Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Darren Wilson not Indicted in Fatal Shooting; Riots Erupt in Missouri in Wake of Grand Jury Decision; Interview with Rep. Jeff Roorda; Chuck Hagel Announces Resignation

Aired November 25, 2014 - 08:00   ET

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

RONALD REAGAN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: In my mind it was a tall, proud city. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors, and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's the legacy we must leave for those who are yet to come. My fellow Americans, we are and always will be a nation of immigrants. We were strangers once, too.

REAGAN: That's how I saw it, and see it still.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tear gas just dropped near us. It's going to get very bad here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They determined that no probable cause exists to file charges against Officer Wilson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mayhem, people running around.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're telling us to get to a safe area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're tired of this. You all should have seen this coming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This spun out of control, much worse than the worst night we ever had. We're looking at our community falling apart.

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is not just an issue for Ferguson. This is an issue for America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Welcome to NEW DAY. It is Tuesday, November 25th, just after 8:00 in the east. I'm Chris Cuomo in Ferguson, Missouri, where we're coming off an all-too-graphic replay of the violence we saw this summer, except this was worse, farther reaching, and frightening to everyone involved. The anger reached a boiling point right after the grand jury's decision was announced not to charge Police Officer Darren Wilson in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown. It spilled quickly into the streets, erupting into violence.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Alisyn Camerota with Michaela Pereira here in New York City and the impact of that grand jury decision is being seen across the country with marches and protests in many cities. So we'll have more on all of that shortly. But let's get back to Chris Cuomo who had been in the middle of it all in Ferguson for the past 12 hours. Chris?

CUOMO: And maybe understandably, Alisyn, what happened here was different than anything that happened anywhere else. And it is fair to say it was more than was expected and more than was prepared for. Buildings burned, as many as a dozen, some intentionally. There's now word there may have been plans afoot making it arson and not just some random situation. Storefronts looted, angry crowds ignoring calls from President Obama, perhaps more importantly in this community, calls from the family of Michael Brown to be calm and peaceful, to be the change that they all want to see here.

Meantime, Darren Wilson's grand jury testimony is now public record. Some of the details have rekindled anger in Ferguson but may also explain why the grand jury came to the conclusion that it did. Here's a look at what happened last night.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Ferguson on fire after no indictment of Officer Darren Wilson. As many as a dozen buildings torched in the worst conflicts to date as outrage ran through the streets. Local authorities thought they were prepared, that teargas would not be need. They were wrong.

Here come flash bangs and canisters coming up on us. We're getting gassed right now.

Live on air, gas shot around reporters forcing the crowds to flee. Further down the street, police firing more tear gas directly into the crowd, officers trying to disperse the crowd, but there would be no control.

POLICE CHIEF JON BELMAR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY: I didn't see a lot of peaceful protests out there tonight. What I've seen tonight is probably much worse than the worst night we ever had in August.

CUOMO: All of this because a grand jury refused to indict Officer Darren Wilson. Small groups of agitators ravaging Ferguson, looting businesses, and setting fire to police cruisers, tears streaming down the face of Michael Brown's mother after the decision was read.

ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTOR: The grand jury deliberated over two days. They determined that no probable cause exists to file any charge against Officer Wilson and returned a no true bill on each of the five indictments.

CUOMO: Brown's parents saying, quote, "We're profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions." Officer Darren Wilson's lawyers also releasing a statement "Officer Wilson followed his training, followed the law."

Minutes after word of the grand jury decision, President Obama called for peace.

OBAMA: Hurting others or destroying property is not the answer.

CUOMO: Prosecutors released all evidence presented to the grand jury, 24 volumes of transcripts reviewed by the 12 grand jurors, seven men, five women, nine white, three black.

Also for the first time we see photos of Officer Wilson taken immediately after he fatally shot the unarmed black teen six times, more photos of the scene itself. We now know Wilson testified that when he first saw Brown and his friend walking in the middle of the road on the morning of August 9th he yells, quote, "Hey, guy, why don't you walk on the sidewalk?" That's when Wilson says Brown walked over and slammed the police cruiser door as Wilson tried to exit. Wilson testified the teen hit him in excess of 10 times, landing two blows causing minor bruising. These photos showing a swollen right cheek, scratches on the back of the neck.

Wilson also says after a tussle over his gun and two shots fired in the car Brown takes off, Wilson pursuing him down the street, yelling "Get on the ground!" The teen eventually stops, turns toward the Officer with, quote, "an aggressive face." Officer Wilson says Brown then charges him, and when Brown was only eight to 10 feet away, the Officer fires two fatal shots hitting him in the head.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: On one level this is about Officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown, but on another level it's about an issue that many communities feel all around the country, and that's why Ferguson mattered so much. And indeed, the ripple effect is being seen all across this country, protests are in cities mostly peaceful, but there were isolated pockets of violence as well. In New York City, a protester confronted the police commissioner, splattering him with fake blood.

