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Akron Police Releases Bodycam Footage Of Police Shooting Of Jayland Walker; Data Privacy Questioned In The Wake Of Roe v. Wade Decision; Several People Dead After Shooting At Copenhagen Mall; January 6th Committee Not Ruling Out Criminal Referral Against Donald Trump; Miami Doctor Advocates For Vaccines, Gets Booted From State Board; Beachfront Property Rightfully Returned; Passive Rail Crossings Taking Lives Across The U.S. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired July 03, 2022 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

RYAN NOBLES, CNN HOST: Caused Sydney's main dam to overflow. Amid the destruction and danger, a glimmer of good news. Rescue crews were able to coral ponies marooned by the flood waters and get them to safety.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.

I'm Ryan Nobles in Washington, in tonight for Pamela Brown.

These top stories tonight. An Ohio community pleads for calm as body camera footage of an unarmed man shot and killed by police. Plus a deadly shooting at a shopping in Denmark. Police say several people are dead and at least one suspect is in custody.

And wait until you hear what a Chinese F-1 driver credits for saving his life after his car flips on the tracks and then jumps over a tire barrier.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Police in Akron, Ohio, have released bodycam footage of the fatal shooting of Jayland Walker. The disturbing video that police provided shows a car chase, a muzzle flash from Walker's car, the foot chase then car stopped and then dozens of shots fired by police which killed Walker.

CNN's Polo Sandoval joins me now.

Polo, you were at the Akron news conference when the video was released. Break down this disturbing video for us.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So what this does, Ryan, it essentially shows you the moments leading up to and during the shooting. We'll play some portions in just a few moments. But first it obviously goes without saying it is extremely upsetting. It is extremely disturbing. But law enforcement releasing that just five days after that Monday shooting, hoping that it will be adding more context to what took place here. And before we roll that footage, it's important to point out what

police say initially was perceived to be a threat, which is when they tried to pull over Jayland Walker, police saying that during that vehicle pursuit, they not only heard what sounded to be like gun fire but also in some Ohio Department of Transportation video that was basically showing the highway, you see what appears to be a muzzle flash, a single muzzle flash from inside the vehicle that Walker was driving.

Now, a few minutes after that, that's when this vehicle pursuit turns into a foot pursuit and that's when, according to police chief here, the eight officers that engaged Walker, say that he reached for his waistband and then appeared to essentially pose a threat to these officers. So again, a warning, the video that you're about to see is certainly disturbing. But it is what's fueling the demonstrations we've seen here in Akron the last few days.

(VIDEO CLIP OF POLICE SHOOTING)

SANDOVAL: So now that you've seen that, I can tell you that what's really fueling the frustrations and the anger, not just for the demonstrators that we've seen marching on these streets, that still continue with the roving fairly peaceful demonstration here in Akron is the question of why so many officers fired so many times.

A preliminary autopsy report according to one of the attorneys representing the families suggests that Mr. Walker had as many as 60 wounds on his body. However, ultimately, the coroner's office will have to determine if that's a mix of entry and exit wounds, or perhaps injuries that were sustained in another way. But that is really what's fueling many of the -- much of the anger here.

Now in terms of what else the police chief is saying, I asked him, what was the most disturbing thing that he has seen in that footage that's been released by authorities and basically suggesting that just the amount of gunfire that he sees and hears, and that is one of the questions that remains here. And one of the things that state investigators now that are basically overseeing this case after the locals handed it over will try to see if each one of those fires, each one of those rounds is justified. Here's what the chief had to say earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF STEPHEN MYLETT, AKRON POLICE DEPARTMENT: They need to be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing and that goes for every round that goes down the barrel of their gun and they need to be held to account.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Now, almost immediately after the Akron Police Department handed over control of the investigation to state officials, including the attorney general's office that will oversee this and see if there is any sort of crimes that were violated here.

