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At This Hour

22-Year-Old Killed By Police After Calling 911 For Help; Mourners Wait For Hours To Pay Respects To Queen; Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands Brace For Heavy Rain. Aired 11:30a-12p ET

Aired September 16, 2022 - 11:30   ET

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

[11:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR & CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Raise concerns not just about what happened, but what will happen. In fact, we see a whole bunch of election liars running for office. Are you worried?

REP. LIZ CHENEY, (R-WY): I'm very worried. The responsibility that we all have to make sure that we defend our republic and that we defend our institutions has to be above politics. There are people running so that they are in a position that they will be able to certify the results only for Donald Trump. That's obviously fundamentally a threat to the survival of the Republic. And I think those people have all got to be defeated.

TAPPER: You've been shouting from the rooftops. This is not just about 2020. You're worried about 2024. You're worried about future elections.

J. MICHAEL LUTTIG, RETIRED U.S. FEDERAL JUDGE: I am. And right now, the former president and his allies and supporters, including in Congress and including in the states represent a clear and present danger to American democracy. That's not because of what they did on January 6, it's because of what they pledged to do in 2024.

TAPPER: Do you think that Republicans are hearing what you're saying?

LUTTIG: I hope they are. There's no evidence that they've heard anything to date.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: Joining me now, the host of this special report, CNN's Jake Tapper. I'm -- it's good -- it's a great -- it's a great report, Jake. But before we talk about the forward-looking in the election, because I want to ask you about this, the January 6 committee, they have these hearings coming up. Adam Kinzinger was on this week. And he said that he thinks that they've already proved a case beyond a reasonable doubt that the president -- that the former president knew what was being planned, knew what he was doing in trying to overturn the election. But Kinzinger says that they still have more to discover and more to show the people in this investigation. I've been wondering since the last hearing, what more that could be. What do you think?

TAPPER: I don't know. I mean, in terms of areas that I'm waiting for more information, there is still this mystery as to what direct conversations there were between Trump and people in his orbit. And the far right-militia groups, the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys. Now Congresswoman Cheney makes the argument that even before you establish any direct conversations, we know that the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers heard Donald Trump's messages starting as far back as stand back and stand by at the -- at the debate, and just took their orders from him whatever his public statements were.

But beyond that, because of the refusal to come forward and tell the truth of individuals like Steve Bannon and Dan Scavino and Mark Meadows and Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, we still don't know, a lot there. And I wonder if any of the new information will be related to that. Beyond that, I don't know.

BOLDUAN: Yes, it's a lot of -- I mean, that's -- you know, that's up to the committee, right? We will see when they announced and we will see what they -- what they present. You talk -- you obviously, spoke with Liz Cheney as part of this special report. After her primary loss, there's been the kind of this question of what Cheney thinks her role should be -- will be, and what she wants it to be in this midterm fight with so many election deniers on the ballot, as you spoke to her about in the special. Is that clear yet what her role will be?

TAPPER: No. And I think there is a question for both her and for Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the other Republican on the committee who also will be out of work on January 2023. He was redistricted out and decided not to run for reelection. And Cheney obviously lost her primary. And one of the big questions is, are you going to get involved in -- part in elections in 22 where there is clearly somebody on the ballot, such as Kari Lake, the gubernatorial nominee in Arizona, or Doug Mastriano, the gubernatorial nominee in Pennsylvania, clearly are Republicans that not only embrace Donald Trump's election lies, but h1ave said that they will go -- you know, they will adhere to this anti-democracy platform in the future.

So, I think the question for Cheney and Kinzinger since they have already sacrificed their careers to stand up for democracy is how willing -- how far are you willing to go? Are you willing to endorse a Democrat within the district?

BOLDUAN: Yes, like, do you campaign for Democrats? Exactly

TAPPER: Yes. Like, are you willing to -- you know, Josh Shapiro's the Democratic Attorney General of Pennsylvania. He is a progressive Democrat. Katie Hobbs, the attorney -- I believe she's the attorney general in Arizona and she's running for governor. She's the Democratic nominee. Both of them are progressives. Are Cheney and Kinzinger willing to campaign for them or at least campaign against their Republican opponents because they are anti-democracy Republicans? I don't know.

[11:35:10] That's a question for them. I do think that she's obviously considering running for president in 2024, and she's not going to go away. She's going to keep talking about these issues. But beyond that, I don't know.

