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Nationwide Protests Against Police Brutality Enter 20th Day; Protests Erupt In Atlanta Over Deadly Police Shooting; Thousands Rally In New York For Black Trans Lives; Source: Trump Convinced Stoking Culture Wars Is Good Strategy; Sen. Scott: Trump Rescheduled Rally After Being Educated About Juneteenth; Seven Minneapolis Officers Have Resigned Since George Floyd's Death. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 14, 2020 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:19]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. And we begin with another day of protest and outrage across the country over police brutality and racism.

You're looking at live pictures right now of the demonstration happening in Atlanta, a city that is reeling from a new police- involved shooting of a black man. 27-year-old Rayshard Brooks was shot dead at a Wendy's drive-thru after police were called because he was asleep in his car.

News of this killing spread swiftly. Hundreds of protesters filled the streets of Atlanta. Human chains blocked a major interstate there, and that Wendy's restaurant was set on fire. Police even deployed tear gas to control the demonstrators there last night.

Now in the less than two days since the shooting happened, it was late Friday night, the officer who shot Brooks was fired. His partner is now on administrative duty and the Atlanta police chief has stepped down.

The district attorney telling CNN this afternoon he should have a decision on any charges against the officers involved by Wednesday.

CNN's Boris Sanchez is live at that Wendy's where the shooting took place.

Boris, what are you hearing from protesters there today?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ana, anger and grief. A lot of frustration among the demonstrators here in South Atlanta just outside the Wendy's where this incident happened on Friday.

Now I'll get out of way to paint a better picture of what we're seeing. The crowd has grown noticeably over the last couple of hours. Quite a few folks left earlier because there was rain, but they are back. I'm not sure if you can see it but right at the front of the Wendy's, there's a bit of a memorial to Rayshard Brooks. There's actually a piece of artwork that they had put together earlier

in the day. That was taken away because of the rain. And of course, you see the remains, what's left of the Wendy's.

Now I spoke to one young man who was here earlier. He actually was here on Saturday night when, you know, the protest got out of hand. He said that protesters had mostly been peaceful. Up at one point, things just again got out of hand. He says that he's here today because he feels like he's on a mission, and this is not just for show. Listen to more of what he told me.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSETH JETT, ATLANTA PROTESTER: Our mission is to get as many people out here and as many people speaking on this situation as of right now that is going on. And that has caused this Wendy's right here to be burnt down in the first place. So yes, I do feel bad about people that have lost their jobs, but at the same time we burned this building and not any other building around here. We burned this one specifically because of what happened here.

You see what I'm saying? This goes back to what our mission is, making sure that there is justice served for the person that died over here at this Wendy's. At the end of the day, the man ran. The man tried to escape. There was absolutely no reason why a gun needs to be pulled when a man is trying to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: So this is a moment, Ana, for this community to mourn and to come together. And you can see there's actually a cookout right now happening outside the Wendy's as this demonstration is unfolding. We're expecting a larger crowd to keep showing up. In fact police just blocked this street. Traffic is moving very slowly through here earlier. At one point one person had stopped, the police officers came to try to get them to move.

It seems police wanted to avoid all of that all together so they've shut down the street in anticipation of more demonstrators coming as the night continues -- Ana.

CABRERA: And Boris, I know police are also investigating that fire that was set at that Wendy's. What are all are they pursuing there?

SANCHEZ: Yes. So they're taking surveillance footage from different cameras that were here last night, and essentially combing through it. Crime Stoppers of Atlanta is actually offering a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the arrest of one of the people captured in this footage that is a suspect of arson.

Of course Atlanta Police, Atlanta Fire asking anyone with information to come forward to try to get to the bottom of who exactly started that fire at the Wendy's -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK, Boris Sanchez reporting for us in Atlanta. Thank you. I want to take a look at some new videos showing what happened in the

moments before Rayshard Brooks was shot. Now these videos are disturbing. They run about 44 minutes. Our team has shortened and combined two police-cam angles. Now before we show them you, I want to bring in retired LAPD sergeant, Cheryl Dorsey, and CNN Legal Analyst and Civil Rights Attorney, Areva Martin.

And I'd like you, ladies, to watch this video with me. First, we're going to see Brooks' car, not moving in that drive-thru lane at Wendy's because he was apparently asleep at the wheel. And then you see an officer knock on the window.

