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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Protests Over Wisconsin Police Shooting; Apple Watch; Racist Chant; Sigma Alpha Epsilon Kicked Off OU's Campus

Aired March 09, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Right now, people again flooding city streets, chanting, "Black lives matter."

I'm Jake Tapper. This is THE LEAD.

The national lead. It sounds all too familiar at this point, an unarmed black teen shot and killed by a white police officer. This time, it was in Madison, Wisconsin. The city's police chief this morning says he's sorry. But did the cop who fired the fatal round actually do anything wrong?

Also in our national lead, a cell phone video exposes a bus of University of Oklahoma racist frat boys singing joyfully, using the N- word, making jokes about lynching black students. A campus scandal becomes a national disgrace and some on campus are today wondering if the university is doing enough.

And the money lead. You have probably been counting down to this day on your iPhone's iCalendar for iMonths. The Apple Watch, the first new Apple category since Steve Jobs died, makes its debut and it could push the company to new moneymaking heights.

Good afternoon, everyone. Welcome to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

We're going to begin with breaking news in our national lead. Hundreds of people packing into the statehouse in Madison, Wisconsin, standing shoulder to shoulder, shouting, demanding justice for another unarmed black teen gunned down by police.

Right now, those protesters are moving back towards an apartment where police responded to 911 calls on Friday night. Those calls were about a suspect who was dodging in and out of traffic, assaulting a friend, allegedly, even trying to allegedly strangle someone. That's when authorities say the 19-year-old, Tony Robinson, got into a scuffle with an officer inside an apartment to which he fled. Over police radio, you hear a frantic voice saying shots fired, shots fired, the confrontation turning deadly.

And Robinson would die in a nearby hospital that evening. We have since learned that Robinson did not have a gun when he was shot, conjuring ugly memories of what we have seen in other places, Ferguson, New York City, Robinson's killing sending waves of protesters into the streets. In an effort to move away from the us vs. them narrative between

protesters and police, perhaps in addition to quell some of the tensions in his community, the chief of Madison police department, Mike Koval, took to his blog today and issued an apology, writing -- quote -- "Reconciliation cannot begin without my stating I am sorry. And I don't think I can say this enough. I am sorry. I hope that with time Tony's family and friends can search their hearts to render measure some kind of forgiveness" -- unquote.

Let's go live to CNN's Rosa Flores, who is in Madison, Wisconsin.

Rosa, you just talked to a friend of the victim. What did he have to say?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He's overcome by emotion, Jake, saying that this is not an appropriate time to talk to the media, very much understandably.

He did tell me however that he was not in the house when this happened, but that his father was in the house. Now, some of his friends, you can see behind me, they just arrived. They have been gathering. The police tape has just been removed from around the house as these young men and the supporters of the Robinson family ask for solidarity.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES (voice-over): Frustrated, angry and asking for justice, demonstrators continuing to hit the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, demanding answers in the shooting death of unarmed 19-year-old Tony Terrell Robinson at the hands of officer Matt Kenny, who is now on paid leave.

The scene of the shooting still guarded heavily by police.

KATHLEEN BUFTON, NEIGHBOR: Also right here on this wall of the kitchen.

FLORES: Kathleen Bufton lives a thin wall away from where the gunshots rang out and said she heard the deadly exchange unfold from her kitchen after a scuffle caught her by surprise.

BUFTON: It was a little noisy.

FLORES: Then pounding on the door, she says.

(on camera): Was that the police?

BUFTON: Yes. And he forced the door open.

FLORES (voice-over): What she didn't know, according to police, is that there were multiple calls into dispatch regarding Robinson, including an alleged battery incident.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look for a male black, light-skinned, tan jacket and jeans, outside yelling and jumping in front of cars. . FLORES: Police say officer Matt Kenny responded, heard a commotion

inside the home and forced his way in, and then gunfire.

BUFTON: You could really hear it right here. Nothing went through.

FLORES: Police say Robinson attacked Kenny, provoking the officer to use deadly force. But Bufton has her doubts.

BUFTON: I wonder, if it was a white person, if they wouldn't have got shot. They would have got Tased.

FLORES: Her thoughts echoed by Robinson's family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the cop shot him because he was afraid of hi.

FLORES: This is not the first time the 45-year-old officer used deadly force. Officer Kenny was exonerated for an incident that took place eight years ago. The police chief says he's working to regain public trust.

MIKE KOVAL, MADISON, WISCONSIN, POLICE CHIEF: We need to start, as any healing or reconciliation would, with an "I'm sorry."

FLORES: But hundreds gathered throughout the weekend demanding more than apologies.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Now, a lot of people in this community wondering, did this police officer have another tool other than a gun?

I asked the police chief that question and he says that indeed this officer did have a stun gun with him. But he said that he couldn't comment about the use of deadly force -- Jake.

