Return to Transcripts main page
Don Lemon Tonight
Minneapolis Police Precinct Burning Amid Protests Over Death of George Floyd; Protests Spreading Over the Death of George Floyd. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired May 29, 2020 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: We're going to put up some incredible images for you. There it is. Fires burning out of control there.
[00:00:09]
The police department saying staff of the Third Precinct was evacuated. The director of the office of public information saying protesters forcibly entered the building and ignited several fires.
And just moments ago -- this is new, into CNN -- the Minnesota National Guard tweeted this, that "We have activated more than 500 soldiers to St. Paul, Minneapolis, and surrounding communities. Our mission is to protect life, preserve property and the right to peacefully demonstrate. A key objective is to ensure fire departments are able to respond to calls."
Again, the new information here: the Minnesota National Guard has been activated this evening. That is according to the tweet from the official Guard account: 500 soldiers heading to Minneapolis and St. Paul, and the surrounding region.
Who do I have? Do I have Sara? Is Sara Sidner back with us? We don't have Sara Sidner.
Again, so let's put out these pictures and talk about what's happened -- what has been happening here, and as we have been talking to our -- our people on the ground, and our law enforcement folks.
Of course, this is over the death of 46-year-old George Floyd in police custody, an officer with his knee on his neck.
The community is frustrated. Protesters began to protest, and then it got out of control sometime this evening. And as you can see, the fire started, and then they went, according to our Sara Sidner, and tried to knock down a fence that was erected recently, and temporarily, around the police station to protect that police station. That did not work.
Protesters started knocking on the police precinct, on the walls and trying to get into the precinct. They evacuated all the personnel, according to the Minneapolis Police Department, evacuated the personnel there, and then the protesters set the building on fire. Again, the Third Precinct, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, set on fire
moments ago, burning out of control.
Now, because there is no fire department on scene, there are no police -- police officers on scene. The police officers have left. The fire department is not coming. They have made a calculated decision, again, according to our Josh Campbell, who is a law enforcement expert here on CNN. This is a calculated decision on their part to allow this to happen, because they don't want any more loss of life.
Charles Ramsey is the former police chief of Washington, D.C., the former police commissioner of Philadelphia. He is our law enforcement analyst here on CNN.
So Charles Ramsey, as we look at these pictures now from Minneapolis, Minnesota, again, a calculated decision on behalf -- or on the part of the Minneapolis Police Department so that they wouldn't lose any more life here.
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (via phone): Well, I don't know how calculated it was, but it is what it is. I mean, they're surrounded by people who break into the station, start setting fires. They evacuated the station.
Again, this is just a terrible situation all the way around. Certainly, they didn't anticipate this happening. I'm talking about the police. But you know, they got people out of there to save lives, both the police officers, as well as the people there demonstrating and causing the -- the fire to have occurred.
LEMON: I want to get your reaction to the National Guard. Because the Saint -- I know that the St. Paul mayor, for sure, asked for the National Guard, help for the National Guard. Now, the National Guard is confirming that they are headed to Minneapolis and St. Paul and the surrounding area there.
Your reaction to the National Guard being deployed? Five hundred of them.
RAMSEY: It's absolutely the right move. I hope 500 is enough, to be honest with you. They're going to have to take control of the streets, and obviously, the police are overwhelmed, cannot do it alone. They need the National Guard.
And I don't say that lightly. I mean, I have worked in a lot of different places. And the last thing you want to do is bring in the National Guard if you don't have to.
But this has gotten totally out of control, and they're going to have to bring in the National Guard to establish order. This is not going to stop on its own. It's going to continue to intensify.
So the quicker they get enough resources out there to calm things down, to protect property, protect lives, the better off everyone is going to be. And again, it's not just Minneapolis. They've got to protect St. Paul. They've got to protect surrounding areas, as well. LEMON: These are live ground pictures now. This is from our CNN camera
in Minneapolis. This is where Sara Sidner and Josh Campbell will join us, from this -- this camera location in moments. They were moved back to a safe distance so that they can continue to report.
But these are live pictures outside the Minneapolis Police Department. You can see protesters standing dangerously close to the fire. And you can see the words up on the screen, right in the middle: Minneapolis police.
[00:05:00]
Again, the Third Precinct is on fire. The police department said that their staff of the Third Precinct was evacuated. The director of -- of the Office of Public Safety and information saying protesters forcibly entered the building and ignited several fires.
What -- before we get back to Sara and Josh, I just want to ask you, Chief Ramsey, if you can please explain to us what will the National Guard do that police are not able to do here?
RAMSEY: They'll provide some additional protection in key areas of this city to protect property and assist any way they can. The Minneapolis and St. Paul Police Departments will still have the lead, but they will be there to support them any way they can and be deployed. Their visible presence alone will make a difference.
So, again, they do come in in situations like this when asked or activated by the governor. And this is a case where they are definitely needed. I just hope 500 is enough.
LEMON: Chief Charles Ramsey joining us by phone this evening for this incredible, unprecedented story. I have never seen in my years a police precinct go up in flame, at least not live on television, in a situation like this.
