Return to Transcripts main page

Cuomo Prime Time

Widespread Looting And Unrest In New York City; Curfews In Effect Again In Cities Across U.S. On Protest Night 7; Trump Uses Historic D.C. Church For Photo-Op; Widespread Looting in NYC Before and After Curfew; Floyd's Brother Urges Peaceful Protest, Voting for Change; One-on-One with New York State Senator Zellnor Myrie; Protesters Try to Find Common Ground During Challenging Times. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 02, 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]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to PRIME TIME. Here at the top of the hour, some ugly scenes here in New York tonight. There's supposed to be a curfew started 11:00, didn't get it done. CNN's Shimon Prokupecz is on the phone, along with Jason Carroll. Jason Carroll has been in Brooklyn, obviously right outside of New York -- part of New York City, but right outside of Manhattan. First with you, Shimon, has it quieted down now?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is. It is quiet down. I'm actually driving around Manhattan now. And it has quieted down. We're still seeing some people out on the street and some of the groups that have been looting. They're still out and about, but what I'm not hearing are the sirens and the police cars that we're racing, really, from location to location. So, it's currently --

CUOMO: Is this live picture that we're looking at right now? Oh, they aren't. This is earlier tonight. So, live is talking to Shimon. But the picture you're looking at is not from right now. Why do I make the distinction? Well, one, accuracy. And two, optimism. You know what I mean? We shouldn't be so anxious to see things be as bad as possible as provocative as that can be. But there was a lot of looting. And I have to tell you, I got more calls tonight than any other night, Shimon, from people all over Manhattan, saying there are no cops and people are busting up stores even up the Tony Peace (PH) there on Madison Avenue and north of 60th Street. You know, we're all those huge stores are that everybody comes to New York to shop at.

PROKUPECZ: Yes, yes, they were there. They're up there looting as well. I saw looters on 5th Avenue, up in that area as well. Yes, they knew where they were going. You know, like I said to you earlier, it seemed like a very organized effort. Some of them had duffel bags. I saw people with backpacks. So, it certainly seemed like an organized effort. And it's so widespread. There now, I'm told, in parts of Soho again, which was hit last night, they're back down there. And you know, I'm getting the same questions as you, where are the police, and what's going on? And how does this end? And, you know, I think what's going on is the police are racing from scene to scene having to deal with so many different locations.

That is chaos, then it gets chaotic, and it's very hard for them to get a handle on it right now. We'll see (INAUDIBLE) the curfew times changing. It's going to be 8:00 instead of 11:00. And we'll see what the mayor says and what ultimately happens. I mean, it may -- it may -- we may need more police here. I mean, require state police coming in and may require other agencies coming in because what went on here tonight, obviously is completely unacceptable and it's going to paint a lot of people across this city.

CUOMO: Shimon, thank you very much. Keep the energy up, keep the team safe. Let us know. We have to know. Let's check in with Jason Carroll. Are you still around the Barclays Center in Brooklyn?

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have passed that long ago, Chris, we're along Flatbush Avenue and Flatbush now. And as you know, the evening started with about 1,000 people. We're now down to about 50. We still have a number of police officers who are following along and allowing this now very small group to continue on. And even though we are now, you know, a few hours now past curfew, which begs the question, what's going to happen next? And you know, as I was speaking to one of the demonstrators out here, I said, Look, curfew is now -- we're now two hours past the curfew, you're still going on? What is it you're going to do? And one of them said, I'm just going to keep marching until someone tells me to stop. And so, that's where we are. Police have not taken an aggressive stance towards these demonstrators throughout the night. Thousands of people press through the streets of Brooklyn and demonstrated peacefully unlike what we saw happening in Manhattan tonight.

[01:05:06]

We have not seen any evidence of vandal -- people vandalizing property or looting here. So, this has been a peaceful demonstration. And on the onset of this, Chris, when I was speaking to one of the organizers out here, I said, What is what you hope to accomplish? But they were saying is they're hoping that they can get their message out and not have it tarnished by the looting that we've been seeing, by the vandalism that we've been seeing in other parts of the city. So, we're now again, two hours past curfew, and this very small group now continues to march along. And please continue to follow. Chris?

