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Don Lemon Tonight

Second Day Of Testimony In Chauvin Trial; Rep. Gaetz Denies Sexual Relationship With 17-Year-Old; GA State Trooper Officer Who Arrested GA Rep. At State Capitol Feared Insurrection; Multiple States Set To Drop Mask Mandate, Ignoring Biden Plea To Keep Restrictions; Police Officers Berate, Threaten Five-Year-Old Boy. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 30, 2021 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN HOST (on camera): Dramatic testimony today in the trial of ex police officer, Derek Chauvin, who is charged with murder for kneeling on the neck of George Floyd for 9:29. One eyewitness testifying he was so disturbed by what he saw that he called the police on the police, because he believed he witnessed a murder. And an off-duty firefighter, who is a trained EMT, testifying that police prevented her from giving medical aid to George Floyd.

Also tonight, there's a developing story that Florida GOP Congressman Matt Gaetz denying that he had sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and claiming that he is the victim of an extortion attempt. More on that, but I want to start right with this dramatic testimony today in the trial of Derek Chauvin. CNN's Sara Sidner reports now from Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Eyewitness Donald Williams took the stand with a remarkable revelation, telling the jury what he did after witnessing George Floyd's body slump as then Officer Derek Chauvin continued pressing his knee down on Floyd's neck.

DONALD WYNN WILLIAMS, WITNESS: I called the police on the police.

MATTHEW FRANK, MN. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Right. Why did you do that?

WILLIAMS: Because I believe I witnessed a murder.

SIDNER: Williams could not hold back tears as his 9-1-1 dispatch audio played in court.

UNKNOWN: 911, what's the address of the emergency?

WILLIAMS: I saw officers trying to kill a citizen in front of a Chicago store. He just pretty much just killed this guy that wasn't resisting arrest. He had his knee on the dude neck the whole time officer 987. FRANK: Whose badge which officer were you referring to?

WILLIAMS: The officer sitting over there.

FRANK: OK.

SIDNER: Late last year, the world saw Williams on the scene when police body camera video was released. The jury has yet to see this video.

WILLIAMS: You all murder bro. You all murderers Thao. You going to kill yourself. I already know it.

SIDNER: In cross-examination, Chauvin's attorney focused some attention on the harsh words Williams used against the officers.

ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR DEREK CHAUVIN: You called him a tough guy?

WILLIAMS: Yes.

NELSON: Those terms grew more and more angry. Would you agree with that?

WILLIAMS: They grew more and more pleading for life.

NELSON: Alright. After you called him a bum 13 times, you called him a (BEEP).

WILLIAMS: Is that what you heard?

NELSON: Did you say that?

WILLIAMS: Is that what you heard?

NELSON: I'm asking you, sir. Did you say that?

WILLIAMS: I'm pretty sure id did. You heard that. I'm pretty sure you did.

SIDNER: Williams tried to counter the angry black man stereotype, instead explaining he was trying to save a life. But Chauvin's attorney was painting a picture of a scene that created fear in the officers, mentioning one officer pushing Williams back.

NELSON: Do you recall saying I dare you to touch me like that, I swear I will slap the (BEEP) out of both of you?

WILLIAMS: Yes, I do.

SIDNER: The next witness dissolved into tears for the fear and trauma she continues to experience.

UNKNOWN: It's been nights that I've stayed up apologizing. And apologizing to George Floyd for not doing more. SIDNER: That is the voice of a teenage bystander who took the video

the world saw. She was a minor at the time of the incident. A picture of her and her cousin was shown on the scene, but the court ordered cameras could not show them testifying and only use their audio.

JERRY BLACKWELL, SPECIAL ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL: What was it about the scene that caused you to come back?

UNKNOWN: It wasn't right. He was suffering. He was in pain.

SIDNER: The jury then heard from the youngest eyewitness who was nine years old. She needed her memory job as to what Chauvin looked like.

UNKNOWN: OK, how about here?

SIDNER: But she did remember what upset her that day.

UNKNOWN: I saw the officer put the knee on the neck of George Floyd. I was sad and kind of mad.

