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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Freddie Gray Protests Coast-To-Coast; Second Quiet Night In Baltimore; Officer's Family Member Speaks Out; Protests Flare In Ferguson; Lynch Urges Calm In Baltimore. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired April 30, 2015 - 05:30   ET

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

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to EARLY START. I'm Christine Romans in New York.

[05:30:01] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm John Berman in Baltimore this morning. It's 30 minutes after the hour. As we sit here or stand here before Baltimore City Hall, it is a peaceful morning. The curfew is 30 minutes past right now.

People are getting out there and getting to work right now. The curfew largely is without incident last night. The crowds disbursed quickly at 10:00 p.m. as the curfew went into place.

This morning, you see the National Guard troops guarding Baltimore City Hall. There were protests here, very peaceful protests here in Baltimore heading into the evening, and much louder protests across the country, calling for justice in the case of Freddie Gray.

Now this is all coming as we have learned potentially new information. There are new allegations, I should say, about what may have caused Gray's fatal spinal injury while he was in police custody.

There is a new report in the "Washington Post" this morning that needs to be checked out. We are going to tell you what it says in just a moment.

First though, I want to bring in CNN's Athena Jones. She has been covering so much of what's going on here in Baltimore. This morning, again, calm this morning. The curfew worked again overnight. Peaceful protests yesterday.

We saw the first really large peaceful protests since the violence on Monday.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. What a difference from Monday and Monday night. It was peaceful as you've mentioned. You had a diverse crowd of people marching around city hall, marching around Baltimore's Penn Station, the train station.

Very diverse, college students, people wearing t-shirts that said black lives matter. There was even music. There was almost a festive atmosphere so very, very peaceful.

Now there were some arrests, 18 arrests, two of them were juvenile. That's as of 8 p.m. We don't know of any arrest after that, but it was a calm night. You did not see the tense standoff you saw on the first night of the curfew even though that standoff was brief.

You didn't even see that last night. No violence. Now U.S. Congressman Eli Cummings, who represents about half of the city of Baltimore, he has been very visible on the streets here over the last several days.

He was on the street again last night at curfew time, at 10:00 p.m. with the bull horn talking to the folks in the community in West Baltimore. Listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: We are so excited about our city. We are very proud of what has happened tonight. Glad you didn't have any news to report, negative news about our city. We are very, very proud.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: So there you have him saying he is proud of our city. He also was telling with that bullhorn to go home. He wanted to be part of making sure that everyone respected and obeyed the curfew. Part of that message, the go-home message, was to the media.

BERMAN: You know, it's interesting. I was talking to one of our producers, who was there last night, he said that there were no clashes between people on the streets and the police, there were some scuffles among the people, who are on the streets themselves, but it was Elijah Cummings who stopped it.

And the producer who was there said to me, he said, you know, Elijah Cummings, he won last night. That is the force of that man who has been on the streets so often and will be I think for nights to come.

Athena, we also got some news about the people who were arrested in the first wave. Those 200-plus people arrested in the first wave in and after the riots.

JONES: Yes, this is an interesting side bar of what's been going on. That first night, Monday, more than 200 people were arrested, about half of them, just under half of them have now been released, 101.

The police captain said those people may still face charges as police continue to investigate what went down on Monday night and who was responsible for looting and setting cars on fire, and that sort of thing.

But that right now, putting together sufficient documentation to charge them was too complicated given the sheer number of people arrested, and what the police are patrolling the streets of Baltimore and making sure this calm remains, the peace remains, so an interesting wrinkle there, 101 people released, we'll have to see what happens.

BERMAN: They don't want the cops doing the paper work on the people in custody. They want the cops out of the streets keeping the peace right now. It's just the situation they are in. Athena Jones, great to have you here with us. Thanks so much.

All right, I want to talk now about these new allegations, the new claim in "The Washington Post" this morning about how Freddie Gray may have sustained the fatal injury while he was in police custody. We will tell you what the report says. Take it for what it is.