[16:05:04]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa, don't go back to sleep. Just pull over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I gotcha.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. All right. Can you step out with me, please?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just walk back here. Do you have any weapons on you or anything like that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't have anything on me. Is it OK if I pat you down to make sure?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A-thousand-9, 1-thousand 10, 1-thousand-11, 1- thousand-12, 1-thousand-13.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: OK. Let's stop for just a second here.

Sergeant Dorsey, the officers asked him, do you have any weapons? He says he doesn't. And then Brooks appears to consent to a pat down and then this sobriety test that follows. How crucial is that, knowing this was the sequence of events before any scuffle and before any shots were fired?

CHERYL DORSEY, RETIRED LAPD SERGEANT: Well, I mean, it's only significant in that it gives us context. The fact of the matter is, is that by the time the shot was fired, that is what's going to be most important. What was going on? What was in the officer's mind? Because that will play a part in it, and was he -- Mr. Brooks presenting a situation that resembled immediate defense of life, which is the only situation that allows an officer to use deadly force?

CABRERA: Well, when you look at that video, though, if they asked him if he had a weapon, if they pat him down and they know he doesn't have a weapon, doesn't that play into whether lethal force should be used in any type of confrontation here? DORSEY: Those are the kinds of questions that we typically would ask a

person anyway. And listen, understand this. This is a DUI investigation, I would assume, and so part of what they're asking him is so that they can make a determination about his responses and listen to -- listen for slurred speech. If he understands and comprehends the question. And so I don't know if they were necessarily focused on, is he really armed?

Because listen, if he was, chances are he probably would not have admitted it, but none of that has anything to do with the deadly force that ultimately came. He wasn't armed. At some point he grabbed the officer's taser, a nonlethal instrument, and then the officer fired a shot. We don't know if the taser had darts in it, we don't know if the officer was far enough away where the taser couldn't reach him.

And so there are a lot of variables that are going to play into whether or not this officer used deadly force in a manner that was unnecessary.

CABRERA: And I want to get to that portion of video in just a moment, but first, Areva, I want to play you what the Fulton County district attorney in Atlanta said about possible charges as well as Brooks' demeanor in the video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL HOWARD (D), FULTON COUNTY, GEORGIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I can tell you definitely that probably sometime around Wednesday, we will be making a decision in this case. When I saw that footage that you just displayed, that conversation went on about 22 minutes with Mr. Brooks talking with these two officers. And it's very difficult when you see it, when you see the demeanor of Mr. Brooks, to imagine that some short time later it ends up with him being dead.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: How do you describe his demeanor?

HOWARD: I thought that it was cordial. He was very cooperative. He answered the questions that the officers asked. He does not seem to present a threat to anyone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Areva, again that is the district attorney examining this case. Does that answer give you confidence that charges are coming in this case? What do you expect?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Those answers do give me confidence, Ana. And I see the video the same way the district attorney does. I see a very compliant African-American man who's been asked to step out of his car, who even says yes, sir to the officers, who was doing everything he can to cooperate with these officers, and cannot imagine how that very compliant, that very calm interaction with the police then later ends up with the loss of Mr. Brooks' life.

And I have to wonder again as a civil rights attorney maybe it's police protocol to ask someone in this kind of investigation to step out of their car, but I want to know if someone white is stopped by the police or, you know, is stopped at a Wendy's who's asleep, if there's a knock on the wind, if they ask the person to step out of the car, do they ask the question about the weapon? Do they ask the question about being able to pat the person down?

Because a lot of what we are hearing from these protesters is not just the single action of any officer at any given moment of time, but it's the systemic culture that sends African-American particularly men are treated different from other non-African American men when they have encounters with police.

And we know that African-American men are two times, 2.5 times more likely to die from that kind of encounter. So I think we've got to ask from the beginning of this encounter, you know, was that the protocol that's used with all people, not just African-American men?

[16:10:06]

CABRERA: So he was compliant in that part of the video that we see. There is this other part I want to play now, the moment when they tried to arrest him. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think you've had too much drink. You've been drinking too much to be driving. Could you put your hands behind your back for me? Put your hands behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, stop that. Stop fighting. Stop fighting. Hey, you're going to get tased.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is wrong, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands off the taser. Hands off the taser. Hey. Stop fighting. Hands off the taser.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 63.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Sergeant Dorsey, things seemed to spiral out of control right after the officer went to put the handcuffs on Brooks. What went wrong in that moment?