SIDNER: The jury also heard from an off-duty firefighter EMT, who happened to be on a walk. This is Genevieve Hansen's 9-1-1 call on May 25th.

GENEVIEVE HANSEN, PROSECUTION WITNESS: I literally watched police officers not take a pulse and not do anything to save a man. And I'm a first responder myself and I literally have it on video camera.

SIDNER: Hansen was moved to tears.

HANSEN: There was a man being killed, and I would have, had I had access to a call similar to that, I would have been able to provide medical attention to the best of my abilities. And this human was denied that right.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[23:05:23]

LEMON: I want to bring in now Sarah Sidner who has been covering this story from the very beginning now, all 10 months of it. So, Sara, good evening to you. Listen, very compelling testimony today. You cannot deny that. What kind of an impact did today's witnesses and the evidence seem to have on the jury?

SIDNER (on camera): A great one, Don. And I think it had an impact on anyone who was listening to witness after witness. Each one exceedingly emotional overtime. Each one being very, very detailed. Each one having some very powerful statements, such as I call the police on the police because I thought they were murdering someone.

You heard from someone who is in MMA, a professional MMA fighter, who Donald Williams talked about, you know, the chokeholds as well and talked about what those were. And he was very technical, he knew his stuff, and that came across, even when he was bantering back and forth with the defense. It was very clear that this had jarred people, even someone who was

used to being in a situation where someone is having a medical emergency, i.e. the firefighter and EMT who just happened to be walking by and saw this scene.

To hear from her, to hear her emote the way she did because she felt, as did everyone who was standing there watching this, she felt helpless. Even though she was trained to help. Those things definitely stuck in the minds of anyone who was watching.

And of course, the defense is going to continue their cross examinations trying to pick apart some of what people are saying, including trying to pick apart what the EMT was saying, questioning her training, which she pushed back on, but also saying look, you said this to the police, you said this in court trying to impeach her on the stand, doing his job in that respect. But on the overarching look at what these witnesses said today, it was powerful and it was emotional, Don.

LEMON: It certainly was. Sara Sidner, thank you very much, I appreciate that. I want to bring in now former federal prosecutor, Laura Coates, former Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey. Good evening to both of you.

Laura, it was really powerful testimony, some of the most powerful today coming from witnesses who are minors, a nine-year-old girl having to watch this drama unfold and then relive it. The teenager who took the video seeing her family and George Floyd. I know this really hit you as a mom. What kind of an impact do you think this is going to have on the case?

LAURA COATES, CNN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ANALYST (on camera): I mean, it absolutely did. The idea that you have got children who are watching this, Don. The idea that as a mother, you send your child out hoping they are going to bring back snacks as their plan, and instead they bring back the memory of having witnessed a murder in this tortured state, and having this young girl have the wherewithal to on the one hand show her younger, than 8 year old cousin inside, because it is not what were told them to see.

And then having the wherewithal to take that video that eventually went viral and everyone saw. As you talked about in the last hour, what could have been if we had we not seen it?

But what I thought was so poignant was her statement when she said I've stayed up nights apologizing to George Floyd for not being able to save your life. But it's not what I should have done. It's what he should have done, directing her thoughts to the person who is the defendant, the person who is the police officer.

It was very powerful and you had the corroboration from each different witness, different vantage point, each one looking at a bit of an ink blot test essentially and all seeing the same thing. This is the kind of thing that jurors look for, corroboration, the idea of having credibility, having witnesses who do not have some vested interests or an angle. What could be more benign and pure than a child watching the murder of someone in front of her own eyes?

LEMON: Laura, quickly before I get to Chief Ramsey. When you heard her say, you know, I wondered what I could do, right. I couldn't do anything, I felt like I should have done more, but he should have done more. As a former federal prosecutor, are you like, oh, that's heavy?

COATES: Oh that's the headline from me. That's what you use in your close in. Each time witnesses say things like this, you are trying to pick certain things and then to use later on to compile all the things you are going to hear over several weeks.

