Return to Transcripts main page

Don Lemon Tonight

More Protesters Seen In Brooklyn Center; Both The Officer Who Shot And Killed Daunte Wright And The Chief Of Police Resigning Earlier Today; Protesters Tired Of Seeing The Same Scenario; Tons Of Police Presence Seen In Minnesota; Police Cited Minnesota Statute To Protesters. Aired 10-11p ET

Aired April 13, 2021 - 22:00   ET

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

[22:00:00]

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we are seeing that happened firsthand here, you see the amount of law enforcement as they are walking through, we're just a little bit closer here off to the side as they push through the street, literally shoulder to shoulder and continuing to stream in as you see on the back right of that crowd.

And so, whatever they saw over the past two nights, they've responded even more force with this third night and trying to show any of the emotions that are clearly very strong before it's closing to a potential force.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN HOST: And we've been seeing here with Omar Jimenez as the officers move down the block past the local police station to clear the street, as people sit in submission to get arrested, the phalanx moves past them and then officers behind are taking those people into custody.

It is now time to turn over our coverage. It's another flash bang. They are supposed to do exactly what they did. They make noise and they send spoke. It's to disorient you when you're in their proximity. Let's hand over the coverage to "CNN TONIGHT" and Don Lemon.

DON LEMON, CNN HOST: Christopher Cuomo, thank you very much, sir. We're going to get right to it. Breaking news happening now, Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. This is a third night of unrest. We went through it with you last night live. You can see that police are on the scene, protesters as well. Flash bangs -- the bottom -- let's listen. Let's listen to what they're saying.

UNKNOWN: Obstructing legal process which will be an additional crime. You need to disperse. Leave the area. Go to the north.

LEMON: Police are on the scene telling the crowd to disperse. They need to leave the area. Our Miguel Marquez is live in the crowd, we're going to go to Miguel now and get the breaking news from him. Miguel, what are you hearing? What's going on here?

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I don't know how much longer we're going to be able to stay in this position. But this, I just want to give you a quick scene set. This is the state's patrol over here. They're coming up from the south side of the Brooklyn Center Police Department. You can see the crowd here. They're trying to stay here, trying to show defiance in the name of Daunte Wright and challenging police.

Many of them with umbrellas to keep the spray away from them. They're spraying lots of pepper spray at them. This is the police station here. These are National Guardsmen on this side, sheriff's department here. This is a sheriff's department vehicle that just pulled up to the very front gates of the police department.

So, we're going to move this way, bottles, lots of bottles, water bottles being thrown at police and fireworks being shot at police as well. There's also fireworks that have been sort of lit off in the area here. But this is the standoff now.

Police have formed a cordon along the entire street here and they are moving toward the north to try to move this crowd back. And this is -- John, come up here. This is sort of what's left of the crowd. It's these individuals with the umbrellas. Much of the crowd has moved down a side street here and are probably not going to stick around very long.

The curfew has just gone into effect here, and it appears that the police want to clear the area as quickly as possible. They want it known that they can be here for hours and hours and do the protest and the remembrances and taunt them throughout the afternoon, but when it comes time to ending the protest and putting the curfew into effect, they are going to put it into effect in a very sorted way.

It is not clear if the officers here, I don't know if you make this out, Don, but can see the number of officers behind these gates. These gates, protesters were up against them at one point pushing on them. That's what started this latest sort of round of a standoff between protesters and police.

And it looks like some of these officers in this side may be coming out of this gate at some point and joining these other officers to completely move everybody up and out. The shots --

LEMON: And Miguel?

MARQUEZ: The shots that were -- yes?

LEMON: We know that they've declared this an unlawful assembly. As we have seen live from your pictures, bottles have been thrown at officers. Pepper spray has been deployed as well. What are the officers saying on the loud speaker there, to deploy? Go home? What are they saying? Disperse? Go home?

MARQUEZ: They're telling everybody including the media to move off, that this is now an unlawful assembly. And you know, as Omar was saying a short time ago, they keep just moving up the street. They make the announcement. They move up the street.

The crowd will surge back toward the police and then they will use sort of non-lethal force to push them back and disperse them further. It is a much smaller crowd now than it was earlier today, but it's still, you know, several hundred certainly it seems in the general vicinity.