DORSEY: Well, the officer I think got personally invested. And you hear him say he took my effing taser. So clearly he's bothered by that. They didn't seem to have the physical strength to gain compliance and get control over Mr. Brooks. And listen, folks running and not wanting to be arrested is inherent

to what we do. And I say all the time, when a suspect runs, officers have two options. You get ready to get some exercise or you let him go. The officers certainly had other alternative that they could have deployed. They could have set up a perimeter. They could have requested additional units and provided the direction and description of the suspect.

But it seems to me like he was a little bothered by the fact that he took his effing taser and wanted to punish him, and so since he couldn't catch him, since he couldn't maintain control of his taser, the officer chose to do the only thing left that made sense to him which was kill him.

CABRERA: So, Areva, that's true, he says that, you know, he has my expletive taser, right, before we hear the shots fired. Under law, a taser is not considered a lethal weapon or it's a less lethal weapons. And I just wonder how important that is in this case.

MARTIN: Well, the Georgia district attorney or that district attorney from the county where this case is going to be investigated and ultimately I hope charged has already said that a taser is not a lethal weapon. And the law doesn't give police the ability to use a level of lethal force against someone who is not using lethal force against them.

The question under the Supreme Court case Tennessee V. Gardner, is did this police officer believe that he was in imminent threat of danger? Was his life in imminent danger or was he doing something to protect the lives of someone else? And I don't see a reasonable argument that can be made where this officer that he believed his life was in imminent danger.

Mr. Brooks already told him he didn't have a gun. They patted him down. They didn't find a weapon. He had a taser. There's some question about the distance that he was and if even the taser would have been able to strike the officer. But even if it had struck the officer, we know that the taser is not lethal and it wouldn't have caused any kind of fatal injury to the officer.

So the fact that he would fire a weapon in this non-lethal situation is downright just horrible. It's so painful to watch this video because we've seen this played out so many times before. He shoots a man in the back who is running, essentially trying to get away from the police and rather than think how do I preserve his life, he then takes his life. And that's what's so unacceptable and that's why protesters are on the streets in Atlanta and all over this country.

CABRERA: We don't know exactly where that man was hit -- where Brooks ended up getting shot, but, you know, to play devil's advocate, couldn't the lawyer for this officer argue he had been punched by the suspect? That's what we're seeing in the video. Couldn't they argue the officer feared he would get hit by the taser and the suspect could take his gun then?

MARTIN: Well, he can make that argument, Ana, but I don't think it's a credible argument. I don't think it's a justifiable argument. And this should not be an argument that prevents this district attorney from moving forward. We're talking about probable cause here to make an arrest. We're talking about what is likely to be presented to a grand jury, so we have to make sure we're not confusing what happens in the early stages of cases.

All the protesters and everyone is asking is that justice be served in terms of an arrest is made. Now whether he's ultimately convicted, and if he wants to makes those arguments at a trial, have at it. Maybe a jury -- we know police officers, it's very difficult to get a conviction for police officers, and maybe a jury or two will accept that argument. But as it relates to arresting him and charging him, those arguments bear no weight.

CABRERA: Sergeant Dorsey, I want to just circle back to something you said a little bit earlier and touched on, and that is, we hear the officer in the video say, I think you've had too much to drink. Just in general, how does that impact the way a police officer interacts with somebody?

[16:15:06]

DORSEY: Well, if he thought he had too much to drink, I mean, he had a responsibility to take him down to the police station and continue with his investigation and if in fact he were above the legal limit in terms of his sobriety, then he would be booked for that.

But, you know, I think you've had too much to drink and now I think he might hit me, I think he might take my gun. Officers are expected to react based on their training on what you know and not what you think, and not what you suppose. And so while there's much talk about he may have been inebriated, we don't know that to be true because he's not here now.

CABRERA: All right. Cheryl Dorsey and Areva Martin, ladies, thank you for the conversation.

Let's expand from what's happening in Atlanta right now. It is the 20th executive day of protests nationwide. These are live pictures from Los Angeles, where protesters are marching through West Hollywood. That's what you're seeing on the left there. On your right, protests in New York, "Black Trans Lives Matter" protesters are in this demonstration in Brooklyn. We'll take you there live, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:20:19]

CABRERA: Day 20, and once again streets across the U.S. are filled with protesters demanding an end to police brutality and racism. In New York several rallies and marches are planned for today and CNN's Evan McMorris-Santoro joins us from a demonstration underway in Brooklyn that's focusing on issues facing the lives of black trans people.

