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Memphis Releases Deadly Police Beating Video; Protests Break Out After Police Beating Video Released; Israeli Police: Shooting Near Synagogue Leaves Seven Dead; At Least Two People Wounded In Shooting Saturday; Ukraine: Russian Artillery Rains Down Across The East; Poland Pledges More Tanks For Ukraine; Torrential Rains And Flooding Leaves Three Dead In New Zealand; Medical Experts: Nichols Likely Died From Internal Injuries; Rioter Julian Khater Receives 6.5-Year Sentence For Assaulting Officer Brian Sicknick With Pepper Spray. Aired 4-5a ET
Aired January 28, 2023 - 04:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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[04:00:34]
KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for whom?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for whom?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for whom?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for whom?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice for whom?
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: This is the demand of protesters across the United States after the city of Memphis releases harrowing video of a fatal police speeding. At the center of it all, is this man, 29-year-old Tyre Nichols. We walk you through the clips that showed what he endured and look at where reform needs to begin.
And a deadly shooting near Jerusalem synagogue. At least seven people have been killed. We're live in Jerusalem for the latest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Live from CNN Center, this is CNN Newsroom with Kim Brunhuber.
BRUNHUBER: Across the United States, we're seeing anger, we're hearing demands for change. But we're not witnessing the violent demonstrations many feared would come after the public saw those images. Memphis officials released over an hour of video that started with a traffic stop involving Tyre Nichols on January 7. Have a look.
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED SPEAKER (in unison): Tyre Nichols.
BRUNHUBER: Now, there is already a lot of anger toward police over the incident with loud calls for reform. These protesters in Memphis, for example, blocked a major bridge for a time but no arrests were made. Nichols' funeral is set for next Wednesday.
Ever since he died from his injuries on January 10, we've heard gruesome descriptions of what happened to him. Well now we have the video taken by the officers' own cameras. Five Memphis officers were fired from the force and are now facing second degree murder, kidnapping and other charges. Before the videos were made public, Nichols' mother understandably struggled to put her emotions into words. Here she is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROWVAUGHN WELLS, TYRE NICHOLS' MOTHER: My son is looking down smiling because, you know, it's funny, he always said he was going to be famous one day. I didn't know this is how he was going to -- this is what he meant, but if -- I really don't know what else to say right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: So what you're about to see in here is extremely difficult to watch. There are four clips to show you, each taken from a different police camera, but together they show the killing of an unarmed man and the police officers apparent disregard for him afterwards. And again, these images are graphic and disturbing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of your car. Get out of your fucking car.
TYRE NICHOLS: Hey, I ain't do anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Turn your ass on the ground.
NICHOLS: All right, all right, all right, all right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the ground, on the ground. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now we do not see Nichols being pulled over for what was alleged to be reckless driving, but the first clip is from an officer arriving at the scene. Nichols' yanked from the car and forced to the pavement. Now it's not known why officers appear so agitated at this point that the situation escalates rapidly.
Nichols manages to run away but he's been captured nearby where the fatal blows were apparently delivered. This police surveillance video appears to show Nichols was struck, punched and kicked at least nine times in less than four minutes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, give me your hand. Give me your hand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spray it again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, Mike (INAUDIBLE).
(SCREAMING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch out. Watch out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch out.
NICHOLS: Mom. Mom. Mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And this is what was happening on the ground as recorded by another police body cam. When officer can be heard saying, I'm going to baton the f out of you. It was just one of many violent threats directed to Nichols from the beginning.
After several minutes, the officers leave Nichols slumped over and badly injured. At no time, do any of them appear to render aid. In fact, it would be nearly 30 minutes before an ambulance finally arrived with apparently nothing done for Nichols in the meantime.
Protests erupted after the authorities released video of the deadly police beating. From coast to coast, people marched to condemn police violence and demand justice for Tyre Nichols. So far, things have remained largely calm with most protesters heeding calls to march peacefully.
[04:05:06]
In Memphis, this is how demonstrators voiced their frustration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHANTING) (END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Protesters blocked all lanes on an interstate rage and chanted slogans against injustice. Police say no one was arrested and the crowd began to disperse after a while.
