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Erin Burnett Outfront

National Guard Bracing For Violence; Independent Autopsy Shows Michael Brown Shot Six Times; Interview with Rapper Nelly; Obama Defends Airstrikes on Iraq

Aired August 18, 2014 - 19:00   ET

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

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, the breaking news, major developments on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri. The National Guard arrives, police arrest another journalist just moments ago. We are live in Ferguson.

Plus bomb shell results from the Michael Brown autopsy. Was the unarmed teen running away from the officer or did he go after him?

And the president on the defense of more airstrikes in Iraq. He says there is no mission creep. Let's go OUTFRONT.

Good evening, everyone. I'm Erin Burnett. OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, tensions are rising tonight in Ferguson, Missouri. The National Guard bracing for violence tonight. Protests are heating up.

I want to show you some live pictures right now, another journalist arrested just moments ago. As a large group of protesters tried to force their way into a building in St. Louis where the governor has an office.

These are live pictures of protesters. The Missouri National Guard is also standing by in Ferguson as residents again gather to protest the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black teen shot and killed by an officer, nine days ago now.

We want to show you some exclusive video. This is the body of Michael Brown and one of those officers is the Officer Darren Wilson, who shot him. There is another officer who had arrived on the scene at this time.

According to a forensic pathologist hired by Brown's family, Brown was hit by six bullets. The doctor also say today he found no evidence of the struggle between Brown and the officer.

But a friend of Officer Wilson casts doubt on that report. She called into a radio station to present Wilson's side of the story today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Michael just bum rushes and shoves him back into his car. Punches him in the face and then, of course, Darren grabs for his gun. Michael grabs the gun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: We are going to have much more on the results of this autopsy of Michael Brown and his friend's account of what happened in just a moment.

But I want to go first to Don Lemon live in Ferguson because Don, we just got word of a photographer being arrested. We were just showing images that came in. I know you saw that that was right across from where your crew was. What have you learned?

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, we learned that it is a photographer reportedly from a photo agency. He had several cameras with him. As he was walking by, this is happening as we were on the air live and I yelled at him, I said, what agency you are with?

And someone said, Getty. I said, are you with Getty? He nodded his head, but again, that's not confirmed. But we are of the understanding that he is with a photo agency.

What they said was that he was not in the zone that is meant for journalists. So they arrested him. The interesting thing is that we were live on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Brianna Keilar and Jake Tapper, and police officers came around the corner.

And we're in our assigned spot, where they told us to come, and they started pushing us out of way as well. That happening live on CNN. And also what is happening, officers are in the middle of the street. Some of them are going down the street in cars with bull horns.

Saying if you are not on the sidewalk -- if you are on the sidewalk and you are standing, you will get arrested. You need to get out of the road. You just stand on the side or go on the sidewalk and not stand there.

You can't congregate, but you can march. As can you see and probably hear, Erin, now these protesters are going up and down starting at Ferguson and turning around and going back down to the street where Michael Brown lost his life.

And now they are screaming no justice, no peace. You see the officers in the middle of the street there. As they get closer, officers get closer as well. But here is the interesting thing, as long as they are moving like this, police say they are not going to harass them or arrest them or try to restrain them.

But you see, there's officers moving trying to get them to get off of the street there. As we have been witness to the rules kind of change. So the officers will tell you a certain thing, then come back a little later and then the rules have changed and they tell you, you have to move.

And you know, pretty much since we have been here, we have not had an issue with any police officers. But that was one confrontation that we had. Thank you very much. That is the conversation that we had earlier. As you can see, if you ask people nicely, can you move or we're working, in the middle after live shot, pretty they will do it. And again, this is a couple hundred protesters here and there they go. Ferguson and then they turn around and they go back up and down the street. So now they have figured out a way here to sort of go around with the -- or abide by the police, by police rules here.

And what they've been told to do and they keep moving. I have to tell you here, there are people here, the older people who are out in the streets, and they are telling, they've been on bull horns telling protesters, don't resist. Do what police officers say.

We want this to be peaceful and we want you to just voice your opinions, protest but do it the right way. Don't let them put you in jail.