Chief Ramsey, stand by. We want to get -- we'll get back to you.
We want to get to our reporters, who are on the scene now. Josh Campbell, Sara Sidner have been covering this all evening for us.
You have been moved to a safer perspective. We can see the police precinct in the background right behind you. What are you -- what are you seeing from being out there, both of you?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We moved out. We're back where we were before. Just to give you -- make sure you know, we're in the same spot.
What you're seeing is, again, behind Josh and I, you are seeing the Third Precinct on fire. The fire is still going very, very strongly now. That is the front foyer of the Minneapolis Police Department here on East Lake Street in Minnehaha.
Across the street from that, you are seeing the Minnehaha Liquor. That is on fire, and that is now fully engulfed, as well as, it appears, the business that is next to it. We know that there is a couple of stores now, a tobacco store, as well. It looks like the fire is spreading. It is moving on from building to building.
And you are also seeing a lot of fireworks going on over time here. And often, folks when they see the fireworks, they cheer.
There is so much anger directed at the police that they are almost, it feels like, taking it all out on the Third Precinct, on the building itself.
The officers, nowhere to be seen at this point in time. The officers are not here. We're not seeing police officers. We're not seeing fire trucks. We're not seeing anything to stop the fire.
If you have something to say, say it. But don't get it front of our cameras unless you want to talk to us.
There are folks here who are ginned up. Lots of folks here who are still feeling that pain and anger. They watched this video. There is a sign right in front of the police department that says "Justice for George." They are talking about George Floyd. They are talking about what they saw on the video of the officer with his knee on the neck of this man, who literally was begging to breathe. He, at one point, begs for his mother.
And I can't tell you how many people, particularly the community activists that lived here, who have said to me with tears in their eyes, with their voices cracking, hearing him beg for his mother, hearing him begged to breathe, broke their hearts.
And you are seeing that play out here. But now you are seeing almost a reaction from some folks that they cannot control their anger, and they are taking it all out on the buildings around us, including the Target and the Aldi and the other buildings here.
Josh, you're not seeing police. You've not seen any at all. When you look at the scene behind you, we actually had someone from this neighborhood ask for the National Guard to come in, an activist who said, I just can't -- can't watch this happen to my community.
JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT: Yes. And we're not seeing any enforcement. That's one thing one theme throughout the night that we've seen.
And, you know, even Sara and I standing this close to each other, it's hard to here. We're surrounded by a couple thousand people here who have been protesting.
If you look at the site behind us again, again, you see the flames that continue throughout this building. But you also see protesters outside trying to break their way inside.
I'm going to take this off just a second here. But you can see people that are banging on windows. They've been throwing projectiles at the building. Thus far, we've seen no police officers come out, certainly no crowd control officers. As we discussed earlier, Don, that's a calculated decision by law
enforcement officers.
What's going on behind us is a crime: trying to torch a government building. But they're making the decision right now that they're not going to try to inflame things even more than have already been done. They're not going to send in the riot police. They're not going to send in others to try to enforce this right now.
The question remains about what the National Guard will be doing. We heard that they had been dispatched. We don't know if they're coming to this location or if there are other locations that they will then go try to secure.
[00:10:06]
But that will be the question to watch, is when you see government officers move in, especially people in uniform, what will the protesters do? We don't know the answer to that yet, Don.
LEMON: Are these folks just standing around watching this building burn like a bonfire?
CAMPBELL: Yes, you have different -- different segments of this crowd. So you have people that are right up close to the building that are throwing fire -- what looks like projectiles that are on fire toward the building. You have people that are spray-painting the building. Just within the span of the last hour, Don, they've tagged the whole side of this building. People that are trying to climb on it.
And then outside, you have protesters here that are around us that aren't taking part in the criminal activity. But Sara and I have been talking to people as they move throughout the crowd. They're clearly upset with what happened here, the death of this man here in Minneapolis. And they're coming out to show their -- their anger toward law enforcement regarding what happened.
A third group that you can't see right now is far behind us in this suburban shopping area. They're looting. They're trying to break into a lot of the buildings around us, the stores. They have nothing to do with this area here. They certainly don't appear to have any type of ideological issue. Their goal is to just cause destruction.
So just a powder keg here with different groups. You have people that are trying to break in. You have people that are really trying to show that -- their disdain for what happened with the police.
LEMON: And let's -- listen, we shouldn't forget that Sara, this is happening in the middle of a pandemic. People have been home for months, socially distancing. There appears to be not a heck of a lot of social distancing happening at this moment in Minneapolis, at least where you are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- destruction? No, we're destructing shit for a cause.
SIDNER: We did not say the only --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get the fuck out of here.
SIDNER: We did not say the only motive was destruction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: don't talk to me and don't touch me.
LEMON: OK. Sara Sidner is having an issue with a protester or someone who's on the scene. We'll get back to Sara. These things happen when you are out on the scene and tempers are flaring and emotions are running high?
We can show the pictures. We can show the pictures. This is Louisville, Kentucky, here. Affiliate WDRB, and you can see there are people now who are throwing things at police officers. Police officers who are now in tactical stance and in tactical gear, out in Louisville, Kentucky.