CUOMO: All right, Jason, thank you very much. Stay safe. Keep the team safe. Let us know if anything changes. Let's go to Dallas. We've got Ed Lavandera there. Ed, I've been watching you all night. What is your survey of the situation?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we can kind of remind people of what's been happening here in Dallas. There was a peaceful protest that started on the steps of the courthouse, just west of downtown Dallas. You can see it's the building just underneath the Reunion Tower ball there as part and then that protest has been peaceful. Much of the night, started marching. They made it about a half mile, and then came on to this bridge, the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, just west of downtown Dallas. And this is where those hundreds of protesters met a wall of police, State Police, Dallas Police, SWAT teams here. There were smoke canisters deployed, rubber bullets that were fired off into the crowd as well. And this is where police detained several hundred of these protesters a little more than two hours ago.

They -- everyone, the processors that we have talked to here on the bridge tonight tell us that as soon as they approached the officers, there was no confrontation, they say, between the protesters and the police. That the smoke canisters were deployed and the rubber bullets were fired and then that's when the protesters laid down on the ground, police moved in and zip tied everyone. Now, the question is exactly what's going to be done with all of these people. We have seen them bring in city buses, and they're pulling -- and they're loading these city buses, police vans and driving them away to another location here. So, this is going to take hours and hours.

And it's been interesting, we've heard these protesters as they sit here calmly waiting patiently. They've been -- some of them have been singing, they have been chanting George Floyd's name, one of -- some of them unfurled a banner that said, end police brutality. So, a great deal of emotion. But throughout much of this night, it was almost like an act of civil disobedience here, Chris, as they got here onto this bridge, essentially shut down the traffic onto the bridge. And that's when they laid down on the street as soon as they saw the wall of law enforcement coming from the opposite side of the bridge here on the Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge. We saw some of those tear -- not tear gas but smoke canisters that were deployed.

This is one of the rubber bullets that was fired onto the ground -- into the crowd that we saw just a little while ago as we were walking along this bridge and approaching the scene here. But now all of these people here on this bridge, simply waiting to be processed and moved to another location here tonight. And Chris, this will take what appears to be hours.

CUOMO: Ed, have you ever been hit by one of those?

LAVANDERA: No, no. I have not. Our security officer that we're working with tonight says, you know, these look very different from some of the pictures that I've seen of the rubber bullets that were fired in Minneapolis. Our security agent that we're working with tonight who is a Navy Special Forces officer, he tells us that these are much softer, if you will. I mean, it clearly hurt but he says it's designed not to penetrate the skin. So perhaps a little less painful, if you will, but I don't want to make any -- make it seem like you -- make light of it. I mean, if you get hit with this, it's going to sting. It's going to hurt. It's going to leave a mark.

CUOMO: I think I was -- we were together, I think, in Ferguson. I think I got hit with one off the rebound there or in Baltimore. And it's still almost knocked me down. I was running away. I got hit with it off a ricochet off hitting something else, and then it hit me in the calf. And still almost made -- knock me down. Rubber bullets, yes, non-lethal, but not an easy thing to do. LAVANDERA: Well, we had heard -- we had heard from -- and we've heard

some -- from some of these protesters who said, you know, that these were fired off at very close range. We saw one protester who was taken away on a stretcher; we don't know the extent of the injuries to the young woman that we saw on that stretcher. So clearly, it's not something we want -- we want to make light of, but it does give you a sense of perhaps a different type of force was used here on this bridge. What the protesters here have a great deal of questions about is why they were -- they had been marching on a public street outside of the curfew zone here in downtown or just off of downtown Dallas. And then, they were -- they felt like they were kind of pushed onto this bridge and kind of trapped here, that officers came from in front of them and then from behind them and then started the process of detaining them.

[01:10:10]

The mayor of Dallas is saying that he wants to make no comments about what happened here. He says he has some concerns about how all of this unfolded, and that he will talk to police commanders, and talk more about this tomorrow. So, a great deal of confusion about how these people are going to be handled here tonight, and a great deal of frustration on the protesters' part because they feel that all of this was peaceful, and an act of civil disobedience.

