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American Morning

Al Sharpton Calling For Federal Action to Curb Police Abuse

Aired July 15, 2002 - 09:08   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: The Reverend Al Sharpton says police brutality is a national issue, and he is calling for federal action to curb police abuse. Shaprton is in California, where he plans to meet with the mayor of Inglewood, and the family of 16-year-old Donovan Jackson, the African-American teenager who was punched by a white Inglewood police officer during a violent arrest captured on videotape.

The Reverend Sharpton joins us now from Los Angeles. We did want to mention, reverend, that the Inglewood Police Department declined a request to appear with you this morning.

Welcome. Good to have you with us, sir.

REV. AL SHARPTON, NATIONAL ACTION NETWORK: Good morning.

ZAHN: What do you plan to accomplish that local officials out there you don't think can?

SHAPRTON: Well, I don't say they haven't. I think that all of us should work together. We have a chapter of our organization National Action Network here and families spokesperson along with Najee Ali, who is leading the march, has asked me to come, along with Martin Luther King III and others, because we've dealt with these type of cases around the country, and frankly, with Tyesha Miller cases and others here in California.

I think the real thing we need to look at, Paula, is that in one week, we saw the police beating in Oklahoma City. We've seen the videotape now here in Inglewood, California. We have a jury out on the one of the accused police in the Abner Louima case in New York. There's a problem of police misconduct all over the country that needs to be addressed, in my judgment, with federal legislation, and we need to hear from the president on police conduct and misconduct, particularly in a post-911 America when we all ought to fighting against terrorist abroad, not feeling that we're going to have these kinds of situations here at home.

ZAHN: All right, Reverend Sharpton, the mayor of Inglewood, Mayor Roosevelt Dorn, had this to say about people rushing to judgment on this latest incident in Inglewood. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) MYR. ROOSEVELT DORN, INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA: Now, we must see the due process is done. Due process has to be done in regard to the youngster and his father, but due process also has to be done in regard to the officer. The officer has, by state, officer's bill of right. He has Hiskelly (ph) rights. Those have to be followed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZAHN: What about the officer's bill of right here? What's your response to what the mayor just said?

SHAPRTON: I have no problem with that. As I said, we are now in a jury deliberation in New York in a case we certainly worked on. We never said don't give the cops due process or there wouldn't be trials going on now. But we also say that the police must give suspects due process. What happened to right of this young man who was thrown on the hood of a car, who had already been handcuffed, already been apprehended? No one has grabbed the policeman. The policeman grabbed the young man. So I don't think that we are the ones that ought to be preached to about due process.

I think the police ought to be told, you're not the judge, jury and executioner, and clearly, that young man's due process was interfered with. No one has grabbed and assaulted this policemen.

ZAHN: Let's talk about some of the latest information that surfaced in "The L.A. Times" over the weekend. One is that in the police report filed by Officer Morris, one of the arresting officers you just saw, there was a claim that Jeremy Morris' partner punched the teenager twice because he disregarded police command and grabbed his shirt. Now what they're also saying, at least the attorney for Officer Morse, is because we haven't seen all of the surveillance tapes done at the gas station. We are not seeing an incident I will describe this in his words, "where Donovan Jackson grabbed his testicles," he says, as he was handcuffed, and this is why he slammed and hit him.

SHAPRTON: Let's deal with what was said. First of all, the customary response from police is always in these incidents to say that I was assaulted. I mean, it was said in the Louima case, and then the cop admitted he was lying, and that he did it.

But let's say that this is there position. What we saw on tape clearly showed if there had been altercation, and clearly there's evidence there had been, but if there had been one before what we saw, they had stopped it, they had apprehended him, he was in custody, and he clearly was not resisting. So what was it that made them lift his body up, throw him on the hood. Was is an act of revenge? That's illegal for police to operate in a vengeful manner. One of the things you do when you talk on badge of officer is you say I will abide by the guide book and the law.

There is nothing on that tape that shows the immediate action before the assault on this young man, that shows they were under threat and that he not cooperating with them leading him away in handcuffs. So all of that is immaterial to their own code books and their own levels of guidance by the California police and by national police standards.

ZAHN: Well, the attorney represent Officer Morris said it is material. He essentially says when you see all the evidence that's on the videotape, you put into context, here are his words, that he used appropriate level of force for the given situation. So the debate will drag on. Reverend Al Sharpton, we really do appreciate your joining us at this early hour of the morning in Los Angeles. Glad to have time with you this morning.

SHARPTON: Thank you, good morning. Have a good day.

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