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Unrest in Philly After Deadly Police Shooting of a Black Man; U.S. Futures Down Sharply As Pandemic Worsens; U.S. Sees More than 70,000 New Coronavirus Cases in Fourth Highest Day in Pandemic. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired October 28, 2020 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

BRYNN GINGRAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wearing body cameras, the footage was rolling, and that is going to be something that is really going to be looked at throughout the entire day, with both investigations.

One with the district attorney's office and one with the police department. Now, the family of Walter Wallace, they want his name to be heard, they don't want to be associated with the agitators, with the violence that we have seen in Philadelphia, even last night. I can tell you that we were part of a peaceful protest in west Philadelphia that lasted about an hour or so in front of the police precinct there.

And at about 9:30, there was a lot of agitators that came out, throwing rocks, throwing light bulbs at police officers, slashing tires, and then there was several incidents of looting. We know more than a thousand looters went after a particular strip mall in another part of the city. We've also learned the National Guard is now going to come in to help with any continued unrest. Alisyn?

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Brynn, thank you very much for all of that reporting. There are still so many questions, and we're going to try to get answers now. Joining us now is CNN law enforcement analyst Charles Ramsey, he is the former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and former chief of Washington D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Commissioner. Good morning, it's great to have you here.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning.

CAMEROTA: Look, from Brynn's reporting, from all of the reporting, it sounds like this family called the police for help. They believed that their son was in the grip of I guess a bipolar episode. They were hoping for an ambulance and they got deadly force. And so, are police just not trained, not equipped to deal with that level of a mental health episode?

RAMSEY: Well, first of all, police are not mental health professionals, but there is training that's available for police, crisis intervention team training. I don't know if those two particular officers received it. I know when I was there, and it continued after I left, that there was regular crisis intervention team training put on by the Department of Mental Health in Philadelphia.

And the effort there is to try to de-escalate a situation and get it under control, so that you don't have to use force of any kind. Now, that doesn't always work. And this is a case where the individual was armed.

And I think it's important to remember that this individual was armed at the time he was shot. It's a tragedy, there's no question about that. But they're going to look very deeply into this case to find out exactly what happened, and the body cameras certainly will help in that regard.

CAMEROTA: But commissioner, I'm sure that you played out these scenarios. What are police supposed to do if someone is armed with a knife? How are they supposed to de-escalate that situation?

RAMSEY: Time, distance and cover. You do what you can to try to maintain distance between yourself and a suspect. You try to talk to the individual, to get them to calm down. Sometimes that works, sometimes that doesn't.

The Police Executive Research forum actually created a specific training for dealing with people with edge weapons as opposed to guns that departments are taking advantage of. I don't know if Philadelphia has yet. I don't believe they have. And that becomes a budget issue. I mean, these officers did not have tasers, for an example. We're supposed to have 4,500 tasers to outfit all of patrol. They're a little over 2,300 -- 2310 --

CAMEROTA: So -- and Philadelphia can't afford to give all officers tasers, you believe?

RAMSEY: Well, they cut the budget. I mean, again, you know, this -- couple this with the Spring and all this talk about defunding, $14 million was taken out of the police budget, even though they had made a request to city council and the mayor to fund an additional group of tasers. And that didn't happen. Money was taken out, you know.

And so, these things all have consequences. I'm not making excuses, but what I'm saying is that, you know, police need the tools to be able to perform their jobs. They're not a substitute for mental health professionals. My understanding is there have been calls for service at that location before. Mental health services could have been used at that point in time. So it never got to a 911 call. But anyway --

CAMEROTA: But I mean, I guess, commissioner, I -- this is all so valuable for us to understand how complicated it is. But since they didn't have tasers, and they showed up and somebody had a knife, what should -- what could they have done? Was there anything they could have done beyond deadly force?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, listen, you never want deadly force to be the outcome of any encounter. And I could see in the tape that they were backing up and so forth. At some point in time, the distance was beginning to close between themselves and the individual.

Now, again, I don't have enough information to really clearly call this. That's the whole point of an investigation that take place. But understand that we've got time to look at videos. I'm sitting in a nice, comfortable chair, kind of going over what took place. For the officers on the street, that happened in a matter of seconds for them to make decisions, crucial decisions about this individual.

[07:35:00]

His own mother could not control him. So I'm not saying that the use of force was not problematic. I don't know. They've got to look at a whole lot of information that will come out through the investigation. But it's not clear-cut like George Floyd or Blake or some of these other cases. This is why it's so complicated, and this is why the police need to adequate tools in training.

