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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Testimony Continues in Derek Chauvin Trial; Ex-Cop Who Killed Daunte Wright Arrested; Chauvin Trial in Recess After Defense Experts Testimony; Intel Chief: Domestic Extremism is an "Immediate", "Complex" & "Growing" Threat to the United States. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired April 14, 2021 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:32:42]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: In our national lead today: Former police officer Kim Potter is in jail and has been charged with second-degree manslaughter after shooting and killing 20-year-old Daunte Wright, a black man in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, on this past Sunday.

Potter resigned yesterday, as did the city's chief of police, who said Potter appeared to have accidentally used her Glock, instead of her Taser.

CNN's Miguel Marquez is in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, with new details from the county attorney -- Miguel.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

What we understand from the county attorney in that charging document is perhaps the most important bit, which is Daunte Wright's last words, probable last words: "He shot me."

There was a male officer who was handling him at the door as he slipped back into his car. What he did not understand is, there was the female officer, former officer now, Kim Potter, who had pulled her Taser -- rather than her Taser, her handgun and shot him.

Shortly after he shot -- she shot him, the complaint says that she then uttered an expletive and said, "I just shot him."

The complaint also goes into detail about where her handgun was and where the Taser was. It does say that her handgun, a .9-millimeter, a Glock .9-millimeter, was on her right side, the Taser was on her left side. It was black handle with a yellow top.

It -- basically, investigators did not understand how it is she could mistake a black Glock .9-millimeter handgun for a Taser that is yellow that she would have had to pull with her left hand. Both -- both weapons were on her side, the Glock on the right side, the Taser on the left, the handles facing back.

Investigators couldn't quite understand how it is she pulled the handgun, rather than the Taser. This is a woman who was 26 years on the force, was also training some individuals on that force. So, she is now in jail.

And her house is being barricaded as well for protection. And here at the police station where she worked, a few protesters have begun to gather, and there are promises of protests in the days ahead -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right, Miguel, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Let's discuss this.

Jennifer Rodgers, let's play the moment where Potter seemed to realize that she had fired the wrong weapon.

[16:35:05]

And, as always, a warning: This may be disturbing to some viewers.

So, here's that moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KIM POTTER, FORMER BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA, POLICE OFFICER: Taser! Taser! Taser!

Oh (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I just shot him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Second-degree manslaughter, what is that charge? And how much do you think that moment we just saw factored into the prosecutor's decision?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, Jake, second-degree manslaughter in Minnesota is essentially a charge of culpable negligence. It requires prosecutors to show two things, gross negligence, which means that the standard of care -- that she grossly deviated from the standard of care she owed, and recklessness, meaning that she knew that there were circumstances with her actions that could lead to death or serious injury, and she consciously disregarded those.

So, it is something that the prosecutors have to prove. Minnesota doesn't have a negligent homicide statute. That would -- that would be a lesser statute that they could charge. So, they had fewer options because Minnesota doesn't have that statute.

And the video is going to be critical. It seems to demonstrate on its face that she didn't mean to use her gun, that she meant to use her Taser. They could find evidence contrary to that, of course, as they continue their investigation. But I think it was key in choosing to charge manslaughter, instead of murder, at this point, their review of the evidence they have, which is the body-cam footage, first and foremost.

TAPPER: And Van Jones, the former police chief said that Officer Potter accidentally used her gun, instead of her Taser, that -- as the charging would suggest.

But, of course, that apparent mistake took a man's life. Do the charges, the fact that this police officer is in jail and has been charged with a crime, will this satisfy protesters and at least meet some of their demands, do you think?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think it will satisfy some and it won't satisfy others.

I think you got to remember, this, "I used my Taser -- I used my gun when I thought it was a Taser" is stuff we have heard before. Oscar Grant, that was his excuse when he was shot at a BART station in Oakland California, one of the more infamous cases.

If you can't tell the difference between a baseball and a football, you probably shouldn't be playing sports. I mean, these two, they're completely different weapons. They're different weights. I think a gun is two or three times heavier. It's just -- it's so exasperating.