BURNETT: All right. Don, we will go back to Don through the evening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just want to be on the right side of history, that's all we want to do.

LEMON: Thank you. All right, Erin, we will see you in a bit. If we get a development, we will come back.

BURNETT: All right, we will be looking out for you then, Don. As you can see, people starting to gather already tonight where Don is.

An autopsy ordered by the family of Michael Brown reveals important things. They say that body was hit multiple times. David Mattingly is OUTFRONT live in Ferguson as well tonight.

David, what did that autopsy uncover? I know there is going to be more than one autopsy. This is the first one, but some pretty crucial things in it.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Erin. We had hoped to learn more about that fatal encounter that took Michael Brown's life. We did get some new clinical information from this independent autopsy, but tonight we are still short on some conclusions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The autopsy ordered by the family of Michael Brown tells their attorneys everything they needed to know.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: At least six, at least six shots. It could be more.

MATTINGLY: Michael Brown was hit multiple times in the right arm and twice in the head. He was shot from the front, not from behind. But Dr. Michael Baden, the nationally known forensic pathologist hired by the Brown family, can't answer a critical question. Was Brown charging toward the officer when the fatal shots were fired or was he backing away?

MICHAEL BADEN, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: There could be consistent with his going forward or going backward, but they are from the front. So it is possible. MATTINGLY: A source with detailed knowledge of the investigation confirms to CNN that Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson told investigators that Brown was charging toward him when he fired.

This story was repeated by a caller to a St. Louis radio station, KFTK. The caller, a Wilson friend named Josie says Brown pushed Officer Wilson into his car, punched him, grabbed for his gun and the fight escalated.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Then Michael takes off with his friend. They get to about 35 feet away and you know, protocol is to pursue. So he stands up and yells, freeze. Michael turns around and is taunting him. What are you going to do about it?

You're not going to shoot me. Then all of a sudden, he just started it bum rush him. Just started coming at him full speed. So he just started shooting and he just kept coming.

MATTINGLY: The caller says Brown went down two or three feet in front of Wilson. The family's independent autopsy revealed no gunshot residue on Brown's body and no signs of a physical altercation. They believe Brown could have survived had it not been for the final shot to his head.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: And it's important to note tonight that we're still have no conclusive evidence right now of whether or not Michael Brown actually had his hands up as some eyewitnesses claim at the time he was shot.

They are also looking very closely at that fatal head wound. He is a very tall man. So it is possible he was leaning forward, perhaps falling, at time that bullet struck him in the top of the head and taking his life. But again, so many questions and so few answers -- Erin.

BURNETT: David Mattingly, thank you very much. We are going to keep watching these live protest as you could see as people are gathering. More and more people tonight with the National Guard outside in Ferguson for the first time.

Joining me now is Anthony Gary, an attorney for family of Michael Brown. Good to have you with us, sir.

Let me just start with this. What you just heard in our David Mattingly's piece, the woman who claims to be Darren Wilson's friend, Josie, said that Darren Wilson was assaulted in his police car. He fired the first shot after Brown started to bum rush him. What's your reaction to that?

ANTHONY GRAY, ATTORNEY FOR MICHAEL BROWN'S FAMILY: I think that's inconsistent with the story that there were shots fired while he was inside the vehicle. So now we have yet another story, another version of events by a person, by the way, who is not an eyewitness to what occurred and who is relying on double hearsay to give an account of what the officer is claiming took place.

BURNETT: And on that point of eyewitnesses, she did have something to say about that. These are what she said is Darren Wilson's account of what happened that night. And here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: He thinks he was on something because he kept coming. It was unbelievable. So the final shot was in the forehead and he fell about two, three feet in front of the officer. That's why the stories are going around, because some people saw the shots to his head. Ballistics will prove he wasn't shot in the back like the other people were saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: What do you think about the possibility of what she said there, because he was running towards him and was only a couple feet away at that final shot, it may appear to be execution style to a witness, but she is saying it wasn't.

GRAY: First of all, I think it is an incredulous story to begin with. The notion that Mike Brown, Jr. would turn around to a police officer, who just fired shot at him and say, you're not going to shoot me, is absolutely ludicrous.