CNN's Sara Sidner has more on the protest in Memphis.
SARA SIDNER, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're seeing an absolute standstill. If you look behind me, you see all these trucks down here that is behind me. The I-55 bridge southbound and northbound, northbound towards St. Louis, southbound towards Jackson, Mississippi. There is a huge section of I-55, the bridge included, that has just been stopped for quite some time.
I want to give you a sense of what it looks like and where I am. This is Exit 12B. And apropos of what's happening., the National Civil Rights Museum is off of that exit. As you know, this was the place where Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated here in Memphis.
But what you are seeing is what protesters here call resistance. They have been peaceful with their resistance. What we are seeing is people who have on both sides of I-55 just stop traffic. They have stopped traffic, they are holding signs, "Justice for Tyre". They are holding signs that police who murder must be put in prison, they must face justice.
And, you know, the crowd is here. There are emotions that are high, but they have been nothing less than peaceful. They have just stopped the traffic flow. And part of that is because they want people to see that disruption is part of the way they're going to protest because they are feeling pain. And they want people to understand how serious they are about all of what they saw on that videotape.
You're hearing them chant something that we have heard across the country from Michael Brown to George Floyd to Freddie Gray, "Whose streets, our streets," that is what they're chanting because they feel like these are their streets. They are taxpayers too and there is no reason why these five officers should have been involved in taking the life of a resident here in Memphis.
BRUNHUBER: Some of the former officers accused in the death of Tyre Nichols were part of a specialized unit in the Memphis Police Department. Following the deadly beating, there have been growing calls to dissolve it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTONIO ROMANUCCI, ATTORNEY FOR TYRE NICHOLS' FAMILY: We are asking Chief Davis to disband this Scorpion unit effective immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. ROMANUCCI: The intent of the Scorpion unit has now been corrupted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: But later in the program, we'll look at how the Scorpion unit works and whether officials will make any changes to it.
A shooting near in Jerusalem synagogue leaves several people dead. Ahead, how the attack unfolded and how Israeli officials are responding. Plus, buildings catch on fire as Russian artillery pummels towns in Eastern Ukraine. We have live report on what Ukraine describes as fighting around the clock. Please stay with us.
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[04:12:29]
BRUNHUBER: Israeli police say at least seven people were killed and three were wounded Friday in a shooting near Jerusalem synagogue. According to authorities, a 21-year-old gunman shot people at close range with a pistol. He later fled the scene and was killed in a shootout with police.
Now shooting happened hours after Israel launched strikes on Gaza in response to militant rocket fire. And the day after Israeli forces killed nine Palestinians during a raid in the West Bank city of Jenin, it also comes as the U.S. Secretary of State is preparing to visit Israel in the West Bank for the first time since the new Israeli government to power.
Let's get more now from journalist Elliott Gotkine in Jerusalem. And Elliott, we're just learning about a new incident. What can you tell us about that?
ELLIOTT GOTKINE, JOURNALIST: Kim, this happened about 20 minutes ago where the first reports which were conveyed to us by Magen David Adom, that's the ambulance service here in Israel. The latest we have from Magen David Adom is that there's a 40 -- there were two men who were shot in what police are describing as a terrorist attack. One was a 47-year-old male, one is a 23-year-old male.
The ambulance service saying that they were fully conscious and had gunshot wounds to their upper bodies. They've both been taken to hospital, where they are receiving further treatment after initially receiving treatment from paramedics. And, of course, this just comes hours after that shooting you were referring to, in your introduction, Kim, in which seven people were shot, three were injured.
And they are in hospital, two men -- sorry, one boy, one man and a six-year-old woman are in hospital as a result of that. The police arrested 42 people in response. The attacker himself, a 21-year-old man from East Jerusalem was killed.
And Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who put out a statement in the wake of that attack last night, saying that certain measures were being taken already, but that the government, the government's Cabinet, would be meeting after the end of the Jewish Sabbath, which is around about 6:00 p.m. local time. And that then it will decide what actions to take.