BOLDUAN: Yes. It is interesting. The special report's an important one. It's great to see you, Jake. Thank you. You can watch Jake's CNN special report "AMERICAN COUP, THE JANUARY 6 INVESTIGATION" Sunday night, 9 p.m. Eastern.

Still ahead for us at this hour, a 911 call for help with a deadly outcome. The family of a 22-year-old is now demanding accountability. What his parents say happened and what they want now. That's next.

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[11:40:38]

BOLDUAN: A family is demanding accountability today. 22-year-old Christian Glass, he called 911 on June 10 after his car hit an embankment in Colorado. And his family says that he was suffering a mental health episode. He told the dispatcher that he had two knives and a hammer and said that he would throw the weapons out the window once police arrived. But when officers did arrive, they initially told him not to do so. Here's some of the police body camera footage from that encounter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You already said you have weapons in the vehicle.

CHRISTIAN GLASS, SHOOTING VICTIM: You aren't communicating clearly with me. I don't understand why I have to come out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because you already said you have weapons in the car.

GLASS: OK, I'll throw them out. Can I throw them out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Do not throw them out. Do not touch them. Do not reach for them. I want you out of the vehicle now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Officers say for more than an hour, they tried to coax Christian Glass out of the car even offering to send medical help. He's heard repeatedly telling officers that he is scared. And at one point as you see there, he makes a heart shape with his hands. But Christian does refuse to get out of the car. He eventually removes one knife from the car, but he's holding another as the situation escalates. Police repeatedly tell him to drop it.

And we do want to warn you that the video you're about to see is disturbing. Police smashed a passenger's side window, fired beanbags at him, and use a taser. At one point, Christian appears to reach out the window holding a knife and the officer standing on the hood of the car then fires multiple times at him. Christian Glass was pronounced dead at the scene. This shooting and his death is now under investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation and a local District Attorney. According to local media, the officer who fired at Glass has returned to duty.

Joining me now are Christian Glasse's parents, Sally and Simon Glass, joined by their lawyer Siddhartha Rathod. Thank you very much -- so much for being here. I am so sorry, Sally and Simon that we are meeting under these circumstances.

SALLY GLASS, MOTHER OF CHRISTIAN GLASS: Thank you.

SIMON GLASS, FATHER OF CHRISTIAN GLASS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Sally, what makes this even harder really here is that Christian was the one who called 911. And he called them for help. What do you think happened that night?

SALLY GLASS: Well, I -- we haven't watched the video that the CTV -- bodycam footage, we're just not able to. But, you know, he got stuck. I have heard the 911 call. He just sounded so scared. And he called for help. He called because he wanted them to help get his car unstuck from the rocks.

And they arrived and just from the get-go, were aggressive. And he was just so scared. He was just petrified. And he just wanted to help. I mean it just makes us believe that he ended up dead after calling them for help. They didn't help him, they attacked him.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, Simon, just -- our viewers have now seen this video. It is a video that your legal team has released. But as Sally was saying, you have not seen it. And you don't want to see it. And we made sure that you didn't have to see it just now. We made sure that you didn't have to see it or hear it.

SIMON GLASS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Talk to me about that decision for you and your wife.

SIMON GLASS: Well, you have to understand we didn't -- we had a different view of events. Initially, we were going off the press release. And we only recently found out that it was, well, wrong, mostly a lot -- mostly lies. And so we went through the funeral thinking one thing. And so, you know, it's mostly a self-preservation thing. We're going through enough. The idea of -- you know, we already have nightmares about the situation. The idea of making those more vivid, it's not a good idea. I don't think.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Sally, the sheriff said yesterday that the deputy who shot Christian had said that he was afraid Christian was going to stab another officer. Does that change anything for you?

SALLY GLASS: Well, I haven't seen the video, but I -- all I know is our son was a very gentle, very kind, actually, like a highly sensitive person. So you know, if he was floundering around, I think they attacked him first, I think they smashed his windows, and he probably just felt totally under attack.

[11:45:13]

You know, they were rock tools. I just want to say that. I guess, you know, I have a hammer in my car. I mean, I guess you could call that a weapon. They were rock tools. And the other key thing is, is our son never got out of his car. Why couldn't they have just walked away? You know, we -- he needed, you know, a tow truck and probably a social worker to make him feel safe and at ease, and they did the poll of the opposite of what was actually needed.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, Simon --

SIDDHARTHA RATHOD, ATTORNEY FOR FAMILY OF CHRISTIAN GLASS: The Clear Creek County Sheriff's Department is saying --

BOLDUAN: Go ahead, Siddhartha.

