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Early Start with John Berman and Zoraida Sambolin

Two Days, Two Police Shootings Of African Men Caught on Camera; Director Comey To Be Grilled Over Decision Not To Press Charges Against Clinton; Saddam Hussein Back In The Headlines; Chilcot Report Blasts Britain's Role In Iraq War; Brexit Is Crushing Big Banks. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired July 07, 2016 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We start with breaking news now. A black man shot and killed by police during a traffic stop. There's dramatic video capturing the aftermath and it is streamed live on Facebook.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: This, as the FBI and Department of Justice meet over how to investigate the police killing -- another police killing. This, of a man named Alton Sterling. There are new protests and a new video as calls for justice grow louder.

SANCHEZ: Welcome back to EARLY START, I'm Boris Sanchez.

ROMANS: And I'm Christine Romans. It is 31 minutes past the hour. Nice to see you all this morning. Nice to have you here, Boris. Breaking news this morning with what might be the most disturbing police shooting video yet. (Video playing) Here's the scene just hours ago in Falcon Heights, Minnesota just outside Minneapolis.

A car stopped by police, a man at the wheel, a child -- a 4-year-old child -- in the backseat, and a woman in the front passenger street livestreaming on Facebook moments after police shot her boyfriend. And we want to warn you the video we're about to show you, it is graphic. Some of you will find it very troubling. We show it to you because the woman, Diamond Reynolds -- she clearly wanted the public to see exactly what she saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND REYNOLDS: Stay with me. We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back and the police (bleep) -- he's covered. He's killed my (bleep) boyfriend. He's licensed -- he's carried -- he's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his I.D. and his wallet out of his pocket and he let the officer know that he was -- he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet and the officer just shot him in his arm. We're waiting for a back --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ST. ANTHONY POLICE OFFICER: Just keep your hands on the wheel.

REYNOLDS: I will, sir, no worries. I will. He just shot his arm off. We got pulled over on Larpenteur. UNIDENTIFIED MALE, ST. ANTHONY POLICE OFFICER: I told him not to reach for it. I told him to get his hand off it.

REYNOLDS: He had -- you told him to get his I.D., sir, his driver's license. Oh my God, please don't --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: She's so calm, trying to sort of narrate what's happening there. Less than an hour ago, police holding a one-minute news conference refusing to take any questions -- one-minute news conference -- and here's some of what police said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JON MANGSETH, INTERIM CHIEF, ST. ANTHONY POLICE DEPARTMENT: During the stop, shots were fired. One adult male was taken to the hospital. We have been informed that this individual is deceased. A handgun was recovered from the scene. The BCA will provide additional information as their investigation progresses.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROMANS: The St. Anthony Police Department telling CNN last night they haven't seen the video but they know about it, and that the department does not have body cameras. The driver of that car -- his name is Philando Castile. He was 32 years old. His family tells us he worked as a cafeteria supervisor at a local school -- a Montessori school there.

Right now, new video coming in. (Video playing) About 200 protestors who are gathering outside overnight -- outside the governor's residence in St. Paul, Minnesota. CNN affiliate WCCO reporting they have been sounding car horns and draping the mansion's entrance gate with crime scene tape from the scene of the police shooting.

SANCHEZ: In a matter of hours the FBI and Justice Department will meet with Louisiana State Police to discuss how to investigate the police killing of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge. (Video playing) The 37-year-old African-American C.D. vendor was fatally shot early Tuesday morning during a struggle with these two officers outside a convenience store. It all started after someone called 911 complaining they'd been threatened by a man with a gun.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DISPATCHER: Copy suspicious code two at 2100 North Foster across from Fairfield for selling C.D.'s on the corner. Gun in his pocket. He pulled a gun on a complainant and told him he couldn't be around there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: There's now a second video emerging of the deadly encounter between Sterling and the two police officers. This video is very disturbing and it shows the struggle unfolding, the fatal shots, and then one of the officers removing what appears to be a gun from Sterling's pocket -- watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(Shots fired)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE POLICE OFFICER: Get on the ground.

(Shots fired)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What'd you do that for, man?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE POLICE OFFICER: Shots fired, shots fired (bleep).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[05:35:00] SANCHEZ: The shooting sparked outrage in Baton Rouge with protests lingering well into the night as Sterling's family members demand justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Talk about the last 48 hours.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hell. It's the only word that can describe is hell.

ANJELICA STERLING, ALTON STERLING'S SISTER: I'm one of his oldest sisters. There's four of us and we are greatly appreciative from the bottom of our hearts for everybody all around the world coming out here. We appreciate this. I hate it had to start with our brother, but we going to make sure it don't happen to, now, another brother, and it's going to stop today.