[22:05:09]

It's only several dozen it looks like that are really challenging police right now. But they are using everything they can, the police cars behind the line of officers, the lights. I mean, the light that you're seeing now -- they've just turned on these very bright lights to let the crowd know that they are watching them and they are preparing, it looks like, to move even closer.

And here comes -- here comes the line, and here comes lots of pepper spray coming into the crowd at the same time. So, you can see -- I mean, look at this. Everybody begins to move back very quickly. What will happen is they will then surge forward toward the police again. More flash bang grenades, using more force to try to get them out of here.

What's going on here? Some pieces of buckets. They're using -- some of the protesters have fireworks that they are also throwing at police. We saw gun smoke earlier, which this is typical of fireworks rather than the non-lethal stuff that police have been using.

LEMON: Omar, it appears to be working that they are moving this crowd back. I mean, the crowd seems to be getting more unruly -- or more upset, I should say, by the moment. But it looks like it is effective in moving them back away from the police department.

MARQUEZ: The crowd is not going to win and they know that, but they want to make the point. They want to be here in front of the police station. There is -- I mean, it's palpable, the sadness, the anger, the frustration, all of that among the people here not just for the trial that's happening in downtown Minneapolis over the death of George Floyd, but they see this.

They see an officer who -- even if it's accidental -- an officer who shoots a young man, a 20-yeard-old father of a young child who was just starting off in life. And they see that officer treated in a different way than they would be treated, that that young man was treated certainly.

And certainly, if somebody died, none of us, none of the people out here would have been treated like that officer that's been treated now who resigned today. The chief of police also resigned today. But they -- there's great frustration that there seems to be -- that there are two systems of justice, and they are on the wrong end of it. Don?

LEMON: Miguel, I want you to stand by and be careful out there. If you're just joining us, the breaking news is happening in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. That's our Miguel Marquez there right in the middle of the crowd.

Listen, there's a curfew that's supposed to take effect at the top of the hour, 11 o'clock Eastern Time, 10 o'clock Central Time. And police are trying to move the crowd back away from the police department and really just get them to disperse. But it has been declared now an unlawful assembly. There are bottles -- you saw one being thrown. Miguel Marquez almost got hit by one.

Bottles are being thrown at police officers. Pepper spray is being deployed as well. They're using flash bangs, as you may have seen and heard, to try to get that crowd to move back away from the fence, that gate near the building interest -- entrance.

Also, on the scene, CNN's Sara Sidner as she was last night out on the street with these protesters. What are you seeing, Sara?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So, basically the flash bangs have been going hard and heavy. Hundreds of people have been moved down this street. Some people who stay in these apartments have left.

I do want to mention that the flash bangs have gotten so close to each and every one of us, blowing up right in front of us, water bottles being thrown, the flash bangs the next thing, and then the tear gas also comes. Jake just here just experienced something. Tell me, Jake, what is it that you just experienced?

UNKNOWN: So, people are throwing water bottles and shit like that, stuff like that -- I'm sorry -- and then they started teargassing people, we started running away. That's just fireworks. That's just fireworks. But as I was running away, I got hit in the back of my leg. I got hit with a rubber bullet. I don't know if it was a plastic or a rubber bullet.

SIDNER: Let me ask you about the crowd. This is a crowd that is a very mixed crowd.

UNKNOWN: Yes.

SIDNER: There are white folks, there are Black folks, there are Native Americans, there are Latino folk, there are Asian folks. Is this the normal crowd when you guys come out to protest something like what happened to Daunte Wright?

UNKNOWN: Yes, I say, I say that we're all sick of this shit and that we all want to make a change. We all want to make a change and we're all sick of this. That's why we're out here right now.

SIDNER: What do you --

UNKNOWN: It's not a white versus Black thing. It's a racist very everybody else thing.

SIDNER: What would you like to see? I've heard I lot of people talk about a lot of different things as to what they want to see from the police, are you a person that wants to defund the police? Are you a person that wants to see the police devolve? Are you the person that just want to see better policing?

[22:09:59]

UNKNOWN: I want to see something like not so much defund the police but put it into something better. You don't need police officers responding to the things that they're responding to. You don't need them to respond like the things that they don't need to and they end up shooting somebody for no reason.