Because may be there will be a lot of testimony in between, but those moments, to really drive home the point, whose responsibility it was to save the life and why didn't he do so and why did he act defiantly and really deny people being able to render aid? That question is looming over. And it may have to compel him to really take the stand and try to explain his answer.

[23:10:19]

LEMON: Yes. Chief Ramsey, I want to bring you in now. We know at least three witnesses mentioned calling the police on the police, calling the police on Chauvin and his colleagues. The 9-1-1 dispatcher, the bystander, Donald Williams, the off-duty firefighter EMT, calling the police on the police. You know, the police are right there. That is an incredible red flag that was going on. What did you think of that?

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST (on camera): Well, I mean, there were four people wearing the uniform of a police officer there. I mean, I can argue, if they were really a police officer in terms of what they did. That is not consistent with the ethics of being a police officer or anything else, the oath they took.

You know, it is a sad situation when you have a situation where they couldn't even trust the people that were there. They had to call someone else hoping somebody would intervene and take some action, because apparently, the ones that were there failed to do so.

LEMON: Yes. Right, you said that, whether they wear -- I mean, they were the guys with the badge. They were the people with the badges.

RAMSEY: They were. There is no question about it. There were there, cops. My point is, that they just -- they are not a reflection of what the profession is all about. And that's why they are on trial today. And what they did was just simply -- there is no justification for it, anyway you look at it, not at all.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, chief. Thank you, Laura. I appreciate it. Laura, I watched you all day. Great stuff. I watch you all day, Chief Ramsey, as well. I've been riveted in your perspective on this had both been fascinating. So, great coverage. Thank you for doing this. I appreciate it.

COATES: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Yes, you know, it's hard to hear the testimony about the last moment of George Floyd's life, second by second. And if you are having trouble dealing with it, speak up, ask for help. We've got some resources up on the screen now for you. Again, do not -- it's up on the screen right there. Take a look at your screen. I will tweeted out earlier for you and put it on our social media. Don't hesitate to get help, please.

We have a developing story to tell you about. Congressman Matt Gaetz denying that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old after The New York Times reported the DOJ was investigating a possible sexual relationship with the girl and whether he paid for her to travel with him. The Congressman says it is all an extortion attempt. New details, next.

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[23:15:00]

LEMON: So Congressman Matt Gaetz denying that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old after the New York Times reported that according to its sources the Justice Department was investigating a possible sexual relationship with the girl, and whether he paid for her the girl to travel with him.

The Congressman telling CNN and quote, I'm quoting here, no part of the allegations against me are true, and saying that claims are being pushed by people who are targets of an ongoing extortion investigation. So I want to discuss now with CNN legal analyst Jennifer Rodgers, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Jennifer, thank you s much. So help us understand this case. Break it down for us. Gaetz is being investigated of whether he had sexual relationship with 17-year-old girl, paid for to travel with him, that's according to three people brief on the matter, speaking to New York Times. Now Gaetz says that he is innocent. But what are the legal implications here? What is going on, Jennifer?

JENNIFER RODGERS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR (on camera): Well, he says that he didn't do it but then he also went on tonight on Tucker Carlson and told Tucker that he had been part of a double date effectively with him and this woman. So, you know, it's unclear what he's going to say ultimately about allegations against him if any charges are ever filed.

We know there is a real case, its going to trial in June against associates of Gaetz, named Joel Greenberg, sex trafficking case. So, we know that Matt Gaetz was somehow tied up in that, he was told apparently that he was subject of that investigation. Which means, not that you are on the clear, if you are on the clear, you would be told that you are just a witness.

A subject means, you are not necessarily being targeted but that evidence could develop that means that you will ultimately be charged. So that investigation was started. It was started under trump's DOJ, under Bill Barr, so Matt Gaetz' allegation that it was political in nature does not seem to hold water. And I really don't know what to make of the extortion allegation, except to say that it seems to be separate.

In other words whether or not there's some strange extortion going on with someone saying I can help you take care of this case against you for $25 million, that doesn't mean that the case against him if there ever is one brought. We know there is an investigation that that case is somehow illegitimate.