QUINYETTA MCMILLON, MOTHER OF ONE OF STERLING'S CHILDREN: What I saw last night from the real citizens of Baton Rouge will forever warm my heart. We are a complete community of individuals who will carry this burden and also stand together to ensure that this event will not go unjustice (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.

MCMILLON: It will not go unnoticed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Investigators say the officers were wearing body cameras but they become dislodged during the struggle. Sources tell CNN that both officers were interviewed by the D.A. Tuesday night and they're now on paid administrative leave.

ROMANS: There's so much to go through. These two police shootings of African-American men caught on camera in the space of two days. I want to bring in CNN law enforcement analyst, Cedric Alexander, public safety director for DeKalb County, Georgia. He's the author of the book "The New Guardians: Policing in America's Communities For the 21st Century". Thanks for joining us again this morning. Again, both of these pieces

of video are incredibly hard to watch. The last moments of both of these men's lives, and then just the anguish left behind from these families.

I want to start in Minnesota. This is just hours old. You see this video -- Facebook live. The passenger in the car, the girlfriend of the deceased, almost narrating what happened there. And you see -- you don't see the shooting, but you see the police officer standing there in the window, almost his hands shaking. I mean, you could just almost see the adrenaline there --

SANCHEZ: You can hear it in his voice.

ROMANS: -- in the stance and hear it in the voice of that police officer. The woman here says that he a concealed carry permit -- legally allowed to carry a gun -- and he was pulled over for a taillight, and then he's dead. What is the standard operating procedure? I mean, there are people all over the country who are legally carrying a gun.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, SAFETY DIRECTOR, DEKALB CO., GEORGIA, AUTHOR, "THE NEW GUARDIANS: POLICING IN AMERICA'S COMMUNITIES FOR THE 21ST CENTURY": Well, here's what's important. Anytime that you tell a police officer that you are carrying, they still are going to approach with some caution. They still don't know who you are, what your intent may happen to be. But it is proper and correct to say yes, I'm in possession of a firearm, but officers are still going to tread very lightly.

We don't know all the circumstances of what transpired before this shooting took place. What we're seeing there is a very tragic and horrific video footage of someone who is dying right in front of us and a police officer who, himself, appears to be struggling with that whole traumatic event.

There are a lot of victims here and, unfortunate for the young man that died, it certainly do require an open, clear, transparent investigation as to what occurred from the time of that traffic stop up to the point of that shooting. And forensics evidence is going to be very, very important. Witness statements, other video that may emerge is going to be important.

So I think it's -- one thing that city has to do there in Minnesota, at this moment, is not just to give a 30-second or one-minute interview, but try to encourage that community that we're going to look at this, we're going to have an outside investigative team come in, and as this investigation moves forward over the next 24, 48, 72 hours we're going to share with this community and with this country as much information as we can. That is going to be critically important as the transparency of what took place from the beginning to the end.

SANCHEZ: Cedric, it's also important to point out there was a 4-year- old child in the back of the car when all of this unfolded. What is the standard operating procedure in a situation like that where the officer's confronted with something, there's a child potentially at play in that situation, and what does that tell you about the way that the officer approached this? There's certain things that he potentially had to consider before he opened fire.

[05:40:00] ALEXANDER: Well, you certainly always have to consider your backdrop and other innocent people that may be in and around your point of aim, and I don't know what was going through this officer's mind. He's going to have to clearly articulate to his investigative group that he may have to give a statement in front of.

He's going to have to clearly articulate what took place, why he took the action that he did, and did he consider all those other variables. And, of course, not just the 4-year-old child which, thank God, was not injured, but also the female passenger in the vehicle, as well.

ROMANS: I have to say, her -- just hearing her voice, how she's trying to narrate what's happening and share with the world what's happening, it's just -- it's just eerie to sort of be a bystander on the aftermath of that shooting.

Let's go to Baton Rouge here, please, because this is a -- the Department of Justice has not taken over this investigation. This man was selling C.D.'s. (Video playing) You see him -- this new video -- we have a new angle and video where you see his death at the hands of police officers. I'm counting four or five shots here. They have him on the ground.

When you see this video you can't see his right hand. It looks like it's under the bumper of the car. But when you see this video do you see any justification for shooting a man who seems to be already on the ground under the -- under the command of two officers?