He had already shot at Mike Brown. That's the reason why he was running away. So here is a guy running away at -- from an officer who just finished shooting. So now he will turn around and allow this officer now to have target practice on his body.

It makes absolutely no sense what she said. And again, it is a friend who is recounting third, fourth hand information. So I will give her the benefit of the doubt that perhaps some of the information got lost in translation.

BURNETT: Anthony, what do you think the motivation was for what you are saying what happened. What is the motivation of Darren Wilson to start shooting at Mike Brown?

GRAY: You know, that's a dangerous thing for me to do is try to speculate what a person's motivation would be. I think there is probably something in his history that will talk about his motivation. I don't know what kind of animosity he carries inside of him on a regular basis.

But I will tell you this, it sounds from the initial contact with Mr. Brown that this officer was not particularly pleased with the way the struggle might have turned out before Mr. Brown was trying to get away from him.

And perhaps he was upset about that and didn't -- and wanted to exact retribution against Mr. Brown for that. That is pure speculation. I would acknowledge that, but that would make sense in this particular situation for me.

BURNETT: He was intimidated about his size or -- or was it race?

GRAY: If it is size and weight, why are you getting out of the car and chasing him? Those are kind of scenarios that just absolutely boggles the mind. It doesn't even make good non-sense. If I'm afraid of you then why am I engaging you?

Why not take a fallback position and get you later or do some of those things? You can create a situation and then cause your own fear and say, I'm going now eliminate the fear that I caused.

Again, it doesn't make any sense from beginning to end and I would ask your listeners and audience to take all of that into account.

BURNETT: Anthony, one of Officer Wilson's friend, Jake Shephard, spoke to CNN about Wilson. I want to play a very brief clip of that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAKE SHEPARD, DARREN WILSON FRIEND: I can never imagine him, even in that situation, taking someone's life. Let alone taking someone's life with malicious intent, you know. He is just the last person on earth that you would think to do something like that. I mean, just shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Anthony, Jake, that was that gentleman's name, was scheduled to be with us tonight and he cancelled. Because he said he was getting so many death threats, he was scared. I mean, what do you think about that? Is that acceptable that a friend of the officer's life is now being threatened?

GRAY: No. Anybody being threatened is not acceptable, if I understand your question correctly. I have been threatened. There are calls to my office from individuals that come from a deep history of racism and bigotry that has been directed at me and my staff.

So no, it is not acceptable on any level, black, white, it doesn't matter. This is not about black and white, by the way. I want it reemphasize that. This is about right and wrong and that's it.

BURNETT: All right, Anthony, thank you very much. We appreciate your time. Anthony Gray, one of the attorneys to Michael Brown's family.

I want to bring in forensic pathologist, Dr. Vincent DiMaio. Thank you for being with us, Doctor. I know this first autopsy and I know there will be a couple of others, one more from the police department and one more from the Department of Justice.

But this is the first one and obviously very crucial. When you look at it, is there anything from the report that is consistent with the officer's attempt that Brown was rushing at him, full speed towards him?

DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, SAN ANTONIO: Yes, there is. Again, thank you for inviting me. The thing is that he's got a gunshot wound on the top of the head and another one that goes in the eye going straight down.

You usually see that when someone is bent at the waist and going towards a weapon. In which case the two wounds are coming in horizontal and pitch forward on the ground.

The only other time you see something like this is when the person is falling at the time he was shot. But the other gunshot wounds should not have caused him to fall.

So based on the limited information we have, this is a little more consistent with the officer's account than the fact he was either falling forward or retreating.

BURNETT: So, and to follow up on that point specifically in falling forward, because those who interpret this the other way are saying well, he was falling forward because he had been shot and injured and that caused him to fall forward and that would result in with a you are saying. But you are saying when you look at the shots and where they were, that in your view, that would not be the case?

DIMAIO: You know, based on the limited knowledge, no. Because the only really severe wound or possibly severe wounds, since I don't know the extent, would be the one to the shoulder and chest. Again, this is based on limited information released on this autopsy.