"The Washington Post" reports that a prisoner, who rode in the police van along with Freddie Gray told investigators that he could hear Gray, quote, "banging against the walls of the van." The prisoner believed that Gray was intentionally trying to injure himself. That was the belief of the prisoner inside that van.

But it is important to note that the prisoner was separated from by a metal partition. He could not see Freddie Gray so it is unclear exactly why he reached that conclusion that Freddie Gray was trying to injure himself somehow.

Obviously that could be a very controversial claim. Now "The Post" suggests this information come from a search warrant application. Freddie Gray's family denies the notion that Freddie Gray was trying to injure himself.

Their attorney told the "Washington Post" we disagree with any implication that Freddie Gray severed his own spinal cord. We question the accuracy of the police reports we've seen thus far.

[05:35:05] Including the police report that says, Mr. Gray was arrested without force or incident. I wanted you to know what that "Washington Post" report said this morning. We will find out more about this investigation in the coming days.

We are also now hearing somewhat indirectly from the Baltimore Police officers, who were under investigation. A family member of one of the officers involved in that arrest talked with CNN's Don Lemon. She says to give the officer side of the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: What did he say happened?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He believes that whatever happened to Mr. Gray happened before he was transported.

LEMON: According to your loved one, what took so long to get medical help?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They don't know. They have not discussed that with us, what took so long. We didn't ask what took so long. I think the officers that chased him and handcuffed him and had him on the ground and he said that he was hurting. I think that they should know he needed medical attention. Shouldn't that be their call to make?

LEMON: Is the department racist? Do you think this was racist?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's a fair question. Are there some bad apples? Yes. (END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: Again, so you have this report with this family member speaking to Don Lemon suggesting that the notion that Freddie Gray was hurt before he got in the van and this report in "The Washington Post" this morning from the prisoner also in that van saying that he believes Freddie Gray was trying to harm himself.

Though those conflict, is there a way they could perhaps coincide? Are they both right and one wrong? This is all going to come out, hopefully, in the days ahead. The Baltimore Police Department says tomorrow it will deliver the initial findings from the investigation to prosecutors, who will then decide whether to file charges.

Now that decision will not come tomorrow. There is an expectation here an unreasonable expectation I think on the streets of Baltimore that they are going to find out a whole bunch of information all at once tomorrow when police turn over this report. Officials are now trying to dampen those expectations so people aren't disappointed if they don't find out much information tomorrow.

Protesters are calling for justice in the Freddie Gray case. Of course, they are doing it here in Baltimore, but all across the country now, they were on the streets overnight in protests. In New York, at least 60 people were arrested.

More people arrested in New York overnight than in Baltimore. People in New York marched for miles. They snarled traffic across Manhattan and they were chanting New York is Baltimore. Baltimore is New York. CNN's Alexandra Field was right in the middle of those protests.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, protesters followed by police officers through much of the city for a lot of the night. It started in Union Square, hundreds of demonstrators coming together. They said they were there to express their sadness and their outrage over the events in Baltimore.

Police were prepared for a large group to gather there, but they started the evening warning people over a loudspeaker that if they obstructed the sidewalks or got into the streets, arrests would be made for disorderly conduct.

Once the crowds started to move out of Union Square into 17th Street, police cut them off intercepting them making a number of arrests. The crowds moved uptown, moving on to the west side highway and walking into traffic.

On Eighth Avenue where more were arrested and then into Times Square where police made other arrests, tensions running high as the crowd chanted saying that they were showing support for Baltimore calling for justice for Freddie Gray.

A long line of NYPD officers following them throughout the city often times on foot and a lot of the times following in a line of mopeds and motorcycles -- John. BERMAN: Alexandra Field for us in New York. There were also protesters out on the streets in Ferguson, Missouri. Dozens of demonstrators, they marched down West Florissant Avenue demanding justice for Freddie Gray here in Baltimore.

This is the second night in a row of protests in Ferguson. On Tuesday night, much bigger clashes, a few hundred people out in the streets there. Four patrol cars were badly damaged. There were some people shot.

