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Hearing Underway over Release of Body Cam Video in Fatal Police Shooting of Andrew Brown Jr.; India Breaks Global One-Day Record for Seventh Day in a Row; Juror in Chauvin Trial Says, Every Day Felt Like a Funeral. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired April 28, 2021 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:05]

MARQ CLAXTON, DIRECTOR, BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT ALLIANCE: But most specifically, whether or not this current policing model has full respect and trust of the black and brown communities, or whether they consider the black and brown communities just commodities that they have control over and endanger the lives of so many of those black and brown communities. So there are real questions moving forward even with the proposed legislation.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: It's how many encounters, when and also how. CNN obtained new video this morning of how the deputies approached this serving of the warrant. I believe you've seen it. We'll show it on the air. You see them packed into the of a pickup truck and then, of course, led to gunfire afterwards.

I just wonder -- listen, they had a warrant to serve, they had a job to do. Ultimately, the target of that warrant was shot in the back, in the back of the head while fleeing. He wasn't advancing on cops. He was fleeing. Does police training, does the law make that okay under the current system you're talking about?

CLAXTON: Jim, I'll be honest with you. It's my opinion that police training, in general -- and this is really a generalization, and I have to generalize because there are no clearly well-established, well-defined national standards. But, generally speaking, police training is adequate to excellent.

It's not police training that needs modification. It's not an issue of police training. It's police training in black and brown communities. It's the police training as it relates to their interactions with black and brown people. You see, so if police operated according to this excellent training, which they get, the same way in black and brown communities as they execute and operate in the white communities, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Is there a need for additional training? Absolutely. All professionals need additional enhanced training in order to assist in the evolution of their profession.

But the problem that we have right now with these shootings of unarmed black and brown individuals, with the killing of unarmed black and brown individuals, is not solely a training issue.

SCIUTTO: Right, understood.

HARLOW: We mentioned that you are a retired NYPD detective, but, specifically, you worked for a period of your career in the narcotics division. And I bring that out because these police were serving a warrant and trying to conduct a search on Andrew Brown Jr.'s property over drugs, right? And it's germane here as we talk about the war on drugs and the evolution of how it is policed. And I just wonder what your thoughts are from that perspective, because, as a number of guests have said on this program, that is not a death sentence, right, and he was killed.

CLAXTON: Yes. Poppy, what makes it challenging is because, unfortunately, we don't have enough information that's been provided by Elizabeth City and their officials. It's hard to know whether or not that response that we saw on the street camera was the only police response or whether there were additional units, whether there were additional more militarized units responding to the location. So it's really -- we're trying to answer things in the dark, unfortunately. And that really is part of the problem about instilling confidence in policing by the community.

But, generally speaking, once again, we have to go back to the model, the policing model and the enforcement priorities across the nation. We need to have a discussion, a real discussion about whether or not we're getting the proper bang for the buck with this type of narcotics enforcement. I've been in hundreds of these operations. I've purchased a lot of drugs in my time as an undercover. I've been on the field responding to these search warrants, et cetera. But I've always been open to having a conversation about whether that strategy, that police strategy is the most effective in eradicating drug and drug use.

HARLOW: Wow, Detective Claxton, thank you for being with us this morning.

CLAXTON: Thank you.

HARLOW: All right. Ahead, Google CEO Sundar Pichai was born and raised in India. he says he's devastated by the surge in COVID there. He joins us next.

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[10:35:00]

HARLOW: The crisis in India is becoming more devastating by the hour with more than 200,000 lives claimed by COVID, more than 360,000 new infections in the last 24 hours, breaking the global record for a single day. And this video overnight really tells the tragic story. Makeshift crematoriums line the streets, a desperate effort to lay to rest India's ever increasing dead.

The pandemic is now projected to kill another 600,000 people there by August. Researchers actually think the death toll is twice what is currently being reported. Google CEO Sundar Pichai was born in India, raised there, tweeted that he is devastated by this crisis. The company has thousands of employees there and they're now pledging $18 million in new assistance to India, cash grants for families, funding for UNICEF, urgent medical supplies including oxygen.