The concern from Lloyd [SIC] Ramsey and from other law enforcement people who have appeared on the air this evening, the concern was that it would spread to cities across the country.
This is not, obviously, appear to be as intense as what's happening in Minneapolis, Minnesota. But this is another U.S. city where you can see that emotions are flaring, and people are -- have become upset by what happened to George Floyd by police officers in custody.
Protesters actually picking up tear gas, throwing them back at police officers on the streets of Louisville, Kentucky, this evening at 12:12 Eastern Time. Again, courtesy of our affiliate WDRB.
So as we watch Minneapolis, we will watch Louisville, Kentucky. I want to bring in CNN's Laura Coates to not only talk about the pictures that we're seeing up on our screen, Laura.
But as we look at these pictures, let's talk about what happened today. People were coming out. People thought that the -- the authorities, the leaders in Minnesota, Minneapolis, were going to come out and talk about charges against these four police officers. They did not do that. No charges.
Instead, they said that their jobs were to make sure that they -- that this case was prosecuted to their fullest extent. They did not want to make any mistakes when it comes to the prosecution or possible prosecution of these officers.
A lot of people were disappointed by information or the lack of information given at this press -- at this briefing today.
Talk to me about what -- what happened at that briefing and what authorities announced.
LAURA COATES, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, one of the things that was continuously the theme of that press conference, from the U.S. attorney to the Hennepin County D.A., who is going to be prosecuting if this case does have criminal charges, was this theme of being swift and meticulous.
And in terms of meticulous, they kept alluding to the idea of trying to dot all their eyes and cross all their "T's" because of due process concerns but also concerns largely about double jeopardy and having to get it right the very first time.
They did talk about and make a call and an appeal to the public to provide any information if they were eyewitnesses, video footage. Anything that might assist in their investigation.
They also touted, at least the Hennepin County attorney, touted that they were one of the few jurisdictions in the United States that has had a successful prosecution against a police officer for the use of excessive force.
Now, of course, the case that he was citing had a bit of racial tone deafness to it, because that was a case involving a white woman who was killed by an African-American officer. And so there is a little bit of a different atmosphere in the air.
[00:15:07]
We are talking about a long-standing tension when there is a black victim of police excessive force and police brutality. And so what you saw there was the theme of talking about, they did not want to rush to judgment.
And one of the surprising things that happened is the Hennepin County attorney said, Well, look, there may be some evidence to suggest that it was not excessive force.
LEMON: Let me read the quote. Let me read the quote, Laura, and then let you respond to it. And this is the quote. It says, "My job in the end is to prove he violated a criminal statute, and there is other evidence that does not support a criminal charge. We need to wade through all of the evidence, all of that evidence, and come to a meaningful decision as we are doing that to the best of our ability."
And then, what you're -- what you're talking about, about 90 -- 90 minutes later, his office released a statement and told CNN that Freeman (ph) misspoke, about, quote, "other evidence. Evidence not favorable to our case needs to be carefully examined to understand the full picture of what actually happened," the statement reads. "This happens in every case."
So having to correct what he said at the press conference. Go ahead, Laura.
COATS: Well, misspeaking, under these circumstances, and with this atmosphere, could add to the toxicity. And it can also add to an absence of faith in the justice system.
Because you have to -- If you talk about on the one hand, being so careful and cautious, and then not getting it right, it really belies what the intention of what you were saying in the first place. And many people watching the video, Don, were looking at eight to nine
minutes and saying, OK, I understand about building a case over the long run towards an eye towards prosecution, and beyond a reasonable doubt standard, but probable cause is simply that it's likely that this crime occurred. And you know the person who has done it, and being able to charge the person who has committed the offense.
And so many people saw this, and said, Well, I'm not clear as to what more you would need to at least begin the process of an arrest, or a grand jury proceeding, or to have some charges actually be levied.
And where I'm looking at all this, in conjunction with the fact that the FBI has already been brought in, we're talking about parallel tracks here. The state and local prosecution, in terms of if there is a murder charge, if there is a manslaughter charge, or between some degree, determining whether or not they think that the person did it in a premeditated fashion, which can develop quite quickly. It's not a lengthy period of time that it's required for premeditation, or, that this was someone who acted with a reckless disregard for human life. We certainly have at least seen that, by having one's knee on the neck.
But the other aspect, of the other parallel track here that they had talked about in the press conference, Don, was that the federal government and the FBI was looking about color of law.
Now, why that is so important is because, although we're talking about this in terms of the atmosphere of the racial dynamics in this country, as it intersects with the criminal justice system, color of law is a claim where an officer, or a public official, is abusing the power that has been bestowed upon them to deprive someone of their constitutional rights.
Here, that would be the Fourth Amendment, against unreasonable search and seizure; the idea of what was happened to Mr. Floyd, and ultimately his demise and killing. But also, that does not require a racial animus whatsoever. Race need not be even a factor, if an officer is exploiting in this way.