But more importantly, there needs to be a beef up of mental health services, not only in Philly, but in cities around the country so that police will not have to be dispatched. But having said that, I can't think of any mental health professional that would have -- that would have done this without calling 911, because --

CAMEROTA: Yes --

RAMSEY: The person was armed.

CAMEROTA: Understood. Charles Ramsey, thank you very much for all of your expertise with this.

RAMSEY: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: A record number of voters are casting their ballots early, so when will we learn who won the presidential election? A must-see reality check, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:40:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, time for CNN business now. U.S. stock futures down sharply ahead of the open as Wall Street grapples with the pandemic that is so clearly getting worse. CNN chief business correspondent Christine Romans here with more. They can see what's going on.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's very clear, and stock markets around the world, John, are trembling. European shares down on the worry that rising cases could trigger more restrictions there.

Look at Paris down 3 percent, Frankfurt also down in big numbers. On Wall Street, you've got futures down again here. Look, a surging pandemic makes business as usual in the U.S. impossible. And these rising cases threaten the economic recovery, and there is no stimulus in sight. President Trump signaling, there will be no deal before the election.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, after the election, we'll get the best stimulus package you've ever seen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Lawmakers in Washington are taking a very dangerous risk here with the recovery, unable to agree on a necessary fiscal rescue package now. No matter who wins the White House, the next president inherits the worst pandemic in a century, with millions of Americans jobless, women leaving the workforce in droves, and the gains of a decade-long economic expansion wiped out.

Now, Thursday's GDP report will likely show record growth in the third quarter, but that number is stale. It's a look back. Meanwhile, Congress is AWOL on more money to act as a shock absorber for so many families and businesses. Without federal aide, more small businesses will close.

Travel businesses like hotels and airlines will shed tens of thousands more jobs. And renters face eviction. Millions of Americans have been unable to pay their rent since the pandemic began. Moody's estimates outstanding rent payments could reach $70 billion by the end of the year. Renters, millions of them on average owing $5,400 that will come due on January 1st, Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: Oh, my gosh, Christine, it's just impossible to get your mind around all of --

ROMANS: That's right --

CAMEROTA: That debt. Thank you very much. We want to take some time right now to remember some of the more than 226,000 Americans lost to coronavirus. Michael Lang was just a freshman at the University of Dayton.

His mother says she had reservations about sending him to college amid the pandemic, but she knew he was anxious to start his new life. Lang is remembered as a friendly, outgoing person who loved sports and his family. He was just 18.

John Bjorkman was an educator in South Dakota for more than 30 years, serving as a teacher, a principal and a superintendent. His wife says he was a generous educator, always making sure that if his students needed anything from glasses to tennis shoes, they had it.

He was 66. Dr. E.J. Finnochio was president of the Rhode Island SPCA for 18 years. He retired in March of 2019. The organization describes him as a tireless and dedicated crusader for animal welfare. He also founded the Marvin Fund, named after the disabled black lab he adopted to provide financial aid for vet care to low-income pet owners.

BERMAN: Such a lovely picture. May their memories be a blessing. So Americans are voting in droves. Nearly 70 million votes cast already. The question is, exactly when will they be counted? John Avlon here with a reality check. John?

JOHN AVLON, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: One week from today, the voting will be over, but the counting in many states will still be going on. Now, for months, we've been telling you to expect election week, not election night.

No matter what the president tweets, the election is not over until all the eligible ballots are counted and certified. But because of our 50-state system, some final results will come sooner than others. So, let's level set expectations, rooted in facts so you won't get swayed by fear, which of course stands for false evidence appearing real.

We're already seeing historic turnout, a record 68.5 million ballots cast one week from election day. Now, that's roughly equivalent to all of the votes cast in the election of 1960. It's more than all of the early votes cast four years ago.

In fact, it's more than half the total votes cast in 2016, which was the lowest turnout election in 20 years. But this year, there's no enthusiasm gap. And here's what we're seeing. In the battleground states, Democrats make up 44 percent of early ballots cast, compared to 32 percent Republican and 21 percent independent or no party.

The early voting numbers favor Biden in about 16 out of 19 states. Let's take a closer look at Florida, where 42 percent of early votes are Democrats, it's up slightly from 2016. But Republicans are down 5 points to date from their 2016 totals. Early voting is up in states from Nevada to Iowa to North Carolina, but Texas is one of the real surprises here.

[07:45:00]

Get this, with more than 7.8 million voters that cast their ballots as of Tuesday and nine counties have surpassed their 2016 totals. That's stunning. But Trump is expected to have an edge on in-person voting on election day. So, what will we know and when will we know it?