About 500 peaceful protesters gathered in Washington, D.C. overnight. They were playing music and chanting all night, all day, we will fight for Freddie Gray. You can see them here in front of the White House just before they disbursed.

The nation's new attorney general, Loretta Lynch, she made her first television appearance since being confirmed. She is pledging support of the Justice Department to help diffuse the tensions in Baltimore and around the country. She wants everyone to stay calm.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: These senseless acts of violence are not only a grave danger to the community and they must stop, but they are also counterproductive to the ultimate goal here, which is developing a respectful conversation within the Baltimore community and across the nation about the way our law enforcement officers interact with the residents that we are charged to serve and to protect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:40:02] BERMAN: She talks about a conversation. What is interesting, Christine, there are so many conversations going on right now here on the streets, but also between the federal government, the state government, and the city officials here.

They are doing conference calls just all the time to make sure that things move forward the way they want to and one of those big ways again is this idea of information released tomorrow and how little information the public should expect when the police turnover the investigation to the state prosecutors.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Really downplaying expectations for that, they really want to make sure people to know there isn't going to be some sort of a big reveal. This is still the beginning of the investigation, a lot more information and questions to be answered.

John, thanks for that. A lot of people, of course, want to talk about the cost of the riots and the protests in the city of Baltimore. The cost to workers and cost to residents.

Now economists tell us protests are contained and end this week, the cost will be absorbed. There will not be a big economic hit to Baltimore. It is a big economy. The same cannot though be said for the paycheck to paycheck workers, who likely will feel some of these shutdowns, shutdowns of business, bars, for example, closed early because of the curfew.

Several major conferences and a medical conference and a couple of other trade shows have been canceled. That means the low wage workers, who may have been working around those conferences for those people who are coming to town will likely have lower hours.

That can be devastating. Yesterday, the president stressed how much recent destruction is hurting that community and on a radio show, he said, quote, "whoever was working at that CVS there right now is wondering are they going to get a paycheck."

That family that needs a prescription filled, they are now wondering how far do I need to drive and how much do I have to spend to get a prescription for grandma?

We'll be following the latest from Baltimore all morning long. The first presidential candidates going on the record about race relations in this country. What Hillary Clinton and Ted Cruz had to say next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:45:32]

ROMANS: There is now a second Democrat running for president, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, getting into the race, challenging Hillary Clinton from the left. The 73-year-old independent will formally announce his candidacy today.

Sanders is considered the most liberal member of Congress. Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, he is also expected to enter the Democratic race.

Hillary Clinton addressing the unrest in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray while in police custody. In a speech Wednesday at Columbia University in New York, Clinton called for an overhaul of America's system of criminal justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My heart breaks for these young men and their families. We have to come to terms with some hard truths about race and justice in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Clinton endorsed the use of body cameras in police departments nationwide and she called for an end to mass incarceration.

Texas senator and Republican president candidate, Ted Cruz, affixing blame for the Baltimore riots and growing racial tensions across the country fixing the blame on President Obama. Now Cruz says the president missed an opportunity to be a quote, "Unifying leader." (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: He's made decisions that I think have enflamed racial tensions that have divided us rather than bringing us together.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: Pressed for a specific example, Cruz pointed to 2009's so- called beer summit. That's when the president brought together a black Harvard professor and the white police officer, who arrested him.

A parade of character witnesses at the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in Boston. The defense on Wednesday calling former teachers and classmates trying to soften Tsarnaev's image as a cold blooded killer.

Their goal in the trial's penalty phase is to save the convicted marathon bomber from the death penalty. Members of Tsarnaev's family who were flown in from abroad by the defense team could take the stand today.

The video went viral of the Baltimore mother smacking her son pulling him out of the protest. Now she's telling CNN about what happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:51:24]

ROMANS: The Baltimore mother furious at her son for participating in Monday's riots. She is now speaking out to our Anderson Cooper. Her name is Toya Graham. She is a mother of six. She said she wasn't worried about embarrassing her son, Michael. She explains the moments that led up to her now famous explosion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOYA GRAHAM, MOTHER: He was wearing a mask and had the hood on. He also had a brick in his hand.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: How did you know it was him?