[18:05:01]

But I will tell you this, though, I did have an opportunity to speak to the spokesperson for the Walker family and he tells me that so far, up to this point, they have been satisfied with the information that they've been receiving from police. So at least the level of transparency that they've been getting from authorities, and it's certainly at least noteworthy here, Ryan, you see municipal law here, it basically requires that any sort of police-involved shooting, that body camera video be released seven days after the incident.

The police taking this unprecedented step to release it about five days after the shooting hoping that people have a clear idea of what actually transpired. But when you hear from members of the community here, Ryan, and you hear from the demonstrators that continue to protest on these streets, as helicopters circle above, they are still left with many, many questions. And the fire chief, himself, rather, the police chief himself, has been very clear in saying he has questions of his own and he will leave it up to state investigators to try to find answers to some of those questions, Ryan.

NOBLES: So, Polo, you're obviously on the ground there in Akron. Describe the scene for us. Are things tense? Has the family asked for peace during the investigation? You know, what is the mood like right now?

SANDOVAL: Anticipating anger among the community, we actually heard from members of the Walker family who pleaded for demonstrators to remain peaceful. And that's largely what we've seen. Authorities here in Akron saw this coming, saw that people were going to be disturbed by that video and infuriated by it. So what they did, they actually went ahead and blocked some of the roads that lead in and around the police department here. That's one of the reasons why we're able to stand here.

But what the Walker family told me just yesterday, Ryan, is that they are hoping that they will be able to preserve the dignity of their son and to let the investigation run its course, which is interesting. And I do have to say that the grace that we have seen from the Walker family is certainly something that's noteworthy. In fact, the police chief, himself, even thanked the family for the way they've been handling this. But as you can imagine, they are still distraught. They are still mourning.

And they are looking forward to the day when this investigation will come to an end and potentially hold those officers accountable for perhaps using excessive force.

NOBLES: OK, Polo Sandoval, on the ground for us in Akron, Ohio. Polo, keep us updated if anything changes there. We appreciate it.

The family of Jayland Walker held a news conference immediately after the bodycam video was released. A family attorney says the case comes down to one fact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BOBBY DICELLO, LAWYER FOR WALKER FAMILY: They want to turn him into a masked monster with a gun. And we knew that. But I want to thank the chief for one thing he said. At the time he was shot more than 90 or 60 or whatever the unbelievable number will be, he was unarmed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: CNN's legal analyst Loni Coombs joins me now to talk more about this.

So, Loni, does this case really come down to the simple fact of whether or not the suspect had a gun?

LONI COOMBS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, that's a very significant point in the investigation here, Ryan. But there is a lot more to this. Right. So the question is, whether excessive force is used or not. For each officer, they have to be able to answer at the time that they pulled the trigger on their gun, what did they see? What did they hear? What did they know that led them to believe that their life or someone else's life was in danger that justified the deadly force that they used against Mr. Walker.

And even at the time that they pulled the trigger, at that point they make that assessment, they can't just then just unload their gun on Mr. Walker. They have to continue to make that assessment. Is the threat still there? Is the threat neutralized? Do we need to keep shooting this many times from eight different officers? Those are all the questions that go into whether this was excessive force or not.

Now the things that build up to that from the traffic stop on forward are things that can go on in the police officer's mind to help them to assess whether there's deadly force necessary or not at the time they shoot. But really, the critical point comes to at the time they started firing their gun, did they believe that their lives were in danger or someone else's lives was in danger that justified that deadly force, and for it to continue as long as it did.

NOBLES: Yes, and it seems as though the police chief is already trying to get out ahead of that, right? And he said that what he has learned to this point, all the officers involved in the shooting felt that Mr. Walker had turned and was motioning and moving into a firing position. I think this speaks to what you're talking about, right? What did the police officers perceive to be the threat against them in that situation, right?