SIDNER: I know we talk about mental health issues --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Exactly, exactly. We don't need somebody with a loaded pistol coming up with an autistic kid which has happened before when they shot a 13-year-old autistic kid for having a mental breakdown. We don't need that.

SIDNER: Jake, I appreciate you talking to me. Go take care of your leg. I know those rubber bullets really do hurt.

UNKNOWN: Yes. Thank you.

SIDNER: I appreciate it and be safe out here.

UNKNOWN: Thank you. Have a great night.

SIDNER: Thank you for talking to me. Thank you, Jake.

UNKNOWN: I'm going to follow you on. Thank you.

SIDNER: So, you're hearing the sentiment here. And look, folks, Black, White, Asian, it doesn't matter what your background is, there's a lot of people from a lot of different places. You can see though there is still action. And I'll take you a little bit closer. That is going to be a firework that's going to make some noise, but that's all that is, nothing to worry about.

But down here you're also seeing the flash bangs. You're seeing the gas. You're seeing the officers and the lights. And they're pushing people slowly, slowly, slowly away from the police department where water bottles have been thrown at the officers and fireworks are also thrown.

The National Guard is here, but you are seeing a large presence. If you look to my left, Styke is going to show you, the pictures of the officers coming with their gear. Can you see that, Styke? We're going to stop for a second so he can zoom in for you.

These are folks who are out here, police officers from several different departments. And unlike last night there are hundreds of officers here a lot earlier than we saw last night and a lot larger of a formation with vehicles, with riot gear. The National Guard is backing them up as well. Watch it. Watch it. That was a firework, nothing to worry about.

So, basically what you're seeing is the presence of police surrounding that Brooklyn Center Police Department. And you're seeing them push people slowly, slowly out. And as you heard Miguel say, the protesters know that they cannot win in this scenario, but they will be back. And their idea of winning is to keep bringing attention every time

someone is hurt or killed by a police officer in what they see an unjust reason, and so over and over and over again.

But I do want to mention something that happened just before this sort of, you know, violence kind of exploded. And that is that there were several people on their knees. They sat there for 9 minutes and 30 seconds. There were tears in their eyes. It was uncomfortable. And they were trying to express and show what it would be like to be down on the ground like that for 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

Nine minutes and 29 seconds is just how long George Floyd lied there with a knee on his neck, according to the prosecution and the video tapes that we've all seen. And they were trying to express that this is another form of protest. And they did that right outside the police department. They were not throwing bottles. They were not doing any of this. They were just simply sitting there so everyone could see how long that really is.

And at the three-minute mark, they mentioned that at this point George Floyd had lost -- he wasn't breathing. He would have lost consciousness. He wasn't moving for sure. And they talked a lot about that. And then they said don't judge the other protesters for what they're doing because they're angry and this is how they show it. Don?

LEMON: Sara Sidner on the scene of more unrest tonight in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Sara, stand by. Be safe. We'll get back to you shortly.

I want to get to CNN's Omar Jimenez also live in Brooklyn Center. Omar, there's a ton of police presence there, and I would imagine that Brooklyn Center, the size, their officers must be from surrounding areas obviously and members of the National Guard there, correct?

JIMENEZ: That's right, Don. And basically, what we're at right now to sort of contextualize this law enforcement response was that before the Derek Chauvin trial and separate from this even began, the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, sort of laid out these three phases.

Phase one would be sort of when the jury selection was happening there, that lowest level of alert all the way to level three. And that would be the highest level, a level they were not prepared to go to until we got to verdict deliberations in that trial.

We're not there yet, yet we have now been upgraded to that level three, which now informs all of those law enforcement partners that make up what's called Operation Safety Net here in Minneapolis, which is, again, a combination of state patrol, local law enforcement and more. And we are seeing that come into practice in situations like this outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

For example, right now we saw the most forceful bit of this when it happened earlier. Now this is what's left.

[22:14:54] You have at least one guy standing a half block away from the dark police line still lighted with their flashing lights with his hands up, a symbol really of what we have seen over the past year since we were in this very part of the country a little close to a year ago, I should say.

These are the remnants of the protesters. Just about -- just about 10 minutes ago, they were in those, on that block, in the streets where those officers are now holding the line. And even though they've been pushed back about a block or so, they still haven't left. They're still standing here wanting to make their presence known as they have over the past few nights in a row.