GRAHAM: I noticed the sweat pants he had on and then he gave me eye contact.

COOPER: You actually made eye contact?

GRAHAM: I made eye contact with him and at that point, I told him to put the brick down. I just lost it at that point. I was so angry with him that he had made a decision to do some harm to the police officers.

COOPER: It is not something you approve of obviously.

GRAHAM: Not at all, not at all. COOPER: So you saw Michael with the rock in his hand and you said you just lost it?

GRAHAM: I did. Once he threw that rock down, I was like, you were not brought up like this.

COOPER: Did you worry about embarrassing him?

GRAHAM: Not at all, not at all. He was actually embarrassing himself by wearing that mask and hoodie and doing what he was doing. At some point I told him to take the mask off. Why are you hiding behind the mask? If you want to be bold enough to do this, show your face.

COOPER: If this is something you really believe in.

GRAHAM: Why hide your face?

COOPER: So did he go home then?

GRAHAM: Yes, he went home with me.

COOPER: I had no doubt about that. I would have gone along with you in a second. Did you realize somebody had recorded?

GRAHAM: I hadn't. I know at one point I turned around and I saw one of the camera crews going down. At that point, I didn't think anybody recorded me. I wasn't there to be recorded. I was there to get my child.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: New concerns this morning about the outlook for American the economy. We will tell you about when we have an EARLY START on your money next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:56:56]

ROMANS: I'm Christine Romans. Let's get an EARLY START on your money this morning. Stocks are down around the world this morning. European and Asian shares are lower so are U.S. stock futures after news the U.S. economy faltered in the first quarter.

Economic growth is just 0.2 percent. That's worse than expected. The Federal Reserve lowered its economic outlook. The question there, is it a temporary cold weather slowdown or something bigger? It doesn't look like an interest rate hike will happen this summer.

The pope is calling for equal pay for men and women. Pope Francis says the current pay gap is, quote, "Pure scandal." He said Christians have to change that because, quote, "Why is it taken for granted that women should earn less than men. No, they have the same right. The pope is a frequent commentator on economic justice. Of course, the women cannot priest in the Catholic Church. A glitch in the Apple Watch, according to "The Wall Street Journal," the so-called tactic engine in the watch designed to produce the sensation of being tapped on wrist could be defective. Some of the engines made in China start to breakdown over time.

So far no recall because engines made by another supplier did not have the same problem, but this will cause delays for some customers and some stores.

Our top story this morning, protests from coast to coast over the death of Freddie Gray along with new allegations of how he may have suffered that spine injury. NEW DAY picks up that story right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: Thousands protest from coast to coast.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tensions are rising all across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?

PROTESTERS: Justice! When do we want it!

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Curfew, once again the moment of truth in Baltimore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're proud of our city. We're going to demand justice for Freddie Gray.

CLINTON: My heart breaks for these young men and their families.

COOPER: What do you worry about?

GRAHAM: I worry about him walking out my front door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't want me to be another Freddie Gray and got killed by police.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, April 30th, 6:00 in the east. As you can see Alisyn and Mich are in New York. There's plenty of news there. We're going to start here in Baltimore. The good news we have the 10:00 p.m. curfew allowing for relative calm.

But there are new questions this morning about what happened to Freddie Gray inside that police van fueling even louder demands for answers. Many see tomorrow as the day those answers would come, but we all know that is just one day that the police will get their findings to prosecutors.

Hardly the satisfaction that people want here, Alisyn, but we'll tell you all the reporting this morning.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: OK, Chris, we'll get back to you in a second. There's anger spilling across the country beyond Baltimore. Thousands are taking to the streets in New York, Washington, Minneapolis and Ferguson, Missouri last night. We begin our team coverage with CNN's Rosa Flores on the outrage -- Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Alisyn, good morning. Emotions are high across the country. Take a look at this map showing some of the cities that do have some of these protests. Let me tell you something, there's a common message here.

And that message is that police brutality is a national issue. Now, some of the worst protests right here in New York City. Take a look at this video.