BURNETT: Right. Yes, it is limited. But about the shot?

DIMAIO: I'm sorry.

BURNETT: No, that's all right. We have a little bit of a delay. But when you look at the shot on Brown's arm, and this is crucial shot because witnesses say he was shot from behind. Is that possible when you look at the shots or no?

DIMAIO: No. You know, the doctor said definitely. I have to agree with him. The shots are to the front of the arm. The shooter was in front of him. Not behind him.

BURNETT: All right, Dr. Dimaio, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT next, we are watching the protest in Ferguson live tonight. The National Guard is on the ground. Tonight, will we have another night of violence?

Plus, rapper Nelly, St. Louis native, OUTFRONT. His message to protesters tonight.

And this shootout that led to the militarization of police departments across the country, we actually have footage for you tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: And back with our breaking news tonight. You are looking at pictures of Ferguson, Missouri just moments ago. As our own Don Lemon is being pushed back by police who are trying to control the crowd. We are watching the situation there closely after week of demonstrations and violence after the shooting death of an unarmed teen. And here is the question. Will it be a repeat of scenes like the ones we have seen in the past two nights.

This is last night. Gunfire, tear gas, Molotov cocktails. When you look at this picture, it is not look like the Unite States, but it is. This is some of the fiercest clashes that we have yet seen between police and protestors in Ferguson, Missouri.

Tonight, did anyone listen to what president of the United States had to say about scenes like this?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While I understand the passions and anger that ray rise over the death of Michael brown, giving into that anger by looting or carrying guns and even attacking the police only serves to raise tensions and stir chaos. It undermines, rather than advancing justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Already though, the state's governor announced the Missouri National Guard is deploy together area in an effort to restore piece.

Joining me now Neil Bruntrager, the general counsel for the St. Louis Police Officers Association and Natalie Jackson who serves as counsel for the Trayvon Martin family during the George Zimmerman's trial.

All right, great to have both of you with us now.

Natalie, let me start with you. The National guard, even the scenes we have seen with the tear gas and Molotov cocktails, that look like they are taken somewhere far away from the United States, shocks people this is in Ferguson, Missouri, bringing in the National Guard, is that right thing to do?

NATALIE JACKSON, MARTIN FAMILY COUNSEL: You know, I don't think so. I think what they are doing is sending a another bad message to the people. They are telling the people that they are wrong. When they have the autopsy, they have their family and friends who are telling them what is going on, we clearly have three witnesses whose story doesn't conflict with an autopsy report. I think that the right thing to do is to put out a message to the people that this police officer will be arrested, but we're waiting to gather all the evidence that so that with don't have a speeding trial issue.

BURNETT: Neil, what do you think?

NEIL BRUNTRAGER, GENERAL COUNSEL FOR THE ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION: I will tell you that my, again, my vision with the evidence is a little bit different from Natalie's. We don't have the autopsy. We have an autopsy.

JACKSON: Ferguson. You don't have Ferguson's autopsy.

BRUNTRAGER: No, no, we have -- BURNETT: It is the one from the family.

JACKSON: No, there's two autopsies. Ferguson's autopsy was completed.

BURNETT: We don't have the full details from that. Yes, there has been another autopsy, we don't have the details from the one from Ferguson.

So according to what Dr. DiMaio said, and I couldn't agree with him more, you have a situation where, again, you have limited information. And that's what I'm complaining about all throughout this. (INAUDIBLE). And if you give out piecemeal, you can't possibly have the whole story.

And it is sad, as a life-long resident of St. Louis, watching this go on in this area, it just it is heart breaking it watch. Do I think it is the right thing to do? The problem we have, and I have talked to a lot of police officer at the scene and who are up there, and they said the problem that you have is you have a line of peaceful folk who are up there because they have a statement that they want to make. And they are trying to make that statement.

But behind them, you have the opportunists. You have the thugs. You have the outlaws who are there for one person and one p purpose only. And that is to cause mayhem, that is to commit crimes. And the unfortunate part of this is that one of the enduring images and they are saying it is going to be people breaking into liquor stores stealing wine bottles. That's not the image we had in Birmingham. That's not the image we have in civil rights movement. This is something entirely different.