And the mayor of Brooklyn Center here two days ago said that this couldn't have happened at a worse time. Well, in many ways the attention of people here was already on this issue and it was very prime to explode in the movements that we've seen over the past few days.

They'll all booing now because every once in a while, Hennepin County sheriff's officers get on the loud speaker and tell them to disperse after they declared it an unlawful assembly to which everyone starts booing. of course, yelling things back in return. And this is the back and forth that we've really seen over the past few nights.

Now, obviously, miles away we are still in the middle of that Derek Chauvin trial. And when court got out today, the judge in that trial told the jurors, one, to have a good night, but also don't talk to anyone and don't watch the news.

And part of that is because he doesn't want the jurors in that trial to see what's going on with this and be influenced or distracted in any way from what's going on there. It was something the defense attorneys for Chauvin were actually nervous about at points but the judge felt confident enough and the jurors that they could stay focused on that trial.

Different case but same set of emotions, emotions that are all too familiar for people at least here in the Minneapolis area over the past year, Don.

LEMON: Yes. Different case but similar circumstances there. Again, a life taken by a police officer. Omar Jimenez reporting live for us from Brooklyn Center in Minnesota. You can hear the fireworks there. Fireworks are being set off obviously by the protesters. Police are using flash bangs to get them to move back.

And it appears that it has been pretty successful to get them to move back away from the police station. There are protesters still out there, some of them holding their hands up, others as Sara Sidner said, kneeling down, laying down in the ground in the middle of the street for 9 minutes and 29 seconds, the amount of time that George Floyd laid on the street in Minneapolis just last summer.

So, we're going to continue with our breaking news. We'll follow all the developments coming from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. We're going to take a very short break. But we'll be back. More of the anger that is spreading as protesters demand justice for Daunte Wright.

[22:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Back now live with our breaking news. You can see the pictures there from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Our Miguel Marquez is live in the middle of the protest. Miguel, what are we looking at right now?

MARQUEZ: You are looking at Minnesota state patrol and their vehicles that are moving slowly up Humboldt Street trying to move the crowd north. John, come over to the right. You can see this is sort of the remnants of the crowd that is here. They are -- many of them are on their knee. It's a small knot, several dozens, individuals right now that are sort of facing off with police.

The police making announcement after announcement that this is now an unlawful assembly. This young woman here just in front of us is hands in the air. And they want to show them that -- police -- that they can be out here, that they are voting with their feet. They are showing the police with their feet by being here and standing for Daunte Wright, that they own the streets and that they have equal rights on these streets just as police. I want to show you, listen to this.

UNKNOWN: You're in violation of Minnesota statute 609-705, unlawful assembly. If you do not cease your unlawful behavior and disperse peaceably, you'll be arrested. If you continue to obstruct, resist and/or interfere with police officers, you will be violating Minnesota state statute 609.50, obstructing legal process, which will be an additional crime.

MARQUEZ: So, they're making that announcement following pepper balls. They've also moved large vehicles up into that apartment block on the far side, if you can see it. The line of police are now perpendicular to this apartment block on this side and they're just going to keep pushing north until they can move this crowd entirely out.

They are telling everybody right now to disperse, which we are moving back slowly toward the north, as they move north as well. And there's a -- those are fireworks going off from the protesters themselves, and we've been seeing that all night. And I'm guessing that shortly we will see the police start to move again toward these protesters.

The crowd has thinned significantly. The shops that were hit by protesters and were raided by protesters in recent days, those are right behind us right now. All those shops have been boarded up. Shops in downtown Minneapolis have been boarded up.

The protesters that are up here now are encouraging other protesters to now come up and join them. They've been telling each other to stick together, stay together. They've been giving out telephone numbers of lawyers if they get arrested tonight, many of them wearing helmets.

They have their own gas masks. They have umbrellas. They've come here to stand their ground or at least try to stand their ground as long as they can in the name of Daunte Wright. Don?

LEMON: Hey, Miguel, quickly, how -- how far back have they pushed you? How far do you think you've gone since you have been on air since it started?