LEMON (on camera): Yes. So he's talking about that right now. Here it is, listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MATT GAETZ, (R-FL): On March 16th, my father got a text message demanding a meeting where in a person demanded $25 million in exchange for making horrible sex trafficking allegations against me go away. Our family was so troubled by that, we went to the local FBI. And the FBI and the Department of Justice were so concerned about this attempted extortion of a member of Congress that they asked my dad to wear a wire. Which he did. With the former Department of Justice official.

Tonight, I am demanding, that the Department of Justice and the FBI released the audio recordings that were made under their supervision and at their direction. Which will prove my innocence. And it will show that these allegations aren't true.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): OK. So the thing is that you said that -- I think you said that they could be separate. Could both be true? Because the DOJ inquiry started in the final months of the Trump administration, and Gaetz says that the extortion attempt occurred on March 16th, so can they both be true?

[23:20:12]

RODGERS: Of course, but here is the thing that is very strange. I mean if he actually and his family are tied up in some sort of extortion events, that he felt was serious enough to bring it to the FBI and someone is wearing a wire, he's now blowing that investigation wide open by talking about it. That wasn't the subject of The New York Times reporting. So, he is the one who is potentially damaging an ongoing investigation, and what he says that he's the victim.

So I don't know how that makes much sense for him to do, if he in fact says that he's the victim of this. But I think you're right on the money to say that there could both be an investigation of him for sex trafficking, and someone separately could be trying to take advantage of that by extorting him.

LEMON: Now the woman that you said he mentioned on Tucker Carlson. Again, this was, you know, it's all very unclear, and even you know, I think to some degree Tucker admitted that it was strange and you know, interview. I'm not sure if the woman that he mentioned having the double date, is that the same woman who is allegedly part of this? RODGERS: It is not entirely clear. I thought when I watched it

(inaudible) it was maybe what he was saying, but I honestly don't know.

LEMON: OK. But again he is saying to CNN that he had no part of this and if the allegations are true, and again he is clearing his name. He's saying he wants to clear his name. So we will see. We are going to follow this. Jennifer, thank you. I really appreciate you explaining this to us.

A Georgia state trooper says that he feared insurrection, like the one on January 6, when arresting that one state representative in Georgia. Well, does this look the same as January 6 to you? As someone who is there, next.

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[23:25:00]

LEMON: Tonight, a third federal lawsuit has been filed, challenging Georgia's new voting law, which was signed by Republican Governor Brian Kemp last week. The lawsuit filed by civil rights groups claims that the new law restricts the rights of voters, including voters of color and those in religious communities.

GOP lawmakers claimed that the law boosts confidence in Georgia's voting procedures, and in a twist that you have to here to believe. One of the Georgia's capital police officers who arrested Representative Park Cannon last week said that he feared, another January 6 style insurrection, would develop.

Seriously, really.

OK. So she was taken into custody while knocking on the Governor's door, as Kemp was signing the law into -- law in private. So let's remember that thousands of rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol. Not the same. I want to bring in now, Tamara Stevens who witness and recorded Park Cannon's arrest. Tamara, thank you so much for joining us. I remember you now that I see you from the video, and you're standing -- I think you're holding a sign, am I correct?

TAMARA STEVENS, WITNESS AND RECORDED PARK CANNON'S ARREST: That's correct.

LEMON (on camera): Yes, so thank you for joining us. So, you took the video of Representative Park Cannon's arrest last Thursday. I want to take a look and then we'll talk more about it. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I want more time, like you're going to do something.

UNKNOWN: Are you serious?

UNKNOWN: No, you are not, Represent --

UNKNOWN: She is not under arrest. For what? Under arrest for what?

For trying to see something that our Governor is doing?

UNKNOWN: Why is she under arrest? Our governor --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So, Tamara, talk to me about what was going through your mind while this was all happening.

STEVENS: Well we were really surprised by it, which you can tell by our reaction. Because Representative Cannon was not being threatening in any way. And the posture of the state trooper, prior to him jumping up and arresting her, it showed that he was leaning against the wall, his legs were crossed.