COOMBS: Exactly. And that was I believe the critical point just before they started firing. And I want to mention a couple of things about this investigation, Ryan, that I think are important. One, this police chief brought in an independent agency to run this investigation very quickly. So it's objective and transparent, right. Two, we are seeing this information released to the public. The bodycam footage and other information police have so far so they we're being informed as it goes along.

[18:10:06] And three, the police chief said something very interesting. He said that those eight officers that were involved in the shooting were immediately separated and monitored so they couldn't corroborate their statements. These are the types of important things that are done to make sure that an investigation like this into such an important shooting is done with transparency, objectivity and with some trustworthiness to it so that we can have some integrity in the outcome of the results.

NOBLES: All right. So, Loni, let's get your expertise, your legal expertise on a different topic but a big topic that's been talked about this week. And that's the decision involving Roe v. Wade. Millions of women use apps to track their period cycles. What are the privacy concerns now concerning the collection of this data? Could governments theoretically get access to this information or are we taking it too far?

COOMBS: Yes, this is a big question, Ryan, that a lot of people are asking now that states that want to ban abortion are getting their laws into place, the question is, where does law enforcement go to be able to enforce these laws? And these fertility apps or app that women have been using for quite a while now to gather information, that's important to their reproductive health choices, right.

So they track their fertility. They track their contraception. They track their sexual history. All information that's really important to the woman. However, it's also a treasure trove to prosecutors who are trying to prove if an abortion occurred or not. So is it protected by a right to privacy? We don't know yet. They haven't been tested. A lot of owners of these app companies are saying that they're going to do whatever they can to protect their users' privacy.

But we just don't know yet. But what we do know, Ryan, if there's a number of other source of evidence that are used regularly in court such as text and e-mails and search apps and tracking locations and bank information. So I was a criminal prosecutor for 18 years. I prosecuted many murder cases. In all of those cases, we had ready access through search warrants to the suspect's search engines to see if they were searching where to dump a dead body.

To their e-mails and texts to see if they are plotting a murder. To their bank records to see if they were buying shovels or gloves or things like that. To their tracking information to see if they were in the area where the crime occurred. Now, if abortion is a crime, the body is the crime scene. And the decisions you make about your body end up becoming evidence for a prosecutor to prove a crime occurred, if the abortion happened.

So if you e-mail your friend and say, hey, I'm pregnant, what am I going to do? If you search to see where there is an abortion crisis center, if you go to a location where an abortion clinic is, if you pay for a pregnancy test or an abortion pill with your credit card, all of that is information, data, that a prosecutor can get access to to be able to prosecute to prove if a crime, an abortion occurred or not. So women really need to start thinking about this as far as privacy

concerns in a post-Roe world, this is now evidence that a crime occurred.

NOBLES: Obviously this decision has just opened up a number of additional legal and theoretical questions that we have not been faced with for 50 years.

So, Loni Coombs, thank you for breaking down that small aspect of it. We appreciate it.

COOMBS: Thank you.

NOBLES: Now we're going to update you on the situation in Copenhagen, Denmark, where multiple people have been killed in a shooting at a shopping mall.

CNN's Nada Bashir is following the investigation. Nada, what more do we know?

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ryan. We are also learning more details as they come in from Danish police. That's in Copenhagen feels more hit by a deadly shooting earlier today. We understand that several people were killed in that incident. At least three people have been confirmed to have been injured, although the details around those injured are still coming in.

We understand that the hospital nearby where they were taken had to call in extra staff to deal with the emergency situation. It is an ongoing investigation. Police have confirmed that they have detained one individual, a 22-year-old Danish man is currently in custody. Police have said that at this stage it doesn't look as though there were other shooters involved in this incident. But they haven't been able to formally rule out the possibility of any further suspects who were involved in this deadly shooting.

And also, they haven't been able to rule out whether or not this was a terror-related incident. That is of course the key question now as this police investigation continues. What was the motive behind this incident? Police have yet to confirm that key question. But of course, this was a truly tragic and horrifying incident. This is a busy shopping center, Sunday afternoon. And of course, they was also a nearby concert venue. Pop star Harry Styles had been due to perform.

