Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Video Shows Troopers Tase, Kick, Drag Black Man before His Death; 35 in House GOP Buck Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Trump, Vote for January 6 Commission. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired May 20, 2021 - 13:00   ET

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

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: That's what Mr. Jones says. The Arizona audit is a farce.

Thanks for joining us today. We'll see you back here this time tomorrow. Ana Cabrera picks up our coverage right now.

ANA CABRERA, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thanks for being with me.

Disturbing is an understatement. Newly leaked police body camera footage shows Louisiana State Police officers tasing and beating a black man as he moans on the ground, then they take the time to wipe blood off of themselves and they question whether he has AIDS as he suffers and he cries out for help.

That man, Ronald Greene, died on the way to the hospital. The family says they were told Greene died after crashing his car during a chase.

We are about to show you part of the brutal body cam video of this 2019 incident that has just came to light. It was obtained by the Associated Press. And just a warning, it is horrific.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taser, taser, taser.

Put your hands behind your back, behind your back.

Put your hands behind your back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get up here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You better not move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CABRERA: CNN's Ryan Young is on the story for us. Ryan, what are we learning about the official version of events and why it has taken two years for this more complete picture to emerge? RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, that is really the big question right now. Think about that. Two years ago, this incident happened and we still haven't been able to get a full picture because we haven't seen the 46 minutes that's still out there. And, in fact, this was a leaked tape that ended up sparking all this.

And when I talked to Lee Merritt yesterday, the attorney for the family, he says, this was going to be tough to watch. And when you watch this video, you can understand why the family is torn to pieces by this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (voice over): Terrifying police from Ronald Greene after a high-speed chase led to a deadly confrontation with Louisiana State Police just outside the city of Monroe in May of 2019.

In body cam video obtained by the Associated Press, troopers can be seen repeatedly punch Greene after dragging him out of his vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taser, taser, taser.

YOUNG: Troopers tased Greene multiple times while he's face down on the ground as they attempt to handcuff him. Another trooper can be seen kicking Greene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I got blood all over me. I hope this guy ain't got (BLEEP) AIDS.

YOUNG: The Associated Press released three segments of the original video, which it says is 46 minutes long. Only two of the video clips have audio. CNN has neither reviewed or obtained the original video and it's unclear what occurred before or in between the video clips. The video is being seen by the public for the first time but the incident took place two years ago.

The body cam footage is shocking considering the way the encounter was described in the Louisiana State Police initial report in 2019, which says, troopers attempted to pull Greene over for an unspecified traffic violation that ended when Greene crashed his vehicle. The report also says, quote, Greene was taken into custody after resisting arrest and has struggled with troopers. Greene died on the way to the hospital, the report says.

At no time can troopers be seen trying to render any medical aid to Greene, who, according to the Associated Press, was face down and moaning for more than nine minutes.

CNN has reached out to the attorneys for the officers for comment. Lee Merritt is an attorney for the Greene family and spoke to CNN.

LEE MERRITT, ATTORNEY FOR GREENE FAMILY: It's not only what you're seeing with the sounds that go with it. You can hear him screaming and writhing in pain, as he says, I'm your brother, please top. I'm sorry, I was just scared. YOUNG: The Department of Justice is investigating the incident and in a statement to CNN, the Louisiana State Police says, the premature public release of investigative files and video evidence in this case is not authorized and was not obtained through official sources. LSP is confident in the judicial system and fair review of this incident and continues to offer our full fuel cooperation.

Unauthorized release of evidence undermines the investigative process and compromised a fair and impartial outcome for the Greene family, LSP employees and the community. We are unable to provide any further information at this time.

Greene's mother tells NBC she think the Louisiana State Police murdered her son.

MONA HARDIN, RONALD GREENE'S MOTHER: They beat him with the purpose of letting him just die.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:05:00]

YOUNG (on camera): Yes, Ana, one of the toughest parts of watching the video, there is a part where he is trying to roll over on his side maybe to get a breath and one of the troopers puts their foot right in the middle or right in the lower part of his back and keeps him down even when he is handcuffed.

Now, you think normally we would have some sort of statement from the police or from anybody investigating this. Right now, that hasn't happened. We haven't been able to get anyone on camera who can talk about the investigative parts to this.