Let's bring in Stephanie Elam. She's been here in Ferguson through the worst of it all. Stephanie?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris. Out there on the streets at the beginning of it, it actually seemed like it might be calm. But it quickly devolved and it became a situation where a scene no one was in control.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Peaceful protests erupting into chaos after the announcement of no indictment.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are you saying? That our lives are not equal? Our lives are not worthy, of not even a day in court? It's what you just said. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is another example of a miscarriage of

justice.

ELAM: Angry protesters clashing with police, hurling bottles, rocks, and bricks at officers and the media. Protesters attacking police cars, shattering the window of this cruiser as cops run in with guns drawn to disperse them, but mayhem on the streets looking like a war zone. Gunshots ringing out throughout the night, flames engulfing several police cars, buildings ablaze roaring out of control, some burning to the ground, firefighters stretched thin with the number of fires erupting and moving out fearing their own safety.

Widespread looting, several businesses vandalized, including Ferguson Market and Liquor where Brown had allegedly stolen cigars before his death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need to get out of the street or you will be subject to arrest.

ELAM: Police in riot gear and armored trucks firing tear gas and smoke bombs into crowds refusing to disperse, forcing demonstrators to run. Anger and frustration about the grand jury decision spreading across the country.

CROWD: Don't shoot. Hands up. Don't shoot.

ELAM: Protesters in Chicago facing off with police as they voiced their anger. In New York, massive crowds marching through Manhattan reaching three major bridges with one known arrest. Protesters in Times Square even throwing fake blood at New York Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. Demonstrators gathering outside the White House weaving together on the ground along Pennsylvania Avenue. In Oakland, California, protesters shut down the expressway, lying down inside chalked outlines drawn on the streets. A similar scene in Seattle where demonstrators dropped to the ground.

With the eyes of the world on Ferguson, the man who simmered tensions this summer urging restraint in the aftermath of chaos.

CAPT. RON JOHNSON, MISSOURI STATE HIGHWAY PATROL: We definitely have done something here that is going to impact our community for a long time. That's not how we create change. Change is created through our voice and not through destruction of our community.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: And out here on West Florissant where we were on the other side of Ferguson, police eventually pushed everyone away down the street, and as daylight is now coming up here, Chris, you can see here the Ferguson police station that everything does look calm and normal. But some people are waking up to find their businesses were once again devastated overnight.

CUOMO: Still early, Stephanie. Let's hope it holds and let's hope we've seen the worst, but we're going to have to wait and see. Now let's bring in two more people to discuss this from a different

perspective, Missouri State Representative Jeff Roorda. He met with Darren Wilson last week. And we have a friend of Darren Wilson's who is helping to run the support site that Darren Wilson has had throughout this. Now, let's just deal with the optics. You don't want us to say your name because you're worried about people knowing that you support Darren Wilson now because you're fearful of your support but because of what may be thought of you. Is that right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.

CUOMO: And have people threatened you because of what you've done in support of Darren Wilson?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, absolutely.

CUOMO: And do you think that will end now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not any time in the near future.

CUOMO: What do you think is going on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The protesters have made it very clear that they are seeking out supporters of Officer Darren Wilson and Officer Darren Wilson himself and his family to try to harm them.

CUOMO: And what has kept you going with something that's obviously scary enough to make you disguise yourself.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What has kept me going?

CUOMO: Why do it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just because it's the right thing for justice to be served and to make sure to keep Officer Darren Wilson safe and support his brothers and sisters in blue.

CUOMO: Representative, Ferguson not in your district but you represent the people here in a larger sense. What do you say to them when there are obvious calls this morning that this wasn't justice?

REP. JEFF ROORDA, (D) MISSOURI STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I say look at the evidence as the grand jury did. Prosecutor McCulloch gave the community the benefit of sharing that evidence and particularly the physical evidence, which debunks a lot of the statements that were made initially by witnesses. The physical evidence isn't moved by emotion or news coverage or anything else. It speaks for itself.

CUOMO: A lot of talk about the grand jury. Do you think that it was helpful to Darren Wilson that it went to a grand jury? Do you think the prosecutor should have owned it, had a public felony hearing, and put it all out there for people to see? Maybe it would have been better for him?

ROORDA: It would have been easier, but what we know now of the evidence, he looked at the evidence and didn't believe there was a reason to charge. But he went the extra step, took this to a grand jury and let them analyze the same evidence he had, and they reached the same conclusion.

CUOMO: You met with Officer Darren Wilson.

ROORDA: Yes.

