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Police Chief Testifies Chauvin Violated Use of Force Policy; Forensic Scientist: Cause of Hypoxia Critical to Trial; Easter Holiday Air Travel Sets Pandemic-Era Records; France Investigates Secret Dinner Parties for Paris Elite; U.K. Prime Minister Reveals Plan for Easing Restrictions; India Struggling to Contain Second Wave of Covid- 19; Baylor Stuns Gonzaga to Win First Men's Title. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired April 06, 2021 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

PAULA NEWTON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world, you are watching CNN NEWSROOM and I'm Paula Newton.

Just ahead, the Minneapolis police chief testifies against his former officer Derek Chauvin saying that the ex-cop broke policy when he put his knee on George Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes.

Then the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 40 percent of American adults have had at least one vaccine dose, but will it be enough to ward off another wave of COVID-19?

And jubilation as the Baylor Bears win their first men's NCAA championship and, of course, dramatic fashion, upsetting a team that had been in pursuit of a perfect season.

So the man who was with George Floyd before he died and even before police were called on that fateful day last May is set to appear before a judge. Maurice Hall was a friend of Floyd and was in the passenger seat of the car there when confronted by police. But the public may not actually hear Hall's unique perspective in the trial of ex-Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin. His lawyers say he will plead the fifth amendment to protect against self-incrimination if called to testify.

Now, it comes on the heels of Monday's testimony from Chauvin's former boss who says the former police officer's actions absolutely violated department policy. CNN's Sara Sidner breaks down what we've learned so far.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JUDGE PETER CAHILL: The testimony you're about to give are going to be the truth and nothing but the truth.

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: I do, sir.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The prosecution's 21st witness and former officer Derek Chauvin's murder trial was his ultimate boss. The chief of police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the officer supposed to do to a person in crisis?

ARRADONDO: It's an attempt to de-escalate that situation.

SIDNER (voice-over): Chief Medaria Arradondo testified he first learned of the severity of his officer's actions against George Floyd by a community member.

ARRADONDO: Close to midnight, a community member had contacted me and said, chief, almost verbatim but said, chief, have you seen the video of your officer choking and killing that man?

SIDNER (voice-over): The chief testified Chauvin violated the department's neck restraint policy and he detailed its use of force policy which also takes into account the severity of a potential crime.

ARRADONDO: Clearly when Mr. Floyd was no longer responsive and even motionless to continue to apply that level of force to a person pronged out, handcuffed behind their back, that in no way, shape or form is anything that is by policy, is not part of our training, and it is certainly not part of our ethics or our values.

SIDNER (voice-over): We also heard from the emergency room doctor who treated Floyd when the ambulance dropped him off at the hospital unresponsive.

JERRY BLACKWELL, PROSECUTOR: Did you pronounce him formally dead?

BRADFORD WANKHEDE LANGENFELD, E.R. DOCTOR WHO TREATED FLOYD: Yes.

BLACKWELL: Did you receive a report that he had received CPR from any of the officers who may have been on the scene on May 25th, 2020?

LANGENFELD: No. It's well known that any amount of time that a patient spends in cardiac arrest without immediate CPR markedly decreases the chance of a good outcome.

SIDNER (voice-over): Dr. Bradford Langenfeld testified he believes George Floyd died from hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen. The prosecution is trying to prove it was from the 9 minutes, 29 seconds Chauvin had his knee on Floyd's neck restricting his breathing. The defense is trying to refute that saying it was illicit drugs in Floyd's system, coupled with his medical history.

ERIC NELSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR DEREK CHAUVIN: Certain drugs can cause hypoxia. Agreed? Specifically fentanyl?

LANGENFELD: That's correct.

NELSON: How about methamphetamine?

LANGENFELD: It can.

NELSON: Combination of the two?

LANGENFELD: Yes.

[04:05:00]

SIDNER (voice-over): But the doctor testified paramedics normally report to him drug overdoses or extreme agitation.