But it just -- it cannot be impressed upon people enough. One of the things we're seeing right now, Don, it harkens back to 1965 in Watts. It harkens back to the Nineties of Rodney King, and Latasha Harlins, who were killed and what happened later on. It harkens back to Baltimore.
And I think the Hennepin County attorney specifically mentioned that he was cautious to avoid what happened in the Freddie Gray case. He must have been alluding to the fact that there was a discussion, by Marilyn Mosby -- remember, Freddie Gray was killed, what, April 19, five years ago. The charges were not announced until days after rioting occurred, on May 1.
LEMON: Laura, I needed to stand by, because I have to get to some breaking news. And I understand this is happening in a community where -- that you know very well, that you lived there.
COATS: Yes.
LEMON: But I need to get to -- stand by, Laura. I need to get to the Minneapolis fire chief, John Fruetel, joins us on the phone.
Chief Fruetel, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining us.
What is happening at the police precinct? We understand that personnel from the police -- This is the Third Precinct, that -- that the -- anyone who was there was evacuated. And then, protesters made their way in and set fire to the building. Talk to me about what's happening.
CHIEF JOHN FRUETEL, MINNEAPOLIS FIRE CHIEF (via phone): You know, Don, the latest information that I have, I was -- I was a few blocks away at another fire, so I didn't -- I haven't had a chance to catch up on all the details about the precinct building.
But I am aware that there are fires right across the street from that -- that Third Precinct building. I do know that they were trying to set fire on the -- on the front door area of that building. I do not know that they have gained access to the structure, as of yet. But I do know that they were certainly trying to set the building on fire, in the front door area.
LEMON: We're looking at pictures, and we have -- stand by, Chief. We're looking at pictures.
FRUETEL: OK.
LEMON: And we have crews who are on the scene, and we're looking at the building on fire. And it says, "Minneapolis Police Department" right on the side of the building.
And we have seen people, at least, going -- I think we've seen a few going in and out of parts of the building. Now, I'm not sure how it is gated off, and how you have protected -- or if it has been protected in this process.
But we are looking at pictures now. These were taken moments ago, and then we also have a ground shot of live pictures. The department is on fire.
FRUETEL: Yes, that's very possible. I apologize. Like I say, I just came from another fire. So I -- you have the advantage of real time. And I'm not seeing that, so then if that is the case, and they have -- they have made entry into the building, and obviously, the building is on fire. If you're seeing it, it obviously is.
LEMON: So even though the personnel are gone, which is a good thing, because we don't want any more loss of life here.
FRUETEL: That's (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
LEMON: So the personnel is gone, and according to a law enforcement expert we had on earlier, they said most of the files, if not all of them, are electronic, so they will be safe. What about evidence? FRUETEL: You know, that -- being a fire chief, I don't -- I don't know
where. I don't believe that they store a lot of evidence in that structure. I think they have other facilities they do that. I'm probably not the right person to answer that question, but I do know they have other areas in the city and other structures that they store evidence in.
LEMON: OK.
FRUETEL: I don't know, in the public, what the timeline is of moving that out of a building to the -- the area where they may store it.
LEMON: Chief, where is the fire department? Are you -- are you planning -- are any of your men or women planning to show up on the scene to try to put this fire out? What's happening?
FRUETEL: I know we've had multiple fires over the last couple of days, as you folks know.
We've tried to get into that area, and it was determined, at the time, by folks on cameras, and looking at the scene, it was untenable. We've had different projectiles thrown at us the last two nights. Many of the windows in my chief's car now are broken out from rocks. We just had rocks thrown at us again when we left this last scene.
So it's -- we have to really consider the safety of our firefighters in those areas. So we're being very, very cautious. We are going to make -- I'm going to make an assessment around that Third Precinct building. And if we can go in and attempt to make a fire attack on that structure, we will.
LEMON: So you're not going in tonight as far as you know?
FRUETEL: That -- I wouldn't say that. We may, depending on the situation, we'll have to make an assessment of the, certainly, keep No. 1 the safety of our firefighters. That's the No. 1 priority of ours, to make sure we keep our folks safe, especially when going into these types -- types of conditions that are on out there right now.
LEMON: Chief, you said you've had a number of fires in the area. Your department is stretched thin.
FRUETEL: Yes, we've broken it down. We have a plan in place. We have -- we have a task force response set up. So we have multiple task force which are a certain number of fire trucks that will respond, and chief officers and command staff.
But they have been -- we have been very busy. Last night, we were busy. We had over 16 structure fires along that -- along the lake -- the Lake Street area. I know that St. Paul is having the same issues tonight. And we continue to have structures burning.
We've -- this is the our third one now we have with the precinct building. That will be the fourth, and maybe fifth that we've had, and we have going right now. So it's -- it's a challenging time right now for us, Don. I'll be
honest with you. And everybody is working really hard. And we're doing it a little bit short staffed because of the way we've defined our response at the present time. So keeping in mind the safety of our firefighters, so it's a challenging time for us.
LEMON: So, the -- your staff, is this -- is this because of the pandemic, or is this because of what is happening with -- because of the situation with George Floyd that you are stretched, or you're, you know, moving your men and women around?