MARQUEZ: We are about 75 feet from where we started this evening and before it's all over, we'll probably be another 200 feet down the road here to the next intersection I'm guessing. But, yes, it's not very far. It is slow. It is methodical, but they are pushing everybody back.

[22:25:03]

It's a very big complex, so they have sort of two sides to protect. And it looks like they have lines on both sides of it, Don.

LEMON: But it's also important, Miguel, to point out. I mean, these are apartment complexes. Right? There are people, families, children living in these homes.

MARQUEZ: Yes, there are homes right next to the police station, as well, which it would be a very long and difficult night if you were a homeowner in one of those homes. Just across the street from there, these are apartment complexes that police -- you can see the car moving, the big sort of military vehicle on that side of the apartment complex now moving. That's actually on the grass and moving along the sidewalk.

I don't know how they're going to get out because there are cars parked along that area. They may be pushing cars out of the way in that area with that vehicle. They certainly could. But they are trying to basically take control of the entire area from those apartment blocks all the way up the street, Don.

LEMON: Hey, Miguel, just real quickly, another question. Last night the air was heavy with tear gas. Same thing tonight?

MARQUEZ: It's been a lot of pepper spray. There's been some tear gas canisters tossed at protesters. There haven't been any that have been shot that come at a much higher rate of speed. But it's been mostly flash bangs, pepper spray and some tear gas canisters, but very, very few, Don.

LEMON: All right. You can see there's a standoff there between police and protesters in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. They're trying to move them back away from the police station. We're going to continue to follow the breaking news. We're going to take a very quick break. We'll watch the unrest. You're not going to miss anything. Back in a moment with our breaking news from Minnesota.

[22:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Back now with our live breaking news coverage. An unlawful assembly declared in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota tonight. That's where protesters are out for the third night in a row after the death of Daunte Wright.

Both the officer who shot and killed Wright and the police chief -- chief of police -- resigning earlier today.

This community is demanding answers from authorities, and it's all happening just 10 miles away from where Derek Chauvin, the former officer, is now on trial for killing George Floyd.

I want to bring in now the former captain of Missouri State Highway Patrol, Ron Johnson, who was tasked with restoring peace in Ferguson, Missouri, after Michael Brown's death. Captain, thank you for joining.

As you're watching these very tense streets, all this unfolding in Brooklyn Center tonight, police pushing protesters back, what are your thoughts as you watch this unfold?

RON JOHNSON, RETIRED CAPTAIN, MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: My thoughts are here we are again in our country going through the same thing we've been going through year after year and knowing that this won't be the last time. We have to begin to do something that's going to change this narrative, treat everybody with humanity and gain some trust.

LEMON: There are -- let's talk a little bit about what this means because they're saying this an unlawful assembly. They're over the bull horn there talking about Minnesota 609, 705 which is an unlawful assembly and then also obstructing a legal process. What is the point of them giving the law and the statute that they're breaking over the loud speaker, trying to get these people to move back?

JOHNSON: I think they're doing that to give authorization to go ahead and use whatever plans they have to move the crowd. You know, I'm always concerned with all these curfews out there in the early point in a protest because protesters want, they're frustrated and they just want their voices heard. And I think we have to begin to separate -- I've heard from news stations -- we have to separate protesters and rioters.

We have people that are frustrated. They are hurt, and they want their voice heard to try to change things in our country and their community in particular.

LEMON: Listen, I remember you had the same sentiment in Ferguson, Missouri, that you wanted the protesters to be able to voice their concerns and to be able to protest because it is a constitutionally guaranteed in the Constitution, a constitutional right.

But listen, let's talk about the similarities too as well to Ferguson because there were -- there was major upset in the city and those who ran the city and there are major resignations today in this community. But the community wants more than that. They want answers.

The acting chief saying today that he doesn't have a plan yet, captain. He was only notified of his new position an hour before going to speak in public. What would you advise him to do at this point? JOHNSON: Well, I would, at the onset I would advise him and the mayor

should have had a meeting and talked about what the plan was. And so when he gathered in front of the camera and he could have gave a plan and gave an approach. But now he needs to get in front of that camera and tell him what his plans are, what is he going to do moving forward.

And I think what we see like we saw in Ferguson, at the time of chaos and at the time of these situations, everybody steps up and says, well now, let's have a plan.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Captain, captain please stand by.