So, Evan, what's happening there? EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ana. I'm in Fort Green

Park in Brooklyn with a group of hundreds, maybe thousands of activists and supporters wearing all white in support of black trans lives.

Now this group started at the Brooklyn Museum and a march about two miles through downtown Brooklyn before ending here in Fort Green Park where they're having a rally and they're talking to each other. And they're waiting for more people to show up. Just a huge rally here because this this moment in American history comes during Pride Month and people here are talking about black trans lives specifically as well as black lives matter -- Ana.

CABRERA: OK. Evan Mc-Morris Santoro, we'll check back. Thank you.

And we have live pictures this afternoon as well from Los Angeles. Protesters marching through Hollywood this hour. We also have live images and are monitoring events happening in Washington, D.C., where protesters are gathering for a march at "This Black Lives Matter Plaza." That's near the White House. We'll hear from an organizer of that march, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:26:10]

CABRERA: Welcome back. And right now in Washington, D.C. protesters are gathering at the newly named Black Lives Matter Plaza near the White House. And you can see our Brian Todd is with those protesters.

Brian, what are the scenes like there today?

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ana, it's a growing, it's a very passionate and a very peaceful crowd so far here at Lafayette Park. One of the characteristics that we found in recent days is that protesters are now allowed to gather right in the park right next to the White House over here. You know, for several days beginning in late March after the killing of George Floyd, this park was fenced off, closed off to protesters because of violent protests which took place here starting on -- right about May 29th.

But in recent days, the park has opened up. They're letting people gather. I'm going to take you over here. My photojournalist Ronnie McCray and I are going to follow just over here, one of these. This is a protests by the group Refuse Fascism. And this -- the aim of this protest is to kind of angle toward the idea of driving out President Trump and Vice President Pence.

This protest was organized before the killing of Rayshard Brooks on Friday night. But I did talk to one of the organizers not long ago and she said that -- you know, that killing is very much on the minds of people. We have heard people here referenced the killing of Rayshard Brooks. So they are -- you know, again, they're raising fists here, they're making speeches.

They do not know whether they're going to march yet or not, Ana. The characteristics of some of these both here and in Philadelphia where we were is that they start with gatherings like this, then they start to go on the move. The weather is good, so they very well may be marching here, Ana.

And again, this protest has been kind of growing a little bit exponentially since we got here. I'd say it's a couple hundred strong right now. And since the protest just got under way, we do expect more to gather here in Lafayette Park -- Ana.

CABRERA: And Brian, I know last night protesters there in D.C. shot down a major highway. How would you compare today's protest at this point compared to yesterday?

TODD: You know, that protest last night, Ana, was interesting because they covered a lot of ground. They did go on the highway. They shut it down, they took a knee, but it was very peaceful. And I would say it's probably -- it was probably not even as big as this one here. So we'll see what these people. They may want to go on the move. Again, my experience is they usually do, especially if the weather is good. But last night's protest was very peaceful.

They did block traffic, they did kind of shut down 395, which is a major artery, but it was late on a Saturday night, so it didn't do a whole lot of damage as far as traffic. And then they got off the highway and they went back downtown. So that was a peaceful march. It was nothing like what we saw in Atlanta. And again, they do expect this to be peaceful.

The law enforcement presence here is significant in that they've closed down a lot of streets around the park to traffic. That's really just in an effort to protect the protesters.

CABRERA: And you mentioned that this was a protest organized well before George Floyd was killed. Obviously it's not lost on these protesters the significance of this day for the man in the White House because it's the president's birthday, right?

TODD: That's right. And yes, this was organized actually after the killing of George Floyd, but before the killing of Rayshard Brooks on Friday night. So this was one of the ones -- this is part of that George Floyd movement. But yes, it is organized on Donald Trump's birthday purposely. One of the organizers told me they have a fake birthday cake that they're going to smash to commemorate the event.

And yes, this is -- this is really aimed at Donald Trump and Mike Pence, not -- and one of the organizers told me they don't want to wait for the November elections, they want to get a grassroots movement going to get the president out now. So again that's very personally aimed at him on the president's birthday.

CABRERA: All right. Brian Todd, reporting in Washington, thank you. We'll check back with you as the developments there unfold.

And now I want to take you to Los Angeles. These are live images where massive crowds of protesters have been marching through West Hollywood, we are told. And you can see they are on the move at this hour.