Now we had just in the last hour from police officials confirming that they have been evacuating people from that arena nearby.

[18:15:00]

The incident took place at the shopping mall nearby. Of course this was a separate incident, but as a precaution people have been evacuated from that concert venue. This has, of course, rocked the city. It is a truly horrifying incident. We have heard from the Danish prime minister just in the last hour, too. I can read you just a little bit from statement that was issued by the prime minister's office. "Denmark has been hit by a gruesome attack, several were killed. Even

more wounded. It is incomprehensible, heartbreaking, meaningful, our beautiful and usually so-safe capital was changed in a split second."

So clearly, this is an incident which has rocked the entire city. We are also waiting for the details around that investigation. It is ongoing. But we do understand there was a heavy and significant police presence still at the scene as they continue their investigation -- Ryan.

NOBLES: OK, Nada Bashir, live for us in London, thank you for that update. We appreciate it.

And up next, COVID cancel culture blamed for getting a pediatrician kicked off the healthy kids board in Florida. Dr. Lisa Gwynn explains why the truth got her in trouble.

Also ahead, January 6th investigators teasing new revelations and new witnesses after last week's explosive testimony.

And a miraculous escape for a Formula-1 driver as his car crashes and flips right of a tire barrier.

You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:20:34]

NOBLES: One of the two Republicans sitting on the January 6th Committee says the panel could make multiple criminal referrals. And vice chair Liz Cheney won't rule out former President Donald Trump being among them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. LIZ CHENEY (R-WY): Ultimately, the Justice Department will decide that. I think we may well as a committee have a view on that. And if you just think about it from the perspective of what kind of man knows that a mob is armed and sends the mob to attack the Capitol and further incites that mob when his own vice president is under threat, when the Congress is under threat. It's just very chilling.

And I think certainly we will, you know, continue to present to the American people what we found. The Justice Department doesn't have to wait for the committee to make a criminal referral. And there could be more than one criminal referral.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: Joining me now to talk all about this Ron Brownstein, the CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor of the "Atlantic." And Margaret Talev, CNN political analyst and the managing editor of Axios.

So, Ron, should Donald Trump be worried? RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Clearly. Look,

first of all, Happy Fourth, Ryan and Margaret. Everybody watching. Yes, look, the committee has put together a very powerful case against Donald Trump as well as others in his orbit. It's a little mystifying why it's the committee leading the train and the Justice Department seems at least a few steps behind.

But in terms of detailing Trump's behavior, not only during the day, which is what we all thought, you know, it certainly was the original expectation of the investigation, what did he do and not do on January 6th itself, but in terms of all of his actions leading up to January 6th. The pressure on the Justice Department. The pressure on state officials, that the kind of coordinating with John Eastman and others who were told that what -- and hearing that what they were doing likely violated the law, they put together a pretty strong case now. I think they're putting a lot of pressure on Merrick Garland and the Justice Department.

NOBLES: Yes. So Margaret, CNN has learned that former President Donald Trump's White House counsel Pat Cipollone may agree to a transcribed interview with the January 6th Committee. He wants an interview that would be limited to specific topics to try and avoid privilege issues. The committee probably wants a lot more than that. They would even like for him to testify publicly. But this is a negotiation. If Cipollone talks to the committee on any level, though, how potentially damaging could that be to Donald Trump?

MARGARET TALEV, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: It will be incredibly important for follow-up communication. The committee has had some communication with Pat Cipollone already, but in light of the revelations by Cassidy Hutchinson and perhaps other things they've learned, there's a lot more they want to ask him. And you're exactly right that it's a negotiation. He was White House counsel for the second half of the Trump administration.