He was not attempting to block the door in any way. There was not another trooper standing next to him, preventing Representative Park from accessing the door. And it was shocking. We are very surprised at the over reaction.

LEMON: What were you doing at the statehouse that day?

STEVENS: We have been protesting for nearly a month now, a group of organization that have gotten together. We've been protesting ever since they started introducing these voter suppression bills. There had been several of them that had gone through the Georgia legislature. We have been at the Capitol earlier in the day. And we had a protest scheduled, at Heart's field for against Delta to try and apply some pressure to Delta.

And the Governor knew that we are doing this. It was scheduled, it was permitted at 5:30. At 5:45 we received notice, via tweet that the Governor had scheduled a press conference, and was going to be signing the bill at 6:30. Now there were several dozen of us hearts Field protesting.

But we didn't want to bring a big crowd to the Capitol, so there was only about half a dozen of us who decided to get into our cars and head back to the Capitol. With the intention of just doing a silent protest.

We had the small signs, that they allowed us to bring into the Capitol, and mine said shame on the Georgia GOP. And that was basically what our intent to let them know, that they didn't get away with it behind closed doors. That we saw them, we were there, we are paying attention, we are going to hold them accountable.

LEMON: Tamara, the arresting officer in a 13-page incident report stated that, if I did not take action, the other protesters would have been embolden to commit similar acts. The events of January 6th 2021 at the U.S. Capitol, we're at the back of my mind.

[23:30:01]

OK, so, Representative Cannon was knocking on the door in a place where she worked. Compare that to January 6. The insurrectionists who stormed the Capitol violently fought with police officers. What do you say to that?

STEVENS: It's unbelievable. There were six women, two elected female representatives. We were holding signs. We were not yelling. We were not screaming.

Representative Cannon knocked on the door. She didn't pound. She didn't kick. She wasn't diving over state troopers trying to access the building or trying to access the room. She was knocking on the door.

And for him to have compared that and those actions to January 6th, it's disgusting and it's completely -- it's completely false.

LEMON: Representative Cannon returned to the Georgia state house today in a sling with MLK III and hundreds of supporters by her side.

You're one of the cofounders of the No Safe Seats, an organization that has protesting at the Capitol over the bill. And you were discussing -- you know, you discussed it a moment ago. Do you think her arrest is going to breathe new energy into the fight for voting rights?

STEVENS: Absolutely. It's just reinvigorated. Because what we witnessed first-hand was the last gasp of power under that gold dome by white men. There was a Black legislator that wanted access to the -- to see the signing of a bill that was going to affect not only her constituents but Georgians all across the state. And they needed to put that Black woman into her place. And that's what they attempted to do. And that's what we saw live.

LEMON: Tamara, people ask me why I'm optimistic about where we're going in this country and it's because of people like you. Because I think --

STEVENS: Thank you.

LEMON: -- there are enough people who are doing the right thing and willing to stand up for what's right and on the right -- be on the right side of history, and you're one of them. Thank you for appearing on the show. We appreciate it.

STEVENS: Thank you. If anyone wants to get involved in Georgia, ProtectTheVoteGA.org, it will tell you everything that we got planned going forward.

LEMON: You be well. Thank you again.

STEVENS: Thank you.

LEMON (on camera): States easing coronavirus restrictions, but the country's top doctors are warning it's still too soon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDY SLAVITT, WHITE HOUSE SENIOR ADVISOR FOR COVID RESPONSE: We are lulled into this false sense that this thing can't get to us. But as Michigan is showing and as other states are showing, it's not true and it's not done yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[23:35:00]

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LEMON (on camera): With cases climbing, President Biden's top coronavirus advisers continuing to drive home the importance of mask wearing and social distancing. White House senior COVID adviser Andy Slavitt and CDC Director Rochelle Walensky are sounding the alarm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SLAVITT: I think the governors know better. I think the governors know that they're not helping the cause, that they're actually weighing down the cause, and that they may think it is a popular thing to do. I don't think that's the case. I think people want to be told what the truth of the matter is. The mask -- to me a mask feels like a very small price to pay to protect people's lives.