Two years later, there are so many questions. And as you can imagine, this has been agonizing for the family. They just want to know why all of this had to be done especially after he was handcuffed.

CABRERA: And as you point out, we don't have the full story, but what we see and hear in that video, it is disgusting. It is appalling. It is horrific. Ryan Young, thank you for your reporting.

Let's bring in Daniel Oates. He served as police chief in both Aurora, Colorado and Miami Beach, Florida. And also with us is CNN Legal Analyst and Civil Rights Attorney Areva Martin.

Chief, I just can't get over the sheer lack of humanity on display here. Greene was tased, he was left moaning, while he was on the ground being put in handcuffs, another officer kicks him several times. He was also dragged. And then you also hear the officer on the tape saying, I got blood all over me. I hope this guy ain't got f'ing AIDS, as Greene is still moaning on the ground reportedly for more than nine minutes. How would you describe that kind of police conduct?

DANIEL OATES, FORMER AURORA, COLORADO POLICE CHIEF: It's very hard to based on the video that we've seen find justification for any of that. And in addition to the fact it is a terrible, terrible tragedy, I'm deeply troubled by the fact that this is two years later.

The modern, enlightened way to deal with critical incidents that lead to the death of someone after an encounter with police is to hand over the investigation to another agency almost immediately. And the fact this is only coming out two years later, and as we know, it's still being investigated internally by the Louisiana State Police, I mean, there's a lot of hard questions to be asked here.

Now, there is always the possibility there is another explanation in the portions of the video we did not see but it doesn't speak well to any of this that it is two years later and that we're only seeing snippets of the video. So it is all deeply disturbing.

CABRERA: Right. Because this incident happened in May of 2019, two years later, this video leaks out there, it wasn't provided. There was no transparency still. And according to the Louisiana State Police that has to do with these ongoing investigations, Areva. And we do know that there are state investigations as well as federal investigations. Those federal investigations include the FBI, the U.S. attorney's office, civil rights division of the Justice Department. But, again, it's been years. Why do these investigations take so long?

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, what we know, Ana, is that they don't take this long. And we know that modern day policing, as the chief said, uses a different standard. And that standard is one of transparency, it is one of providing the public and the family with information, and it is one that requires expeditious investigation.

I cannot imagine that it would take two years given this incident for the department, that state department, to be able to provide some information both to the family and to the public.

I think what the video shows us, Ana, unfortunately, is that unequivocally driving while black is probably the most dangerous activity for an African-American man. We can think of cases involving the Virginia Army lieutenant, Daunte Wright and now Ronald Greene, these routine traffic stops turn into deadly encounters, in some cases, for African-American men.

What we know also about this case is that there is a lie that has been told, a big lie that was told by these state troopers. When Mr. Greene's body was brought to the emergency room, they did not reveal to the emergency room physicians that they had beaten Mr. Greene, but yet there were taser prongs in his back. And it was that emergency room physician, those medical practitioners that had to note that the story of those officers was suspicious. So not only is there police brutality, there is police cover-up, there are lies and misinformation that has been written into police reports.

So from the troopers involved, to the prosecuting attorneys, to everyone involved in this case, there needs to be levels of accountability.

CABRERA: I want to pick up on something, Areva, just mentioned, Chief Oates, because it is true. The initial state police crash report does not mention that the troopers used any force in this situation or that they arrested Greene even. I mean, we know they omitted perhaps the most important part of this incident that led to his death. And it reminds me of what happened in the George Floyd case, where officers initially reported he died of a medical issue. So what is going on here?

OATES: Well, I mean, there's a couple things. By the way, most police departments in the United States don't pursue high-speed pursuit for a traffic infraction.

[13:10:03]

The exception, generally, is state police and some state police and state patrol agencies. But a lot of municipal police agencies are long past that, from mere traffic infractions only for the most serious and violent felonies would agencies engage in a pursuit to begin with.

Then there's the issue of the practical issue of if you have this kind of outcome as a result of an encounter between your officers and a citizen and you need transparency and a fair investigation you turn to another agency to do that and you get on it right away. Those two things -- that does not appear to have --

CABRERA: But does this look like a cover-up to you, the fact that they omit that crucial information about the use of force and the contact they had and what they actually did, the taser, the kicking, the dragging, all of that?