BLACKWELL: Did they say to you for purposes of caring or giving treatment to Mr. Floyd that they felt he had suffered a drug overdose?

LANGENFELD: Not in the information they gave, no.

SIDNER (voice-over): The commander who is in charge of police training back in May testified what she saw Chauvin do to Floyd was not consistent with their training.

BLACKWELL: And how does this differ?

KATE BLACKWELL, INSPECTOR MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: I don't know what kind of improvised position that is. So that's not what we train.

SIDNER: It was another extraordinary day because we heard from the chief of police. You don't often hear from so many officers and certainly the chief of police in this case standing very strongly against the kind of force that his former officer, Derek Chauvin, used as he went down a list of what the reasons are for using force and they were pretty clear.

It was whether or not the officer or others were in potentially grave danger. Whether or not he was actively -- and that's an important word -- actively resisting arrest or attempting to go evade arrest. And then lastly the police are supposed to consider the crime that the person is being accused of. If you look at that in its totality the chief said this was absolutely unnecessary to be on his neck with your knee for more than nine minutes and it went against not only their policy, but their ethical rules as well.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Now as you can imagine we've had significant reaction here on CNN to the Minneapolis Police Chief's bombshell testimony. An attorney for George Floyd's family highlighted one of the most important parts of that testimony.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY STORMS, FLOYD FAMILY ATTORNEY: George needed to be controlled momentarily, maybe a knee is OK momentarily, but what the chief is telling us is, you know, we watched George lie there lifeless for minutes. There's no police purpose in holding somebody under your knee, asphyxiating them once they're lifeless. They can't resist when they are dead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: And CNN's Chris Cuomo spoke with legal analyst Elliot Williams. Williams said the chief's appearance in court is so significant because a more credible testimony may be hard to find.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Even starting with the fact that the chief of police is even testifying in the first place is itself significant. Very rarely does someone at that level of the police force ever testify in a criminal trial. So number one, that's profound. And then of course the fact that he laid out what the standards and policies were for the Minneapolis Police Department as if they were clearly violated is itself significant.

Now for instance you and I have talked about, this is early, the defense still has to present their case and we're just seeing the prosecution's case here. But I have a hard time believing that the defense could at any point put forward a witness as certainly not the chief of police or a witness of that level of stature. So this was big.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, more important testimony also Monday came from the doctor who pronounced George Floyd dead. You will want to listen to this. CNN's Anderson Cooper spoke with a forensic scientist about the doctor's findings and where they are so important at this point to the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: He concluded that it was due to hypoxia, which is a result of asphyxia. Asphyxia can come about for many different reasons and that really is the crux of the matter. And so that's where we have to answer the question is what led to the hypoxia? Was it due to the positional asphyxia? Was it a compression asphyxia? Or was the airway blocked? And that is resolved in the autopsy report.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: You've, I believe, looked at the autopsy report. Is that resolved?

KOBILINSKY: Well, the autopsy report, as you know, goes through the body from head to toe and it's this various abrasions and bruises to the face, to the shoulders, to the arms are described. They also describe problems that were of natural cause. In other words, Mr. Floyd had coronary artery disease, there was a narrowing of the vessels, he had hypertension, he had an enlarged heart. But, you know, remember that a medical examiner also brings into the conclusion reports of the police and videotapes as well before any conclusion is reached. So it does look like the medical examiner agrees that it is asphyxia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[04:10:00]

NEWTON: Now, of course, we will continue to bring you the latest on the trial of Derek Chauvin when court resumes later today.

So more good news for the United States in its fight against the coronavirus. The CDC says more than 40 percent of adults and 75 percent of seniors have now received at least one dose of the vaccine. Now, the White House says the U.S. will have enough vaccines for all Americans by the end of next month. And Americans are ready to get moving. CNN's Alexandra Field has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Air travel up more than tenfold from a year ago on Sunday. The surge fueled by the holiday weekend and an itch felt everywhere to get back out thereto.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like because people are just probably just tired of being at home.