RATHOD: Sorry.

BOLDUAN: Go ahead, Siddhartha.

RATHOD: This is good policing. They're saying this is good policing. And it's crazy. The police cannot create their own exigent circumstances. They can't smash out the windows of someone's car, shoot them six times with a beanbag, which is like being punched by a professional boxer without a glove, then tase them multiple times with two tasers. And then the person picks up a knife. And they then justify that as the reason to shoot them and shoot them dead. Every step of the way, this was a failure by the police officers.

BOLDUAN: Yes. And, Sally and Simon, I can see you even struggling as we speak. And you're even hearing Mr. Rathod speak through this. I mean, Simon at this point, what is -- what is justice for your family?

SIMON GLASS: Well, we want to see -- we want to see the people involved in this held to -- held accountable because if they're not, then it normalizes this. That says that this is OK, and other Colorado parents will be wondering whether they should allow the children to drive around -- you know, whether there'll be safe if something goes wrong? So I think the accountability and getting some justice for Christian is our primary thing at the moment. And honestly, that's the only reason we've come out to say what we have because we don't enjoy this and -- certainly, but we are -- we're willing to do it for Christian's justice.

BOLDUAN: Yes. Well, thank you both so much. I cannot imagine but can imagine how unimaginably hard it is to be coming on to speak about this. But thank you for your time. And thank you for speaking with us today.

SIMON GLASS: Thank you very much.

SALLY GLASS: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thank you. Be well. We'll be right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:52:21]

BOLDUAN: A long way to say a final goodbye to the Queen. The line to see Queen Elizabeth lying in state is back open now, at one point today, though it had been closed after it grew to nearly five miles long. CNN Scott McLean is live in London with more on this. First, Scott, what are you seeing, and what are you hearing from people?

SCOTT MCLEAN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Kate, the line is still very much five miles long. Let me show you around here. This is officially the very back of the line. The people who are joining right here, well, they might have a 14-hour wait. That's the official estimate. They've got to walk at least five miles.

And so we're in a park right now in southeast London, about five miles from Westminster Hall where the Queen's body is lying in state. And you can see that they have these barriers set up so that the line will sneak around several times throughout this park. And if you look over this direction, it goes on for quite a ways. It's just a sea of humanity. And then once you get to the end of this park, you'll go across the street toward the Thames, and then from there, that's when you still have just under five miles to go and probably about 10, 12 hours until you might actually get to the front of the line. So it's an absolutely mammoth line, but everyone in it that we've spoken to says that it is well worth it.

But you can imagine the logistical challenge of something like this and this many people, first responders, for instance, paramedics of the last count responded to some 300 medical emergencies or medical incidents in line mostly people fainting, obviously, you're on your feet for 12, 14 hours, you need a lot of supplies, you need a lot of food. But as I said everyone here saying that they want to just show their respect and pay their respects to a monarch that they admire deeply, Kate.

BOLDUAN: That is really remarkable. Good to see you, Scott. Thank you so much for that. And you can watch CNN's special live coverage of the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. It begins Monday morning at 6 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Now, before we go, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are on high alert bracing for catastrophic rain and flooding as Tropical Storm Fiona heads their way. CNN's Chad Myers is tracking this and he joins us now. Chad, what are you seeing?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Kate, a storm that's trying to get organized, but it's kind of sitting in some drier air, so we're not seeing that rapid intensification which is absolutely great news. A couple of things did occur, though, in the 11 o'clock advisory. This brown area here, that is the drier air. You wouldn't expect it to be there but it is for now. We are going to get to be a hurricane during the day on Wednesday, and it is going to be very, very close to Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and so tropical storm warnings are in effect because we're expecting a tropical storm here, very heavy rainfall in that purple. That's six to 10 inches, and in some spots in the mountains, there could be 15 to 16 inches.

[11:55:1]

Now the track is not completely perfect. We'll have to see where it goes from here. One more thing you're going to hear over the weekend is the largest strongest storm in a decade is about to hit Alaska right through the Bering Sea, the worst flooding in possibly 50 years. People up there are worried about this storm too.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely. Thank you, Chad. Really appreciate that.

Thank you so much for being here, everyone. As we're going to show you as we're -- as we're leaving you today, a live look in Massachusetts. We're showing the ferry carrying migrants who have been dropped in mass in Martha's Vineyard have arrived in Cape Cod. That bus you see there that is heading to joint base Cape Cod. Much more on that story and many other -- many others, up next on "INSIDE POLITICS" with John King.

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