TAPPER: Rosa, Chief Koval seems to be making a real concerted effort to reach out to the community to apologize. I have even seen on social media people who support the police officer in question objecting to the chief apologizing.

Is it resonating in the community at least?

FLORES: We have seen that as well in some of the more charged protests. We have seen that some people come up and say, you know, you can't charge at every single police officer because of what officer Kenny did.

So there is some of that, of course. But I have got to tell you, the police chief telling us yesterday evening, he says we do need to apologize to the community because it's our community. It's a community in mourning. And he says, we have to own up to what has happened here. And at the end of the day, this is a case in which an unarmed teen was killed by police. He says, we own up to that. We have to apologize. And then he said, I still have to have my officers in this community so we can repair the damage -- Jake. TAPPER: Rosa Flores, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

There is still so much unknown about the particular circumstances of this shooting. Whenever an officer-involved incident occurs, of course, the case gets automatically referred to independent investigators. So for the Madison community and for the family of Tony Robinson, they might have something like an agonizing wait ahead of them for concrete facts.

Even so, I guess the big question, do people in Madison trust this investigation to serve justice?

I want to go to protesters on the ground right now in Madison, Wisconsin, if we can.

M. Adams, she co-founded the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition.

And, M., tell me who you have with us, because I don't know the name of the other gust we have.

M. ADAMS, YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACK COALITION: I'm also with Brandi Grayson, another co-founder of the Young, Gifted and Black Coalition.

TAPPER: OK. Well, welcome to both of you.

M., let me start with you. The police chief issued this apology today to the community and to Tony Robinson's family. What is your reaction to that?

ADAMS: I think -- yes, I think it's fine that he apologized, but that's not enough.

I think the police need to make sure, the city needs to make sure, we as a community need to make sure that the officer is held accountable for the actions. An apology is not enough when a child is killed. That's not enough.

TAPPER: We have seen the huge crowds of protesters hitting the streets chanting for justice.

M., I'm going to stick with you because I'm told your friend does not have an earpiece. What does justice look like for the protesters?

ADAMS: It looks like a number of things. I think certainly what the family understands to be justice is very important.

And also what the black community understands to be justice is very important, because this is about Tony Robinson, but it's also about part of an historic legacy of armed killings of black people and particularly over the last few years young black people.

So, justice looks like making sure that the police chief and the mayor takes full responsibility for what happened here, and that includes paying out everything that the family needs, including paying all the money for funeral services. It also includes making sure that people have adequate mental wellness, access, and that the young people and the community and the friends have full access to whatever we need as a community to begin healing.

And it also means arresting that officer and charging him and convicting him with murder. This was murder. An unarmed child, a 19- year-old, was slain by a police officer. That's also a part of it.

TAPPER: Well, M., look, I don't want to get into a situation of blaming the victim. But there is due process in this country. And the police officer, as I understand it, and please correct me if I'm wrong, he is saying that Tony Robinson was trying to grab his gun. Is that not what the police are saying?

ADAMS: I think that the police are going to say a number of things to cover their tracks.

I think that Tony Robinson was unarmed. I think he was a kid. And I think that the officer shot him wrongfully. I think that the violence doesn't match here. If this were you and I and we were in a scuffle or not a scuffle, and we shot at somebody in the chest five times, when we were held accountable to the country's laws and when we were held accountable in front of a community, that a jury of our own peers would say that this is excessive and not warranted.

And the police are no different. This was excessive and unwarranted and the police slayed the child -- they slayed an unarmed child. And there's nothing to back up what the officer is saying, other than what the officer is making up right now at the time.

TAPPER: All right, M. Adams, Brandi, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Obviously, a community in pain, and we hope there is some peace found in the coming days and weeks.

Another major story we're following today, shocking video of members of a fraternity laughing, clapping, singing a racist chant which includes the N-word and references to black men hanging from trees. The fraternity has been shut down today, but will the students on the shocking video be punished? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

Our other leading national story today: just a short time ago, the president of the University of Oklahoma addressed the hurt and anger many members of his student body and quite frankly people across the nation are dealing with right now over a sickening video that surfaced online showing members of the OU's chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity gleefully singing a racist chant that includes the N-word and even a lyric about lynchings. The clip is short but shows enough to turn your stomach.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

TAPPER: Yes, that happened in 2015. Keep in mind as well, that this video was shot on Saturday, the same day that our nation was marking 50 years since the civil rights march in Selma, Alabama, an event that put on full display the extent of the oppression and cruelty. The massive crowd that gathered to mark the 50th anniversary, including Presidents Obama and Bush, symbolized how far we have come as a nation. Though the bigotry displayed by these SAE fraternity members reminds us how this backward thinking continues to not just persists but for some reason be celebrated in some places.