It also, in that statement from Prime Minister Netanyahu, imploring Israelis not to take the law into their own hands, saying that Israel has a police force, the army and security forces who will act on the instructions of the Cabinet. So this is obviously something that will evolve in terms of the Israeli response.
But this latest shooting attack, as I say the second, you know, one last night one now, this morning, Israeli time, will no doubt feed into whatever actions the Israeli government decides to take. Kim?
[04:15:05]
BRUNHUBER: All right, and then take us through what the White House is saying about yesterday's shooting.
GOTKINE: Yes. so in the wake of that attack last night, President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had a call the readout from the Corps says that, "The President made clear that this was an attack against the civilized world. The President stressed the iron- clad U.S. commitment to Israel's security, and agreed that his team would remain in constant touch with their Israeli counterparts."
And as you mentioned, we just -- well on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in Israel and the U.S. State Department also put out some comments in the wake of that attack last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VEDANT PATEL, U.S. STATE DEPT. DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: This is absolutely horrific. Our thoughts, prayers, and condolences go out to those killed and injured in this heinous act of violence. We condemn this apparent terrorist attack in the strongest terms.
Our commitment to Israel's security remains ironclad. And we are in direct touch with our Israeli partners. And our thoughts are with the Israeli people in light of this horrific attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GOTKINE: And at the same time, as the U.S. was showing its support for Israel, it's also urging de-escalation. But, I think, given what's just happened just now in the past few minutes and last night's shooting, that any hope for any de-escalation is extremely unlikely. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: Yes, unfortunately. All right, thanks so much, Elliott Gotkine. Appreciate it.
A barrage of artillery fire coming down on Ukraine's defenses across the eastern front lines. Ukraine says Russia has been launching one salvo after another on multiple towns in the Donetsk region. At least two people were killed and five others wounded on Friday. He says Russia is also sending waves of infantry into the battle in an attempt to break through Ukrainian lines.
President Zelenskyy says there's only one way to stop the Russian onslaught. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT (through translation): This situation on the frontline and pointedly in the Donetsk region near Bakhmut and Vuhledar continues to remain extremely acute. The occupiers are not destroying our positions, they are deliberately and methodically destroying these towns and villages around them with artillery, airstrikes, missiles. The Russian army has no shortage of lethal means, and can only be stopped by force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Clare Sebastian is monitoring developments in Ukraine. She joins us now from London. So Clare, let's start with the situation in the east. What's the latest there?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, as you suggested, one of the tactics that Russia is using is very intense manpower, wave after wave of infantry battalions essentially, going into battle. We're getting some evidence of the toll. This is taking on the Russian side. We know, for example, that Wagner, that private military company is very active around Bakhmut, continues to be so.
We have satellite imagery that shows a rapidly expanding cemetery used for Wagner mercenaries in southern Russia showing that between November 24 and January 24, 14 additional rows of graves seem to have appeared there. So that gives you the sense of the cost of this war in terms of the people involved in it on the Russian side.
That strategy of taking small towns in the absence of being able to take big population centers, like Bakhmut continues. We're seeing the Russians active around Vuhledar, which is just to the south of Bakhmut narrative, the city of Donetsk. We're also hearing this morning a report from the local Ukrainian governor, that a smaller town called Kostiantynivka civilian deaths, there are three he says because of a missile strike by Russia that hit civilian buildings.
So this continues to be a brutal grinding war, a combination of missile strikes and that ground offensive. And in a midst that as well, we're seeing glimpses, Kim, of the sort of top of the range of Russia's arsenal, that aerial assault that we saw in Ukraine, on Thursday included according to the Ukrainian Air Force, two Kinzhal type hypersonic missiles. These are the types of missiles that Ukraine simply cannot shoot down, they do not have the air defense capability to do that.
This is why we continue to hear calls including for the Ukrainian Air Force to accelerate the provision of those patriots that have already been promised and other sophisticated air defense systems. This as President Zelenskyy continues to call for those timelines to be pressured in terms of bringing tanks to Ukraine for that ground offensive in the east. BRUNHUBER: OK, well, let me ask you about that. Then what more do we know about that timeline because there is that time crunch there as you say?