CUOMO: Why and how did you find him? Not locate him --

ROORDA: I'm not going into the details of where and when. But I represent the unionized police officers here in the St. Louis area and I'm involved in a charity that's raising money to pay for Officer Wilson's legal defense. And I just wanted to check in on him as he struggles through this very difficult time.

CUOMO: Did you ever have any doubts about the Officer's story?

ROORDA: About the officer's story, no. The outcome, yes, but not the Officer's story.

CUOMO: And that's been a big thing. From pretty early on there was word from those around Darren Wilson he didn't expect to be indicted. He felt what he was doing was unfortunate but within the parameters of what he was allowed to do. And yet there had to be some doubt. When you heard the words from the prosecutor that there's not going to be an indictment what was that like?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really, it was a sigh of relief across the entire law enforcement community.

CUOMO: You think it's not just him, you think this extends to the brothers and sisters in blue?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.

CUOMO: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because they're all fighting in the aftermath of this now and it could have been any one of them.

CUOMO: In your hand you have a letter. It is from Officer Darren Wilson.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.

CUOMO: He wrote it himself?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Correct.

CUOMO: And what is the message in it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The message is he thanks to his supporters. Would you like me to read a little bit of it?

CUOMO: Sure. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "I would like to thank all of you for standing

up for me during this stressful time. Your support and dedication is amazing and it's still hard to believe that all of these people I never met are doing so much for me." He closes with "Please keep my family in blue in your hearts and prayers. They are willing to sacrifice their own lives in order to work the excessive hours through the heat and rain to ensure the riots and protests were as safe as they could be."

This was given to me back in August when it was heat and raid. And to clarify, we are Darren Wilson's Facebook page. There are many support groups and everything, but we are Darren Wilson on Facebook and we are answering that request to help his brothers and sisters in blue. There's a go-fund-me on our page, and people can go there to buy merchandise, and every proceeds is going to help law enforcement.

CUOMO: And how does it help him?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are giving to the St. Louis police wives who are preparing the meals for the guys working out here in the cold, and any need that is requested of us with our funds.

CUOMO: So the difficulty now will be though there will be no criminal legal action taken against him, what does he do? We know that he got married, and that's a great testament to how he felt about his future. But what about his professional future? Do you see him coming back to be a police Officer?

ROORDA: First of all, nobody knows what the feds are going to do. They could indict him on civil rights charges.

CUOMO: The possibilities are remote.

ROORDA: Sure, but there's also an internal investigation under way inside the police department to determine if he violated any department policy. He could be subject to a wrongful death lawsuit. The future is far from certain for Darren, and while we turned the page in this story, it's far from over.

CUOMO: Do you think that he wants to be a police officer? Do you think he wants to be in this community?

ROORDA: It's what he's wanted to do his whole life. He just has to figure out what the reality of the situation is going forward.

CUOMO: Now, without betraying confidences or telling his own story he did decide to get married. How did he deal with the time between August and now? There has to be like a separate lifetime for him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't answer anything about his private life. I choose his right to privacy. When he's ready to speak, he will speak for himself.

CUOMO: But it's fair to say that this was a huge relief?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely for all of us, not just for law enforcement but citizens of the community.

CUOMO: But also he must not feel its eight over because of what the representative is saying, still things hanging over his head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, absolutely. He has to worry every day about his brothers and sisters in blue getting hurt.

CUOMO: And if you have hat and sunglass on and don't want your name to be known, what does that mean for Officer Darren Wilson if he were to come back into the community?

ROORDA: Well, you know, his security and safety would be of grave concern and whether he can work with a law enforcement officer in Missouri again is a question that is unanswered.

CUOMO: And what do you think he would want to say to the people out here protesting?

ROORDA: Stop. I mean, listen, there were calls for justice from the minute this shooting occurred, and this is the system we have of justice in this country, and it's seen its course and enough's enough. This is disrespectful to Michael Brown's parents. They asked that this not happen and it ought to stop.

CUOMO: What do you think needs to happen in terms of to figure out the issues with policing in this community?

ROORDA: Well, that's a larger question, and there are a lot of us on both sides that are ready to have that conversation, but this only gets in the way of it.

CUOMO: Haven't seen a lot of elected out here, you're out here because you're working with the union. There's a need of leadership, especially culminated today.

Last night was really bad. We hope that it's the worst. Everybody's saying that, it will be the worst but hopefully, you know, they have to make sure they do things better today. Do you think that leadership will get involved here and have the right meetings today?

ROORDA: Well, to the governor and the president's credit and prosecutor McCulloch, they urged calm, they all urged for peaceful protests and --

CUOMO: But you make calm, you don't urge it. You're here, there's a presence, people know what the consequences are -- seems like they didn't have it last night.