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: We know that it's preventable. We have the science to prevent -- we know what we need to do to stop the -- to stop the surge, and we would ask everybody to go ahead and do that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let's discuss more now. CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner is here. We love having him with us almost every night to discuss this. So, doctor, thanks for joining.

We are averaging more than 60,000 new cases a day for the past five days. And meanwhile, Arkansas is lifting its mask mandate. Are we giving up some of the COVID battlefield that we won by loosening these restrictions and seeing these case counts go up?

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION PROGRAM AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Yeah, absolutely, Don. Several years ago, when my wife was running her first marathon, she slowed to a walk with the finish line in sight, and her good friend who was running with her yelled at her, you have not come this far to walk across the finish line.

And I've been thinking about that a lot recently because I think in some parts of this country, we are going to walk across the finish line and that's going to cost lives.

No, we should be keeping our guard up until we have herd immunity in this country, which means keeping mask mandates in place, which means restricting indoor capacity in places where still the community spread is high.

And, you know, this is not the time to slow down. This is not a country that walks across the finish line. So, I completely agree with Andy Slavitt and Dr. Walensky. You know, we need to push on and get this done.

LEMON: Twenty-three states now are seeing increase in COVID cases, up 10 percent or more. But in Michigan, they are seeing an increase of over 50 percent. What should they do to get back under control there?

REINER: A lot -- there is a lot of spread in young people there.

[23:39:54]

REINER: So, in Michigan, over the last couple of weeks, there's been 600 percent increase in cases in people between 30 to 39 and 800 percent increase in people between 40 and 49. In contrast, people over the age of 80, most of whom are vaccinated, there has only been 30 percent increase.

So we need to get strike teams into places like Michigan, mobile strike teams armed with J&J single-dose vaccines and get to those high risk spreading communities now which are young people. We can't wait for them to come to us. We can't wait for them to get on to the portals to make their reservations. We need to get into the community, no reservations required, and start vaccinating people like crazy.

LEMON: Mm-hmm.

REINER: You know, like forest firefighters do when they go and put out these hot spots. We need to actively go and put out these hot spots, not just by masking now, not just by closing down, but by vaccinating like crazy.

LEMON: You're right. I walked by this outdoor, like, beer garden this weekend and all the young people out there, they had social distancing inside, but everybody is standing in line right on top of each other. Line was down the street. And everybody's mask is like this. They're all like that.

REINER: Right.

LEMON: With, you know, with no -- on their chin. I was, like, what are you doing? I'm wondering. Should the establishment be responsible for -- but -- I don't know. They're on the public street waiting to get in. But they seemed to have no regard for mask wearing or social distancing, and I'm sure that's happening in many, many, many places around the country.

Doctor, thank you. I appreciate your time. We'll see you tomorrow.

REINER: My pleasure, Don.

LEMON: Thank you.

REINER: Thank you. LEMON: Police caught on camera taunting, berating, grabbing, and threatening a boy, a boy who is only five years old. Stay with us.

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[23:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Newly released body camera footage shows Maryland police berating and threatening a five-year-old boy after he wandered away from school. Athena Jones has this incredibly disturbing story.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

KEVIN CHRISTMON, MONTGOMERY POLICE OFFICER (voice-over): Get in the car or we're going to have problems. Don't worry about it.

(CRYING)

CHRISTMON (voice-over): I don't want to hear it.

(CRYING)

ATHENA JONES, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The video is disturbing and difficult to watch. Two Montgomery County, Maryland police officers screaming at and threatening a five-year-old boy after he walked out of his elementary school. They locate him two-tenth of a mile away.

CHRISTMON (voice-over): How old are you?

UNKNOWN: (voice-over): Five.

CHRISTMON (voice-over): Five. You feel like you can make your own decisions? Huh? You feel like you can do what you want?

JONES (voice-over): The boy's mother, Shanta Grant, filed a lawsuit in January against the officers, Dionne Holliday and Kevin Christmon, accusing them of assault and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

This video just released by the police department. Also named in the suit, Montgomery County, accused of violating the boy's rights under state law, and the Montgomery County Board of Education, accused of negligence.