SEBASTIAN: Yes, time is not on Ukraine side. Can we know that work is underway intensively to bring those tanks in particular to Ukraine, the U.K. with its Challenger 2 tanks and Germany with those Leopard 2 tanks, say, that they are targeting the end of March to get them on the ground in Ukraine.
The U.S. as it'll take a fair bit longer to get that Abrams 2 tanks into Ukraine many months, according to the White House National Security spokesperson.
[04:20:07]
And meanwhile, the top official in the Ukrainian military did say at the end of last year that he expects a Russian offensive to begin anytime between January and March. So they may not make it in time to be there for the beginning of that, but I think we are -- it is clear if you talk to military experts that these modern tanks will make a difference in that grinding battle in the East.
And it's also about the messaging, of course, as well that the West is willing to move to these not only more modern and more sophisticated but offensive weapons as well. Kim?
BRUNHUBER: All right, appreciate the update. Clare Sebastian, thanks so much.
In New Zealand, three people have died and at least one person is missing, falling torrential rainstorms and devastating flooding. Weather officials say Auckland got almost 10 inches of rain on Friday alone, a stunning quarter of a meter triple the average rainfall of all of January. Auckland's Airport has reopened for domestic flights but international flights won't resume until Sunday after high water force.
More than 2,000 people to stay overnight in terminal buildings. Various events in the city were canceled including Elton John's concert. Some fans there waiting through floodwaters after learning the cancelations. New Zealand's new Prime Minister Chris Hipkins met with emergency services and survey the damage in Auckland on Saturday.
And he posted a message on Twitter asking people to, quote, look out for each other. This is an unprecedented event. Be kind, be patient. You'll get through this.
The British airline Flybe has canceled all flights and stop trading on the stock market. The U.K. Civil Aviation Authority announced the move Saturday and warned travelers with tickets not to go to airports. An statement from the company said it had been placed into administration and flights won't be rescheduled. Flybe flew to Amsterdam, Geneva and cities across the U.K.
The video of police officers beating Tyre Nichols shows it took many crucial minutes for medical help to arrive. When we come back, our chief medical correspondent explains why timely emergency care is so critical.
Plus, a specialized and controversial Memphis police unit tied to the death of Tyre Nichols is now under review. But the Nichols family says it has to be disbanded. Those details and more when we come back. Please stay with us.
(CHANTING)
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[04:25:58]
BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to all. You're watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber, this is CNN Newsroom.
All right, I want to get back to our top story. Police videos have now been made public of Memphis officers fatally beating Tyre Nichols following a traffic stop on January 7. Nichols died of his injuries three days later. The fired officers now face second degree murder charges. The video of that incident are graphic and difficult to watch.
Now we don't see Nichols being pulled over for alleged reckless driving. But the first clip is from an officer arriving at the scene. Nichols is yanked from the car and forced the pavement. Now it's not known why officers appear so agitated this point, but the situation escalates rapidly.
Well short time later at a nearby location, Nichols is on the ground, badly injured. But no officers appear to render aid and nearly 30 minutes would pass before an ambulance finally arrived.
Now earlier my colleague Michael Holmes spoke about this case with criminal defense attorney John Burris, and here's his reaction to the newly released videos.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN BURRIS, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right there, the Rodney King case. Rodney King got beaten badly. And, you know, was handicapped when he was handcuffed at the time he was being beaten. So in this case, this is pretty outrageous. And then you take all the beating that he was taking, and then he was left alone, in -- left alone to die and suffer in his own blood, if you will.
And so, there's that kind of disconnect, this kind of -- in the sense that we didn't care about him as a human being. What we did was he ran from us. And when you run, you pay. That's the model that this particular unit apparently has, which is obviously a very notorious way of policing. And it's one that we've made a lot of efforts down through the years to try to present. Officers should know that you don't -- just because a person run, that doesn't mean you get to catch them and then beat them and make them pay and give them a form of -- MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Well, I guess, you know, his family would
argue he only ran because he was being beaten so badly after the initial traffic stop.