Florida, Arizona and North Carolina will tell us a lot about what election week looks like this time next week. That's because their early votes will be counted ahead of election day. But on the flip side, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, these were key to Trump's victory in 2016, winning them by about 78,000 votes, which is less than the capacity of Lambeau Field.

But these three swing states will not start counting most early ballots until election day, which means that we won't know the final results this time next week. In Pennsylvania, the Supreme Court left in place a ruling that all the votes post-mark by election day will be counted as long as they arrive within three days.

But the same Supreme Court said Wisconsin could not accept ballots that arrived later than election day. And in Michigan, many early votes won't get counted until election day, and officials are saying it could take three days for the full count.

Now, in many of these states, the Democrats' edge could increase as mail-in votes are counted. This is the so-called blue shift, and it's legitimate, not fraudulent, as the president says, but this is already the most litigious election ever.

And there are reports of Post Office slowdown in mail-in ballot delivery. It's all a reminder that nothing is pre-ordained. Keep cool, but remember, the right to vote is really the fight to vote, and democracy is on the ballot. And that's your reality check.

CAMEROTA: Thank you for those stirring words, John Avlon, so true.

AVLON: Do what I can.

CAMEROTA: OK, how are voters feeling in the final week of this election compared to how they felt in 2016?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A leader who says things are under control and then downplays a pandemic, downplays science, attacks scientists. It's just -- there's no way I could vote for Trump again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: OK, next, you're going to hear from voters who have had interesting personal and political journeys since 2016.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:00]

CAMEROTA: For the past five years, we've been bringing you our special voter panels and we decided for this final week of the 2020 election, we would revisit some of our favorite panelists to see how they're feeling today. We found out that for many, Donald Trump's presidency has left a lasting mark on their lives and political preferences.

Some of the Republicans you are about to meet regret their vote for him, some have changed their party affiliation because of him. And you'll hear from a Democrat who did not like Joe Biden and Kamala Harris when we first met her, but she's had a change of heart. Here now your pulse of the people.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMEROTA: How many of you voted for Donald Trump in 2016? OK, four of you voted for Donald Trump then. So, Stephanie, let me start with you. Who will you --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right --

CAMEROTA: Vote for this time around?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've already cast my ballot, and for the first time ever, I voted for a Democratic president and Senate candidates. Two years ago when I was on the show I described myself as embarrassed, and now it's gone to completely appalled and disgusted, especially with the pandemic and the just total lack of leadership.

CAMEROTA: It's really interesting, Stephanie. I mean, you were a single-issue voter in terms of being pro-life.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I can't be a single-issue voter anymore. There's just too much going on, a leader who says things are under control and then downplays a pandemic, downplays science, attacks scientists. It's just -- there's no way I could vote for Trump again.

CAMEROTA: OK, Sherri, you are also really interesting. You voted for President Trump in 2016, and then a year later, we had you on a voter panel in November of 2017, and at that time you gave President Trump an f. So, let's just remind everybody what you said back then.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did vote for him. I almost immediately regretted it. He has no credibility for me as a voter.

CAMEROTA: Now, this time around, who will you be voting for?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have cast a ballot for Trump.

CAMEROTA: OK, so what happened? How did you go from giving him an f on that panel to now voting for him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of politicians claim to be patriotic, but he really demonstrated that.

CAMEROTA: Like what? Give us an illustration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He spoke out against statues being pulled down and actually enacted by executive order punitive measures for those acts. I think the one thing that also moved me was the civil unrest, the canceled culture, and then the Democratic response was void.

CAMEROTA: Vanity, let's move on to you. When we met you in January of this year, you were very gung-ho about Elizabeth Warren, not so much about Joe Biden. So how have you worked your way around now to voting for him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because he has selected Senator Harris, I believe, attaching and integrating her to his candidacy will help him really shift the paradigm on race relations.

CAMEROTA: It's really interesting, Vanity, because last time we talked to you, you were not sold on Kamala Harris.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

CAMEROTA: I hate to hold your own words against you, but you felt that she had been, I think, presumptuous.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you assume which way my support should go, it shows that you have co-modified my interest. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I do think since then, she has allowed us to

tap in a little bit more to the nuances of her identity, so that we can really appreciate the fact that there's a black woman trying to seek vice presidency right now.

CAMEROTA: Jimmy, you voted --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right --

CAMEROTA: For President Trump in 2016. So has anything happened during this administration and these past four years that has changed your thinking at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My life hasn't changed because out here on the farm, there's nobody out here, we just get on a tractor and drive it. And my life really hasn't changed other than I think go to restaurants with my wife no more, but I get over that, and we get takeout.