So, all of these people who have a peaceful comment to make, they are negated by this. And to me, that is just part of the further tragedy of this whole thing.

BURNETT: And Natalie, do you agree with that? I mean, do you share that same anger and frustration that there are people with nefarious intent who are controlling the media images of what we are seeing. Let's just be honest, right? I mean, that's what you mean, these moving tear gas.

JACKSON: I think that there are criminals there that need to be arrested and need to be handled. But I think that you also have angry people. So don't act like the people of Ferguson are just peaceful and calm and they are OK. They are angry too. And they are angry because they are being treated like criminals and they should not be.

Every law enforcement agency should be able to handle criminal looters. And that is no different than any other city. You do not treat your people and the citizens in your city in the United States like criminals when all they want to do is protest an injustice.

BURNETT: So let me ask you both about what president said today. I mean, he is in a really tough spot, obviously. But he did weigh in on this issue coming back off a vacation. He talked about Iraq and about this. And here is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: There are young black men that commit crimes. There is no argument that there is a crime out there and that law enforcement doesn't have a difficult job and that they have to be honored and respected for the danger and difficulty of law enforcement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Natalie, how do you feel about what he said? Should he have been more empathetic towards Michael Brown?

JACKSON: I think that President Obama is in a catch 22. There are going to be some people who think he is not tough enough and there are some people who think that he is only doing it because he black. So you know, this is a state of Missouri problem. They need it handle it. This is a state problem. They have leadership in office. And the leadership really needs to step up and be leaders.

BURNETT: And Neil, I just -- someone was in my ear there for one second telling me this. We now have a picture, just taken by CNN producer, of National Guards men on rooftops. Is that too far? Is that a militarization level too far? But everyone is now seeing the picture we took at CNN.

BRUNTRAGER: We now -- again, we have a situation where police, I think, have tried to handle this in every way that they possibly can. It's gotten so large, and again, I suppose there is some disagreement about how it manage this problem. I think there has to be some sort of centralized command. And I think that is ultimately what we are doing with the national guard.

But how often was that for -- and I grew up about a mile from Ferguson. And the idea of the National Guard walking the streets of Ferguson, again, is just awful. And the people in St. Louis all feel that way. There is part of the city that is again an additional tragedy to all of the other ones we have seen. I just hate the thought, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Well, thanks very much to both of you. As we are looking at live pictures of National Guardsmen on the streets, gathering along with the crowds. Again, these are live pictures with National Guard. And just to emphasize this, during the day today, we have been told they are a support role. They wouldn't be really be visible. But now you see them on streets as you can see here. And also on top of rooftops.

Up next, more of our breaking news coverage on the ground in Ferguson. Grammy award winning rapper, Nelly, has a message from Missouri. He is OUTFRONT next.

Plus, how the incident that we are going to show you right here, changed police departments in the United States, including Ferguson, Missouri, forever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news on the growing unrest over the death of 18- year-old Michael Brown. Tonight, the National Guard now on the ground in Ferguson, and they were supposed to be there during the day. There was not really any evidence of it.

But now, you are seeing them live as they are gathering. They are also on rooftops. Our producer spotted about 10 military style Humvees, two white buses with National Guard troops, and as you can see National Guard members on the top of the storefront.

There's frustration over the unarmed black teen shot and killed by police. It has exploded into chaos. Despite mandatory curfew, protests spiraled out of control last night. Molotov cocktailed were hauled at police. Police then used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds.

Two people were shot and injured, but officials say that was not by police.

At this hour, people are gathering yet again.

Ed Lavandera is OUTFRONT.

And, Ed, you were in the middle of all of the unrest last night. Do you have any sense of what the feeling is for tonight?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, from everything we've seen so far, tonight has been calm. People getting a sense of what the rules will be like tonight. There's -- once again, police have cordoned off a stretch of the road where we have seen the majority of the protesting. And obviously a great deal of tension from last night and great deal of concern about how tonight will play out.