OATES: All of that is deeply disturbing and is not easily explained by the snippets of video that we've seen. If there is some other explanation, it's not here. And that leads to another issue and that is the issue of transparency with regard to body camera video. There is a national debate going on around that.

And, again, enlightened agencies are leaning towards releasing video as soon as reasonably possible. Give the prosecutor an opportunity to look at it. Give the family if there is a tragedy involved like in this case an opportunity to look at it, and then release it immediately. The bad video, misconduct doesn't get better over time.

In transparency, it's becoming the watch word in all of government and in policing. And there really should be an effort by agencies to release this kind of video comprehensively as reasonably soon as possible.

CABRERA: And, again, this was leaked. We still wouldn't have really known what we now know had this video not been leaked, Areva. Louisiana State Police say it was an unauthorized release and it undermines the investigative process. It compromises the fair and impartial outcome of the ongoing investigations. That is their reasoning for it not being put out sooner. Is that a valid concern?

MARTIN: No, Ana, we know that is completely nonsensical, because we've watched too many of these cases where police chiefs, mayors of cities, Department of Justice, district attorneys' offices have released videotape and it has not undermined in any way the investigatory process. And also, Ana, again more horrifying information about this case that we should talk about is there is an audiotape apparently of one of the officers that was involved in this horrific encounter, where he is bragging about beating the life out of Mr. Greene.

So when you talk about what evidence there is to bring these officers to justice to have some level of criminal accountability, there is not just the body cam video, there is this audiotape of this officer bragging about his conduct. So there appears to be sufficient information available even which has been leaked to the public that would give a district attorney's office or some prosecutorial body enough information to move forward with prosecution of these officers.

And the fact it has not been done is really appalling, insulting to this family, and a throwback to a form of policing that this country has said is not acceptable.

CABRERA: Areva Martin and chief Daniel Oates, thank you both for being with us. I appreciate it.

And don't forget you can sign up for CNN's new race deconstructed newsletter for insight on the current events through conversations on the role race plays in culture and politics and so much more. Go to cnn.com/racenewsletter.

So, they were caught in the middle of a violent assault on our nation's Capitol. Why wouldn't both parties want an investigation into that January 6th attack? Senate Republicans are poised to kill a bill creating a bipartisan commission that would do just that. We are on the Hill with the latest.

And open for business. Connecticut takes a big step forward in the fight to get back to normal. How did that state become one of the first to vaccinate more than 70 percent of adults? The governor is here.

Plus, he landed perhaps one of the most explosive interviews ever, but how did Martin Bashir convince Princess Diana to sit down for it? The stunning report just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:15:00]

CABRERA: It is the biggest post-Trump revolt within the GOP yet and a black eye for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, 35 members of his Republican caucus ignoring his position and instead siding with the truth by voting to establish a bipartisan and independent commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection. This bill is now headed to the Senate and the chances of it passing there appear to be dimming by the hour.

CNN's Chief Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju is tracking the numbers. Manu, it will take ten Republican senators voting yay with all the Democrats in order for this bill to pass. What are the chances that happens and why aren't Republicans onboard? MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is very, very slim. It is hard to see that ten Republicans breaking ranks at the moment. Just moments ago, proponents who had hoped that they could get something through suffered a blow when Republican Richard Burr of North Carolina, one of seven Republicans who voted to convict Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection, put out a statement saying he would oppose this commission because, in his view, this is unnecessary, in his view, is duplicative.

That's what we're hearing over and over again from Republicans, but also the acknowledgment and concern that Republicans are voicing publicly and privately that an investigation into January 6th could be politically damaging.

[13:20:03]

It could distract from their message that they want to focus on the Biden agenda, the economy and immigration in their push to take back the majority in the House and the Senate. And the fear is that investigation could lead to something either damaging or keep the issue in the headlines and the report could come out at the end of the year or maybe potentially could even slip into next year, all of which is leading to the growing expectation that this bill vote, this commission vote, will fail.

Now, just moments ago, I had a chance to ask House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy, who had tried to rally opposition behind this proposal about whether he would be willing to testify if it came to it to speak about his conversation with Donald Trump on January 6th. And for the first time, he indicated he would.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Would you be willing to testify about your conversation with Donald Trump on January 6th if you were asked by an outside commission?