Oklahoma University's president David Boren did not hesitate to take actions against the fraternity, calling their chants, quote, "disgraceful". He gave members until midnight to move out of their on-campus fraternity house. He pledged that as long as he's in charge, SAE will stay off of campus. As yet undecided is the status of these students.

Let's go live now to CNN's Nick Valencia who's in Norman, Oklahoma.

Nic, have the students in question on the videotape, have they been identified at all to be disciplined or expelled?

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not officially, Jake, and we don't know if the university has taken any official steps to discipline those students as individuals. You mentioned what they did to the fraternity. Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the largest fraternity in the United States, with more than 15,000 members, a fraternity also that has a checkered past. But that didn't keep students here today in University of Oklahoma from reacting angrily to the video that we're about to show you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA (voice-over): Today, bags are packed at this University of Oklahoma fraternity house.

DAVID BOREN, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA PRESIDENT: We don't have any room for racists and bigots at this university. I'd be glad if they left.

VALENCIA: OU's president minced no words, telling Sigma Alpha Epsilon members they are unwelcome after this video released on Sunday showed unspeakable bigotry.

Cell phones captured this racist chant, some loudly by at least some members of the fraternity chapter, while riding a bus to a party.

Silent protesters began to flood OU's campus within hours of the video's release, and today, there is no sign of slowing down. Perhaps the most shocking, African American students here say the only thing novel about this racism is that it was finally caught on tape.

CHELSEA DAVIS, UNHEARD: Clearly, this has been going on for years and years and years and think it's OK because has ever said anything, nobody has ever stepped in and said, hey, this isn't OK.

VALENCIA: Chelsea Davis is the cofounder of Unheard, a black student group advocating for cultural change on campus. It's the same group responsible for posting the video chant. DAVIS: It's just really hurtful that students can think that this is

OK. There's no reason that it should have escalated that far. Somebody should have got up and said this isn't okay. As opposed to sitting there and clapping and singing along.

VALENCIA: The song clearly rehearsed and proudly belted out came as a blow to the fraternity's national leadership as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's absolutely and disgusting when somebody takes it upon themselves to do something like this, it affects the entire organization.

VALENCIA: SAE says their chapter at the university will remain closed for at least four years. But for many of the students here, that's just not enough.

DAVIS: I hope that the university mandates some type of mandatory diversity training, some type of sensitivity training, something to let people know who don't typically come backgrounds where you don't see people of color to understand that there are people different than you but that does not make them lesser than you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VALENCIA: Now, many students I spoke to her said there needs to be more punishment leveled against SAE, and that so far, the discipline that they faced is just no enough. One student I spoke to, Jake, said that she was surprised that SAE was the fraternity that was caught because she says there's much worse on campus. She's calling for the entire Greek system here at the University of Oklahoma to be investigated -- Jake.

TAPPER: Nick Valencia, Norman, Oklahoma, thank you so much.

Some African-American students and faculty at the university say they were disturbed by what they saw by not exactly surprised. In fact, they say what makes this rare, as you heard Nick say, it was this time caught on tape.

I'm joined now by Isaac Hill, he's the president of the University of Oklahoma's Black Student Association . Also joining us is Christopher Flix, the president of the OU branch of the National Pan-Hellenic Council.

Thanks to both of you, gentlemen, for joining us.

Christopher, tell us about how this video came into the hands of school administrators. Where did it come from?

CHRISTOPHER FLIX, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: Yes, so, we don't know exactly who sent in the video. It was e-mail anonymously to Brandon Odom, who is the adviser for African-American Student Life on Campus. He was one of the first recipients of this video. It was e-mailed to him anonymously.

TAPPER: But presumably from somebody who found this outrageous though, I would think?

FLIX: Yes, I would say that's probably a safe assumption. It was definitely from someone who was on the bus as these actions were taking place.

TAPPER: Isaac, as president of the Black Student Association, what was your initial reaction when you saw the video?

ISAAC HILL, PRES., BLACK STUDENT ASSOCIATION, UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA: Well, mostly I was truly disappointed and disheartened to see in 2015 something like this going on on campus. But I was also encouraged by the person who had the guts and the courage to just jump up and say this is outrageous. I can't believe people are doing this. Record it and then they spread it.

TAPPER: Christopher, give us an idea of what it's look to be on campus. Is everybody rallying against this? Are the fraternity members in question underground? Are they in hiding?

FLIX: I don't believe any official statement has been made from the OU chapter of SAE. But I think the overall spirit on campus is more unity versus any type of, you know, negative reaction that has been had.

I think that we're really trying to heal as a student body, trying to seek solutions to this type of thing, because it's not an isolated incident. We know that this type of things go on. That's what we're trying to do on campus and that's the spirit of the student body.

TAPPER: Isaac, elaborate on what Christopher said. It's not an isolated incident. This kind of thing happened at OU often?