JOHNSON: Yes.

LEMON: I need to get back to my reporter on the scene. Miguel Marquez, what are you seeing?

UNKNOWN: Right now, right now.

LEMON: Go ahead, Miguel.

MARQUEZ: Police -- police have now moved in very, very rapidly, looking at us over to the right side. You can see police moving in a line. The entire number of protesters, several dozen that were, sort of, kneeling and standing their ground and trying to remain where they were all went running all the way back here.

I want to show you the street. There were several cars blocking the way of police and there was a bit of a standoff because police couldn't move. But if you look now, police moved very rapidly up the street, made several arrests, grabbed several people and then have reformed the line all the way across from the apartment building on the left side all the way to the apartment building on the right.

[22:35:05]

So, watch your back, there's a chunk coming through. Watch your back, watch your back. Stay -- stay where you are, John. This way, John.

So, the police all the way to the right side of the apartment building here. It appears that they are starting to move again. So, basically, they're reassembling, dispersing the crowd more, fewer and fewer individuals in the crowd. And then the police sort of regroup and make another move.

They're bringing these vehicles in now with the very bright lights to let the crowd know that this is now their front line and they will keep moving those vehicles and police officers up at will at this point. Don?

LEMON: Miguel, I don't want you to go anywhere. I want you to stay live. We'll take your pictures, and we'll bring you back in. I just want to bring in Captain Ron Johnson so he can help us out

here. So, we'll have Miguel and captain. So, Captain, you are very familiar, obviously, with policing, with police tactics. What is going on here? Why are they doing what they're doing now? This particular maneuver?

JOHNSON: Well, they're trying to disperse the crowd, move the crowd out of the area. They want to stand on the time that they had to say that this is it. We want you to go home and we want you to obey our commands. That usually brings bigger crowds the next day. I think there's other ways to accomplish that. I would like more interaction with the law enforcement and the protesters that are out there.

LEMON: It is -- as Miguel is here watching and listening, he said all of a sudden -- this happened all of a sudden. Earlier you said by them reeling off the statutes and what have you that they were -- there was an indication that they were going to move in and start arresting people and maybe taking a more aggressive tactic at this point.

JOHNSON: Yes. They give them a warning and then they can make those arrests. And you'll see those arrest reports will say that we gave a number of warnings and those commands weren't obeyed.

LEMON: Miguel Marquez, this happened all of a sudden, right, without warning. This line of police officers moved in to disperse this crowd?

MARQUEZ: Well, plenty of warning. They have been warning them for quite some time but there was a long standoff. The protesters had several cars blocking the way of police. They stopped where they were for about 20 or 30 minutes, which was the longest pause they had and then they moved very, very rapidly, grabbed a bunch of protesters.

The entire group of protesters then sort of bolted toward the north. They're sort of hanging out in a parking lot now near here as well. The Dollar Tree as you can see off in the distance, that's a shop that got hit by protesters last night, broken into and set on fire.

And then most the protesters are now in that sort of strip mall parking lot. And police are reforming their line. They have the vehicles, the very bright lights in front. And they are continuing to make announcements that they -- that the crowd needs to disperse or they will be arrested. They're telling media that we need to move to the north.

And you can see on the very far side of this as well, another line of police lights. That's the south side of the police station. They have a similar line on that side where they have pushed the crowd back. There's one other street that goes perpendicular from the police station. That's where we're seeing most of those fireworks coming from. And police are now moving down that street as well trying to keep protesters completely clear of this area. Don?

LEMON: What are they doing with the protesters? You said they went in and grabbed a bunch. Are they just pushing them away or are they arresting them? MARQUEZ: Well, I can only assume that they're arresting them. It's

very difficult to see exactly what's happening because these lights are so bright. So, you can see them grab several protesters. They warned them that they would be arrested. They announced what code of law they would be breaking. And here we go again.

UNKNOWN: This is the Minnesota State Patrol.

MARQUEZ: This -- this is, you know --

UNKNOWN: You're in violation of Minnesota statute 609-705, unlawful assembly. If you do not cease your unlawful behavior and disperse peaceably, you'll be arrested. If you continue to obstruct, resist and/or interfere with police officers, you will be violating Minnesota state statute 609.50, obstructing legal process, which will be an additional crime.