FRUETEL: In terms of our pandemic, our staff has been really good. We've been really great. Our staff has been really good. It really hasn't had a lot of impact, you know, in terms of that.
LEMON: So you still have the same number of men and women out as you would at any time? The pandemic has not -- has not affected you in that way?
FRUETEL: No, it has not. That's why, since its inception in the last couple of months, my staffing levels have been really good. The men and women in the department, I'm proud of them. They've stepped up. They've shown up to work. They've just done a very, very effective job, much like the positions of the other healthcare providers.
In terms of this, are we just sort of -- normally, we would send more fire trucks. They would simply send more fire trucks on a typical structure fire. We've sort of dwindled that down a little bit to give us more -- more apparatus to respond to multiple fires.
[00:25:10]
And so that's why we've reduced the size of our responses a little bit. So we've got a number of crews ready to respond into these areas, and they've been doing a very effective job the last -- last couple of evenings.
LEMON: What about residents or people who are in the neighborhood are concerned about where they live, or their loved ones? What advice do you have to them? What can you offer them, Chief?
FRUETEL: You know, I just -- I want them to know. I certainly care about their safety. We are certainly concerned about that, and that's why we're taking this very, very seriously.
We want them to be very vigilant and be very prepared. Be vigilant, and make sure if they see something, give us a call. And we're still going to do our best to get in there.
Unfortunately with this, we haven't had a lot of residential structures involved, which is really a good thing for us. We've only had, I believe, one last night that involved residences that we had to evacuate, and make some rescues on. So we've been very fortunate that way.
But it is a -- it is a very, you know, densely populated area. Housing is very close, and so people have to be very vigilant. I just want them to know the fire department is here. We're stood up, and we are going to make sure we're providing the best quality protection we can.
LEMON: Are you in touch with the police chief, or anyone in the police department in command as it pertains to this fire, as it relates to this fire?
FRUETEL: Yes. Yew, we are sharing -- we are sharing information with -- at the EOC that's set up. We have a command post set up there. We are in constant communication with command, with law enforcement, fire, EMS. Our EMS folks are in a position up there. We are doing our best to be in communication. We have the building -- they are -- everything's being watched on cameras as we speak. And so they can -- they can give us the latest information. I just haven't had a chance to -- to contact them to give me the latest update.
LEMON: So I want to ask. I know that, listen, you're with the fire department. You're not with the police department. But folks are also wondering where are the police in this situation.
Have you -- have you coordinated with the police department as to when you're going to show back up on the scene? Do you have any idea of police are ever going to come back to the scene tonight and try to get this under control? Are they just going to let this burn out of control and let these protesters act up until they've had their fill?
FRUETEL: I think, even right now, we are -- I'm in the fire station right now. We have multiple task forces who are waiting. And we do have a police presence with us. They escort us in. The last fire we had, they are on scene with us, and they do, you know, establish a perimeter for us to work within, to protect the firefighters.
So we are working very closely with law enforcement, and we'll do the same thing, making a determination of when to try to extinguish those fires, once we think that, you know, the projectile throwing and those types of things that we're very concerned about, especially in the darkness. We can't see those things coming at us. You've got to be very, very careful of that. They will go in and escort us and establish a perimeter to allow us to conduct our firefighting operations.
LEMON: You're meeting as a task force right now, you said?
FRUETEL: Yes, right. We call them task forces. That's the way we've structured our -- we've set up response model right now with the task forces. We have 10 task forces set up, so we have 10 crews, basically with two engine companies, which are pumper trucks and one hook and ladder, and two command staff, and plus would be escorted by law enforcement, and the law enforcement will establish a perimeter for us to safely work with him.
LEMON: Was this your concern all along? Or is this a complete and utter surprise and shock to you that a police precinct would be up in flames in Minneapolis right now?
FRUETEL: You know, I'll be honest with you, I'm definitely -- I'm definitely a little bit -- a little bit shocked, a little bit disappointed. I'd be more so disappointed, Don. Because the -- you know, we've got so many great communities in Minneapolis.
And to see, you know, the type of communities that have, you know, such a need for -- you know, for you know, groceries, for you know, a store to buy clothing, and to buy medications, especially during a pandemic time, and to see these -- these structures that are being destroyed in the community that -- that provides such an important service to -- and they have such a need. That it is really extremely disappointing, and it's very -- very frustrating.
Because it's -- I would just hope that we can we can come to a point where some of this level of angst and this -- and this destructive action, it just sort of -- sort of just stops. I just -- I really would like it to stop.
Being -- I grew up in Minneapolis. I'm a longtime resident of Minneapolis. And so you hate to see your city burn, and that's what's -- it's really just going on. And to me, but all my firefighters and all my staff and everybody, other residents in the city is very disappointed at all this.
LEMON: Chief, do you have any -- can you tell us about any injuries or -- And hopefully there aren't any, and there -- there's not any more loss of life. Can you talk to us about? Do you -- can you give us some perspective on that?