CUOMO: Transparency matters. Law works both ways. That's what this is all about. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much, my brother, be safe and be well.

LAVANDERA: You got it.

CUOMO: I bring up that thing about the rubber bullets because, you know, we say rubber bullets like no big deal. This is a significant use of force against American citizens. We shouldn't take it lightly. They used a tear gas. You know, you're not -- you know, that's been seen like as a war crime that's supposed to use tear gas and or armed conflict anymore. We're using them on American citizens. It's terrible stuff. Ed and I and everybody watching tonight have experienced too much of it. These are real things going on in our country right now. I know we get tired of things fast in this country, you get used to it, even COVID, you got used to it. You stop caring about the numbers. Now, everybody wants to get back. These are tough times. These are very turbulent times, and we need to pay attention. None of it is normal. None of it is OK.

Now, the President today may have out Trump himself. I've never seen anything like what he did today. The combination of lying about being with the people that he was having chased out, speak about rubber bullets, use of force, tear gas, I -- in a way, I hadn't even seen a DC right what he was saying he was with him that he was an ally. Why? So, he could stage one of the most really inept photo ops I think I've ever seen, let alone from Trump. Outside a church that represents everything he doesn't, all right? We're going to bring in to discuss this. Father Edward Beck, what is the role of faith right now? What is the Christian position when it comes to what is OK and not OK in the interest of social justice? Next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: All politicians make a show of faith, especially in this country, very important, but at least they usually go all in, you know, they go in the church. They quote from the Bible accurately or at least they open it. Unlike the president who just holds it up for no -- for show for no good reason. You know, the one who said he's never had to ask God for forgiveness. In April, he saw double digit drops in his poll numbers with White Christians, Catholic and Protestant. It's the same reason he demanded churches be reopened. It's another thing he doesn't have the power to do by himself. But let's bring in the role of faith in a situation like this. With Father Edward Beck. It's good to see you. How are you?

FATHER EDWARD BECK, CNN RELIGION COMMENTATOR: You too. I'm good. Good to see you, too.

CUOMO: I love you. I miss you, Edward.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: (INAUDIBLE)

CUOMO: I know. But you know what, I'm glad to have your counsel tonight. For the audience, full disclosure --

BECK: You know what?

CUOMO: Yes, father?

BECK: I am just so sad, though. I mean, I wish I could talk to you about this in person, because my heart is just breaking to see what's happening in our country. And the use of faith in this whole instance really breaks my heart even more, so I'm happy to talk about it with you.

CUOMO: Well, help us understand that because I'm sure you see a big role of faith and the understanding of demand for social justice. What bothers you here?

BECK: Well, Mo, Jesus was a nonviolent protester. I mean, that was his life. That's what he stood for; he was against unjust structures, and he didn't condone violence to oppose those structures. But he certainly did oppose them in nonviolent protests. And so, to see nonviolent protesters pushed back by force, and rubber bullets, and tear gas, for a photo op in front of a church, a desecrated church, I didn't even get the symbolism of holding up the Bible there. The Word of God was on the side of the protesters who were pushed back. So, it was so conflictual to me. I didn't understand what I was seeing. What was the President trying to say, by holding up that Bible in front of that church? And who was he appealing to?

CUOMO: That's what I'm asking you. You're the priest. What does that supposed to mean when you hold up a Bible in front of a church? What does that mean; that he's holy? What is he doing right there?

BECK: Or that he's representing somehow the Word of God or standing for the Word of God?

CUOMO: Yes, that must be it.

(CROSSTALK)

BECK: -- he was standing -- yes, he was standing for the antithesis of it, though.

CUOMO: But he says that -- Well, look, you know, that's why I want to have the conversation with you. Man, I don't understand the play. I guess in just in terms of raw, political persuasion, it's, See, I'm a man of God. I'm here. And these protesters, therefore, I guess, are on the opposite side of God. Otherwise, you'd need to make no show of being on the side of God, I suppose.