FIELD (voice-over): As so many rush to push the pandemic behind them, new COVID-19 cases are rising across the country for a fourth week running, according to the CDC.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: We know that these increases are due in part to more highly transmissible variants.

FIELD (voice-over): But health experts are still divided over whether we'll see a true fourth wave.

MICHAEL OSTERHOLM, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR INFECTIOUS DISEASE RESEARCH AND POLICY, UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA: We really are in a category 5 hurricane status with regard to the rest world. At this point, we'll see in the next two weeks the highest number of cases reported globally since the beginning of the pandemic.

FIELD (voice-over): The spread of infection in the U.S. now happening among young people.

DR. SCOTT GOTTLIEB, FORMER FDA COMMISSIONER: What we're seeing is pockets of infection around the country particularly in younger people who haven't been vaccinated.

FIELD (voice-over): Former FDA commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, confident the increasing rate of vaccinations will head off another surge.

GOTTLIEB: I don't think it's going to be a true fourth wave.

FIELD (voice-over): But that doesn't mean it's time to let up on the precautions.

ANDY SLAVITT, SENIOR ADVISOR TO WHITE HOUSE COVID-19 RESPONSE TEAM: Do your part. Wear a mask. Socially distance, get vaccinated when it's your turn. FIELD (voice-over): More Americans are for the first time over the weekend, more than 4 million shots were reported administered in a single day. Nearly one in four adults are now fully vaccinated. For them, Dr. Anthony Fauci says updated guidance on what you should and shouldn't do will come when the data it is in.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, CHIEF MEDICAL ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: You're protecting yourself and you're very, very unlikely will get sick if you get vaccinated, but also, it will give you a freedom of getting back to some degree of normality.

FIELD (voice-over): Long-awaited but amid so much suffering still. A new model estimates COVID-19 has taken a parent from nearly 40,000 U.S. children.

FIELD: That number itself is staggering and also underscores something we have reported on so many times throughout the course of this pandemic. The disproportionate impact on the black community. Black children make up just 14 percent of the children in the United States, they make up 20 percent of children who have lost a parent to COVID- 19.

Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NEWTON: Meanwhile, in England it is getting ready to ease COVID restrictions next week. Starting April 12th the country is moving to stage 2 of its so-called roadmap when shops, gyms, hairdressers and outdoor hospitality areas can finally reopen. Prime Minister Boris Johnson explained how he was going to mark the occasion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Monday the 12th I will be going to the pub myself and cautiously but irreversibly raising a pint of beer to my lips. We think that these changes are fully justified by the data which show that we're meeting our full tests for easing the lockdown.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Now, we will have more on that from CNN's Salma Abdelaziz who's standing by for us in London. but first we go to Melissa Bell. She has new details on a probe, an actual probe, launched by French officials into apparently elite dinner parties flouting COVID rules. Melissa, you and I both know nothing can bust a lockdown quicker than that feeling that it is not being applied equitably. What's going on here?

MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paula. And it isn't simply about the injustice of the wealthy or the elites having access to these restaurants, according to the allegation that is came out of this undercover report, but the fear that some ministers might have been involved. Because then of course you need to add the accusation of hypocrisy. Restaurants here in France, Paula, have been closed since October.

What this undercover report that appeared on French television over the weekend shows, apparently are restaurants opening their doors with people dining inside without wearing masks and the maitre d' declaring as the journalist comes in with her undercover camera. There is no COVID here, asking her to take off her mask.

Now this is now the subject of an investigation. One of the people seen that's seen in the report, one of the owners claims that ministers had dined at his restaurant the week before. So one of the big questions is who those ministers might be and that will be part of the subject of the investigation.

It will be looking, Paula, both into who might have held such dinners, who might have secretly opened their restaurants and who might have attended.

[04:15:00]

For the time being, minister after minister have come out on the media saying any such flouting of COVID-19 rules would be unacceptable and anyone involved should be punished to the full extent of the law. But clearly this is a story that has gripped France because ordinary French men and women haven't been able to dine in a restaurant, Paula, since the very end of October.