BURRIS: Absolutely,
HOLMES: Yes, lawyers for some of those cops, you know, a couple I heard said that their client didn't physically take part in the beating. To you as an attorney and your involvement in the Rodney King case, is that a defense? How damning is just being there but not stepping in?
BURRIS: No, you have a duty to intervene. When you see that officers are violating someone's constitutional rights, that is to say they're using force that is unnecessarily, that is unwanted. They're not physically in harm's way. And that officer is beating that person -- the officer standing by have a duty to intervene and pull that person back to stop it if they can.
If they don't do that, then they become equally liable by the Federal Civil Rights Act, they're in fact are responsible as well, for failure to intervene, as well as, say, to provide medical assistance. As you can record shows that he's sitting there may be almost 25, 30 minutes after being beaten.
And the officers are walking around, almost like they're planning their defense talking about he's putting a gun in but he's getting on tang (ph). They couldn't get his hands together. So --
HOLMES: Yes.
BURRIS: -- there was a lack of concern for him as a human being and that the (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: Absolutely. I want to go back to you, you know, I mean, you get back to the Rodney King beating. And --
BURRIS: Yes.
HOLMES: -- here we are all this time later, talking about a similarly brutal beating, what is fundamentally wrong structurally, within policing that these awful incidents keep on happening?
BURRIS: It can be a question of accountability, that every department develop its own culture. So that culture results in maybe people using excessive force and not being held accountable. Back in this particular case, there's this sense that these officers must have not felt that they were going to be held accountable because they knew they were being a video camera, they have by one cameras and speed cameras and undoubtedly felt that there was not going to be any accountability.
[04:30:15]
The lack of accountability on the part of supervisors and command staff holding often accountable that creates this atmosphere that you can do these kinds of things and get away with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Now at this point, we don't know specifically what killed Tyre Nichols but medical experts tell CNN he probably died of internal injuries from blunt force trauma.
CNN's Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta tells us more of the possible injuries Nichols might have suffered.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is just horrific to watch. Even as a trauma neurosurgeon myself, I've never seen anything quite like that. You don't -- you often see patients who are brought into the hospital. But you don't see that that sort of just horrific beating that he took over those several minutes.
When you look at the sort of thing, there's obviously so many different injuries that he could have sustained at the time. I think one of the areas that people probably paid a lot attention to was just all these blows he took to his head, and to his face. He was restrained at one point, taking fists to the face and he was being kicked in the face when he was on the ground.
What can happen sometimes is that the brain is the one organ in the body, that when it's starting to swell, it really has no place to go because it's encased by the skull. Every other organ in the body can swell a little bit more easily. Brain swelling can start to take place and one can start to lapse in and out of consciousness as seemed to be happening with with Mr. Nichols.
I watched the videos alongside medical examiners from around the country, and that was the area that they really pointed to was these blows to the head. But it's also worth noting that he's a pretty skinny guy from we understand. And there were kicks to the body, to the torso, to the chest, as well. And any of those organs may have actually sustained damage and started bleeding as well, could have been suffering from internal bleeding at the time that all this was happening.
And that brings us to the next point, which I think is critically important. When you look at sort of the timeline of what was happening there, it was around 8:33 or so 8:34 when you see this last kick that he sustained, and then he is handcuffed and he's dragged over to the car.
And then it's -- eight minutes later before we see EMS even arrive, but it's not until around 9:02. So 20 minutes after that, 21 minutes after that, almost half an hour in total before you see a gurney arrive. So you have a critically ill man who's lying on the sidewalk, sustained all these injuries.
Hard to say the extent of the injuries are even how serious they are at that point. Obviously, they are serious. But what exactly is the most serious is difficult to ascertain. And it's a full half an hour before he's really assessed. You hear at various times that it's going to take a while for the ambulance to get there. And that's obviously very problematic. He needed to be in a hospital. Whether or not it would have made a difference, ultimately, that's hard to say. And we'll get more information, you know, probably over the coming few days as to exactly what caused his death. We don't have a firm cause of death yet from the County Medical Examiner. But watching that video, looking at that timeline, you can get really get a sense of what happened to him and what happened to him in the days that followed.