And it's interesting, one of the things we'll be seeing tonight is a team, a large team, of local clergy members who will come out and speak with a lot of people. One of the people who helped organized all of that is Bishop Edwin Bass.

Bishop, you are out here talking to folks. How nervous are you?

BISHOP EDWIN C. BASS, CHURCH OF GOD AND CHRIST: Not at all. We are God's people and we are sure God will protect us in carrying out our assignment. We are excited at the opportunity to be vessels of peace in the community. We are actively promoting justice and peace and this is an opportunity to get a strong message out to the community.

LAVANDERA: There's about a hundred clergy members out here, dressed the way you're dressed. Hopefully that sends -- the point of that being the image you want to project here, right?

BASS: Absolutely. We've been -- I've been out here just about everyday, but I've been in street clothes. We thought it would make a strong message if we decided to come out in our uniform. So, we have about a hundred clergymen that will be moving through the crowd, interacting with the people as well as interacting with law enforcement, hopefully, increasing the opportunity for peaceful resolution of this situation.

LAVANDERA: I was going to say, the point of this is to try to quash any kind of tension or anything kind of settle things down before it gets out of hand, right?

BASS: Absolutely. Streets of full of peaceful protesters, exercising their constitutional right. We want to be here to encourage those people and hopefully be a deterrent to those who would want to be out here for another reason.

LAVANDER: And as we look around here, it is a relatively early. How would you describe the scene?

BASS: I think it is -- people are demonstrating, speaking their mind I think in a positive kind of way. I think it's good. We are prayerful, hopeful, working hard with the expectation that the evening will end this way, that we'll have a peaceful evening in the community. And that's our goal.

We are in support of the people who live in this community. First of all, we are in support of the Brown family. I personally had a son shot down on the streets of St. Louis. So, I understand the depth and magnitude of the pain they're going through, the despair, the emptiness they're feeling right now. So, we want to be encouraging them, letting them know we stand with them and comforting them through this difficult moment.

But we're also here for the community. We're here and that community encompasses everybody, the citizens of the community, the business people in the community, as well as law enforcement in the community. We're hopeful that we can work together and resolve this in an appropriate way that will result in justice in this situation and peace in the community.

And, Ed, let me just say that we're excited because we think out of this most negative situation, that God is going to repurpose a negative situation and use it to accomplish a positive objective, and I see discussions going on at my church, other churches, meetings, collaborations, even this witness tonight that I think is going to result in some really positive changes in the community.

LAVANDERA: All right. Good luck tonight, Bishop.

And, Erin, we will be following Bishop Bass and others with him, dozens more that are with him, to try to be the buffer between the protesters and the authorities, if need be. Hopefully, the press presence will calm the situations down if it becomes violent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guess what, though?

BURNETT: Eddie, thank you very much.

For rapper Nelly who grew up in St. Louis, the events in Ferguson are personal. Over the weekend, he urged crowds at the charity event and his concert to pay tribute to Michael Brown.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NELLY, RAPPER: I'm asking you, I'm begging you, and I'm pleading for you to just raise your hands for a second, say hands up, please don't shoot, so we can send our love back home to St. Louis.

What I need to do in order for me to continue this show right now, is if I could have everybody, everybody from front to back, if you could just raise your hands one time for my city. Just to show love and support. That you can at least raise our hands for Mike Brown one time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Grammy Award-winning artist, Nelly, is OUTFRONT tonight.

And, Nelly, you've seen the violent protests in Ferguson. People throwing Molotov cocktails, looting, shots have fired. What -- how does that make you feel?

NELLY: People have to understand a lot of people are frustrated, there's a lot of anger, there's a lot of tension, a lot of people are fed up with a lot of different things.

It doesn't make you feel -- it almost makes you feel numb because here you understand the passion that's behind majority of the people that are feeling hurt. But you also want to remind each and every one of us that I support and I love and everything should be behind the Brown family right now, to make sure that they receive for the justice of Mike.

And the way that we change a lot of the things going on is we have to change our strategy and our approach to getting things done. And that's one of the things that you try to, you know, get out there as far as the word. But you also understand that, you know, this city is what this city is because of its history. So, knowing that and me knowing I lived through a lot of history of this city, being the way that it is, it's something that -- it's more of a tug-of-war.