BECK: And obviously, I think he's trying to play to a base that he is losing, as you mentioned, he's losing support, especially among White Christians and evangelicals. Because what they're seeing is that even though abortion is important to them, there are other prolife issues, and that this President is not standing on the side of those prolife issues. So, abortion important, yes, but so is the environment. So is immigration. So is care of the poor. All of these other things that this President seems to fall short on.

CUOMO: You know, but you're a little unusual as a Catholic in this regard, Father.

BECK: What are you talking about?

[01:20:04]

CUOMO: Well, here's how, the idea of prolife; the Christian political position seems to be, no, no, unborn life. We are in favor of protection of unborn life. Once it's born, then we don't have the same feelings anymore. We're not about --

BECK: Oh, that's not the Christian position.

CUOMO: I know, but I'm saying --

BECK: The Christian position is Matthew 25. Did you feed the hungry? Did you visit the imprisoned? Did you clothe the naked? I mean, that's the Christian position. So, if you corrupt that position, or you use it for your own ends, and you say this is the only one that matters, that's not representation of a true Christian position.

CUOMO: I agree. But in politics, that's where it's become. Right? The Christian conservatives, right, which, you know, that become a political faction, they are not taking the Christian position the way you just outlined, and it's really just about abortion. And then after that, they're pretty good with just about anything he wants to do to anybody.

BECK: Well, the right-wing Christian persuasion, I would say would look just at that, but I think more moderate Christians, and certainly more progressive Christians would see what Cardinal Bernardin used to call, the full garment approach. I mean, it can't just be about one issue because life, as you said, after the womb is just as important. And so, if you're not caring for the poor, if you're not feeding the hungry, if you're not welcoming the stranger, the immigrant, then how are you living the message of this nonviolent protester Jesus, whom you really are maligning with what happened there tonight?

CUOMO: When you see this situation, the -- you're not -- this isn't new to you. And just for people at home, Father Beck is a Passionist, OK. He is a member of a religious community and Catholic. They spend their time going from problem area to problem area dealing with the Passion of the Christ, which is, of course, human suffering. So, you've seen a lot of this. It never changes, father. You know, why would anybody have hope that it ever will change in America?

BECK: Well, I mean, that is what our mission is working for, right? Because unless the hearts of men and women are converted, unless we really see and believe that we're all created in the image of God, that God has no color, no gender, no sexual orientation, no socio- economic strata. I mean, the God, the universal God, who we say is creator, creates us in God's image. So, that means it's all of us. So (AUDIO GAP)

CUOMO: Edward, can you hear me? We -- yes, we're going to reset, Edward -- Father Beck. Why do I call him Edward? Why does he call me, Mo? While we're resetting a signal, he's my family priest. I'm very close to him. He's living in California now. All my friends call me Mo. That's why father Beck is calling me Mo. His name is Edward. That's why I'm calling him that. It's not a lack of difference. We're resetting his signal. Because this is a really important point. Look, we all know that Trump did what he did today is a stunt. But it's an invitation for us to think about faith as an extension of what you're going to fight for and fight against. Edward, I lost you about 20 seconds after that.

BECK: It's not what I said then.

CUOMO: Well, then say it again.

BECK: Well, I don't remember where you lost me, though.

CUOMO: I'll just tell you to just pick it, just go for it. You only make like three points anyway. Go ahead. Pick one.

BECK: Well, I was saying that, if we're created in the image of God, God has no sex, no gender, no color, no sexual orientation. It's universal love. So, until we dispel this notion that God is a white man, with a white beard sitting on a throne of justment, then anyone who doesn't look like that is somehow less than God. And I think the hearts of men and women need to be converted to really believe we're all the same and all equal. And all have the same opportunities and should have the same opportunities and dignity and respect. And I just don't think we're there yet. I think we don't believe we're equal. We don't believe we're created equal. And I think until that happens, nothing's going to change. And I see my mission, and the church's mission is to really reveal a God of love who says, Yes, I am for all of you, and you are all the same. CUOMO: Although, you know -- but then we see faith, not coopted by any liberal, political entity, but by conservative ones that are usually about restrictions and constraints. Gay is wrong. This type of behavior is wrong. This kind of identity is wrong. You know, they seem to be in the no business, not in the love, mercy business.