BRUNHUBER: Well, as we just saw the videos of the beating of Tyre Nichols show Memphis police officers just standing around afterwards. CNN Legal Analyst and Criminal Defense Attorney Joey Jackson spoke with our Erin Burnett about what he noticed in the videos of the incident. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST AND CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What I see here is no interpersonal communication at all. I see no immediacy of threat that was posed to the officers such that they would respond. I see no proportionality with respect to the force in hitting and the punching and the kicking and using, you know, everything that they used.
And then finally, I see summing that all up, Erin. I see no reasonableness, last, last point, right? And that is you ask about, you know, the milling around and what they could do. You have a duty to act, to intervene, and that did not happen. And that is problematic, it's troubling, and it's criminal. And that's why this is being prosecuted to the degree and the expediency in which it is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Some of the former Memphis police officers accused in Tyre Nichols death were part of a specialized unit called Scorpion. Officials tell CNN that unit has now been suspended and is under review along with all specialized police units.
CNN's Brian Todd has more on the group and the fanfare surrounding its launch.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A dramatic call from an attorney for Tyre Nichols' family to dissolve the special unit of the Memphis Police that at least some of the officers accused in Nicholas' death belong to.
[04:35:04]
ROMANUCCI: We are asking Chief Davis to disband this Scorpion unit effective immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Immediately. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
ROMANUCCI: The intent of the Scorpion unit has now been corrupted.
TODD (voice-over): Scorpion standing for Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace in Our Neighborhoods, is a specialized unit of the Memphis Police created by the current chief Cerelyn C.J. Davis in the fall of 2021, with a promo video accompanying its launch. Chief Davis told our Don Lemon they needed a unit to address a surge of violent crimes in Memphis.
CHIEF CERELYN DAVIS, MEMPHIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: This is one of three teams whose primary responsibility is to reduce gun violence to be visible in communities and it will also impact the rise in the crime, basically out of an outcry from the community. We had record numbers in 2021, 346 homicides.
TODD (voice-over): Chief Davis says the scorpion unit at least initially had great success.
DAVIS: Last year, was the first year in a long time that we have reductions.
TODD (voice-over): The mayor's office also touted Scorpion's early success, saying that between its inception in the fall of 2021 through January of 2022, the unit made 566 arrests, seized more than 250 weapons, 270 vehicles and over $100,000 in cash. But in its brief lifetime, there's already a history of tension between Scorpion officers and the community.
Attorneys for Tyre Nichols' family say the unit goes around in unmarked cars and is sometimes unnecessarily aggressive. Family attorney Ben Crump relayed one account that a local man had also described to media outlets of his encounter with Scorpion.
BEN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR TYRE NICHOLS' FAMILY: There's a brother who said four or five days before this happened to Tyre that same Scorpion unit confronted him while he was in his car going to get pizza, and he said that they used all counter profanity against him. They threw him on the ground, talking about where the drugs and where the weapons.
TODD (voice-over): And Crump said the officers pointed a gun at the man's head. CNN has reached out to the Memphis Police for response to that account. We haven't heard back. One law enforcement veteran described issues that often crop up with specialized units in city police departments.
DARRIN PORCHER, FORMER NYPD LIEUTENANT: Generally speaking, we have an enforcement driven unit. These units have a greater propensity to rack up complaints against them based on excessive force. But the terminal piece in this is overall supervision. So I believe that we had a failure in supervision and there was no appropriate oversight to ensure that these officers were doing what they were supposed to do.
TODD (voice-over): Again, the Memphis Police Department has not responded to specific allegations of previous use of excessive force by the Scorpion unit. Memphis police tell CNN that unit and all other specialized units of the department will undergo a review and that the Scorpion unit is, quote, inactivated during the review process.
Brian Todd, CNN Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BRUNHUBER: President Joe Biden, who spoke with Nichols' family on Friday had this reaction after he saw the footage of the deadly beating. He said, quote, "like so many, I was outraged and deeply pained to see the horrific video of the beating that resulted in Tyre Nichols' death. It is yet another painful reminder of the profound fear and trauma, pain and the exhaustion that black and brown Americans experience every single day."