NEWTON: End of October. I mean, Melissa, I'm not even French and I'm floored by the details you just gave me. Incredible.

And now to Salma where you know we just heard Boris Johnson talking about, you know, putting a measly pint to his lips and yet even in his announcement today quite a note of caution. Why?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN REPORTER: Absolutely, Paul, I mean, there was a bit of heartbreak yesterday to be honest because there had been more expected from this announcement. We already knew about the April 12th date, that was almost a reconfirmation of the fact that nonessential shops will reopen next week. What everybody was holding their breath for was more information about international travel and information about when mass gatherings, mass events, night clubs, big sports events, when that can resume, when you can begin to inch towards normal life.

But the Prime Minister taking a very cautious approach on international travel, saying that we have to be aware, we have to be realistic about what's happening in other countries. A reference to Europe there, and the spikes that you're seeing in France and in Italy, lockdowns and restrictions being rolled out in some parts of Europe dealing with a third wave. So the Prime Minister saying these destinations may very well cause the virus to be reimported to the U.K. It's too early to tell when we can restart international travel. We're going to aim for May 17th but a lot of work to be done there still.

There is a global task force, a task force for the government that will be assessing that plan. The other plan, again, that there was a lot of anticipation around was the COVID status certifications, essentially what we call vaccine passports. That was supposed to be the gateway, the ticket into going into a sports stadium or going back to a nightclub or attending a comedy night.

And again, on that the Prime Minister saying early stages, there is a lot of controversy around it, Paula, and I think that's why you're hearing such a cautious approach on that item in the agenda. Because members of his own party saying that this could be divisive, that this could be discriminatory. One member of Parliament saying that it would create a two-tier Britain. So he is dealing with some push back in getting these measures through -- Paula.

NEWTON: Yes, still a lot of controversy there over just lifting their restrictions. Salma Abdelaziz I appreciate that update from London and Melissa Bell in Paris. Thank you both.

Now India is in the grip of a second wave of the virus with more distressing case numbers every day. It reported more new infections than any country in the world last week and on Monday became only the second nation to report more than 100,000 new cases in a single day. We want to go live now to New Delhi with CNN's Vedika Sud is standing by. Of course, the raw numbers are alarming enough. Does there seem to be a strategy here in place in order to try to mitigate the spread?

VEDIKA SUD, CNN REPORTER: I'm glad you asked me that question, Paula, because news is just coming in that the union territory of Delhi in which the capital of India also lies, which is New Delhi, there is going to be a night curfew, which is going to be enforced starting today until the end of April. Now this is because cases have been going up here, which has been almost 3,500 cases in Delhi itself.

If you remember Maharashtra, which the richest state of India in which the financial capital of India lies, Mumbai, has reported about 57,000 cases yesterday, and today it's about 47,000 cases. So in both places, both in the state of Maharashtra there is night curfew which is ongoing and complete lockdowns on the weekends until the end of the month. And now you're going to see the same thing in Delhi as well from today.

So, yes, there is this fear there could be more cases, some restrictions are being put in place. The Prime Minister on Sunday held a high-level meeting. There will be more government meetings that will be held over this weekend and the next to make sure that more of these kind of measures can be put in place. We cannot rule out the possibility of more partial lockdowns across India especially in those states which are heavily affected by COVID.

The testing has been quite good across Maharashtra as well at this point which is -- or rather has topped the charts ever since COVID hit India. Also at this point in time it is important to also note that gatherings in places are a huge reason for these cases going up along with religious festivals, the Mewar, which is one of the biggest festivals across the world, not only India is under way in the state of Rajasthan, and they are expecting hundreds of thousands of people to converged within the next one month --until the end of April, rather, at this place. So that is going to be a huge worry if it turns into a super spreader.

We also have elections on in five states across India. There have been addresses being made by politicians to people in these five states who have been gathering at these venues, which is another worry -- Paula.