CNN's live coverage continues in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:34:10]

CABRERA: Welcome back. And we continue to monitor protests all across the country. Right now, you can see images from Los Angeles, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., protesters taking to the streets from coast to coast as the president has really offered few words of solidarity or unity.

Now, people familiar with the president's thinking say he remains convinced the racially tensed culture wars he stoked as a candidate in 2016 and throughout his presidency remain a winning strategy.

Here's some of what he has said. Let me just remind you about what he said on issues of race since he's been in office. He said they were "very fine people" on both sides in Charlottesville despite one of those sides consisting of neo-Nazis.

According to "The New York Times", the president said people coming from Haiti, quote, "all have AIDS". He said recent Nigerian immigrants would never, quote, "go back to hair huts". And he decried immigrants from, and I quote, "s***hole countries".

[16:35:10]

He called an NFL player who kneeled during the national anthem an SOB. He told four congresswomen of color to, quote, "go back to the countries from which they came". And he called the late Congressman Elijah Cummings' district, which includes Baltimore, a, quote, "disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess".

Again, these are comments he's made just while in office. It doesn't include his calls for the "Central Park Five" to receive the death penalty; they were eventually exonerated, or his attempts to delegitimize the nation's first black president with the "Birther Movement", and the list goes on.

Joining us now is former presidential adviser to four U.S. Presidents, both Democrat and Republican, David Gergen, and White House Correspondent for American Urban Radio Networks, April Ryan. April has covered five U.S. Presidents.

So, April, sources say the president believes these racial culture wars he's stoked, you know, in the past have helped him and will continue to do so. But are his advisers as convinced?

APRIL RYAN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: His advisers, Ana, are very, very concerned. They are actually worried. As they are seeing now, the "KKK" having marches, but also "Black Lives Matter" having larger marches throughout this nation.

Ana, your timeline was succinct and accurate. And some of that, in that timeline, is some of the reason why I asked the president early on in his administration -- was he a racist? It took him three days to answer that question and it hung over this nation like an albatross around the neck.

But what I will say to you is, is that Black America has been allies to so many groups; the "LGBT" community, the immigration community, the "Me Too" community, the women's community, the "Women's Rights" community. And despite civil rights and the Jim Crow eras, we're still a community that's overcoming.

So, now, it's a day of reckoning for Black America and that's something this president should worry about because his internal numbers are showing that this day of reckoning is causing a problem. It's a day of reckoning because people now are understanding why black lives matter. So, yes, there is fear within his administration.

CABRERA: And as you were speaking, we're watching protesters there at Washington, D.C. smashing a pretend birthday case for the president since it's his birthday today.

RYAN: Happy Birthday.

CABRERA: And David, to April's point -- to her point, you know, the president is losing ground in the polls right now in the presidential race.

In the past, leaders have become more popular when they try to unite the nation in crisis. You think of Robert Kennedy speaking from the bull horn after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. You think of President Bush addressing the nation after 9/11. Why would President Trump believe the opposite is true now, that continuing to divide would give him strength heading into the election season?

DAVID GERGEN, FORMER ADVISER TO PRESIDENT NIXON, FORD, REAGAN & CLINTON: Well, it's not surprising that he would -- his whole strategy of dividing -- a president to everyone's total surprise with that strategy, so he's trying it again. But I think we have reached a point where most Americans, and it includes a lot of whites, are fed up. They no longer see this as acceptable behavior in a president, you know.

We should have known right from the beginning that he was not -- he was going to of a tin ear on race. When Bill Clinton came in, he said, we need to have a cabinet that looks like the rest of America. And he -- white males were a minority in Bill Clinton's cabinet. Along came George W. Bush, he made white males a minority in his cabinet. Along comes Obama, he makes them even smaller minority in his cabinet.

Donald Trump, there are 22 members of his cabinet, 18 are white males. There are three women and one black only. And so, he does not -- he's not surrounding himself with people who understand the pain, the suffering, and the different perspectives that Black Americans bring to the table given the kind of rough treatment they have received at the hands of police again and again and again, which is being revealed.

So, I think it's become like failing strategy. I think he's becoming a failed president. He may still win reelection, but he'll have to turn it around from here. But when you got NASCAR (ph) breaking with a Republican president, when you got the generals -- retired generals -- breaking with a Republican president, you know the dam is breaking.