But, you know, there are a lot of people hurt, I would say that, there's a lot of people angry. So, you know, we have to find ways of bringing that anger down and then channeling that into making something that -- that's creating something that's very, very positive.

BURNETT: And, Nelly, you talk about the fact that you have spent so much time in St. Louis. You grew up there. It is one of the most racially segregated places in the country. And a lot of people may not know that.

But, St. Louis hasn't rioted, right, during the civil rights years, after Martin Luther King, Jr. died, there was violence around the country, but not in St. Louis.

NELLY: Right.

BURNETT: Since you grew up there, does this surprise you? I mean, is this something that's been bubbling beneath the surface and you think the genie is out of the bottle now?

NELLY: Yes, I definitely think it has been bubbling underneath the surface that -- like you said, again, all throughout history of or we could call it black history, we haven't really taken this type of stance previously before. So, it's surprising to a lot of people but it's not surprising that it's happening. It's surprising when it's happening and something with a young, I mean, something as a young man as Mike Brown, I think the whole point that we should be doing is making sure that we get the type of verdict that is needed at the end of the situation to ensure that the next situation that officer will take as much time to think about doing that than this one did. And that's how you change it.

Because as of right now, we haven't really seen too many penalties for officer killing young black men.

BURNETT: And you've been in touch with Michael Brown's family, what have they told you?

NELLY: Yes, of course. I mean, you know, first thing I wanted to do was send my blessings out to their family, and my strength out, and also talk to them about what Mike's positive things that he wanted to do out of life. He was a high school graduate. He did want to go on to school. So, I talked to them about creating Mike Brown scholarship and sending kids to school. In that theory, in that positive light from his dream of continuing his education, because I think that's how you begin to make change.

They were very much on board with that. The Mike Brown situation as far as scholarship, I have a lot of friends, family and everybody on board as far as entertainers, athletes, that are ready to strike at any moment to lend a hand as far as the Mike Brown scholarship, so we can send kids to school from that area, so we can let them know that they do have a choice and it is not always going to be the way it is.

BURNETT: All right. Nelly, thank you so much. It's good to talk with you again.

NELLY: Yes, no doubt.

BURNETT: And next, an OUTFRONT investigation on the gun battle that changed the way police departments fight back.

Plus, President Obama defending more airstrikes in Iraq. He said it's not mission creep, but what's the truth?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news. We're going to show you pictures of Ferguson, Missouri. These pictures just taken moments ago.

This is the National Guard. They've been deployed to try to keep peace on the street. Some of them have been posted on rooftops. We've seen pictures. They kept a very profile through the day. No one was sure they'd be visible but now on proof tops and gathering in mass on the streets of Ferguson. The images out of Ferguson have been shocking. Police officers

frankly look like they are in a war zone. There's a reason, though, why police are so armed. It all started with one specific story, a bank robbery gone wrong.

Our Kyung Lah investigates, OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OFFICER: Stay down! The suspects are shooting AK-47.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Shooting at everyone, dressed for war.

Outside a Bank of America in North Hollywood in 1997, this is what retired Los Angeles Police Officer John Caparelli (ph) faced, armed only with his 9 millimeter handgun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was right here. Just toward come up over the wall like this.

LAH: The patched holes still there, bullets sliced through the cinder block wall like butter narrowly missing him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It just exploded. Just boom, and it went through us, past us.

COMMAND: They've got automatic weapons. There's nothing we have that can stop him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were outgunned that day. That thing went on for almost 45 minutes because we were outgunned.

LAH: Hundreds outgunned by just two suspects. Responding officers borrowed rifles from a nearby gun shop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were a bunch of Davids and there were two Goliaths.

LAH: The gun battle televised live stunned law enforcement across the country and sparked many departments to seek high profile rifles and military gear.

A study by the ACLU estimates in 1990, the Department of Defense transferred $1 million worth of military equipment to local and state police. Last year, that amount jumped to nearly $450 million.

OFFICER: Suspects are fleeing. They're heavily armed. The suspects are wearing body armor.