Back in January 2020, the suit alleges, the kindergartener walked off the East Silver Spring Elementary School premises when he was not being properly supervised. School employees called police to help find him. The video shows Officer Christmon putting the young boy into the squad car to drive him back to school.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): I don't want to go.

CHRISTMON (voice-over): I don't care. JONES (voice-over): The suit states this was extremely frightening to him because he thought he was going to be taken to jail.

JAMES PAPIRMEISTER, GRANT'S ATTORNEY: The encounter between the police and this little five-year-old turns into such an abrasive, offensive encounter, as if they're treating him like he just committed an armed robbery. We counted 19 times when one or both officers talk about beating him, that he needs to be beaten.

JONES (voice-over): The officers arrived at school with the student moments later, loudly taunting the child as they enter.

DIONNE HOLLIDAY, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE OFFICER: How do you learn that behavior at five? This is why people need to beat their kids. Sit down!

UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).

HOLLIDAY (voice-over): Sit down!

(CRYING)

HOLLIDAY (voice-over): Shut that noise up now!

(CRYING)

HOLLIDAY: Boy, I tell you. I hope your mama let me beat you.

(CRYING)

JONES (voice-over): According to the complaint, this remark led the boy to believe that Holliday was about to cause him physical harm. Video shows Holliday screaming at boy, inches from his face.

(CRYING)

JONES (voice-over): School employees discussed the child's behavior with the officers as they wait for his mother to arrive. Officer Holliday is suggesting how she would discipline the child.

HOLLIDAY: A crate, cradle.

(CRYING)

HOLLIDAY: Act like a little beast?

JONES (voice-over): According to the union, both officers were subjected to corrective action. The police department refused to say whether they had been disciplined. Both remain on the force. The union's vice president telling CNN, in that case, it was a school matter, not a police matter. We should have never been called to that.

Neither officer responded to our requests for comment. The Montgomery County School Board president and superintendent said in a statement, our hearts ache for the student. There is no excuse for adults to ever speak to or threaten a child in this way. We have asked MCPS leadership to ensure that the school system's procedures and expectations are clear to all staff.

A discussion ensues when Grant arrives, during which she talks about her struggles to discipline her son.

SHANTA GRANT, MOTHER OF FIVE-YEAR-OLD: I can't discipline him because the government won't allow you.

HOLLIDAY (voice-over): Yes, you can.

GRANT: I can't beat him.

HOLLIDAY (voice-over): Why?

GRANT: Because I'm not going to prison.

HOLLIDAY (voice-over): You don't go to prison for beating your child.

[23:50:00]

JONES (voice-over): Grant's lawyers denied there has been abuse or problems at the family's household. Grant, the officers, and a school employee soon moved their discussion to a conference room, where at one point Officer Christmon puts hands cuff on the boy's arm, seemingly to make a point.

CHRISTMON (voice-over): These are for people that don't want to listen and don't know how to act.

JONES (voice-over): And minutes later, these parting words to the boy.

HOLLIDAY: Meeting adjourned. Enjoy yourself today when you get that whooping.

JONES (voice-over): The recording ends with a thank you and an apology.

GRANT: Thank you.

HOLLIDAY: Yes, ma'am. Sorry.

JONES (voice-over): But this was before Grant learned how the officers and school officials had treated her son before she arrived at the school.

MATTHEW BENNETT, GRANT'S ATTORNEY: Certainly she would not have been in the same demeanor with the police at the end and the school officials if she had known all the things that had transpired before.

JONES (voice-over): Athena Jones, CNN, New York.

CHRISTMON (voice-over): Listen to me. How old are you?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON (on camera): He is five years old. What are y'all doing? Let's discuss now. Montgomery City Council member Will Jawando is here. Will, oh, my gosh. I mean, this is horrifying. An officer screaming repeatedly at a 5-year-old boy, calling him a violent little beast. What? Why do these officers still have jobs and why -- why are they all, all of them treating this little kid like that? He needs a hug more than anything.

