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Interview With Veronica Harris, Artis Cash
Aired July 10, 2003 - 14:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well we're joined now by two people deeply involved in this controversy. Veronica Harris is the founder of the pro-police group Back the Badge. Artis Cash is the pastor of Shreveport Christian Church and the leader of the post-shooting protest movement. They are both together with us in studio sitting side by side so that's a good sign. We thank you both for being with us.
VERONICA HARRIS, "BACK THE BADGE": Thank you.
REV. ARTIS CASH, PASTOR, SHREVEPORT CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Cash, let's start with you. And when you saw this tape -- why don't you just tell me how it affected you, what you thought? And let's begin there.
CASH: OK. When I initially saw the tape, I was alarmed because I was shown some still photos initially by the news media that indicated that the young man was pointing a -- something that appeared to either be a cell phone or a gun.
But after viewing the videotape, it became apparent that someone had manipulated this situation and in order to -- as it were, make clear the actions that were taken that night.
One of the, I guess, analysts from one of the local universities did a search on this and she reviewed the video and I have to concur with what she said. This was a old fashioned hunt down that happened that night, unfortunately.
I feel it's just -- it's sad that it took place. I am hoping that the FBI will do a thorough investigation and will come back and bring a true indictment against the action that was taken that night, this being the sportsman paradise, we know this is the wrong kind of sport.
PHILLIPS: Well, sir, I do want to make it clear, we took a look at the entire videotape, also. We did look at it from the beginning to the end, saw it was not spliced up, the time code remained consistent. We also reviewed the 100 page report. So I just want you to know we did our homework, also.
And, Veronica Harris, maybe I can ask you, do you understand why the community, specifically the black community, is so upset about this videotape?
HARRIS: Well, I don't know that I can really understand all of that. I'm not in that position. I've never been in that position.
And, so, what I hope is that people will quit undermining our local law enforcement officers and that every time that something tragic happens that they won't be blamed for it. That people will support them and encourage them and tell them how much we appreciate them every day for the job they do.
PHILLIPS: Tell us about Back the Badge and why you started the organization.
HARRIS: Sure. Back the Badge, it was a rally initially that I started after the negativity came out in the press.
And recently there was an incident in my neighborhood where many, many law enforcement agencies responded to very dangerous suspects. And they handled it perfectly. I was locked down in my home. I was able to kind of watch everything as it happened. It was almost like poetry in motion as they all worked together and resolved the issue, flawlessly.
And so I thought, you know, I would love to do is something to support them and thank them for what they did that day. Then when all of this negativity came out, I thought this is the perfect time to let them know how much we appreciate them.
So I organized the rally. We had over 500 people in attendance. We had an entire city block, blocked off so we could have all of the people there and we have yard signs that were made and buttons. And just people in the community -- and I tell you, many, many people in the community do support the police department and local law enforcement because my phone rang off the hook once I started this.
And just to let you know I believe Shreveport-Bossier really do, they do support their local law enforcement.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Cash, the new police chief did come forward, admitted, yes, there is a disconnect and something must be done.
Tell me what you're doing now to help fix this disconnect between the police department and the black community?
CASH: Well, we are making sure that calm prevail, that cooler heads prevail.
One of the incidents that took place on that memorable night and unfortunate night was that a video -- an audiotape was released by three of the local city council individuals that clearly indicated that everyone knew that man had a cell phone and he was talking on it. Ironically, that has never been brought forth even in your coverage here today. We didn't see anything or hear anything about that videotape that existed.
So I believe that because we are working, ministers are going and telling the community, we don't need anything to go awry in our communities. In fact, we look at the entire community because since this incident polarization has taken place. You have blacks on one side and whites on the other.
And one thing we do do in the African-American community, that is we back the badge. But we now -- we must also stress that we back the badge when it's not killing us. And if it's killing us in a wanton way then we're in the seat. And as Miss Harris said, you know, that's something that you will have to be in this skin to understand.