And we know from others' testimony that he didn't think anything that was happening on January 6th was a good idea. That he believed that they could be criminally prosecuted if they had actually, if the former president had gone to the Capitol that day. The concern for the commission is that he could have privilege claims, depending on what they want to ask him. And that would create a slow walk situation that could run out the clock into a point where Democrats potentially didn't control Congress anymore and that committee evaporated, and other concerns like that.

So there's going to be a space where his interests overlap the committee's interest and that is the space where the public and all of us will potentially get really important new clarifying information and revelations about the president, at the time former President Donald Trump, his team, what they were talking about, what they were doing and what kind of advice that was he getting.

NOBLES: And I think it's also important to point out that Cipollone knows a lot about what happened in terms of efforts to overturn the election results, which could also border on criminality for the former president as well. And the committee wants all that information.

So Congressman Adam Kinzinger, the other Republican on the January 6th Committee, says that the panel is getting a lot more information. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANA BASH, CNN ANCHOR, STATE OF THE UNION: Congressman, since Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony, have new witnesses come forward to want to speak up?

REP. ADAM KINZINGER (R-IL): Yes.

[18:25:01]

Again, I don't want to get into who or any of those details, and it's not even just Cassidy. By the way, she's been inspiring for a lot of people. This happens every day. Every day we get new people that come forward and say, hey, I didn't think maybe this piece of the story that I knew was important but now that you guys -- like, I do see this plays in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: And as somebody who covers the committee every day, I'm almost obsessed with these, that these hearings are not the final chapter here. They're still interviewing witnesses on a daily basis. They're obviously getting in more information.

Margaret, the committee has really managed the expectations. They've tried to not overhype and under deliver. Up until this point, they've been successful there. But what do you think about what Kinzinger just said?

TALEV: I mean, for sure it's provocative and raises a lot more questions. Ryan, as you know, one of the other very provocative ideas to come out of the last seven hearings was the idea that they have the texts and other testimony or depositions that suggest concerns about witness tampering or at least pressure that was, you know, had the perception of witness tampering around it.

I think that's going to be tremendously important in the weeks going forward, both in terms of information it provides to Merrick Garland and the Justice Department, and in terms of information it provides to the public and to others in and around the former administration that again may have more information to come forward with. These are important building blocks.

NOBLES: Yes. So, Ron, let's switch gears. You're out there in sunny California, where the governor, Gavin Newsom, is running for reelection, but for some reason decided that his latest ad would run on the opposite side of the country in Florida. CNN got the exclusive first look at the ad that's going to start airing tomorrow on FOX. Let's play a sample.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Freedom? It's under attack in your state. Republican leaders, they're banning books, making it harder to vote, restricting speech in classrooms, even criminalizing women and doctors.

I urge all of you, living in Florida, to join the fight or join us in California.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBLES: First of all, Ron, it's incredible that this was a guy that not too long ago was facing a possible recall. He's now so emboldened that he can run an ad in a completely different state during a re- election season. Do we think that this is an opening salvo for a potential run for president? Is that what Gavin Newsom is doing here?

BROWNSTEIN: You know, I'm not sure he's going to -- I don't think he's going to run against Joe Biden if Joe Biden runs. But he clearly is trying to step into a void in the Democratic Party. And as I said, as I wrote a few weeks ago, there is a job opening. There is a job vacancy in the Democratic Party for a national leader who will push back harder and in a more systematic way against what's happening in the red states than either Joe Biden or Merrick Garland have felt comfortable doing.

And, you know, Newsom hit on many of the key points that are emerging across a wide variety of states that are making it harder to vote, that are now rushing to ban abortion, that have put new limits on how teachers can talk about race and gender and sexual orientation in the classroom and have made it easier to ban books, LBGTQ rights. I mean, virtually every red state, Florida kind of foremost among them, are doing all of these things.

And Newsom, in a variety of ways, including going on Donald Trump's social media platform, I think is very much auditioning to be a leading voice for Democrats who have felt, as one pollster said to me this week, almost despair at the direction of policy that the red states and the Supreme Court are driving and the limits of how hard Biden is willing to push back on that.