[00:30:13]
FRUETEL: Yes. Over the last couple of evenings, like I said earlier, I only had one building that was broken into and then set on fire, which had apartment units above the first-floor business.
That was the only one that really had to go in and make an aggressive searches and rescue victims off the second floor roof area. But fortunately, with that, we've had no loss of life due to fire, and we've had no injuries to our firefighters, as of yet.
So it's been -- everybody's done a really good job of being very aware of their surroundings and -- and being very cautious. And we're trying to do that to -- just to protect our firefighters and also provide all this service to the residents of Minneapolis.
LEMON: The chief of the Minneapolis Fire department, John Fruetel, joining us by phone. Chief, thank you very much. I know this is a very busy time. You've got your hands full. Be safe. Thanks again.
FRUETEL: Yes, Don. I appreciate you having the ability to take the time. I appreciate it. Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you.
So there, you've heard from the fire chief there, saying that they are trying to coordinate with the police department to figure out exactly when they're going to go back into this area where the Third Precinct is to try and put out the fire and to gain some control over the area and protesters.
They are meeting right now as a task force between the police department and fire department. I would imagine all emergency response agencies in the Minneapolis-St. Paul are.
You're looking at it play out on your screen now. Pictures of the Minneapolis -- a precinct at the -- in Minneapolis, the police department precinct, on fire right now with protesters surrounding. And as you can see in these pictures taken moments ago, chanting, jumping up and down, watching it as if it's a bonfire.
We're back in moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[00:35:44]
LEMON: We're watching the breaking news happening in this country. Minneapolis, of course, the epicenter of it, but you're looking at pictures now, live pictures. This is Louisville, Kentucky. And you can see protesters out on the street.
Let's just listen in to some of the chaos that's happening.
(CROWD NOISES)
(CHANTING)
LEMON: So the protesters there in Louisville, Kentucky, are using some of the public tables, picnic tables, tables that the public use to eat lunch, I would imagine, breakfast and businesses there are out in the park. They're using those as shields against the police.
Police throwing tear gas into the crowds. Some of the protesters throwing it right back at police officers. We have seen fireworks happening there.
That's our local affiliate, WDRB there. There was a reporter was on the air while we were in the break. And as we were coming out, the reporter had to be -- had to take himself out of the situation, because he was being overcome with tear gas.
So that is the situation that's happening in Louisville, Kentucky. Happening in several cities throughout the United States, including Denver, Phoenix, Columbus, Ohio, and of course, St. Paul, Minnesota and Minneapolis, Minnesota as well.
And speaking of Minneapolis, I want to get back to Sara Sidner and Josh Campbell. And they both join us from the scene. They witnessed this police department, the Third Precinct in Minneapolis, going up in flames and smoke. They join us now on the phone, because they needed to move to a safer place.
What do you see now?
SIDNER (on camera): Don, look, it is still on fire. There is still a police presence there. There is the smell of gas as we were walking away. So we're not sure why that is.
But now we are seeing the Target is on fire. So the place where most folks in that neighborhood would go to shop, do both grocery shopping and other kinds of shopping, that is now engulfed. It is on fire. And so it's -- now we're talking about nearing a dozen buildings that are on fire or have burned completely through at this point in time.
The scene still very much the same, with hundreds of protesters outside, with folks who are blowing off fireworks. There are folks that are trying to kick in the windows and throw rocks and throw pieces of concrete at the Third Precinct. It really shows sort of the ire has been focused very heavily on that Third Precinct.
This is all, by the way, in the neighborhood. It is a few blocks away from where George Floyd laid there with a knee on his neck, begging for his breath.
And we think we need to remember where this all started. A lot of times, people get so wrapped up in seeing the destruction, and it is destruction of a neighborhood that can't really afford to deal with this destruction. It's already a neighborhood that has, you know, a food desert. This is where people would go to get their food.
But this started because of an outrage and an absolute, you know, heart-thumping pain from people who watched this man expire, or at least his entire body go limp as an officer refused to remove his knee from his neck.
And the reaction to that had been, at first sorrow, at first absolute pain, and then an explosion of anger and a response has been many different things. We heard from activists who are trying to calm people, trying to channel people's energy.
But we also have, while this is all happening, the coronavirus. It's still here, and people have really forgotten that. They're very close to one another. There are hundreds of people on top of each other. And it is -- it is --
[00:40:09]
LEMON: Sara, it's really unbelievable if you'll -- if you'll let me jump in here. Because you're exactly right as we're looking at this.
A couple things here. You're saying there are no police there. Then who is moving you back?
SIDNER: Nobody. See, what's happening is, when you hear people moving back, usually you'll hear a loud bang. It is usually fireworks. And they'll go off, and people will jump back. They're not quite sure exactly what the noise is. Right?
People are worried about gunfire. They're worried about whether or not there's going to be police that return. Whether or not there's going to be, you know, tear gas that returns. And so any time there's a loud noise, a lot of folks, unless they can actually see the fireworks going off, will start to move away. LEMON: All right.