Meanwhile, the U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris put out this statement, quote, "Tyre Nichols should have made it home to his family. Yet, once again, America mourns the life of a son and father brutally cut short at the hands of those sworn to protect and serve.
The footage and images released tonight will forever be seared in our memories, and they open wounds that will never fully heal. The persistent issue of police misconduct and use of excessive force in America must end now."
All right, there's still more to come here on CNN including disturbing newly released recordings of the attack on the husband of former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And an embarrassing admission from the former vice president. The discovery of more classified documents puts a spotlight on how America handles top secret intelligence. We'll be right back. Please stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[04:42:41]
BRUNHUBER: The former U.S. House Speaker says she has no plans to watch footage of the attack on her husband. Nancy Pelosi made the comments Friday after California authorities released recordings made during the assault on her husband, Paul. The video and audio revealed a brutal attack and we have to warn you some of the images are disturbing.
CNN Correspondent Nick Watt has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WATT (voice-over): 2:31 a.m., October 28, SFPD officers arrive at the Pelosi home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going on, man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything's good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. Drop the hammer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, hey, hey, hey.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is going on right now?
DAVID DEPAPE, ATTACK PAUL PELOSI: I think he grab the hammer and so I basically (INAUDIBLE) away from him and (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
WATT (voice-over): The suspect had allegedly broken in about a half hour before.
DEPAPE: I'm starting to think oh fuck, what if they're not even here? I'm actually surprised by him.
WATT (voice-over): He woke Paul Pelosi with the words, "Where's Nancy?"
DEPAPE: I was basically going to hold her hostage and to talk to her basically tell her and what I would do. If she told the truth, I would let her go, scot-free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
DEPAPE: If she fucking lied, I was going to break her kneecaps.
WATT (voice-over): Nancy Pelosi was not home. Paul Pelosi made it to the bathroom, dialed 911.
DEPAPE: I'm a friend of theirs.
PAUL PELOSI, HUSBAND OF NANCY PELOSI: Yes, I -- he says he's a friend, but as I said, I've never --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you don't know who he is?
PELOSI: No, ma'am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
PELOSI: He's telling me I'm being very leading, so I got to stop talking to you, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You sure? I can stay on the phone with you just to make sure everything is OK.
PELOSI: No, he wants me to get the hell off the phone.
DEPAPE: Well, honestly, he's pushing me into a corner. And I have other targets. And I don't -- I can't be stopped by him. If I have to go through him, I will.
WATT (voice-over): This attack influenced Nancy Pelosi's decision to stand down as the Democratic leader in the House. REP. NANCY PELOSI (D), CALIFORNIA: He is making progress, but it'll take more time. As you know, today there was a release of some information. I have not heard the 911 call. I have not heard the confession. I have not seen the break in, and I have absolutely no intention.
WATT (voice-over): Both prosecution and defense opposed this release, arguing it could compromise David DePape's right to a fair trial, and that these days, images can so easily be manipulated, then spread.
[04:45:10]
Given the widespread misinformation and conspiracy theories disseminated by mainstream and fringe media around this case already, wrote San Francisco's DA, this video might become a vehicle for improper purposes.
DEPAPE: I jump into action. They jump into action. They're on top of me instantly. They're like --
SGT. HURLEY: But you had already able to hit him several times, right?
DEPAPE: Yes, I have no clue how many times but I (INAUDIBLE).
SGT. HURLEY: And were you able to use all your force or were you just tapping?
DEPAPE: No, it was not a tap. It was full force.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATT: David DePape faces a slew of charges, including attempted murder. Paul Pelosi's skull was fractured in that attack. DePape pleads not guilty to everything. Now, asked in that police interview if the Pelosis had done anything to him, he said that they and other Democrats have done something to the entire American public.
He calls it an endless crime spree whole four years until they were finally able to steal the election. It's obviously a completely baseless claim. Nick Watt, CNN, Los Angeles.
BRUNHUBER: And January 6 rioter who assaulted a U.S. Capitol police officer with pepper spray has been sentenced to more than six and a half years in prison. Julian Khater pleaded guilty in September to two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon.