So whether, you know, he's the governor of California, you know, you wouldn't be surprised if he runs for president someday. But I don't know if that's really what's in his mind right now. What's in his mind right now I think is filling this vacuum that people -- many activists have felt that Biden and Garland and others in the administration have left.

NOBLES: Right. Well, you should check out Ron's piece on Gavin Newsom in the "Atlantic." Margaret Talev, Ron Brownstein, thank you both for being here. Have a wonderful Independence Day. We so appreciate your time.

BROWNSTEIN: You too.

NOBLES: A Florida pediatrician says COVID cancel culture got her kicked off a state board. Next, Dr. Lisa Gwynn joins me to explain why the truth got her in trouble.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:33:36]

NOBLES: A Miami pediatrician shares her medical opinion and then gets abruptly booted from the Florida Healthy Kids Board. Her professional opinion supporting the COVID vaccination of children under five years old ran afoul of state officials who don't support the FDA's approval of the vaccine.

Dr. Lisa Gwynn joins me now.

Doctor, let's be clear here, you are a medical professional with a wide range of expertise. You were on the show two weekends ago, stressing the importance of the vaccine based on that expertise. But you apparently angered the administration of Governor Ron DeSantis by criticizing Florida's refusal to pre-order the vaccines for children under 5.

I mean, what concerns you the most about the state not taking the step to pre-order these vaccines?

DR. LISA GWYNN, FLORIDA CHAPTER PRESIDENT, AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS: So, yes, it's been a rough week or two weeks here in Florida trying to advocate for vaccines for all kids. So, yes, a week or so ago, the state decided that they were not going to pre-order vaccines. Therefore, we in pediatrics, we didn't know whether the state would get the vaccine or not.

And so you know that was kind of the narrative at that time and we, you know, just urged the governor to change his mind, and suddenly the state portal which is required for us to be able to order the vaccines, suddenly it became opened up and we were actually able to order the vaccines once the approval came through.

[18:35:09]

But what's happened now which is really more concerning and why we've, you know, been advocating, you know, as loud as we possibly could is that the state decided that they were not going to allow local health departments to carry the COVID vaccines for children under 5. And so this has caused a lot of -- just a lot of difficulties for not only for family to normally access their vaccines through local health departments, those families that are uninsured or just don't have a medical home, live in poverty, the underserved.

So they are not able to access the COVID vaccines for their children under 5. But in addition, local pediatricians, many of them are not able to fulfill the requirements, the minimum dose environments for state orders. And so they rely on their local health departments to receive those vaccines. And so this was an issue of health equity, this was also an issue of distribution of the vaccine locally.

And so that's what we were urging health officials to change their mind about. And then this happened out of nowhere. I just received an e-mail stating that my services were no longer on the board and that's kind of how it all happened.

NOBLES: Wow, so to kind of ask more about that, we tried to reach out to the board. They didn't respond to our questions about it. So you weren't given any reason for your removal. It's just that you spoke out about it. And then the next thing you knew, you were no longer a part of the board.

GWYNN: That is correct. And unfortunately, this is really not about views. You know, I'm a pediatrician. I'm not a politician. And we actually met with the Department of Health's chief of staff about this concern that we had. We had pediatricians calling us throughout the state saying that they could not access the vaccine through their local health departments. And so this was something that we were trying to bring to the attention of the state about it. And the next thing you know, two or three days later, I am removed from the board. So that's how it all kind of happened.

NOBLES: Do you feel like politicians are trying to mute your medical expertise, what you know about and what you practiced for your entire career?

GWYNN: Definitely so. And unfortunately, we have a surgeon general who does not -- even science, the science of vaccines, we have waited a long time for this vaccine to finally be available for children, for young children and infants. And so the time was finally here. We were excited about it. And then to have to go through all of these hurdles and this, quite frankly, it's just nonsense.

