronavirus cases are still increasing across the world with thousands of new infections confirmed each day.

HOLMES: Now, many of them, of course, coming from Latin America lately which experts have called the new epicenter of the outbreak.

ALLEN: Brazil is the region's worst hit country. It has now confirmed more than half a million cases, second only to the United States. Now, in an effort to help Brazilians, Washington is sending ventilators and two million doses of hydroxychloroquine, even though that drug has not been proven effective.

ALLEN: Now, all of this is happening, of course, while the U.S. has seen those mass protests against racial injustice. Experts warning the large gatherings could be spreading the virus even further.

Let's talk about that. Dr. Raj Kalsi is a board certified emergency medicine physician. He joins us now from Illinois. Let's start with that issue in the U.S., the mass protests all around the country, thousands of people in close quarters.

It is outdoors, but it's close quarters. What could the impact be of that lack of social distancing? Could these be spreader events?

DR. RAJ KALSI, EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN: Hey, Michael -- thanks for having me back on. When we think about all the mass gatherings, the appropriate protesting that people have a right to do, I do not look at it too differently than when people gather in stadiums.

And what have we said about gathering in stadiums like sports arenas and that sort of thing? Though it's outdoors, which is beneficial to those who are gathering, there is a lot of contact that I'm seeing. And there are some people that aren't wearing masks.

And by definition, when people are interacting with each other, and when police are literally handling protesters, there is a communication of virus, if there is any virus to be shed.

HOLMES: And at the same time, a lot of concerns on reopening around the world, really. In the U.K., the London mayor, other government advisors are worried that it's happening too soon there. In the U.S., some similar concerns in some cities, which is still seeing increases in cases.

How does one make that calculation best? I mean striking the balance between what our economic and social realities, versus the risk of sparking resurgence?

[01:40:02]

DR. KALSI: You know, Michael, as I've said before, this reopening is completely arbitrary to me. I'm not an economist. I'm not a politician. I'm a scientist, I'm a doctor.

And when I think about viral communication from one human being to another, from one human being to several human beings -- reopening comes at two costs. The one cost is that you're going to, by definition, increase the possibility of contamination and people sharing the virus, and communicating it.

However, as a doctor, I do worry about this. I worry about social unrest. I worry about people starving because they are not employed. I worry about our economy faltering and the economic downturns people have and cannot afford medical care and die at home.

As I'm hearing more and more over the radio, the ambulance radio, that people are either committing suicide or they're dying at home, perhaps because they're not seeking health care because they can't afford it.

HOLMES: That is heartbreaking. And I know that -- I was reading what you were saying earlier that you are seeing a lot more of those cases as well.

Masks have become a hot button issue. I mean in many ways it's been turned into a type of culture war, masks almost a metaphor for the political divide in the country.

What do you say to people who feel masks are somehow infringing on their rights or freedoms?

DR. KALSI: They're taking a risk just like you take a risk when you cross the street -- Michael. When you have a couple of alcoholic averages and get in your car to go home, you're taking a risk. Not wearing a mask is taking a risk, and everybody has to mitigate that risk on their own.

However, in this particular case, the wearing or not wearing of a mask does affect your neighbor, and you have to take on that ethical responsibility as well.

HOLMES: Yes. Good point.

I wanted to ask you to, you know, I stayed around my neighborhood and I'm curious as to your thoughts on complacency. I mean there seemed to be signs emerging that people are just over it. That, you know, we are now focused on other things, starting to reopen, and people are dropping their guard. I mean this hasn't gone away. What are your thoughts?

DR. KALSI: I feel the same way. Michael -- I have quarantine fatigue myself. Quarantine fatigue is a real thing. Quarantine psychosis is a real thing. I'm seeing well-to-do young professionals who have done everything they have been asked to do becoming psychotic, having delusions, becoming severely depressed. I've had moments of sadness and depression over the future for my kids and seeing this.

Quarantine fatigue is a real thing. What do you do? You have to reinvestigate the risk for yourself. You have to find other alternate ways to foster your soul, to meditate, to exercise, to socially engage with those you love and those you care about in a safe manner so that you can fight this fatigue.

HOLMES: Yes. Very good point. And the mental health issue is often understated in all of this. Dr. Raj Kalsi -- great to see you. Thank you so much.

DR. KALSI: Thank you -- Michael

ALLEN: The death of George Floyd has spooked mass protests, of course, across the country as we've been showing.

HOLMES: Yes. But it's not the first time, of course, that we have seen anger over the death of a black man at the hands of police or security forces.

Coming up, we're going to have a look at other events that have galvanized Americans.

[01:43:22]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't put your hands in your pockets. Don't put your radio on. Don't be outside with no shirt on.

(INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It don't matter even if you don a shirt (ph). Don't be out too late. Don't touch anything you're not buying. Never leave a store without a receipt or a bag, even if it's just a pack of gum.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Wow, that is powerful. That young man posting that video online.

It's already been viewed two million times. Probably should be viewed a hundred million more.

ALLEN: And they are the unwritten rules his mother wants him to follow as a young black man in America. How sad is that? The fear that people live with.

It is also an important reminder that the death of George Floyd is not, of course, an isolated incident. The protests that have erupted across the U.S. are not a new phenomenon as we all well know. For many years, acts of violence against black Americans have sparked mass demonstrations.

HOLMES: CNN's Ryan Young takes a look back at some of these events. A warning: his story contains graphic images you might find disturbing. But it is an important piece to show you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Black America knows the pain well and the pain runs deep as cameras captured viral moments that raised questions about policing and race, the deaths of black people, the cries for justice. The names that sparked movements.

In 2012, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin walks into a 7-Eleven in Sanford, Florida. He grabs a bag of Skittles and a can of Arizona Ice Tea wearing a dark gray hoodie that would become a symbol to many.