WILLIAM JAWANDO, MEMBER, MONTGOMERY CITY COUNCIL: Yeah. It's -- it's hard to watch. I had to catch my breath a little bit. I have not been able to since this came out a few days ago watch it continuously. It's 51 minutes of what I describe -- I think anyone would describe as a nightmare.

Every adult in this situation failed this child. The systems that were set up to support him, school systems supposed to be a place of learning, of support, of love, of care, those administrators failed. Police are supposed to protect and serve. They failed him and in a big way. And you see this yelling in his face, calling him a beast. It's just -- it's abhorrent.

Then you have a law that shields the public and councilmembers. I don't know what discipline was doled out. I know they still work on the force. I've called for them to be fired. I've called for a full investigation and we're going to get to the bottom of it. But this is just -- it's a horrific, horrific event. It underscores why police are the wrong tool in schools and to be called to schools.

It's why we have disproportionality in arrests. Half the children arrested in Montgomery County are Black students, even though they represent about 20 percent of the population. This was uncalled for. Whether you're five or 50, no one should be talked to like that. But this was a little boy. It's horrible.

LEMON: Why are they all -- look, the handcuff thing, why are they all talking about beating a 5-year-old? I don't --

JAWANDO: You know -- you know, I've thought about that. You know, one of the things that comes up that I think about, Don, is, you know, there was -- I think about Tamir Rice a lot who was shot, 12 years old, in a park as the officer pulled up. He had a toy gun. He said I am an 18-year-old with a gun.

The American Psychological Association has studied this and shown that Black boys in particular are seen to be five to seven years older and more of a threat than they are. We are robbed of our childhood in so many ways and criminalized. That's what this school to prison pipeline is about.

And you can't look at this video. Everyone denied the innocence. He didn't even understand the words that were being said. He is five years old developmentally. I have four children under 10. As you know, it just -- somehow, that just escaped these officers and everyone else there.

And so, all I can say is that it just shows that there is deep-seated issues in our criminal justice system. The work that we've been doing to reimagine public safety and to remove police from schools and to support students with social, emotional, mental health, psychologists, crisis counsellors, that's what is needed, and that didn't happen here.

LEMON: And also, I mean, the evolution over the years about spanking and how to discipline kids. When I was in school, I went to Catholic school, and they spanked us. Now, studies have shown and people have evolved on that whole idea of spanking and beating kids, it's not necessarily productive.

Let me talk to you about this lawsuit. It was filed by the child's family. As we saw in Athena's story there, his mother says that the threat of going to jail is what stops her from beating him. This is really concerning. I mean, is this family getting the help and the support that it needs?

JAWANDO: Well, we've -- we've reached out. The lawyers, you know, obviously, it's a little tenuous right now because there is an active lawsuit.

[23:54:58]

JAWANDO: But, you know, that has been one of my primary concerns as well, to make sure that the school system, you know, we had COVID so the schools were out of session and the student wasn't in school physically, but to make sure that they had been checked on and that this boy -- this happened over a year ago. That was one of the problems, too. The only reason I found out was because that there was a lawsuit filed a year later. Yes.

So, we are looking into that. You know, I have an autistic daughter. One of the things that a lot of people have commented on social media is this video -- horrible video has made it around the world, is that there are a lot of symptoms that may suggest this child needs to be assessed for some sort of being on the spectrum. We don't know. I don't know any of that to be true.

LEMON: We don't know that. You don't know that.

JAWANDO: Yeah, we absolutely don't. But what the people should have asked --

LEMON: Right.

JAWANDO: Hey, are you OK? What's going on with you? And no one asked that in this situation.

LEMON: Yeah. Well, look --

JAWANDO: So we are asking that now.

LEMON: A 5-year-old wanders away from campus and no one knows where he is. He needs a hug and reassurance, in my book, rather than --

JAWANDO: Absolutely.

LEMON: -- people berating him. That's how I feel about it. OK, thank you. I've got go. I appreciate it. Keep us updated, OK? Thank you. Good to see you. JAWANDO: Sounds good.

LEMON: Thanks for watching, everyone. Our coverage continues.

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