We just want to get the vaccines out there available to the underserved, available to pediatricians. And it's a health equity issue. And, you know, we urged the governor and the surgeon general to change their minds, because at the end of the day, this is a choice for parents, and you know, if we don't having access to the vaccine, the parents can't make their own choices, and so, you know, hopefully, they'll change their minds. And we will be able to get the vaccine available to all children throughout Florida.

NOBLES: I mean, what the governor often talked about is parents having the ability and the choice to make these decisions. If you're not even allowing the vaccine to become available, they don't even get that choice. So it seems to be taking that part out of that at least stance they have as it relates to this.

Well, Dr. Lisa Gwynn, thank you so much for being here. We appreciate it.

GWYNN: Thank you.

NOBLES: Up next, a beach front battle rooted in racism finally comes to an end nearly a century later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALISON ROSE JEFFERSON, HISTORIAN: The Bruces' establishment from day one was very successful. By 1922, some white folks were up in arms that the black folks had become, had such a successful operation here. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:43:06]

NOBLES: The Manhattan District Attorney's Office is calling the murder of a New York City mom last week a premeditated execution. 20-year-old Asia Johnson was shot in the head at close range as she pushed her newborn in a stroller on the city's Upper East Side. Police arrested the baby's father Friday. He's still being held without bail. Prosecutors say the suspect convinced the victim to meet with him Wednesday under the guise of giving their daughter gifts. The baby wasn't hurt in the shooting.

For the first time in Los Angeles County's history, the descendants of a black family have had their seized property returned. The Bruces had a successful beach resort until white harassment and the Klu Klux Klan ripped it away.

CNN's Stephanie Elam explains how the county righted a wrong nearly 100 years later.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For decades, this beautiful California beach held shameful secrets of racism and wrongdoing, stretched out as a physical reminder of how Charles and Willa Bruce were harassed and robbed of their property nearly 100 years ago when the City of Manhattan Beach seized Bruce's beach.

CHIEF DUANE "YELLOW FEATHER" SHEPARD, HISTORIAN AND SPOKESMAN FOR THE CHARLES AND WILL BRUCE FAMILY: All we knew was that we were going to step up and speak out and make sure that people never forgot this wrong.

ELAM: A wrong the County of Los Angeles began working to fix last year, culminating with the Board of Supervisors' unanimously voting this week.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Motion carries five to zero.

ELAM: To return the land to the Bruces' great, great-grandchildren, marking the first time in the county's history black descendants have had their family's land returned.

HOLLY J. MITCHELL, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SUPERVISOR: We aren't giving property to anyone today. We are returning property.

ELAM: In 1912, The Bruces bought the land for more than $1200. Eventually they owned two parcels and started a business, offering a place for black people in Southern California to enjoy the scenic vistas with friends and family.

[18:45:07] JEFFERSON: The Bruces' establishment from day one was very successful. They started with just a pop-up tent where people could change their clothes, and they were selling refreshments. Then they later built two-story building that included a cafe, area to dance. By 1922 some white folks were up in arms that the black folks had become -- had such a successful operation here.

ELAM: Then in 1924, the City of Manhattan Beach snatched the property under imminent domain to create a park. Eventually the county took control of the estimated 7,000 square feet of land, which is currently home to a park and lifeguard training facility. The county says it has a two-year agreement to lease the land from the Bruce family for $413,000 a year.

(On-camera): Now surrounded by million-dollar homes this is the property that is getting returned to the Bruce family. Now estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars as it truly is oceanfront property.

SHEPARD: Well, initially it cost the Bruce family their entire fortune. They originally asked for $125,000 for the two pieces of property, and they didn't get that. They only got $14,250. The loss of the generational wealth that would have been accumulated over the course of 98 years now.

KAVON WARD, FOUNDER JUSTICE FOR BRUCE'S BEACH: I feel some sense of peace. I feel joy.

ELAM: Kavon Ward started the push to return Bruce's beach to its rightful owners in 2020.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No justice. No peace.