ALEXANDER: You know, that piece of video is very powerful and what we see of it, in the timeframe that we see it, the angle from which we're seeing -- two very distinct videos now -- we can draw an immediate conclusion. But here's what important. We were not on the ground with those two officers that was wrestling the victim there and this is why it's so important, guys -- is that an initial investigation and there, in Baton Rouge, we're 72 hours post this shooting.

There's still a lot of work to be done and the forensics evidence is going to tell us, along with the video, along with witness statements, along with officers' statements. It's going to draw us a really clear picture of what took place in those few seconds in all fairness to that community, all fairness to the victim and his family, and to the fairness of those officers.

And it won't be until all this comes together -- of the entire investigation coming together over the next few weeks, few months, that really paints to us a clear picture of did something go wrong here that could have gone in another direction.

Those are horrible videos that we're looking at. Anytime you have a police-involved shooting it is a traumatic event. And we're in a time where police officers are going to have to justify and articulate the reasoning. Regardless of what we see on that video there's still more information still to be gathered, and that's why we cannot be so conclusive so early until all those facts have been gathered and analyzed.

SANCHEZ: They are certainly hard to watch but, as you said, two very long investigations likely ahead. Cedric Alexander, thank you for much for your perspective this morning.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me, thank you.

ROMANS: Thanks for getting up so early for us. All right, Hillary Clinton officially cleared of any charges related to her email use as Secretary of State. Not criminal, but careless. Republicans have found a new way to keep the controversy alive.

[05:43:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:47:35] SANCHEZ: Just hours from now FBI director James Comey testifies on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers want to know how he squares his decision to recommend against pressing charges over Hillary Clinton's emails with that tongue-lashing that accompanied his announcement. The FBI director calling Clinton's use of a personal email server and the classified messages that it sometimes carried, extremely careless. Senior political reporter Manu Raju has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning. Now, the FBI director expected to get a grilling today in the House Oversight Committee where Republicans believe that he made the wrong decision in not referring this case to the Justice Department, even though Director Comey had some very, very strong words about Hillary Clinton, believing that she handled classified information carelessly.

They believe that she was given preferential treatment in that decision to not prosecute this case even further. They say this is a clear violation of federal law. So, expect to hear a push and questions about why Comey made this decision.

And from Comey's perspective, he believes he has a good story to tell. He believes that the FBI made the right decision, the prudent decision. It had a thorough investigation and expect him to lay out his reasoning why.

Now, this is part of a larger Republican effort to keep this issue alive. Speaker Paul Ryan believes that Hillary Clinton should be denied classified briefings altogether. That she should have her security clearance revoked. And other Republicans believe that she should release all of her transcripts in talking with the FBI to show whether or not she was speaking truthfully to federal investigators.

So, guys, this is just really, really the beginning of a very aggressive effort to keep this issue alive headed into November because Hillary Clinton's political problems may not be over just yet -- Christine and Boris. (END VIDEOTAPE)

ROMANS: All right, Manu Raju, thank you for that. All right, a lot coming up on "NEW DAY", including more analysis of that horrible video out of -- out of Minnesota. That police shooting there. Alisyn Camerota has it for us.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR, "NEW DAY": We do have a lot of breaking news, Christine, this morning that we will be bringing to our viewers. Protestors in Minnesota are taking to the streets after that deadly police shooting. It was virtually streamed live on Facebook, basically, start to finish right after the shooting. So we will show you this video that has shocked people across the country this morning. We'll also hear from the family members of the man who was shot.

Plus, it will be a big day on Capitol Hill. Donald Trump is going to town as the FBI director gets set to face tough questions about why he chose not to suggest charges for Hillary Clinton in her email controversy. So we will speak to a congressman who wants answers this morning. So we'll see you guys in about 10 minutes.

[05:50:00] ROMANS: All right, fantastic. Thanks, Alisyn.

SANCHEZ: Thanks, Alisyn.

ROMANS: Fears about the Brexit still rattling investors. One sector, in particular, getting crushed. I'm going to show you some really dramatic drops when we get an EARLY START on your money, next.

[05:50:30]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:54:35] SANCHEZ: Ten years after his death, Saddam Hussein is still making headlines on two continents. In the U.K. there were shockwaves following the release of a blistering report slamming Britain's role in the Iraq war and the removal of Saddam Hussein.

Here in the U.S., presidential hopeful Donald Trump is taking heat for praising Saddam Hussein. Trump, though, has fired back defiantly.