BECK: Yes, but, Mo, they get the attention and they get the press, but I really don't think the majority. That's not my experience of ministering in the church. I mean, I meet very balanced, middle of the road, sometimes somewhat progressive. And the other element that I see and hear is a minority.

[01:25:12]

Now, they do get a lot of attention, granted, but I really don't think that's where most people come down. I think most people are about justice. Most people, most Christians are caring about the environment. They're seeing it as a need. They're seeing immigration as a gospel issue. I think that's where most people come. And that's why I think Trump is losing some of this face because they're saying, Well, yes, I can't just go with one issue. And if you look at what the man says and does, he does not walk the talk. So, how can -- how can I align myself with that? I think that's the question that's arising in people's minds.

CUOMO: One thing is for sure, if the majority doesn't start seeing itself in the minority, we'll never fix the problems that brings us here tonight. It'll never happen. You can call them another all you want. You can call them thugs. You can say they deserve it. They don't listen, they don't do this. They don't -- you ascribe any negative tendencies you want, it's still your problem if you're in the majority of this country, because only you can change it, the minority doesn't have the power to change prejudice and systemic injustice on its own. So, until the majority accepts it and embraces it and sees themselves in this problem, they'll never fix it. Father Edward Beck, you're always a gift. I miss you. Every time I see you, I'm reminded that I want to see you more. God bless you. I love you.

BECK: I miss you, too. Thank you. Love you, too. Thank you.

CUOMO: I love you, Father. You're the best. All right. Good. You know, you always feel a little bit better when I have some Beck in my life. Father Edward Beck. All right, as if New York City hasn't already been through enough with this pandemic, right, it was the epicenter. The city is now being torn apart, literally, by rioters. Now, again, you know, a protester and a rioter are different people. If you just run up and down Madison Avenue, trying to break into the most expensive stores and steal stuff, that's not about social justice. It's an injustice in and of itself. All right? Windows are being broken. These are not political statements, all right? They are acts of need and want. All right?

And that curfew started in 11:00, didn't help. So tomorrow, it's going to be at 8:00. Police are really up against it. New York City is a big city. And even with more cops, it's obviously tonight, not enough. So, let's bring in a former NYPD vet on how to get these things more under control. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:31:44]

CUOMO: Tonight the curfew in New York was 11:00 p.m. That gave groups of looters time to target icons of retail like Macy's flagship store in Herald Square.

Let's bring in former NYPD Lieutenant Darrin Porcher. It's good to have you, first of all. And thank you for your service.

LT. DARRIN PORCHER, (RET) NEW YORK CITY POLICE: Thanks for having me -- Chris. And I'm glad to have you back on the air in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CUOMO: Thank you very much.

First of all, feel free to disagree. I think 11:00 was too late. They should have started it earlier tonight, the curfew. Give themselves more time to kind of put suggestions on people's head and organize in certain areas.

PORCHER: Well, that could be subjective. Like you mentioned, we could agree to disagree. When we look at the COVID pandemic, the COVID-19 pandemic -- we connect the (INAUDIBLE) after this point because we've been on a lockdown for I want to say maybe two and a half months. So as a result to that, we have become more accustomed to being at home or sheltering in place, so to speak.

So in the wake of the recent -- what happened to Mr. Floyd, it's created an outrage throughout the community, not just here in New York but I want to say nationally.

And then you have a lot of people that have a lot of frustration, just based on being in the house for that extended period of time and they resorted to coming out. But which is so unfortunate is we have two different factions as you pointed out earlier.

We have people that are protesting which is within their constitutional rights. But then you have a small component of people that are engaging in riotous behavior. And those individuals that are engaging in that riotous behavior is what's garnering the attention from police departments in not just New York, but on a national level, because we can't have lawlessness.

If we take into consideration a social contract, it affords us as citizens protection by government. And it's just not coming into fruition as it relates to managing or martialing in these rioters as we speak.