MARQUEZ: So, I can only assume that those protesters that were grabbed by police are being processed for those crimes. Whether or not they stick --

UNKNOWN: Media, disperse now. Disperse to the north. Media and press, leave the area.

MARQUEZ: And this is another announcement they've been making that media and press leave right now. We are moving slowly to the north as police move to the north as well.

[22:40:02]

This is -- this is what has them concerned though. So this truck with the lights on, that's actually somebody that's not with the police. There's also a car that's farther up on the north side of the street. I think that police are concerned about moving too closely and too quickly toward this area because these vehicles, they're not quite sure what to make of it all.

Some vehicles today have sort of come through the crowd very quickly, the crowd of protesters. Police in some instances were trying to keep streets clear for protesters. But in some instances, there were cars that seemed to threatening toward the protesters. Nobody was injured. There were no problems, but there were concerns among some of the leaders of the protest that something might be happening.

So, I think the police want to figure out what's happening with these cars before they move any farther up. This is sort of what started everything earlier. They waited a long time until these cars moved a bit. Once they did, they moved very rapidly up to put more space between the protesters and the police station, Don.

LEMON: Our Miguel Marquez is out on the street in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota following all the action for you, everything that's going on. We have other crews there as well, reporters on the scene as well as photographers. And we have our experts with us as well.

Captain Ron Johnson, formerly Missouri State Highway Patrol, helping guide us through this. Miguel, stand by, everyone, stand by, we're going to take a very quick break. We'll be right back with our breaking news from Minnesota right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): We are back now with our breaking news, the third night of protests in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, over the fatal police shooting of Daunte Wright. Police have declared an unlawful assembly. They're trying to disperse the protesters.

I'm going to get some perspective on all of this from CNN national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. Also, Tom Verni. Tom Verni is a former NYPD detective.

Good evening to both of you. We have been watching these scenes of unrest, Juliette, watching this kind of sad ritual that unfolds in America again and again.

[22:45:04]

There's a shooting death, there's a shooting, a death, videos released. And then we see protests, police reacting with tear gas. How many times is this going to happen? What has to change here?

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So, it's going to be systemic change. There's lots of talk about training and then also of course police unions protecting people that should no longer be police officers.

But we've learned a lot about this jurisdiction specifically that I think can help us help guide us in the future. One is that none of the police officers live in the area. And so, what that means is that it's sort of an occupying force, and at least the community may feel that way given the number of incidents we're hearing about today.

So, in term of long-term reform, there's a lot of us who are proponents of fewer police departments, the number of police departments is getting at hand. And that means that, what that means is you have worse training, you don't have oversight, and there's no intimacy with the community.

The second thing is to get used to these cycles. And I don't mean to justify police killings, of course not. I mean there is going to be conflict. And I think what I don't like what I'm seeing today is the police do not seem to be showing much empathy for what the community is going through.

And I know that others have been on air talking about there has to be better engagement. You can't have a new police chief say he has no idea how he's going to deal with it. The community is hurting. They want to express that hurt. It doesn't help to say -- there are reasonable mistakes and unreasonable mistakes.

This was an unreasonable mistake at best, right? In other words, and the police have to understand that and show more empathy and that's going to require new training as well. But we've got -- we've got a jury trial down the street that is going to come up with a verdict relatively soon, so we have to be prepared for police departments that can engage communities that are rightfully upset day after day here in the United States.

LEMON: And Tom Verni, you heard Juliette talk about the interaction with the protesters, more communication, better communication, more interaction. Captain Ron Johnson, formerly the Missouri highway patrol saying the same thing. What could police be doing better at this point?

TOM VERNI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Good evening, Don and Juliette. Juliette brings up some good points. You know, some of which, we're kind of on the same page. And the theory of police officers not living in the neighborhoods in which they police, you know, and to have police officers living there would make them better police officers, I don't necessarily agree with that.

I didn't live in many of the communities that I policed, I went through 22 years of policing in New York City and had zero complaints. So, you know, it's a matter of whether or not you are cut out for the job or not, can you -- are you a people person or not, can you enforce the law impartially, professionally, courteously, and respectfully or not.