LAH: And it's needed, believes Officer Caparelli. This is him in 1997, running after he shot one of the suspects half a dozen times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think when you shot something, everything stops. It wasn't happening. We were all shooting and they were still going. You have to have something to combat what's thrown at you. And it is obvious now, we've seen it. That the criminal element has these weapons and they're not afraid to use them.

LAH: The shootout lasted 44 minutes. Miraculously no one was killed except the two gunmen. Two dozen others both officers and civilians were wounded.

The legacy felt in today's militarized local police from Los Angeles to Ferguson, Missouri.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those guys are trying to do their job and thinking, I want to go home at the end of the day. They are trying to do the job they are hired and trained to do and still go home.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LAH: Now, there's also a legacy with the officers themselves from this bank of America shooting. As Officer Caparelli details in his book, "Uniformed Decisions", he suffered from PTSD. He had a stress- related stroke. And three of his fellow officers who were responding that day committed suicide.

But, Erin, there are also some positive impacts now after an officer- related shooting, there is counseling and debrief. That is typically mandatory -- Erin.

BURNETT: Kyung, thank you very much. That is just sobering to think about it. They committed suicide.

Well, next, President Obama is defending more airstrikes in Iraq. He says it's not mission creep.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Breaking news: the president defended the latest American action in Iraq today, after U.S. airstrikes helps Kurdish forces take control of the Mosul dam from the terror group ISIS.

According to the Pentagon, the U.S. military conducted 35 airstrikes, destroying 90 ISIS targets. The thing is, these strikes may have gone beyond the mission the president had initially laid out.

Here's our Barbara Starr.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): More than a dozen U.S. air strikes hit is positions around Mosul dam to dislodge up to 400 militants from their hold. Kurdish fighters say they are in control for now of Iraq's largest dam. The administration says the air attacks are not mission creep beyond the original goal of protecting U.S. interests.

OBAMA: The Mosul dam fell under terrorist control earlier this month, and is directly tied to our objective of protecting Americans in Iraq. If that dam was breached it could have proven catastrophic.

STARR: Mosul dam was closely watched by U.S. reconnaissance flights for weeks. Intelligence revealed ISIS was not doing critical maintenance on the dam and there were indications they might also blow it up.

Engineers calculate a breach would unleash a wave of water tens of feet tall that would rage through Mosul and flood Iraq, all the way to Baghdad, a humanitarian disaster and a threat to U.S. personnel, a flashy new ISIS video full of violence and displays of weapons.

No one knows how far ISIS may go next. Some expert say the U.S. must face reality in Iraq, the mission is growing.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), FORMER AIR FORCE INTELLIGENCE OFFICER: Air strikes alone will not be sufficient to do the job. At its core, the mission is to get rid of ISIS. The United States cannot have a Middle East in which is exists as an entity that controls large areas of territory.

STARR: The ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee also urging action on "FOX News Sunday".

REP. ELIOT ENGEL (D), NEW YORK: Ultimately, we may have some boots on the ground there, not something I want. But, you know what, we have choices and the worst choice is to do nothing.

STARR (on camera): The key question is, what comes next. U.S. officials say they remain ready to launch additional airstrikes if needed against other ISIS targets, including other dams in Iraq -- Erin.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: All right. Barbara, thank you very much.

And OUTFRONT next, an important update on an exclusive OUTFRONT investigation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Today, the president of the United States says the United States has a national security interest in making sure the, quote- unquote, "savage group" ISIS is contained. One way to do that is to cut off the terror group's money. Late Friday, the U.N. released the names of six individuals it says are helping fund ISIS. That means the travel ban and asset freeze.

One of those, Hamid Hamad al-Ali appears in this video on the right. He happens to be sitting next to a person we told you about two months ago, whose link to raising money for Islamic extremist groups.

In this video which was posted for the world to see on YouTube, Hamid al Ali asks viewers to donate money to that man's organization. An organization he says is renowned for supporting the mujahidin.

The video was made in Qatar. We went there for our explosive report on funding for Islamic extremist groups and our full report is on our Web site, CNN.com/OutFront. Anderson starts now.