Joining us exclusively is Google CEO and the CEO of the parent company, Alphabet, Sundar Pichai.

[10:40:01]

Thank you for being with us this morning.

SUNDAR PICHAI, CEO, GOOGLE: Thanks for having me.

HARLOW: It's personal for you. You've got a lot of close family members there. And I just wonder if we can step back because now you're here and you're living the American dream and you're vaccinated, and any American over 16 can get vaccinated. And I wonder what it's like for you to be in this position and then look at what's happening in the country you love.

PICHAI: The situation there is dire, and it's been heartbreaking to see. And I think there are -- the worse is yet to come. What's been heartening, at least being here, is definitely seeing the attention here, I realize at the highest levels from President Biden, Secretary Blinken, there's been focus on engaging to see how we can help India and the other countries being affected.

And particularly over the last week in an unprecedented way, more than 100 CEOs, the U.S. Chamber, Business Roundtable and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership Forum came together with the administration to mobilize and do our part to help.

So that's been good to see, and India deserves our attention right now.

HARLOW: India deserves their attention right now, and you think the worst is still to come. I know you met with Secretary Blinken. Dr. Ashish Jha, also an Indian-American, said only the United States has the capacity, resources and technological know-how to bend India's catastrophic second wave of disease. What more did you tell Secretary Blinken you want the Biden administration you wanted to do?

PICHAI: I think there was a lot of focus on making sure anything we can do to increase vaccine production and supply is being mobilized, helping with oxygen concentrators and supplies. And then different companies have different capabilities, and the U.S. government has its unique capabilities. From our side, we really focused on providing the most helpful information. There are 600 million people connected to the internet and they're really looking for information about vaccine and testing. So working with the ministry of health in India, making sure we can get the right information on the ground has been a big focus for us, as for us partnering with NGOs and public health organizations to get the messaging out.

And it's important that people are able to stay home and mask and stay safe. And so we are helping get the message out in partnership.

HARLOW: (INAUDIBLE) the vaccine, some of it, supply, to India when the FDA gives the green light on that. But there is also the question of the intellectual property, as you know, the recipe for these vaccines. And India asked the World Trade Organization six months ago to waive that I.P. protection. And the U.S. has not voted and not raised its hand supporting a waiver like that.

A lot of experts, including the congressman that represents your district, Ro Khanna, believe the U.S. should support that, believe that would help India. Do you believe that I.P. waiver should be granted?

PICHAI: Two things. I was more involved in the conversations around providing raw materials, supply access so that India can begin manufacturing its vaccines. I'm not familiar enough around the issues around I.P. protections for vaccines to weigh in on them. I was very encouraged by the U.S. announcement for the 60 AstraZeneca doses to India and other countries. And this pandemic will involve us tackling it globally, and while in the U.S., we are very fortunate. We need to work hard over the next months to make sure we can get as much vaccine supply around the world as possible.

HARLOW: When I look at the numbers in what is now Chennai, India, right, where you were born, I mean, they're expecting over a million cases there, yesterday alone, 4,600 positive cases. You've talked about companies having, in your words, a sense of responsibility to society in this moment. What is your call to corporate America, companies as big as Google and small companies, what can they do that will make a meaningful difference to the people in India?

PICHAI: you know, I think a couple of things. For me, most companies there now have a presence and, in fact, have employees that are contributing to the U.S. economy here. I think taking the expertise in your company where you can and being ready to help in a coordinated way is going to be helpful.

The second, it's very possible to provide cash and other resources directly to organizations on the ground, I think, can make a big difference.

[10:45:03]

And you mentioned Chennai. That's where I grew up and where my extended family is. And I think the impact is pretty dire. But India is a very resilient country and I see people being resourceful and doing everything they can to cope up. I want to talk about the Modi government, the handling of this pandemic. Have you spoken to Prime Minister Modi?

PICHAI: Not been in touch with Prime Minister Modi at other times, not in the context of this situation.