And in a situation like this, you know, I do agree with some of the former guests in that there needs to be a more open dialogue here with a lot of these people that are protesting. Again, people do have the right to protest. They don't have the right to be throwing projectiles at the police, which is why you're seeing what you're seeing now, in that the protest becomes unlawful, an unlawful assembly when the protesters become violent towards the police.

So, an open dialogue is great to have. It's important to establish some sort of foundational trust between the police and the community. I mean, that's what I did towards the latter part of my career. And I used to police the occupy Wall Street demonstrations.

And that was one of the 16 jobs I had at the time was to try to establish, open, establish and maintain a dialogue with those who were considered the leaders of those particular protests so we can try to get through that day together with all the parts and accessories that we came in there with and with, you know, preferably with no violence so no one gets hurt.

Everyone can speak their piece. And then we move on and then try to come back at this tomorrow in a more positive, productive direction.

LEMON: Well, at this point there is not much peace between the police and citizens, especially in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, Minneapolis as well. Police are holding the line. Protesters are being pushed back away from the police station as we speak now.

An unlawful assembly has been declared in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. There's a curfew coming up in about 10 minutes, and that's would -- that's why police are trying to get these protesters off the streets. They're supposed to be at home off the streets. [22:50:02]

They're announcing over loud speakers saying if they don't move, they're going to be arrested and charged with a crime, and also another crime for obstructing a legal, unlawful assembly and obstructing legal process.

We're keeping our eyes on the streets of Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Our experts are here in house they will be discussing what needs to be done and what is happening. And also, as well, our crews are out in the streets, our reporters and correspondents and our camera folks, as well and producers. We're going to keep following this story until it ends here on CNN. We're going to take a quick break. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[22:55:00]

LEMON (on camera): You're watching the breaking news on CNN straight to CNN's Omar Jimenez right now in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Omar, what are you seeing?

JIMENEZ: Well, Don, right now we've got basically the remnants of who have been left of protesters. You can kind of make them out here, we'll walk a little bit closer. We just kind of we were pushed back a few moments ago. And now we're trying to see what prompted everybody to start running, sprinting back from this police line.

But all of these scattered cars are here again, people that are just kind of left over. While there are still people here chanting as you can hear, the numbers are nowhere near what they were maybe an hour ago personally. But you see kind of the relationship where they are to this police line that is now advanced at least a block from where they initially were, a little bit south of us right now outside the Brooklyn Center Police Department.

And again, we are now just a few minutes from what is supposed to be a curfew here in this area for the second night in a row. This night is a few hours later and people are still here, passionate, emotional, of course, about what happened just a few days ago now with Daunte Wright shot and killed at the hands of police here in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

And as we know, the chief has resigned. The officer who fired that shot has also resigned. But people here want justice. They want more than that. Similar to what we've seen in previous cases like this that I've reported on, that you've reported on and so many of our reporters across the country, that they want to see these officers charged and they want to see the full extent of the justice system carried out on all of the officers involved.

People here still loud and passionate, again, hours after first getting here on scene. Some of the more violent images we saw in just the past hour and a half or so of police pushing people out was different from what we saw in the earlier afternoon hours. There were demonstrations of marches and people were giving speeches and sharing stories.

And so, people here are expressing what they've been feeling in a variety of ways and they are doing it over a long period of time. And it's not just tonight, obviously. This is the third night in a row of demonstrations here in Brooklyn Center.

And before all of this even happened, law enforcement in this area were ramping up for what they believe was going to be the most stressful part -- of time, I should say, in this area. And that was the verdict around the Derek Chauvin trial. Yet, this happened and they scrambled, some of that law enforcement, bringing them back up, calling in some of the up to 2,000 National Guard they had here on site to come out and respond to the scene.

And this law enforcement response is a combination of local law enforcement, the state patrol, and, of course, the National Guard that has been called out to respond as well, Don.

LEMON: All right. Omar Jimenez on the scene, stand by. We're coming up on the top of the hour. It will be 11 p.m. Eastern Time, 10 o'clock Central. And that is when a suffer goes into effect. We're back in just two minutes with our crews live from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A curfew in effect for a second consecutive night in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. Police warning protesters to disperse.

[23:00:02]

They're demanding justice for Daunte Wright fatally shot by police during a traffic stop. That was on Sunday night.