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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Missouri Governor Calls In National Guard

Aired August 18, 2014 - 16:53   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: President Obama speaking from the press briefing room about the crisis in Iraq and the crisis here in Ferguson, Missouri. Let's go right to Weldon Spring, Missouri, to get some reaction from the governor of the state, Democrat Jay Nixon.

Mr. Governor, thanks so much for joining us. I'd like to get some reaction to what the president said, specifically he sounded a bit skeptical about your decision to send in National Guard troops.

He said he was going to be keeping an eye on it to make sure that they were helping rather than hindering. What exactly are the National Guard going to be doing here in Ferguson?

GOVERNOR JAY NIXON, MISSOURI: Well, yesterday after an idea of peaceful protests clearly and obviously a very criminal element attempted to overrun not only fire shots and injury folks but fired at law enforcement officers and attempt to overrun the command center.

Tonight's narrow role for our National Guard is to protect that command center so that those officer who have been doing such a good job, Captain Johnson, Major Johnson, Colonel Repogle of getting out in the community and listening and working so that peaceful protests can continue, but we can get justice long run.

So the bottom line is in order to make sure that we protect that perimeter with this group of folks that were lawless firing shots last night obviously shots fired at law enforcement and the bottom line is those law enforcement officials last night didn't fire back.

They defended their territory. We felt the additional help by the National Guard in a trained way, these are military police. They're there for a narrow task and that task is to protect that command center.

TAPPER: So there was a decision made or presumably by you and others to not have a curfew in Ferguson this evening. Why the change?

NIXON: Well, there's a lot of presence of folks in law enforcement there and so and plus we respect people's rights out there. We're trying to make sure we are reacting well to the situation as it moves forward. There's a great deal of energy out there. Folks want peace and justice.

And this narrow group that came in that have accelerated kind of some of the violence here, looting, Molotov cocktails and whatnot, we need to deal with them. The vast majority of the people quite frankly are there to express their opinions. That's very American.

TAPPER: That's one of the things I've heard from individuals here. We talked to a number of shopkeepers whose stores were looted either last night or sometime in the last nine days. Many of them think that the looters are not from Ferguson, they're from surrounding areas even from other states. Does that square with your information?

NIXON: Clearly night before last of the arrests that had to be made, only two were from the local area. That's one of the reasons why we want to make sure we can protect the command post, get those officers that have been out in the community the last few nights out there.

These forces coming in from outside trying to use this horrific act where a young man was killed in the street, where with huge emotions as we've seen not only across Missouri but across America and the world, the ones that want to use that for violence, use that as an excuse to divide we're going to have to deal to make sure they don't use that.

But at the same time, calibrating a balance so that those who is want to express their opinion have a right to do that. It's hard policing work. And I'd ask the folks pray and think for the folks that are out there. When you're getting shot at as they were last night for a period of time, to defend your territory when they're trying to overrun your barriers.

And our folks with Colonel Repogle and Major Johnson, and Captain Johnson did a real solid job of repelling that, getting security back without firing back at those folks, it was a hard night last night. We're hoping for a better night tonight.

TAPPER: Do you trust local police to do a fair impartial and just investigation into what happened that day?

NIXON: Well, I think the fact there are dual investigations going on at the same time means that everybody is out there trying to get the full evidence and do the right thing. I appreciate. I had a chance to talk to the president today. He met with General Holder.

I appreciate the work they're doing. So it's an important time in which these folks get it right with the attention, with the angst, with the energy. What we don't need is these small relations of information that are interpreted or misinterpreted.

What we need is a thorough and full investigation on both of these and so that justice is served.

TAPPER: Yes, I wondered what you thought about that that Friday was interesting in terms of what the Ferguson and St. Louis County Police released. First, they introduced the videotape with closed circuit TV that seems to show Michael Brown in a convenience store doing a strong armed robbery.

They released that about the same time as the officer's name. Later in the day, the police chief said that Officer Wilson had no idea that there was a robbery. Later in the day, he went to the St. Louis post dispatch and CNN and said maybe he did know. It seemed like a very odd dissemination of information.

It didn't surprise me that there were angry people that day because it seemed as though the police they were not being transparent and they were releasing information in a self-serving way. Did it bother you?

NIXON: Well, we were very concerned. You saw that night before, after we had changed our effort and how Captain Johnson had gone out in the community, done the can peace marches. We felt good. That night was a night in which safety was had.

It was only after the release of that videotape at the same time that we saw kind of a rebirth and now that has last night with the forces from the outside coming in has necessitated these actions. We're hopeful we can calm it down.

I've been talking to a lot of local folks feel they want to get back to normal and want justice and want that done fairly. I feel the processes were taken to react to what's there.

But while at the same time, keep safety is very important. Peace and justice are the same. The only way they'll get them both is if we're safe and get a clear view of the facts.

TAPPER: President Obama, while condemning the rioters and the looters, who, he pointed out, were a small percentage of those who were here, he also seemed to criticize the police force for overreacting, for not having respect for individuals, various constitutional rights, freedom of assembly, etc.

Do you share those concerns?

NIXON: There were a lot of people out there last night. There will be folks out there tonight. We're -- we're preparing zones for -- for folks so that they can have those peaceful protests that are -- they're so important in a democracy. And we're working to do that.

But when a -- when a band comes in, a small band of lawless folks, shooting guns, as there was shooting last night, as there were shots at the police, then we need to go to a heightened level of security so that members of the public aren't hurt, the press aren't hurt.

And that's why that -- the reaction last night and today has been, one, to protect the right of individuals to do business, to protect the right of individuals to speak their voice and to let us get both peace and justice in the long run.

So I -- like I said, I had a good talk with the president today. He was interested in what's going on on the ground. Clearly, we're spending a lot of time trying to make sure we calibrate all of these responses to balance these difficult challenges.

But last night, when you had shots fired on the police, last night when you had their -- their command center charged by hundreds of folks in a violent manner and they were able to stave off that without firing at these folks, without getting hit, you know, these are trained folks. And I think that the -- the members of the Guard we've got coming in to help protect that are also trained. I have a lot of confidence with a lot of work with General Mason and his team. They will be working under the command structure there. And I think they'll help make for a calmer night.

TAPPER: Let's hope for peace.

Governor Jay Nixon, thank you so much.

Let's turn it over right now to Brianna Keilar.

She's filling in for Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM -- Brianna.