PHILLIPS: I mean, you bring up a very good point, Dr. Cash. Just to point out Hudspeth, this young man that was killed by police, he did have a rap sheet. Back in February he was arrested for aggravated assault, he pulled a gun on his wife. He was arrested also in February of '99 for getting in a fight with a man. He was arrested for battery and then the situation happened.
So do you understand in a way, you know, the situation that police they run this name, they run the license plate, they see there is a rap sheet. And it doesn't justify, of course, how a situation necessarily plays out. But do you understand the adrenaline that a police officer is under with this background intact, too?
CASH: Well, I would. But Mr. Hudspeth was not driving his car that night so there's no way they could have ran a license check to find out that it was he that was driving.
And then, also, he was never charged with raising or pulling gun on his wife. That was a holster that was there. And then on the night that this incident happened, we were told that he was an ex-drug dealer back in '92 and '93. Come to find out the man would have been 12 or 14-years-old.
One thing people neglect to bring out, is that he was a man that loved Jesus. He was instrumental in starting a choir in his church. In addition to that, his pastor happens to be white. And those are the areas that I think we need to start looking at and stop trying to do different things.
But, now, when African-Americans fight one another, and someone will invariably go to jail, we declare they are involved in assault. But now we have to look at the whole picture of this thing. I think to minimize or to maximize this situation behind some incidents that did not end up being any type of conviction, is very, very wrong. And I think that most of the time we get misinformation and misinformation causes us to take the negative standpoint.
But you looked at that video yourself and you just confessed to that. That video is very alarming. That man did not pose a threat. There was no way you could come up with black people committing suicide by cops. We don't do that in our community. And that's a shame that this type of action would even come out like this.
PHILLIPS: And, sir, definitely, that's why we're addressing the issue. And even more so the main point to be made here is the bigger effort to culturally diversify. And we hope that your community is -- will make a great effort in doing that.
We appreciate both of you being with us and both the efforts on both sides. Thank you very much for your time.
HARRIS: Thank you.
CASH: Thank you all. God bless you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired July 10, 2003 - 14:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Well we're joined now by two people deeply involved in this controversy. Veronica Harris is the founder of the pro-police group Back the Badge. Artis Cash is the pastor of Shreveport Christian Church and the leader of the post-shooting protest movement. They are both together with us in studio sitting side by side so that's a good sign. We thank you both for being with us.
VERONICA HARRIS, "BACK THE BADGE": Thank you.
REV. ARTIS CASH, PASTOR, SHREVEPORT CHRISTIAN CHURCH: Thank you.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Cash, let's start with you. And when you saw this tape -- why don't you just tell me how it affected you, what you thought? And let's begin there.
CASH: OK. When I initially saw the tape, I was alarmed because I was shown some still photos initially by the news media that indicated that the young man was pointing a -- something that appeared to either be a cell phone or a gun.
But after viewing the videotape, it became apparent that someone had manipulated this situation and in order to -- as it were, make clear the actions that were taken that night.
One of the, I guess, analysts from one of the local universities did a search on this and she reviewed the video and I have to concur with what she said. This was a old fashioned hunt down that happened that night, unfortunately.
I feel it's just -- it's sad that it took place. I am hoping that the FBI will do a thorough investigation and will come back and bring a true indictment against the action that was taken that night, this being the sportsman paradise, we know this is the wrong kind of sport.
PHILLIPS: Well, sir, I do want to make it clear, we took a look at the entire videotape, also. We did look at it from the beginning to the end, saw it was not spliced up, the time code remained consistent. We also reviewed the 100 page report. So I just want you to know we did our homework, also.
And, Veronica Harris, maybe I can ask you, do you understand why the community, specifically the black community, is so upset about this videotape?
HARRIS: Well, I don't know that I can really understand all of that. I'm not in that position. I've never been in that position.
And, so, what I hope is that people will quit undermining our local law enforcement officers and that every time that something tragic happens that they won't be blamed for it. That people will support them and encourage them and tell them how much we appreciate them every day for the job they do.