SIDNER: So at this point --
LEMON: I was just wondering why we have a -- a decorated war correspondent on the air who's -- I'm not seeing. So I'm just hearing from you. Because as we know, you have reported from war zones and have won awards from it.
SIDNER: Yes.
LEMON: And I'm just wondering if -- why you're not on the air. I want to see Sara Sidner on the air for CNN.
But I also have some other news that I need to report, Sara, so stand by.
The city of Minneapolis asks -- asks protesters to retreat from the Third Precinct after unconfirmed reports of severe gas lines. So that's -- that's what you're smelling there. Severed -- excuse me, severed gas lines.
The city of Minneapolis issued a tweet moments ago, asking protesters near the Third Precinct to retreat after hearing unconfirmed reports that the gas lines at the Third Precinct have been cut and other explosive materials are in the building.
If you are near the building, for your safety, please retreat. In the event the building explodes. The city wrote, via their verified Twitter account.
Sara, that's the gas you're smelling.
SIDNER: Yes. So that could literally be explosive. And that is so dangerous.
And Don, I've got to tell you, when I see a lot of young people all sitting on top of each other, so close to the fire there. They are in danger. They may not know it. And they may not realize it. They are putting their lives in danger right now.
It would be such a shame, such a terrible heartache for another family, if somebody ends up dying, because they were so close to this. If there is a gas line that has been cut or that has been breached, or that has been broken, and there is fire, literally, all the way around the precinct, that is such an incredible amount of danger that folks are putting themselves in.
But again, there is such an outrage. People are at the point where they just -- it's almost as if they cannot stop. They cannot stop. Their emotions have gone beyond them. And at this point, you know, with no one there to -- to move folks out, with nobody there to calm things down, the scenario could get really devastating as far as the numbers of people who are out there and potentially in harm's way, if there is a gas line that has been breached.
LEMON: OK. Sara, again, I was just wondering why. I thought police were moving you back.
SIDNER: No.
LEMON: OK. Well -- All right, interesting. All right, Sara. I want you --
SIDNER: It's anger spectacle.
LEMON: Yes, yes. Sara, I want you to stand by.
I want to get to Miguel Marquez. Miguel Marquez is in St. Paul Minnesota. He has been following the developments there, as well.
Miguel, remember just -- I asked you about -- about the National Guard, the St. Paul mayor asking the National Guard to be deployed. We got breaking news at the top of the hour that 500 National Guard members were being deployed to the St. Paul, Minneapolis area. And that they were -- be coming to protect the area.
What's happening where you are?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We understand those guard members will be protecting the -- it's the capital building and the buildings around that.
We actually have moved from St. Paul, because it became very much a standoff between police and protesters at that one corner. There were also several businesses along University toward the capital that were on fire.
We're now in Minneapolis, the First Precinct. And I'm going to show you what's going on here. It's very, very nervous moments here. There is an enormous police presence here. Most of these are -- are police officers on bicycles. But they're on the streets. We've seen long lines of police vehicles, as well, patrolling the area down here.
This is the largest precinct in Minneapolis. It is right downtown Minneapolis. And there is an expectation that this precinct could be threatened by protesters tonight, as well. And so they are taking every precaution to make sure that it is not.
It is a much more densely-packed area than the Third Precinct. If what we're seeing at the Third Precinct were to happen here, it would be very, very devastating to the city.
[00:45:09]
Right now, it is oddly quiet down here. And there is clearly an expectation that something may happen here. And police are -- are arriving here in very big numbers -- Don.
LEMON: Miguel Marquez on the scene in St. Paul for us. And again, our crews are on the scene in St. Paul, Minnesota. Also Minneapolis, Minnesota. We have crews on the scene.
Our affiliates are on the scene in -- in Louisville, Kentucky. I don't know if we still have those pictures up from Louisville, Kentucky. But there, WDRB, as you can see, police in tactical stance, tactical gear. And they have been trying to hold back these protesters, who have been using picnic tables and other devices to hold back police or to use as shields and their protest efforts there in Louisville, Kentucky.
We'll continue to follow this. We have a quick break we want to get in, and then we'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: These protests are spreading tonight. I want to take you to Phoenix, Arizona, now. This is our affiliate, KNXV. Let's listen in.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- non-aggressively the entire night, actually, blocking traffic as protesters march downtown. They really said enough is enough. They damaged property, and they are out in full riot gear right now.
So you can see -- you can hear the shots firing in the air. Those are police rounds. Those are not from the protestors or any active firearms. Those are more disbursement [SIC] rounds.
[00:50:06]
But as you can see, not everyone is dispersing. The crowd thinned some when those paintball rounds started to be fired, or rubber bullets, I should say. But they have not really administered a ton of tear gas or anything that would really lead to a large disbursement [SIC].
So right now, it's kind of this standoff. You can see people with their hands in the air, their fists in the air. And the vast majority of this crowd has been peaceful, but a few people surrounding that Phoenix police car, as I mentioned, smashing the back windshield out. And that's what -- what has led us to this situation, after a three- hour protest.