ROORDA: Well it's not for lack of police presence. Police were here to keep the peace, they're peace officers, and the angry elements in the crowd weren't going to have that.

CUOMO: You can't have the community and those in charge of keeping them safe have to be one. There has to be more of a connection that's here and I know you're working toward that.

Thank you for joining us, Representative, appreciate it.

And you who shall not be named, I know there's relief for you and we hope that your life gets back to normal going forward

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

CUOMO: And thank you for bringing us the letter, appreciate that.

All right. So, we're going to talk about this story a little bit different angle you've been hearing. There's a woman, she shot the infamous video of Michael Brown lying dead in the street after he had been shot by Officer Darren Wilson.

We're going to bring back Piaget Crenshaw because she was a witness and to find out what she thinks of the verdict and the strong community action that has ensued. What will happen next?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: So, here to go with the five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Number one, of course, the fires, looting and other violent protests continuing on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, overnight following the announcement that Officer Darren Wilson would not be charged in the fatal shooting of Michael Brown.

University of Virginia board members, they are holding an emergency meeting today, they will discuss the recent allegations of sexual assault on their campus. This meeting comes after days of protests over horrific allegations of rape at a campus fraternity.

Yemeni security forces freed eight hostages including an American kidnapped by terrorists. It's unclear where the operation was carried out. We do know, however, seven of the abductors were killed during the raid.

The president today will head to Chicago pushing his executive order on immigration with business leaders. In the meantime the incoming governor of Texas is trying to gather support for a lawsuit against the order.

The head of the Phoenix hospital at the center of the V.A. scandal has been fired. Sharon Hellman was on administrative lead amid revelations some 1,700 patients hadn't bean placed on proper waiting lists and may never have received care.

We do update those five things to know. So, be sure to visit NewdayCNN.com for the latest.

Alisyn?

CAMEROTA: OK, Michaela. Another story, big story this morning, President Obama looking for a

new defense secretary. Chuck Hagel resigning after less than two years as the head of the Defense Department. So, was he forced out and who might replace him?

CNN's Barbara Starr is live at the Pentagon.

What do we know this morning, Barbara?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

President Obama now in the market for his fourth secretary of defense. Chuck Hagel, the only Republican in the Obama cabinet, now out.

Did Hagel jump or was he pushed? That's the big question.

But all accounts, Secretary Hagel basically pushed out by a White House that was looking to make a foreign policy change in that national security team, by all accounts. They weren't going to fire Susan Rice, a close confidant of the president. Secretary of State John Kerry very public, very high profile, he wasn't go to go. Hagel essentially becoming the last man standing.

Now, who will replace him? What are the leading contenders, Michele Flournoy, a former top policy official at the Pentagon, very competent, very knowledgeable, said to be one of the leading contenders on the short list to replace Hagel.

Even so, she or any nominee is going to face a very tough confirmation fight on Capitol Hill, the Senate armed services committee led by Senator John McCain and the new Congress in January, very tough on the president's foreign policy, very critical of the White House.

This may wind up having a lot more to do in their eyes with President Obama and the White House than it had to do with Chuck Hagel -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: All right. Barbara, thanks so much for that update.

Back to our top story, a key witness in the Michael Brown shooting, a woman who reported the aftermath with Brown's body lying in the street will join us next with reaction to the grand jury decision and the uproar in Ferguson.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

There are still a lot of questions to be answered following the grand jury's decision to not indict Officer Darren Wilson for killing Michael Brown. Prosecutor Bob McCulloch pointed to several factors in why he believed this happened including witness testimony that was either inconsistent or deemed not credible.

One of the witnesses who saw Michael brown shot was Piaget Crenshaw. You remember, she shot now the infamous video of Brown lying in the street after the shooting.

We have Piaget joining us now with her counsel.

Ma'am what is your name?

KAREN LEWIS, ATTORNEY: Karen Lewis.

CUOMO: Karen Lewis, thank you very much for being with us.

Piaget, how are you doing today?

PIAGET CRENSHAW, WITNESS: I'm good.

CUOMO: All right. Were you surprised to hear there would not be an indictment?

CRENSHAW: Honestly no, because of all the leaks, but if there hadn't been leaks then yes.

CUOMO: You went into the grand jury.

CRENSHAW: I did.

CUOMO: You testified?

CRENSHAW: Yes, sir.

CUOMO: Did you feel that you were believed by the men and women?

CRENSHAW: Well, the grand jury of 12 members they were fair, they were actually asking questions, didn't seem biased. It was more the prosecuting attorney.

CUOMO: The prosecuting attorneys, how did you feel about them?

CRENSHAW: Well, interesting that this, you know, they kind of cross- examined before the time and they kind of put words in your mouth almost to where you had to tell them, no, this is not what I said. This is not what I meant.