[04:20:00]

NEWTON: All right, and so recapping the news there, a curfew then for where you are in New Delhi coming soon. Vedika Sud for us in New Delhi, appreciate the update.

Still to come for us, North Korea says it will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics later this year. We'll tell you why.

And celebrations, you know it, in Texas as Baylor stuns the basketball world to win the NCAA championship. We will tell you how it was won.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NEWTON: There is a new name on the men's NCAA championship trophy, Baylor. Yes, Baylor, stunned the previously undefeated Gonzaga to win their first basketball title. Andy Scholes tells us how it all went down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN WORLD SPORTS: What a performance by the Baylor Bears in this final four. They dominated Houston and then just crushed Gonzaga's dreams of a perfect season and now for the first time ever they can call themselves national champions. And this title game really was over from the start.

[04:25:00]

The Bears veteran guards, Davion Mitchell, Jared Butler and MaCio Teague just pouncing on the zags. They were knocking down shot after shot and playing stifling defense. Baylor up 19 points halfway through the first half and just never looked back. The Bears winning in dominant fashion 86-70.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unbelievable players, the people that have come for 18 years and put in work, our fans that have been with us for the lean years, the good years, and they all deserve this. The city of Waco deserves this. Texas, we've got a national championship, too. The state deserves this.

SCHOLES: And this was one of the greatest turnovers for a program in college basketball history. 18 years ago Baylor was reeling from murder of Bear's player Patrick Dennehy by teammate Carlton Dotson. Head coach Dave Bliss resigned amid recruiting violations. And the program was severely penalized for years. Baylor was at the absolute bottom. Enter coach Scott Drew, and he not only turned Baylor into a perennial powerhouse, but the Bears are also now on top as national champions.

(END VIDEOTAPE) NEWTON: Our thanks to Andy Scholes.

Now South Korea is expressing regret over a decision by North Korea to drop out of the Tokyo Olympics over the coronavirus concerns. CNN's Will Ripley has been following the developments over the last few hours. Will, surprising in a way and yet I know how closely you follow this. Given how North Korea has been handling the virus, it was really predictable in a way, especially given the way cases are going now.

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, North Korea is essentially more her hermetically sealed and isolated because of the pandemic than they've ever been before. Most foreign diplomats left the country and the diplomats who remain as foreigners are treated as if they have COVID even though they have been basically in isolation for more than a year inside the country.

So if they are going to act that way towards foreign diplomats who haven't even left, it's hard to imagine a scenario where North Korea would send its athletes to Tokyo which is right now grappling with a possible fourth wave with an even more infectious and possibly vaccine-resistant variant and put those athletes at risk of becoming infected and coming back into the North with its dilapidated health care system and absolutely no ability to help people in the event of a major pandemic. They just don't have the resources.

So there is the public safety aspect of this, and that was the official reason that North Korea gave. Saying that it doesn't want to expose its athletes, given that there is still a global health crisis.

But there are also politics at play here. Ever since diplomacy collapsed between the former U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the North has shown zero interest in officially talking with either South Korea for the United States. Back in 2018 at the PyeongChang winter games it was a different story, North Korea had wrapped up a round of provocative weapons testing including an ICBM launch, then they imposed this moratorium. Kim Jong- un sent his sister to the opening ceremonies and that opened the door for an inter-Korean dialogue and later the summits with the United States that have now brought us back to this.

North Korea not going to the games and less than two weeks ago they launched two ballistic missiles in their first direct challenge to the new U.S. President Joe Biden. So history certainly repeating itself. But I have to say, Paula, North Korea has not missed a summer games since they boycotted the Seoul Olympics back in 1988. So certainly a setback for South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Near the end of his term, this probably would have been the last opportunity to get something going with the North Koreans.

NEWTON: Yes, it certainly did seem like an opportunity there and it will not come to fruition. Will Ripley hanks for the report, appreciate it.

President Joe Biden is keen to push forward with his infrastructure plans. Coming up, we tell you why it isn't just Republicans who have a problem with it. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)