And it occurs in a context where driving while Black is still -- can be a death sentence. And, listen, was there culpable conduct on the young man's part? Yes, there was. But there was nothing that should have resulted in deadly force.

And yet we see over and over and over again these kinds -- these kinds of outcomes.

TAPPER: Jennifer, on the issue of Tasers, the policy manual for Brooklyn Center police says -- quote -- "Reasonable efforts should be made to target lower center mass and avoid the head, neck, chest, and groin" -- quote, unquote -- when using Tasers.

According to the medical examiner, Officer Potter shot him in the chest, contrary -- I mean, forget the fact that she grabbed the wrong weapon. She didn't shoot him in the right place.

Is it possible that more charges might be added?

RODGERS: Sure. I mean, more charges, of course, can be added. Their investigation is young. It's only a couple days' old. So I'm sure they will be looking at everything to try to figure out what her intent was and what they can charge.

There are a lot of factors here, though. Obviously, Mr. Wright was moving. He was standing up. And then he got into the car. They will probably be looking very carefully at the footage to see where she was aiming and whether, in fact, she was aiming at the chest or whether the movement played a factor.

I think there's a ways to go in this investigation. We're going to have to wait and see what they charge when all is said and done.

TAPPER: And, Van, the Biden administration says it will now rely on Congress to come up with laws on policing reform.

One source said this was so as to not undermine something that could be done legislatively, instead of by executive action. What do you make of that?

JONES: Well, I mean, there's two ways to look at it.

On the one hand, the House of Representatives have already passed a pretty substantial bill. I know that Karen Bass in the House is trying to lead an effort to bring people together. Tim Scott on the Senate side is trying to figure out, is there any bipartisan middle ground?

So, if you give Congress a beat and they move forward, if Tim Scott and Karen Bass are able to get something done, that's great. But if it just is a dead ball in Congress, then Biden has to do more.

TAPPER: Yes.

Van Jones, Jennifer Rodgers, thanks to both you. Appreciate it.

A defense witness says that George Floyd's death was not caused by a knee on his neck.

The latest in the Derek Chauvin murder trial, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:44:13]

TAPPER: We're back with more in our national lead, the murder trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.

Today, a medical expert called by the defense -- it's their turn now -- testified that George Floyd died from his heart issue while restrained by Chauvin and other officers last May.

The doctor said that Floyd's heart disease, his high blood pressure and his drug use also contributed to his death. The doctor even suggested that exhaust from the squad car near where Floyd had been pinned down by the police officers could have played a factor, as CNN's Omar Jimenez reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Day two of defense witnesses in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, and the topic shifted from use of force to cause of death for George Floyd.

ERIC NELSON, ATTORNEY FOR DEREK CHAUVIN: Did you form, in your opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, what you thought was the principal cause of Mr. Floyd's death?

[16:45:09]

DAVID FOWLER, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH: Yes.

NELSON: And what is that?

FOWLER: Cardiac arrhythmia due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease during restraint.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): In other words, a bad heart while being restrained by police. No mention of asphyxiation as other doctors have testified or low levels of oxygen brought on by being chest down on the street handcuffed by the weight of three officers.

Dr. David Fowler went on to testify about other contributing factors to George Floyd's death.

FOWLER: So we have -- a heart that's vulnerable because it's too big. There are certain drugs that are present in his system that make it, put him at risk of an arrhythmia.

JIMENEZ: He added the possible carbon monoxide from the squad car.

FOWLER: It is an extremely toxic gas.

JIMENEZ: Fowler also testified that the force applied by the knee of Chauvin would not have directly impacted George Floyd's ability to survive.

NELSON: Is it your opinion that Mr. Chauvin's knee in any way impacted the structures of Mr. Floyd's neck?

FOWLER: No, it did not. None of the vital structures were in the area where the knee appeared to be from the videos.

JIMENEZ: During cross examination, prosecutors pushed back on the doctor's assertions.

JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: Mr. Floyd then is sandwiched in a way between Mr. Chauvin on top and the as fault pavement beneath, right?

FOWLER: Yes, if you --

BLACKWELL: It's a yes or no question.

FOWLER: Yes.

JIMENEZ: They specifically focused on the cause of death, the central argument in this trial.

BLACKWELL: If a person dies as a result of low oxygen that person is also going to die ultimately of a fatal arrhythmia, right?

FOWLER: Correct. Every one of us in this room will have a fatal arrhythmia at some point.

BLACKWELL: Right. Because that's kind of how you go?

FOWLER: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ (on camera): And court is now done for the day.

Now, earlier in the day the judge noted that there was a portion and information from that witness that the state did not have beforehand. So, once the defense rested their case which the defense hasn't yet, but once they do, he noted that the prosecution will have a chance to present a rebuttal witness or case.

But all in all, we do still seem on track to be done with both sides by the end of the week. Closing arguments are set for Monday and at that point, we would await a verdict -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Omar, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

The threat that the director of national intelligence today said is immediate growing and complex. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:52:03]

TAPPER: In our world lead today, the fight against conspiracy theories including QAnon. Today at a Senate hearing on worldwide threats, we learned that domestic violent extremism is, quote, immediate, growing and increasingly complex, unquote, according to leaders in the intelligence community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER WRAY, FBI DIRECTOR: The effects of COVID anxiety, social isolation, financial hardship, et cetera, all exacerbate people's vulnerability to those theories. And we are concerned about the potential that those things can lead to violence.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: Alex Marquardt joins us live now.

Alex, what was specifically said about QAnon?

ALEXANDER MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, the director of the FBI there, Chris Wray, was asked generally about domestic violence extremism, the threat to the U.S., especially about QAnon and who may be behind it.

He said that QAnon is essentially a complex conspiracy theory that has grown online and morphed into a movement. And as you heard there, he says that people who are following this movement, they are more susceptible to the QAnon conspiracy theories and others because they've been at home, they are suffering, as we all are, under the weight of COVID, there are financial hardships. So, all of that is exacerbating the situation.

That could, Wray said, lead to some violence, and Wray said, in fact, among the several hundred now, more than 300 now who have been arrested in connection with the January 6th insurrection at the Capitol, at least five are self-described followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, Jake.

TAPPER: Alex, the U.S. intelligence agencies also today said something rather stunning. They still don't know definitively the origins of the coronavirus.

MARQUARDT: Yeah, almost a year and a half after we learned about the coronavirus, the director of national intelligence, Avril Haines, was asked about its origins.

As you know, Jake, there are two competing theories. One, that it escaped from a lab in Wuhan. The other, that the virus jumped from an animal to a human in nature. And people are fervently arguing the merits of both of these different theories.

This is what the director of national intelligence had to say in today's hearing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AVRIL HAINES, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: It is absolutely accurate the intelligence community does not know exactly where, when, or how COVID-19 virus was transmitted initially.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: And the director of the CIA, Bill Burns, also pointed to the fact that the Chinese have not given much access. They have not shared much data, and have not been transparent as another reason that we don't know more about the origin of the virus -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Alex Marquardt, thanks so much.

Coming up, women, drugs, sex, money. That's how some are describing parties attended by Republican congressman Matt Gaetz.

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:59:30]

TAPPER: -- American lives that we've lost to coronavirus.

Today, we remember Sergeant Shane Owens who followed in his father's footsteps, serving for three decades at Broward County, Florida's, Department of Detention. Unlike his father, however, Shane Owens never got to retire. He got coronavirus on the job. He died on March 27th.

The director of the department remembered Owens by saying, quote, Shane was a no-nonsense tell-it-like-it-is supervisor. If the Broward Sheriff's Office had a Hall of Fame, Sergeant Shane Owens would be in it.

He was only 48 years old. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends. May his memory be a

blessing.

You can follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now. I'll see you tomorrow.