CUOMO: The mayor is moving the curfew. He's extending it to tomorrow Tuesday and he's moving it back to 8:00 p.m. What do they need to do better to give themselves a better chance of saving more property? Or is that just not focus, you're worried about life and fires and stuff like that? PORCHER: Well, I think it's a compilation of things. I'm disappointed

in the mayor's leadership as it relates to managing this crisis in particular. I think that he's going more towards a regressive stance. And I think he's looking to echo the sentiments of the public in connection to what happened to Mr. Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We all agreed that that was a tragedy. That was a classic example of over policing in a particular community. But we're trying to write the ship here in a place like New York. We need to have a formidable presence.

When I say a formidable presence, I don't mean over -- I don't mean over policing or an aggressive stance, but merely setting forth an agenda that can protect us as citizens.

And I clearly see Mayor de Blasio has failed as a result in connection with protecting us because when we look at the looting that has happened in these stores, commercial businesses being burned, these shop owners are the people that are going to be the key to the economic revival of when we come out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[01:34:57]

PORCHER: And if their businesses are not up and running, then it sets us back because we need the socio-economic empowerment moving forward. And he just hasn't set forth the necessary agenda for the NYPD to secure these businesses as a result.

CUOMO: What do you do better?

PORCHER: Well, it's a compilation of things. One of the first things that we don't see on camera is there is a back channel negotiation that should be occurring between police executives, elected officials and community leaders. The triangulation of that group is going to focus on a lot of the agitators that we have that are sparking the violence.

And we can get those people removed because we have to take in consideration in a place like New York we are 365 miles with 8.5 million people with a police department of 38,000. I just say sworn officers of 38,000. 38,000 officers pales in comparison to 8.5 million people. Therefore it's necessary that we engage that symbiotic relationship with the community and have the community leaders assist us in removing these agitators.

And once these agitators are removed, I think we can gradually get to a point of normalcy. But right now, that back channel negotiation should be happening.

CUOMO: When people say to you listen, you were on the job. You know what it's like to be brown in New York City, as a man -- it will never change. It will always be like this, it's always been like this since you and I were kids, the generation before.

Police do things in minority communities that they don't do elsewhere. The system doesn't fix it, people say they're going to be fixing it for years. It's never happened. What do you say?

PORCHER: Well, I think it bifurcates in two different directions. The first thing is socio-economic empowerment. Historically when we look to the communities of color, they have been the recipients of a miscarriage of justice in connection with the socio-economic empowerment.

And then we look to the second component of the miscarriage of justice, when we look at the African American -- I should say the black and brown communities, oftentimes, they have been subjected to over policing in those communities.

So when you look at those two aspects and it's a very arduous and difficult task. And I don't think it's a one-fix solution. I think this is more a geographical strategy that needs to be applied.

You're a native New Yorker -- Chris, and you can understand, there's a tremendous difference between the population of Staten Island and the South Bronx. So it's not a one-fix-all solution.

Therefore, we need smart people at the table to devise a solution and strategy on how to engage each community in the city of New York. Because if that doesn't happen, it's going to continue to spiral out of control

And this is something that has been happening to the system for years on end. What often happens with -- not just with the NYPD, but I want to say all police departments nationally, they will put in place a provision based on a situation that went left.

And I'll give you an example. Eric Garner for example. Right after the Eric Garner situation we saw this outcry for implicit bias training within police departments nationally. The NYPD implemented implicit bias training but there was no sustainment piece after it was implemented.

When I say sustainment piece, let's look back on this six months, a year later, evaluate the process and make sure that it is sound. Unfortunately, that hasn't occurred. And so as a result of the failure to implement a sustainment piece, we still continue to have these incidents such as Eric Garner here in New York.

We even go back as far as the LAPD to the Rodney King beating (INAUDIBLE). This is a genre and we can go on. But I think the key is the revolutionized professional development in police departments and the assessment piece. And that is something that has been avoided for years on end.

CUOMO: Lt. Darrin Porcher -- thank you so much for your service and thank you for your intelligence. I appreciate you making this much more understandable for the audience. God bless and be well.

PORCHER: All right. Thanks again.

CUOMO: All right. All right. So for all the protests, the anguish, the outcry -- we've all seen it. We can't forget that this is also about a community in pain and mourning. Now earlier George Floyd's brother visited the spot where his brother took his last breath. He took a knee where his brother died. The crowd mourned with him in silence.