HARLOW: I ask because there are members of his party that still this morning are announcing plans to continue carrying on these big rallies, which contributed in part to this, these big political rallies ahead of the election. What is your assessment this morning of the Modi government's handling of this, any message to anyone there who will listen if you think it's just going to get worse from here?

PICHAI: Look, we've been -- in our interactions as a company, there's definitely a focus on what can be done to help the pandemic. I think if you look around the world, COVID has been humbling in the sense that when you think you're on top of it, there can be a surge back. I think encouraging good public safety measures and paying attention to crisis is the only thing you can do in the short term, and that's the effort I'm seeing. And as a company, we stand by ready to help.

HARLOW: India's government just on Sunday ordered some of your fellow big tech companies, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, to take down posts that are critical of the Modi government's handling of this crisis, of the COVID crisis. I know in the past the government has come to Google to ask it to take things off its platforms. Have they done this now, this request? Has the Modi government requested that Google take down any posts, any YouTube videos critical of their handling? And if not, would Google remove that if the request comes?

PICHAI: Normally, we do comply with local laws, particularly in democratic countries, which through their norms and processes, have passed laws. I do think one of India's strengths is a deeply rooted democratic tradition based in freedom of expression and allowing for diversity of viewpoints, and that's a strength. And --

HARLOW: But not here, not with this (INAUDIBLE), right?

PICHAI: Now, we haven't had any requests. And in the past, we've been able to work constructively with governments around the world, and we'll continue that approach here.

HARLOW: Okay. Let me ask you this final question. As you know, the World Health Organization has called it an infodemic, the misinformation tat has been spread around the world about COVID. And it's been spread on Google's platforms and all your competitors' platforms. is this the biggest misinformation crisis that Google has had to fight?

PICHAI: It definitely was one of the most important efforts we had. I would say on this, given there is clear authoritative sources you can point to around the world, both news organizations as well as public health organizations, the local health organizations, for example, in the U.S. CDC, WHO worldwide, and local government authorities. They've been able to raise that information. So, for example, in YouTube alone, we have shown COVID-related information panels 400 million times.

So I think it's an area there because it's around health and we can point to authoritative resources, we've been able to tackle it head-on and get the important messaging out there. But having said that, we've had to remove videos related to misinformation, YouTube alone, we've removed almost approaching a million misleading videos. And the work is ongoing. But we are all very committed to doing it right.

HARLOW: Sundar Pichai, thank you for joining us, and we will keep shining a light on India. Thank you very much.

We'll be right back.

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[10:50:00]

SCIUTTO: This morning, a juror who served in the Derek Chauvin murder trial is now giving an inside view of the deliberations.

HARLOW: That's right. He spoke with our Adrienne Broaddus. She joins us now. First time we've heard from a juror who made this decision. What did he say?

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He told me the trial was tense. He said it was stressful and draining. It left him mentally exhausted. But this something he felt was his responsibility to do.

I asked him to take us back inside of the courtroom. Here is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRANDON MITCHELL, JUROR IN DEREK CHAUVIN MURDER TRIAL: Inside the courtroom for me was extremely stressful, extremely draining on a day- to-day basis. It 100 percent was not easy at all each day, just coming in, just because watching somebody die each day, that's a tough thing to watch.

It was like a funeral. I mean, it literally was like a funeral. It's like you're walking into a dark space and you feel it. You feel the energy, and it's not pleasant.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROADDUS: As you can imagine, it took a toll on him emotionally. He also told us, when he and the other jurors started deliberating, they reviewed some of the exhibits.

[10:55:04]

For example, they reexamined Chauvin's body camera. They also examined the body cameras of the other officers and some of the bystander video. He said the testimony of Floyd's brother moved him to tears, but those tears were hidden by his mask. Jim and Poppy?

HARLOW: Wow, Adrienne, what an interview. I'm sure we can see much more of it online as well. Thank you for that.

And thanks to all of you for joining us today. We will see you right back here tomorrow morning after Biden's big speech tonight. I'm Poppy Harlow.

SCIUTTO: And I'm Jim Sciutto. At This Hour with Kate Bolduan starts right after a short break.

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[11:00:00]