PHILLIPS: Tell us about Back the Badge and why you started the organization.
HARRIS: Sure. Back the Badge, it was a rally initially that I started after the negativity came out in the press.
And recently there was an incident in my neighborhood where many, many law enforcement agencies responded to very dangerous suspects. And they handled it perfectly. I was locked down in my home. I was able to kind of watch everything as it happened. It was almost like poetry in motion as they all worked together and resolved the issue, flawlessly.
And so I thought, you know, I would love to do is something to support them and thank them for what they did that day. Then when all of this negativity came out, I thought this is the perfect time to let them know how much we appreciate them.
So I organized the rally. We had over 500 people in attendance. We had an entire city block, blocked off so we could have all of the people there and we have yard signs that were made and buttons. And just people in the community -- and I tell you, many, many people in the community do support the police department and local law enforcement because my phone rang off the hook once I started this.
And just to let you know I believe Shreveport-Bossier really do, they do support their local law enforcement.
PHILLIPS: Dr. Cash, the new police chief did come forward, admitted, yes, there is a disconnect and something must be done.
Tell me what you're doing now to help fix this disconnect between the police department and the black community?
CASH: Well, we are making sure that calm prevail, that cooler heads prevail.
One of the incidents that took place on that memorable night and unfortunate night was that a video -- an audiotape was released by three of the local city council individuals that clearly indicated that everyone knew that man had a cell phone and he was talking on it. Ironically, that has never been brought forth even in your coverage here today. We didn't see anything or hear anything about that videotape that existed.
So I believe that because we are working, ministers are going and telling the community, we don't need anything to go awry in our communities. In fact, we look at the entire community because since this incident polarization has taken place. You have blacks on one side and whites on the other.
And one thing we do do in the African-American community, that is we back the badge. But we now -- we must also stress that we back the badge when it's not killing us. And if it's killing us in a wanton way then we're in the seat. And as Miss Harris said, you know, that's something that you will have to be in this skin to understand.
PHILLIPS: I mean, you bring up a very good point, Dr. Cash. Just to point out Hudspeth, this young man that was killed by police, he did have a rap sheet. Back in February he was arrested for aggravated assault, he pulled a gun on his wife. He was arrested also in February of '99 for getting in a fight with a man. He was arrested for battery and then the situation happened.
So do you understand in a way, you know, the situation that police they run this name, they run the license plate, they see there is a rap sheet. And it doesn't justify, of course, how a situation necessarily plays out. But do you understand the adrenaline that a police officer is under with this background intact, too?
CASH: Well, I would. But Mr. Hudspeth was not driving his car that night so there's no way they could have ran a license check to find out that it was he that was driving.
And then, also, he was never charged with raising or pulling gun on his wife. That was a holster that was there. And then on the night that this incident happened, we were told that he was an ex-drug dealer back in '92 and '93. Come to find out the man would have been 12 or 14-years-old.
One thing people neglect to bring out, is that he was a man that loved Jesus. He was instrumental in starting a choir in his church. In addition to that, his pastor happens to be white. And those are the areas that I think we need to start looking at and stop trying to do different things.
But, now, when African-Americans fight one another, and someone will invariably go to jail, we declare they are involved in assault. But now we have to look at the whole picture of this thing. I think to minimize or to maximize this situation behind some incidents that did not end up being any type of conviction, is very, very wrong. And I think that most of the time we get misinformation and misinformation causes us to take the negative standpoint.
But you looked at that video yourself and you just confessed to that. That video is very alarming. That man did not pose a threat. There was no way you could come up with black people committing suicide by cops. We don't do that in our community. And that's a shame that this type of action would even come out like this.
PHILLIPS: And, sir, definitely, that's why we're addressing the issue. And even more so the main point to be made here is the bigger effort to culturally diversify. And we hope that your community is -- will make a great effort in doing that.
We appreciate both of you being with us and both the efforts on both sides. Thank you very much for your time.
HARRIS: Thank you.
CASH: Thank you all. God bless you.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