His family says they don't want their loved one's death to be in vain. That real change can come from this and that violence is not the way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TERRENCE FLOYD, BROTHER OF GEORGE FLOYD: I understand you're upset. But like it was always said, I doubt you're as half as upset is I am.

[01:39:55]

FLOYD: Well, if I'm not here wailing (ph) out, if I'm not over here blowing up stuff, if I'm not over here messing up my community -- then what are you doing?

What are you doing? You're doing nothing because that's not going to bring my brother back at all. My family is a peaceful family. My family is god fearing.

Yes, we are upset, but we're not going to take it. We're not going to be repetitious. In every case of police brutality, the same thing has been happening. You all protest, you all destroy stuff, and if they don't move. You know why they don't move because it's not their stuff, it's our stuff, so they want us to destroy our stuff.

They're not going to move. So let's do this another way. Let's start thinking that our voice don't matter and vote. Not just vote for the president, vote for the preliminary, vote for everybody.

Educate yourself. Educate yourself. Don't wait for somebody else to tell you who is who. Educate yourself and know who you are voting for. Do this peacefully, please.

My brother moved here from Houston, and I used to talk to him on the phone. He loved it here. He started driving a truck, he was good. So I highly doubt -- no I know he would not want you all to be doing this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: I mean, you know, sometimes you just got to keep it very simple. Can you imagine if George were your brother, your father, your son? And this happened? You saw that video and you saw those officers standing around all that time and all those people asking them to stop.

And imagine being in a moment like that and still having the wherewithal to talk to people and say, here's what I want, here is what you should do. You know, to be thinking of others and how to motivate them in a moment where you just have to be so, so low.

If nothing else, I just really hope that everybody is able to grasp the pain that is being experienced. That is the word you just don't hear enough. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't think about it enough -- hurt and pain.

I think, anger. I see anger -- anger in the streets, you know, righteous indignation. And then anger that is carried off into a way that is not right. But maybe if we just focus on the hurt and the pain and understanding that that is what is being felt, maybe we would see it differently. Maybe we'd think about how to address it differently.

Maybe that's what it is. Maybe that if -- because we just see it as anger and we don't see anger as having any kind of antidote other than more anger. When someone is hurt, you don't think about being angry at them, you think about helping them with your pain, at lease understanding it -- sympathy, if not empathy.

Some very powerful moments.

And now it's about what happens next. What an elected official in New York was trying to help bring about at a protest. So how did the official who went there to try to get us to a better place wind up in handcuffs? Let's get his story, next.

[01:43:47]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Hit by a bike, pepper sprayed, handcuffed -- that is a description for one New York state senator of what happened to him at a peaceful protest at Barclay Center recently in Brooklyn. His name is State Senator Zellnor Myrie, joins us now. Senator -- how did this happen?

ZELLNOR MYRIE (D), NEW YORK STATE SENATOR: Well, firstly, thank you for having me -- Chris. I am from Brooklyn. I happen to represent a huge swath of central Brooklyn. And when I heard that there would be a group of folks protesting police brutality, I decided to make my way down one, in solidarity and two, in my capacity as an elected official -- someone who has relationships with law enforcement, someone who could act as a liaison between those who were protesting and the law enforcement officers present.

As I was obeying orders, they were telling us to back up. I was backing up, trying to protect some of the protesters behind me, being compliant. I started getting hit in my back by bicycles wielded by the police officers. I was pushed. I was shoved. Ultimately pepper-sprayed and subsequently handcuffed, simply because I was there to forcefully protest.

CUOMO: Did they know that you were who it says you are in the back of your shirt. And did you make it clear to them that you were a state senator?

MYRIE: So Chris -- I alerted law enforcement as soon as I arrived that I was there. I made sure that those who I had relationships with knew that I was coming beforehand. And as you mentioned, I had a neon green shirt on with my name and title emblazoned on the back precisely to prevent a situation from escalating out of control.

CUOMO: Did they -- when they arrested you, what happened after?