[05:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESUMPTIVE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE: I said bad guy, really bad guy, but he was good at one thing. He killed terrorists. Next day, Donald Trump loves Saddam Hussein. I don't love Saddam Hussein, I hate Saddam Hussein, but he was damn good at killing terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANCHEZ: Let's go live to Baghdad and bring in CNN senior international correspondent, Ben Wedeman. Ben, getting back to that report. The Chilcot report essentially saying that Iraq was not an immediate threat. That not all peaceful options had been exhausted before going to war. But it sounds like this report is water under the bridge for most Iraqis who are now dealing with chaos.

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and I think the Chilcot report, Boris, is very important for the U.K. to provide some sort of closure on what was a bitter experience for the British, but you have to keep it all in perspective.

One hundred and seventy-nine British servicemen died in the war in Iraq, but just over the weekend more than 250 Iraqis were killed in this horrific terrorist bombing by ISIS in downtown Baghdad. Iraqis, really, as they are dealing with the consequences and, in a sense, the 2.6 million words in the Chilcot report -- the equivalent to five volumes of "War and Peace" -- doesn't really amount to much for ordinary Iraqis.

However, Iraqis did notice and hear what Donald Trump had to say about Saddam Hussein. Iraqis, though, have a somewhat different perspective. For many of them who remember the days of Saddam Hussein, they remember it as a reign of terror.

They recall somewhere between 50,000 and 120,000 Iraqi civilians killed by Saddam during the late 1980's in the so-called Anfal campaign. During that campaign, 4,500 villages were destroyed. For Iraqis, that's the definition of terrorism -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: Understandably so. Ben Wedeman, thank you.

ROMANS: All right, 56 minutes past the hour. Let's get an EARLY START on your money. Dow futures pointing slightly higher but the big story is bonds. Bond prices are rebounding from all-time lows. That's helping stock markets in Europe post solid gains right now. Markets in Asia finishing mixed. Big jobs report on Friday could change everything. May had lousy jobs growth, was June any better?

The Brexit fallout crushing stock prices at the world's biggest banks. Check out these numbers. Over the past month, Royal Bank of Scotland is down more than 40 percent. Lloyds Banking Group, 36 percent. Look at Barclays, look at Deutsche Bank, ouch.

The U.S. banking sector battered, too, but to a lesser degree. Bank of America down 11.5 percent over the past month. JPMorgan Chase down almost eight percent. Goldman Sachs down seven. It is the biggest loser on the Dow in 2016 for the year. Goldman Sachs has shed 20 percent. Now, those low bond yields will be difficult for those banks to deal with in the coming weeks as interest rates remain very low -- all right.

SANCHEZ: The Fed plan to slowly raise interest rates -- Brexit is --

ROMANS: That was so last Monday (ph).

SANCHEZ: Yes, right. Breaking news this morning. Protests rage after police shoot and kill a driver during a traffic stop. "NEW DAY" starts right now. ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CAMEROTA: Good morning, everyone. Welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Thursday, July 7th, 6:00 in the east, and we do begin with breaking news for you. There's been another deadly encounter with police. A Minnesota officer opening fire and killing a black man during a traffic stop. This scene, also, caught on camera.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: A very different situation because of the man's girlfriend. She started livestreaming the aftermath of this incident on Facebook. Millions have already watched the video, the really gruesome parts of it, because this is a scene in play with a man having been shot multiple times by a police officer.

This comes to light just as we're learning more about what happened in Baton Rouge, where another black man was killed by a police officer. We're hearing familiar, but troubling, questions and justifiable concerns from families and communities.

Let's begin our coverage with CNN national correspondent Ryan Young, live with the breaking details -- Ryan.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Chris, this video's very hard to watch. In fact, you can see the girlfriend's actually using her cell phone, in selfie mode, shooting back to the direction of her boyfriend. After watching this video several times it's hard to watch all the through, especially after she's really calm, actually talking to her boyfriend after he's been shot. But you'll see this all play out, right here, on tape.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REYNOLDS: Stay with me.

YOUNG: Diamond Reynolds capturing the moments after her boyfriend was shot by a Minnesota police officer during a traffic stop.

REYNOLDS: We got pulled over for a busted taillight in the back and the police (bleep) -- he's covered. He's killed my (bleep) boyfriend.

YOUNG: Philandro Castile's white shirt soaked in blood and in distress. They were pulled over, allegedly, for a broken taillight around 9:00 p.m. outside of St. Paul.

REYNOLDS: He's licensed to carry. He was trying to get out his I.D. and his wallet.

YOUNG: Reynolds livestreaming video from inside the car with her 4- year-old daughter in the back seat.

REYNOLDS: He let the officer know that he was -- he had a firearm and he was reaching for his wallet.