Of course, if you've been following the news, you know what it's about. The death of George Floyd, an African-American man, at the hands of Minneapolis police.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And you're listening to a reporter from our affiliate KNXV in -- in Phoenix, Arizona. And talking about the situation that we watched these pictures as we saw just moments ago.
This crew and reporter, camera people, they had to be moved back several times because of the situation there in Phoenix, Arizona.
Again, there are protests that are happening in a number of cities here in the United States tonight: Phoenix, Arizona; Denver, Colorado; Columbus, Ohio; Louisville, Kentucky; and of course, St. Paul, Minnesota and Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well.
I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst James Galiano. He is a retired FBI supervisory special agent who joins us now via phone.
James, thank you for joining us here. As you're watching these pictures from all over the country and especially from Minneapolis, when you see a police precinct on fire, up in smoke because of frustration over this, the death of this man, what are your thoughts?
JAMES GALIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (via phone): Well, Don, first of all, I mean, just absolutely shocking images.
I mean, look, I'm old enough to have been in law enforcement back in 1992, you know, when the riots happened in the wake of police officers being found not guilty in the Rodney King case. That wasn't that long ago.
And you look to the summers of 2014 and 2015 and -- and some riots and uprisings that happened in American cities, in Ferguson and Baltimore, this is -- this is -- this is shocking. It's appalling. It's maddening, and it's -- it's deeply saddening.
Don, think about where we've come in 72 hours. I mean, it has been 72 hours since George Floyd died in police custody. We all watched the video, some eight or nine minutes of a police officer with his -- with his knee in the man's neck.
And Don, I'm going to tell you something. It is I cycled through the last 72 hours. That was Monday night.
And moving into Tuesday, the four police officers are immediately fired. I thought that the Minneapolis Police Department, you know, handled that with great alacrity and did the right thing there.
The FBI announced that they were going to be looking at this from a civil rights violation perspective. We had peaceful protests, relatively, on Tuesday night.
You move into Wednesday night, all of a sudden last night, it looked like riots began, looting.
And then moving into today, Don, I thought that that press conference that was held this afternoon that we all watched, that was sponsored, set up by the United States attorney's office, with the FBI special agent in charge speaking, as well as, basically, the district attorney there, I guess, for Hennepin County.
And Don, I don't to point fingers, but I think that that press conference probably didn't have the intended effect, because some of the things that were said in that, I think, deeply -- people rightly interpreted as not being focused on bringing justice.
I mean, I listened to the press conference, and -- and the Hennepin County attorney, Michael Freeman, says he watched the video. It was graphic, horrible and terrible horrible. He said his -- his job was to prove a violation of a criminal statute.
And then he drops this bombshell. And I'm going to quote him here: "But there's other evidence that does not support a criminal charge." Now, I understand, you've got to look at this from all ends. I've got
-- I understand you've got to give these police officers due process. They deserve it. But Don, we're sitting on a tinderbox.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: And just so you know, James --
GALIANO: We're sitting on a powder keg.
LEMON: Just so you know, about 90 minutes later, they had to release a statement --
GALIANO: Yes.
LEMON: -- from his office that he misspoke on that. And so my question is, I am wondering if -- if it was better off.
As I have both of you here, I want to bring Laura in, Laura Coates in, as well, our legal analyst here, our senior legal analyst.
I'm wondering if it would have been better off, if they had been better off had they not even had this press conference. Laura?
COATS: You know, it's hard to gauge. It was almost very palpable, the frustration in the room. You already heard the comments that were coming from people who were asking about the urgency or what more was needed.
[00:55:07]
And I think the reason you're seeing all across the country, as James alluding to, as well and what you're seeing from Kentucky to all parts of the United States, including Minneapolis and St. Paul, is because unfortunately, there is a George Floyd in each of these jurisdictions.
This is not an anomaly. It is not a one-off. It is part of a systemic issue that we're having where there is a combination of the devaluation of black lives in this country, combined with qualified immunity. The Supreme Court has articulated and emboldened and emboldened in many ways and disincentivized the police departments to do something about it.
And so you're seeing a combination. And part of that powder keg, it's beyond Mr. George Floyd, and it's beyond. But it now, as you're seeing this devolving into the rioting and the looting that we have seen.
And, you know, we all remember Watts, Baltimore, some of those places have never recovered.
GALIANO: All right, brother. Thank you. Thank --
COATES: And I'm wondering if we will have the same home I grew up in.
LEMON: Yes. That was James, Laura, who -- they -- was hanging up the phone. That wasn't me interrupting you. So -- but Laura, James Galiano brought up -- how much time do I have,
guys? None. OK. But he brought up Rodney King. And I remember, I just started out in news when the Rodney King thing happened, in New York City. And I remember all the rioting happening across the country. And I couldn't believe -- couldn't believe that I was sitting there watching it and wondering what had happened to this country.
And here we are, all these years later. Here I am, an old head who's been in the news for a long time, and we have riots, again, playing out in this country because of misconduct and a death from the police department -- from a police department.
Laura, thank you. James Galiano, thank you. All of our crews who are out there in the field, thank you. Please stay safe.
And thank you for watching. Our live coverage is going to continue with Michael Holmes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