CABRERA: If you were advising the president, David, what would you have him do right now in this moment? An oval office address? What? Give us specifics.

GERGEN: I think what the last thing he needs is more rhetoric and the last thing we need from him, in particular, more rhetoric. This is a time for listening. He's only had blacks in, you know, who were for a part of it.

But he's -- and there are, of course, people out there who, you know, who are more conservative black, and that's an honorable position to be in. But nonetheless, I don't think this president can be a healer. I don't think it's in him, and I think it would only -- it will seem phony if he tries to start uniting us right now.

What he has to do is he has to go through some sort of emotional, intellectual conversion to a different version -- to a different sense of what the truth is. And then, I think he can rejoin the conversation and hopefully constructively.

[16:40:33]

CABRERA: This president doesn't back down often, but he did this weekend rescheduling his rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was originally planned for this coming Friday, which is "Juneteenth", the holiday commemorating the end of slavery. And now, it will take place on Saturday.

Here is what Senator Tim Scott, the only African-American Republican senator said about this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM SCOTT, (R) SOUTH CAROLINA: My understanding is he moved the date once he understood the "Juneteenth". I'm not sure that the planners on his inner circle team thought about June 19th, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and race riots unless you're doing a historical check. You probably don't get those dots connected.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: April, is this an oversight because the president does lack diversity on his staff or does it seem purposeful considering the president thinks it's in his interest to stoke these culture wars?

RYAN: Going back to the timeline that you had, this was purposeful. And those who are in his circle are trying to rile up that base. He began his politics on trying to delegitimize the first black president to the United States. So, therefore, he is going to slap the black community in the midst of this racial uprising about policing and every negative in almost every category and go to a site in Tulsa, Oklahoma, a place once called "Black Wall Street", where there was a thriving black community economically of doctors, store owners, lawyers, you have it, and it was burned down and destroyed because of a race riot.

And then, to have another slap in this lofty office to not think about or care, it wasn't coincidence. This was purposeful, at first, to have it on the day that slaves found out two years later that they were freed. It's a slap in the face to the black community.

And to those who are racist, those who believe that white power and those who think that white people are not getting enough attention, he played right into their hands, but he got too much backlash from the black community. And Darrell Scott, the man who crafted this, got backlash from it. So, they changed the date because they're still trying to get a bit of the black vote, believe it or not.

But at the end of the day, the president's missteps in the black community, he thinks is going to help him with the racist white people that he's supporting, it's going to cost him at the polls in November. If you watched what happened in Georgia, people stood in line for hours. People are saying, I've had enough. The referendum and the reckoning is here.

CABRERA: I'm looking at the latest polling and it shows race relations is one of the most important issues right now for voters. Forty-two percent -- 40% say the economy is extremely important, so it's right on par. David Gergen and April Ryan, I got to leave it there for today. Thank you both. I really appreciate the conversation.

GERGEN: Thanks, Ana. Good talking to you.

RYAN: Thank you.

CABRERA: Always. A number of local leaders have been in the national spotlight since these protests began. You can join Laura Coates with four of the nations' top mayors; D.C.'s Mayor Muriel Bowser, Atlanta's Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago's Lori Lightfoot, and San Francisco's London Breed, "Mayors Who Mater" at CCN town hall on race and COVID-19 live tonight at 9:00.

And we are monitoring protests from Washington where protesters have gathered near the White House this hour; and in Los Angeles, this hour, where they are marching through West Hollywood, the 20th consecutive day. We have seen protests nationwide over police brutality and systemic racism. CNN's coverage continues right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:52]

CABRERA: New today, we have learned at least seven police officers in Minneapolis have resigned since the killing of George Floyd. The Minneapolis "Star Tribune" also reports that more than half a dozen additional officers are in the process of leaving the department. CNN's Lucy Kafanov joins us now. Lucy, what do we know about these departures? LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not much, Ana. We can confirm that at least seven have he signed from the Minneapolis Police Department. There are reports that at least possibly more than a half dozen are in the process of resigning as of Wednesday and this is according to a spokesperson that we've spoken to.

As of Wednesday, HR has processed seven separations of employment since "Memorial Day". That is when George Floyd was killed. This number does not include the four officers involved in that shooting -- and pardon me -- in that killing. As for why they are leaving, that information simply isn't public.

We do have a statement from a spokesman for the Minneapolis Police Department. He told CNN, people seek to leave employment for a myriad of reasons. The Minneapolis Police Department is no exception.