[07:55:00]

And that's about all that's changed here for me in Alabama. But these people keep blaming Trump for the 200,000 people that died. It ain't his fault. Those people would have died if Hillary was president.

CAMEROTA: How do you know that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe more, maybe less.

CAMEROTA: But how do you know that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm going to tell you. I know that. I'm going to tell you why? Because the virus got in all the other countries just like it got in this one. Well, it might be partly his fault, don't get me wrong, but it ain't all his fault.

CAMEROTA: But President Trump could have done things, for instance, South Korea had their first case the same week that we did, and they have had a fraction of the number of deaths in cases that we have had.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You do what you want to do and that's what makes America great, and a lot of people are dying because of that. They want to go out and get in a crowd or go to a bar and I have to admit, that's their business and if they die, I'm sorry.

CAMEROTA: OK, Bobby, you voted for Trump in 2016, but now you're considering sitting this election out. So why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I've got to say I'm more excited about "The Mandalorian" season two in this election coming up this week.

CAMEROTA: Why is that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This election has made me feel exhausted. It just keeps coming to you from all angles, I'm just like so over this whole election, you know. But when it comes to Biden, I just feel like -- I feel like he's trying to sell me a new car, but instead of telling me what's great about his car, he keeps telling me what's wrong with my car. I know what's wrong with my car, OK? Biden since Thursday has made it very difficult for me to even consider him as a candidate in relation to --

CAMEROTA: Why, what happened at the debate?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean, at the debate, the way he kind of flip-flopped on his entire oil thing and the way he kind of flip- flopped on the fracking and, you know, he's made a lot of mistakes, you know, when it comes to dog whistles, you know, being a Cuban- Hispanic, I mean, we have dog whistles that worry us, too, about communism and socialism. But when I hear Kamala Harris yesterday kind of laughing it up, it's not a joke to us, man.

CAMEROTA: So why not vote for Trump?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's almost like a double you know, double you don't know --

CAMEROTA: I mean -- yes, but why -- then why not vote for Trump like you did?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look, Trump is Trump, OK? It's been fun having Rodney Dangerfield as president, it's been entertaining. I like a lot of things -- I like a lot of things he says, I don't like a lot of things he does. So, yes, it's a difficult thing.

CAMEROTA: OK, Dale, before Donald Trump, you were a Republican and then what happened?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I joined the Republican Party, when I turned 18 years old, it was a party of intellect, it was a party of -- it was known as the party of ideas, it was a party of pragmatism, it was a party of logic.

And it seemed like those ideals are becoming farther and farther away from the party that I had joined. I think under Donald Trump, he seems to really like dictators, and he doesn't seem to have much regard for our long-time traditional allies. It's become the party that I didn't join. I didn't leave the party, the party left me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: It's so interesting. You know, it turns out human beings are human beings and they listen to things over time and they change their minds sometimes and they change their minds back. To me, one of the most important things is there is a lot of people who have already voted, which is --

CAMEROTA: Yes --

BERMAN: Interesting, too.

CAMEROTA: But I mean, human beings are human beings, but Donald Trump is a particular human being that is very influential on people. I mean, the idea that they've changed their -- you know, want to change their party affiliation, they've changed some of their, you know, single-issue voting, strongly-held practices.

Like he has affected people over this past four years more than some other previous presidents I would say. And so tomorrow, we'll hear what issue is most important to them this year, what's driving them to the polls, and to keep the conversation going, I invite you to head over to @alisyncamerota on Instagram, and you can give me your feedback. I'd love to know what you think.

BERMAN: And have your book, do you want to try and sell your book now? Anything else?

CAMEROTA: Why don't you have it?

BERMAN: I left it down stairs.

CAMEROTA: I've never known you're not taking --

BERMAN: "Mandy Wakes Up" by Alisyn Camerota --

CAMEROTA: Thank you, now in paper bag --

BERMAN: You can pick up your copy --

CAMEROTA: Thank you --

BERMAN: Any time.

CAMEROTA: You're wonderful. And NEW DAY continues right now.

BERMAN: Good morning everyone, welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY, and one week from this moment when America wakes up, we may not know who won the election, and that's OK.

What's not OK is where the nation is likely to be with the coronavirus pandemic by then. So in the last seven days, more than half a million Americans have tested positive. That's a record. The U.S. is now averaging nearly 72,000 cases a day. It is getting worse. It's the opposite of ending the pandemic. Forty states are seeing cases increase.