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): Sure. Next question.

RAJU: You would?

MCCARTHY: I don't think it is the proper way to go. I think you got the Senate who did a bipartisan one. The speaker should have not played politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So the last point, an important one, because I had asked him if he would be willing to talk to a select committee in the House and that is one option the Democrats are thinking about, trying to do something, not an outside commission but actually a House committee with lawmakers investigating what happened on January 6th. He dodged the question if he would be willing to cooperate in that particular investigation. But he did criticize Democrats and said he would oppose the formation of such a panel. Ana?

CABRERA: Manu Raju on Capitol Hill, thank you.

We are joined by retired Lieutenant General Russel Honore. He was appointed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to lead a review of Capitol security following the insurrection and he recommended sweeping changes. General, it's good to have you here.

Are you surprised that establishing a 9/11-style commission to investigate the January 6th insurrection has become a partisan issue?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): I hope it would not. We spent about six weeks in the Capitol working with some of these same personalities that you see speaking about it now. And I thought we were on a path to get the supplemental done for the recommendations we made for security in the Capitol and it would appear that there were some harmony on when the commission was drawn up, as it was bipartisan, it would happen.

But I guess this is a reflection of the time we live in now. It is clearly an opposition party position now to push back on it. But there is still hope that they will be able to do something.

CABRERA: It is interesting you say that there is opposition from some of the victims of that attack on January 6th, which is quite ironic. Your report that you did and the investigation you conducted, it was only part of the big picture, right, regarding events of January 6th. It really focused specifically on security of the Capitol and members of Congress.

What questions still need to be answered were this commission comes into play?

HONORE: Well, I think there are still a lot of people particularly talking with members of Congress who themselves were somewhat traumatized that day and wanted to make sure it didn't happen again. What we've done is done the math. You know, you need more of this. You need more of that. You need more training. You need more intelligence. Those things can be fixed with resources.

I think what answers people want to know now, particularly members of Congress and many people across the country is, who knew what, when and how did this happen? And those are the hard questions that still need to be answered. All we did was make recommendations in task force 1/6 on what can be done with more resources and better utilization of resources.

But what we recommended would not prevent the will or the ability for people to collaborate on social media as well as who did what, when.

CABRERA: And so you see Republican lawmakers just downplaying this. What does it look like to our enemies?

HONORE: Well, I can only speculate that the city on the shining hill, some of the lights are flickering. But we must live through this too. America has been through tougher times and survived it. I think the people need to call their representatives and encourage them to do the right thing. And what the right thing is transparency. Let's do a clear

investigation through the commission to make sure that we can prevent this happening again. And it is time for the people to speak up to their representatives and their senators that this commission needs to be done and let's move forward.

[13:25:05]

CABRERA: Right now, there are over 2,000 National Guardsmen in the area around the Capitol who have been supporting Capitol Police following the insurrection. They're expected to leave this weekend. Timing-wise, does this make sense to you?

HONORE: I'm not quite sure we still need the 2,000 but there is some number between 1,000 and 500 that would still be needed there. After 9/11 we left 250 National Guardsmen at the Capitol for over two years and nobody argued about it. And on any given day, we have a whole squadron of Air Force, National Guard out at Langley with 21 jets. Nobody complained about this.

I just think people need to get past the opposition mindset that if somebody recommend something, we got to say no to it because the Capitol must be selected. The only other option is if they don't do it, then the Department of Defense can be told to do it by the president and I'm sure nobody in the Capitol wants that to happen, because at the end of the day, the executive branch has got to make sure the nation is secure, and that's why we got a Department of Defense and all the federal agencies. He can do a presumptive decision and authorize National Guard to be there. Whatever it takes, we must secure the Capitol.

CABRERA: General Honore, I appreciate your time. Thanks for being with us.

HONORE: Have a good day.

CABRERA: You too.

Another step closer to normal, Connecticut just lifting nearly all of its COVID restrictions but there is still work to do. And in a state with nearly 73 percent of adults already at least partially vaccinated, how does the governor plan to convince vaccine holdouts? He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:30:00]