[01:49:59]

MYRIE: So I was pepper sprayed and, to be frank, crying out because my eyes were burning and my hands were behind my back. And I was asking why I was being detained and not getting an answer.

And it took a couple of minutes for some of the chiefs to realize who I was. I was then taken aside. I had my zip ties cut. And I received medical attention. But it was only because of my title that I was able to not be processed.

CUOMO: If you were just a black man on the street, do you think they wouldn't have been listening to you the same way and you wouldn't have gotten -- and what was it that they sprayed on you -- milk? To try to help with the tear gas.

MYRIE: Yes. So, you know, the unfortunate reality of this is that it was an indiscriminate pushing, it was indiscriminate spraying, indiscriminate handcuffing and had I not had the luxury of my title, I would've been in the system and processed much like many of the other protesters there that night.

Now, I have never been arrested in my life. I have never been pepper- sprayed in my life. And the first time that both of those things happened was as a state senator protesting police brutality.

CUOMO: So when people say to you, Senator -- you see, I mean you can't even control what they do to you. It will never be what we want it to be. We'll never be equal. We'll never be loved by this country the way we love it. There will never be fairness under law. It will always be minority and majority country. What do you say to give people hope?

MYRIE: This speaks to the pain, the rage, the passion that we're seeing on the streets right now because it doesn't matter what your station in life is. In the DNA of this country, unfortunately, is brutality against people that look like me.

And what we are doing right now on the streets is expressing that rage. We are expressing the hope that this country can be what it professes to be. And we can achieve that only when we have justice.

We hear that common refrain -- no justice, no peace. That is a two- part equation. One proceeds the other. There needs to be justice in order for there to be peace. And until we have accountability, until we see that there are consequences for police misconduct, we're going to continue to see unrest.

CUOMO: Senator -- thank you very much for being on the show. I want you to come back and continue this conversation. I'm sorry that the context tonight is you having to go through all these horrible things but look, you always have to look at everything in life as having a purpose. You will now understand when this happens to other people what it feels like and what it means and why it demands attention when it is done in the wrong circumstances.

Senator -- thank you. I'm glad you're feeling better. And I'm glad you were there for your constituents. It means a lot of them to see their leaders in their midst.

God bless and be well, and I'll speak to you soon.

MYRIE: Thanks for having me -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right.

It's not a position -- it's a right to protest. Constituents appreciate it. Their leaders should be there -- right. that's why you put them in office. Those men and women are supposed to be by your side. They work for you.

A lot of hurt. Like the senator said, like I hope we all understand now -- seven long days. But amid the pain, there have been moments of light, of hope, of truth. Protesters helping police keep the peace. Police making peace with protesters.

CNN's Tom Foreman has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is a Target store in New York and those are not police but protesters protecting it. Standing up to potential looters and vandals, telling them to go away. And that is happening in communities all across the land.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People work too hard. Too hard. You aren't going to do it in front of me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're pushing the gate. Don't push the gate. Stop. Stop. When you do that, they don't come after you, they come after us.

FOREMAN: Amid the images of destruction, these moments of people in congress fighting to keep the peace are captivating. In D.C., a hooded man is breaking up pavement, what some have thrown. Protesters rush him.

In moments, they trip away his mask and drag him to the police, yelling "take him, he's yours".

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make this a parade, not a protest.

FOREMAN: In other places, the quest for cooperation has gone even further.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear you all.

FOREMAN: With officers lowering their guards, taking knees, exchanging handshakes with protesters and marching for the cause.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we had tonight was a peaceful protest. And us joining them in a symbolic way to kind of recognize what had happened -- that's the least we can do.

FOREMAN: Even comforting the weary.

[01:54:58]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel your pain too.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hurt, the same way you hurt. Like you hurt, like everybody out here is hurt.

FOREMAN: This quiet little acts of kindness and pleas for peace are easily lost amid all the noise, but they are occurring everywhere, giving hope to those looking for someone to lean on amid the fear and fury.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: All right. That's all for us tonight. Thank you for watching.

The news, of course, continues right now.

[01:55:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Natalie Allen.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of the ongoing racial protests across the U.S.

END