ELAM: After the murder of George Floyd.

WARD: I know it was the catalyst for me, for me to illuminate what had happened to the Bruces. And for me to move forward and take action, to see how I can legally and legislatively get the land back for them.

ELAM: It's a template Ward and the family hope others will use to also get their land back.

Stephanie Elam, CNN, Manhattan Beach, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: Fascinating story. Stephanie, thanks.

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Up next, a Formula 1 driver is lucky to be alive tonight after his car flipped over during a race. We'll tell you what he credits with saving his life.

And join CNN for coast-to-coast fireworks and incredible music from some of the biggest stars. Celebrate "THE FOURTH IN AMERICA" live tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.

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[18:51:47]

NOBLES: Last week four people lost their lives when an Amtrak train derailed after hitting a dump truck at a railroad crossing in Missouri. Some members of the community had previously raised concerns over the safety of that train intersection. It's called a passive rail crossing and experts are warning just how dangerous they can be.

CNN's Pete Muntean takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE SPENCER, MISSOURI FARMER: This is a dangerous crossing.

PETE MUNTEAN, CNN TRANSPORTATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Missouri farmer Mike Spencer knew there was an accident waiting to happen in the middle of his field.

SPENCER: You should see this.

MUNTEAN: It was just two weeks ago that he posted this video on Facebook, warning of a dangerous railroad crossing. On Monday, it was here that an Amtrak train slammed into a dump truck, killing the driver, three train passengers and injuring dozens more.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit a truck.

MUNTEAN: But this could have happened almost anywhere.

SPENCER: We'll start watching for trains way back.

MUNTEAN: Only a couple miles away, another example of what is known as a passive or uncontrolled rail crossing, meaning it is up to drivers alone to watch out for oncoming trains.

(On-camera): There are tens of thousands of uncontrolled rail crossings nationwide, no lights, no electronic barriers, just a sign.

JENNIFER HOMENDY, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD CHAIR: It is very urgent because it would save lives.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): National Transportation Safety Board chair Jennifer Homendy says the agency has been urging better warnings on crossings like this since 1998.

HOMENDY: We continue to push for infrastructure improvements like gates, bells, whistles, and hope that those do get installed. There are many different ways of addressing safety at crossings, but doing nothing is not the right answer.

MUNTEAN: The NTSB says about half of all the rail crossings in the U.S. are passive or uncontrolled, about 130,000 nationwide. Last year, there were 812 collisions at those crossings, according to federal data. Last week, three women were killed when their car was hit by a train at this uncontrolled rail crossing near San Francisco. HOMENDY: Every single one of these are preventable. It's terribly

tragic and heartbreaking.

MUNTEAN (on-camera): Were you afraid of this intersection?

SPENCER: Oh, absolutely, afraid of it.

MUNTEAN (voice-over): The crossing in Missouri where this week's crash took place was already identified by the state as needing improvements. The cost, estimated at $400,000.

SPENCER: Maybe that the price of fixing this was the cost of lives. You know, and you can't put a dollar amount on that. That's what's sad.

MUNTEAN: Mike Spencer says he hopes this crash leads to nationwide change. Certain the outcome here could have been much different.

SPENCER: I just wish it hadn't come to this.

MUNTEAN: Pete Muntean, CNN, Mendon, Missouri.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: A Chinese Formula 1 driver is crediting safety innovations in his car for saving his life from a spectacular crash today in England. Just after the start of today's race, Zhou Guanyu, his car flipped over after contact with another car. The car slid upside down across the track, eventually flipping over a large tire barrier near the crowd. He is OK, tweeting "Halo saved me today."

[18:55:05]

The halo is in F1 car that is a titanium bar that protects the driver's head in a crash. So glad that he is OK.

Denmark's prime minister is calling for national unity tonight after several people were shot and killed at a shopping mall. We'll have the latest just ahead.

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