HILL: It's not frequently. But we know behind closed doors, we can honestly never know unless somebody has the guts or gall to do something like the person who recorded this video had to do. So, we want to work to make sure that this does become isolated incident. But at this time, I think it's safe to say that it's probably not isolated.

TAPPER: Christopher, the fraternity is being kicked off campus. Do you think that's enough punishment?

FLIX: I think that the university has taken the action that they feel like is necessary to root out this issue. I would like to see more proactive measures taking place on behalf of the administration. Obviously, this is a reaction to what occurred taking the disciplinary action. What I would like to really see, I mean, I think it's going to happen, is to see the student leaders, you know, collaborating with the administration and trying to seek out proactive solutions to make sure that type of thing does not occur again. Most likely that will look like some educational material taking place in the future.

TAPPER: Christopher Flix and Isaac Hill, thank you both for being request with us.

HILL: Thank you for having us. FLIX: Thank you so much, Jake.

TAPPER: Coming up, a jailhouse confession from an Ohio teen accused of plotting an ISIS-inspired terrorist attack on the Capitol. He says there are more like him out there and they are, quote, "more organized than you think."

Plus, a baby girl found strapped in a car seat, her mother dead after their car crashed into an icy remember. How did she survive 14 hours and how is she doing now? That's next.

(COMMERICIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: Welcome back to THE LEAD. I'm Jake Tapper.

More now in national news: the FBI arrested him when he tried to walk out of a gun store with two AR-15s and 600 rounds of ammunition. His alleged would-be targets, President Obama, members of Congress and any other innocents caught in his crossfire. His professed motive: death and destruction in the name of ISIS. And now, the Ohio teen accused of plotting this mayhem terror he wanted to unleash on the capitol steps is on tape giving a jailhouse confession.

Let's bring in CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown.

Pamela, a chilling tape work really.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Chilling, truly stunning jailhouse confession here, Jake, by a man accused of wanting to attack the U.S. Capitol. And it really gives a window into the mind of a lone wolf threat, a lone wolf. It's an interview that the U.S. government went to court to try to stop from airing until a judge allowed it to air this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN (voice-over): Inspired by ISIS, Christopher Cornell boasts his thwarted attack on the president and the Capitol building would have been devastating.

CHRISTOPHER CORNELL, OHIO MAN ACCUSED OF PLOTTING ISIS-INSPIRED ATTACK: Although it would have been a major attack against America, events that will follow are dangerous and more enormous.

BROWN: In a phone interview from jail with CNN affiliate WXIX, Cornell admits he planned to first kill President Obama and then make his way to the U.S. Capitol where he would set off pipe bombs and unleash a firestorm on people as they fled the building, shooting them with two semi-automatic rifles and 600 rounds of ammunition police say he bought in this gun store in Cincinnati.

CORNELL: I would have took my gun, I would have put it to Obama's head, I would have pulled the trigger, then I would have unleashed more bullets on the Senate and the House of Representative members, and then I would have attacked the Israeli embassy and various other buildings full of kafir who want to wage war against us Muslims. BROWN: The 19-year-old Ohio man landed on the FBI's radar a couple of

months ago after allegedly writing about jihad on social media sites.

CORNELL: With the Islamic State, I have connections with many brothers over there. We have been corresponding for quite some time now actually.

WXIX: When did you first come in contact with them?

CORNELL: I won't say that in specific either.

BROWN: A man who Cornell believed would be his partner in the attack was actually an FBI informant. The FBI says Cornell told the informant he was working with ISIS and that U.S. lawmakers were his enemies.

CORNELL: The thing is, we are indeed here in America. We're in each and every state. We're here in Ohio.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're here in Ohio. We're in every state. We're more organized than you think.

BROWN: FBI agents arrested Cornell in January, the takedown captured in this image.

ANGELA CARMEN, MOTHER OF CHRISTOPHER CORNELL: I just want to give him a big hug and bring him home, because he ain't out to hurt nobody.

BROWN: At first, Cornell's parents staunchly defended their son.

JOHN CORNELL, FATHER OF CHRISTOPHER CORNELL: My son is not a monster. I'm not just saying that because he's my son. If I thought he was up to something, I would have -- I would have beat his butt and I would have been the first one to turn him in.

BROWN: Now, after hearing this interview with their son, they say they're cutting him out of their lives.

TRICIA MACKE, WXIX REPORTER: He now disowns his son. He had no idea that that was what he was all about. He believes us now and he disowns him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROWN: Cornell still behind bars facing charges, including attempting to kill federal officials. Jake, officials I have been speaking with in law enforcement say his case is an example of the lone wolf threat, the current landscape of people from all different types of background, demographics, being influenced by ISIS propaganda -- Jake.

TAPPER: Pamela Brown, thank you so much. Appreciate it.