[16:50:01]

Now, of course, these resignations do come as the police department is facing incredible pressure from the country and also here within the state. They are facing a state human rights investigation. There are now calls to abolish and defund the police department, the local city council here taking the first step to do that on Friday launching a year-long process with the local community to look into alternatives to policing.

And also, Ana, for the first time since Floyd's death, we are hearing from police officers themselves, an open letter signed by 14 Minneapolis police sergeants and lieutenants, condemn the killing of George Floyd. It accused, Derek Chauvin, the man charged with Floyd's death of, quote, failing as a human by stripping Floyd of his dignity and humanity. Quote, this is not who we are.

We are told that hundreds more officers wanted to sign that letter. They chose the 14 to show a diversity of racial background, sexual orientation, gender. One source telling CNN, internally, this sends a strong message. Ana?

CABRERA: OK. Lucy Kafanov in Minneapolis, thank you.

Food banks have seen a surge in need while also facing supply issues and volunteer shortages throughout the coronavirus pandemic. But these CNN heroes are making sure people don't go hungry.

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CATHRYN COUCH, 2016 CNN HERO: The clients we serve are very medically fragile, vulnerable, primarily low-income people, many of them living alone, and many of them have lost caregivers because of the pandemic. That population has the potential for the most complications and mortality if they get the illness. So, it's really, really important that this population stays home and stay safe. Medically-tailored, 100% organic meals are specifically tailored to the nutrient requirements of the clients' illness.

CHAD HOUSER, 2018 CNN HERO: We start canned goods. We received a lot of calls asking for help in feeding food-insecure students that were dependent on school meals for their basic nutritional needs. The young men and young women that we serve are doing a tremendous job stepping up to the plate during this time of crisis grappling with anything, even the global pandemic. it starts with the community rallying around one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: Anderson Cooper shares the full story of how these two CNN heroes are helping amid the pandemic at cnnheroes.com. We'll be right back.

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[16:57:10]

CABRERA: I want to head out to Seattle now where protesters have still hunkered down in this so-called autonomous zone they have setup in the city. And CNN's Dan Simon joins us from there. Dan, what's the latest?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, Ana. It is a beautiful, sunny day here in Seattle. That has pushed the crowds to a level that I don't think we have seen during this occupation. Let's pan the camera. You can see what it looks like down the street. Hundreds, if not thousands, of people are here.

Ana, as you know, some folks have pushed a narrative that this is a place that's filled with violent protesters, that it is a picture of anarchy, but does that look like the picture of anarchy to you? We've seen a lot of folks here just coming out to check out the scene, a lot of families behind me. There's a group of Native Americans putting on some kind of drum ceremony.

The centerpiece, Ana, as we've talked about with this occupation is what you see behind me with this Seattle Police Department precinct. It's been vacated since the department left early last week to try to deescalate the situation with the protesters. It did have its desired effect because from what can tell, it's peaceful. That said, the police chief was asked when she can expect for her officers to get back in that station. Here's what she said.

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CARMEN BEST, SEATTLE POLICE CHIEF: I wish I had the answer to how long it might last. I can tell you that we want to move it forward as quickly and efficiently as possible. But my concern as a police chief, besides that I want to be back in our precinct doing the work is that we don't want to -- we don't want anyone there to be harmed. We don't want this to be something that devolves into a forced situation. So, we're really trying to take a methodical, practical approach to reach a resolution where everyone gets out of here safely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Well, one thing that the chief is concerned about, and it's an entirely valid concern, is that she says because the officer are no longer in the station, it's taking triple the amount of time to respond to calls in this area. So, naturally, she wants her officers back in the precinct as soon as it's possible. Of course, there's no strategy in place for that to happen. This occupation, it seems like it's going to last indefinitely. The mayor seems to be in no hurry to get these folks out of here.

But, Ana, I don't want to paint this as, you know, totally Pollyanna- ish. We have seen some elements where sometimes tempers can get out of control particularly when somebody who wants to interrupt a speaker who is delivering some kind of message. And you do see some folks who are carrying weapons. Remember, Washington is an open-carry state. But we've been on the ground now for four days, and we really haven't seen anything violent occur on the streets. Everything, again, seems pretty peaceful. Ana?

CABRERA: OK. Dan Simon in Seattle for us. Thank you for the update.

Top of the hour. Thanks for staying with me.