He'll spend 80 months behind bars, pay $10,000 fine and pay another $2,000 in restitution. Officer Brian Sicknick died the day after the attack on the Capitol after suffering several strokes. Medical authorities determined he died of natural causes but said everything that happened during the riot played a role.
Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is taking responsibility for classified documents being found at his home. They were discovered when Pence decided to review his own personal records after it was revealed that President Biden also had unsecured documents. Pence spoke about it Friday in Miami. Here he is.
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MIKE PENCE, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Let me be clear, those classified documents should not have been in my personal residence. Mistakes were made. And I take full responsibility.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: This is now the third high profile discovery of classified material after hundreds of documents were found at former President Donald Trump's home in Florida last summer.
Protests erupted across the U.S. Friday after the release of body cam video showing the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis. We'll have latest after the break.
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[04:51:48]
BRUNHUBER: We're turning now to our top story. The death of Tyre Nichols with the hands of Memphis police and the demonstrations that have followed. Peaceful protests were held in cities across the country Friday to honor Nichols and his family.
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(CHANTING)
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BRUNHUBER: In Memphis, where the beating took place, demonstrators stopped traffic on a major interstate. Police say, no one was arrested. Friday evening, the city of Memphis released graphic police body cam and surveillance video from the altercation which showed officers striking Nichols multiple times.
Five officers involved have been dismissed from their jobs and are facing murder charges. Before the video was released, Nichols' mother spoke with CNN about the officers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WELLS: They have brought shame to their own families. They brought shame to the black community.
I've just feel sorry for -- I feel sorry for them. And God is not going to let any of his children's names go in vain. So when this is all over, it's is going to be some good and some positive because my son was a good and positive person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: Tyre Nichols' death has been especially shocking for the city of Memphis where it happened. In an emotional interview, the chairman of the city council told CNN that his death has led to lasting change and accountability. Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTAVIUS JONES, MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL CHAIRMAN: We have to build a better Memphis. We got to build a better Memphis for Mr. Nichols. We have to let his legacy, his sacrifice. The sacrifice of his mother would not have her son anymore. We cannot let this go unaddressed. We cannot let this go unaddressed.
So, you know, I hope that -- while I'm sure that my colleague was staying with me, we're going to have to have some tough conversations. You know, as I've said before, if people want to make them -- want to say that these were black officers on a black man, but I go back to some words that I've said previously, it's the culture of policing that says that when you have a black motorist, we can treat him any type of way.
You know, there's -- we just have to change the culture of police and we have to hold people accountable.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: And we'll have much more on this story in the hour ahead, where I'll be speaking with two former police officers about the need for police reform in the wake of Tyre Nichols' killing.
And before we go, the Memphis Grizzlies NBA team held a moment of silence before their game Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves in memory of Tyre Nichols. Grizzlies head coach Taylor Jenkins says the death was heartbreaking. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[04:55:04]
TAYLOR JENKINS, HEAD COACH, MEMPHIS GRIZZLIES: Our team understands that our city's hurting, the Nichols' and Wells' family's hurting right now. The senseless loss of life for Tyre Nichols is really hit us hard and it's been tough being on the road not being home and I wish I could extend my arms through this camera right now, you know, to the family.
They're going through a lot. My watch the interview with the family today and hearing Mrs. Wells talk with so much strength and positivity and love, was powerful. It evoked a lot of emotions. I cried.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BRUNHUBER: The National Basketball Association tweeted out a statement saying in part, "The images of Tyre Nichols life needlessly cut short are horrifying. The NBA family remains committed to partnering with advocates, policymakers and law enforcement to work towards solutions to the issues we continue to face."
The NBA ended by saying its thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr. Nichols, the entire Memphis community and those who are affected by these tragic images and loss.
That wraps this hour of CNN Newsroom. I'm Kim Brunhuber. I'll be back in just a moment with more news. Please do stay with us.
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BRUNHUBER: Hello and welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber. Ahead on CNN Newsroom.
(CHANTING)
BRUNHUBER: Shock, outrage and protests across the U.S. after surveillance video shows how Memphis police officers brutally beat a 29-year-old man who died from his injuries.