As Martin walks home, he encounters George Zimmerman. A neighborhood watch volunteer who has already called 9-1-1 to report Martin's movements even though the teen had done nothing wrong.

GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, KILLED TRAYVON MARTIN: Something is wrong with him. (INAUDIBLE). He's got something in his hands.

YOUNG: Minutes later, after a fight between the two, George Zimmerman shoots and kills Trayvon Martin.

Zimmerman charged with murder, but a jury finds him not guilty.

His death and acquittal sparked national outrage and a movement is born.

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TRACY MARTIN, FATHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: Trayvon was a people's person. He did not deserve to die. And I pledged I would not let my son die in vain.

YOUNG: July, 2014: 43-year-old Eric Garner, a father of six is allegedly selling loose cigarettes illegally on Staten Island in New York. Officers surround him to make an arrest.

ERIC GARNER, KILLED BY POLICE: I'm minding my business. Please, just leave me alone.

YOUNG: Officer Daniel Pantaleo seen wrapping an arm around Garner's neck before pulling him down to the ground. As Pantaleo forces Garner's head into the sidewalk, Garner is saying --

GARNER: I can't breathe.

YOUNG: -- he dies shortly afterward. Five years later, Pantaleo officer is fired after it is determined he used a chokehold banned by the NYPD.

But long before that day, Garner's last words become a national cry for help and social justice.

CROWD: I can't breathe.

YOUNG: August 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown is shot by a police officer. His death sparked days of protests and riots in the city of Ferguson, Missouri. While the city burns, two narratives emerge. One, that Brown was unarmed and surrendering when he was shot. The other story from Officer Darren Wilson is that Brown was told to get out of the street and during the confrontation, the teen tried taking his gun. The officer says he feared for his life when he shot and killed Brown.

This time, the cry is the chance, "hands up, don't shoot" as thousands pour into the streets to demand justice, the officer is not charged.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have had enough of all of this. And this change must come.

YOUNG: In October 2014, Laquan McDonald a black teenager is killed by police in Chicago shot 16 times by an officer who had arrived at the scene seconds before. Though the officer claimed self-defense and says McDonald had a knife, an autopsy shows some of the shots entered McDonald's back while he was turned away.

The incident sparks protests in Chicago when police dash cam video is released more than a year later. The officer Jason Van Dijk is found guilty of murder.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a guy and he held a pistol. He was pointing it at everybody.

YOUNG: November 2014, 12-year-old Tamir Rice was playing with a toy gun at a park in Cleveland, Ohio. Officers are called. An officer shoots Rice seconds after arriving. The grand jury declines to indict the officer. The prosecutors say the evidence did not indicate criminal misconduct by police.

In April of 2015 in North Charleston, South Carolina, Walter Scott was pulled over for a broken break light. An eyewitness captured the tragic outcome. Walter Scott was shot and killed by Officer Michael Slager who was later convicted and sentenced to 20 years for murder.

Later in April of 2015, the city of Baltimore is rocked when Freddie Gray dies in police custody. The 25-year-old black man's arrest is caught on video.

The Baltimore Police Department charges Gray for possessing a knife. After being transported in a police van, Gray falls into a coma and is taken to the hospital where he dies later of a spinal injury.

Over the next few days, the city is brought to its knees with residents demanding to know what happened to Gray. None of the officers involved in Gray's arrest were convicted.

In 2015, Sandra Bland is pulled over for a minor traffic violation by state trooper Brian Encinia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you mind putting out your cigarette please, if you don't mind?

SANDRA BLAND: I'm in my car, I don't have to put out my cigarette.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you can step on out now.

YOUNG: Their exchange escalates, resulting in Bland's arrest. The video shows how quickly the interaction turns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the car. I will light you up.

YOUNG: Bland is found dead in her cell later. Her death ruled as a suicide.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand out --

YOUNG: In July of 2016, Philando Castile gets pulled over. His girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds and her four-year-old daughter in the car, when she starts using her phone to livestream the interaction. Officer Jeronimo Yanez opens fire, killing Philando.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God. Please don't tell me he is dead.

YOUNG: The community rallies behind the Castile family, a beloved school cafeteria supervisor. The officers charged were later found not guilty.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was no criminal. My baby was a good man, a hardworking man.

YOUNG: Then another tragedy in September 2018 unfolds in Dallas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice no peace. No justice no peace.

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YOUNG: 26-year-old Botham Jean is shot and killed by Dallas police officer Amber Guyger while sitting in his own home. ALLISON JEAN, MOTHER OF BOTHAM JEAN: So I'm calling on the Dallas

officials. Please, come clean. Give me justice for my son.

YOUNG: A jury later found Guyger guilty. She was sentenced to 10 years for murder.

In March of 2020, Brianna Taylor, an EMT and her boyfriend Kenneth Walker are in her apartment in Louisville, Kentucky when just before 1:00 a.m. three plainclothes officers arrived to execute a search warrant in a drug case. Taylor and her boyfriend thinks someone is breaking in when police kicked down the door.

Kenneth Walker grabs his legal firearm and starts shooting, hitting one officer in the leg.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Officer down.

YOUNG: Officers returned more than 20 rounds, killing Brianna Taylor.

Incident after incident. Year after year. Tearing at the hearts of black people.

CROWD: I can't breathe. I can't breathe.

YOUNG: As they look for a balance in the justice system.

The stories, the names well known. The pain runs deep.

Brian Young, CNN -- Chicago.

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ALLEN: And now we have George Floyd dead in Minneapolis over an incident involving $20.

I'm Natalie Allen in Atlanta.

HOLMES: That's a powerful piece. I'm Michael Holmes. Don't go anywhere though we will both be right back with more news.

Stay with us.

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