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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Dallas Shooting Press Conference; President Visits Dallas. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired July 11, 2016 - 12:00   ET

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

[12:00:00] CHIEF JOHN BROWN, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: I don't know how I'm going to make it through the week. That's why I wanted to do this, where I could have the rest of the day to begin the services tomorrow. And hopefully you all won't bug me, and respect I'm trying to get through the last funeral from Tuesday to the last funeral.

If you do, I hope you respectfully in understand why I ignore you. Because it's nothing personal. I like all of you -- well, most of you. And we can hopefully can get past this with God's good grace.

Yes?

QUESTION: Chief (inaudible) with the Associated Press. I mean (inaudible) previous police statements of the amount of the (inaudible). Is that a challenge (ph)?

BROWN: Yes.

QUESTION: was there any structural damage sustained at the garage or anywhere else? And exactly what part of garage wasn't used, then? And also (inaudible) today or tomorrow, a timeline (inaudible)?

BROWN: Probably not today. Probably will be several days. I'm going to try to get my guys home to get ready for these funerals.

So, we're likely to slow down a little bit. They have been going -- not wanting to go home to try to chase every lead.

There was damage. And I'm not sure, some parts -- where this happened was in the building proper, not the garage. So, we -- we've misspoke on that. And we'll try to correct that, because we have got a release that is going to come out about the gun.

I think we had another follow-up question about something else. And we'll try to include the location, a little bit more clarification about where it happened.

QUESTION: The building proper (inaudible)?

BROWN: Yeah. Yes.

QUESTION: And do you know what floor, what part of the...

BROWN: Second floor. QUESTION: Second floor. BROWN: I can't describe what part, but second floor. We'll get the details -- try to get the details of that to you today in a press release.

QUESTION: Chief (inaudible) college. I understand that there were actually people on lockdown in the college building at the time that SWAT detonated that bomb.

Is that correct?

BROWN: Yes. There was a lot of students in the building before this suspect ran up the building. And our officers got most of them out. We learned here recently that two students stayed in there overnight, afraid to move because of all the shooting.

And we got them out the next -- the next morning. Just recently...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: ... yes, just recently. So, they were -- it is a big building, it's a big floor. So, they didn't -- they weren't in any danger or anything like that as a result of the explosion.

I'm going to ask -- the morning news reporter here has been waiting patiently, the local and only paper. If you all don't mind, I'm going to give them little privilege here.

Yes.

QUESTION: Chief, when will the police department (inaudible) officially release the names? And also (inaudible) how the investigation is going to go with federal involvement too?

BROWN: Yes. So -- because sources leaked the names of our officers before the families were ready, it really became a moot point for us to release officially, and we really didn't see the need. But if you see the need to officially release, we'll do that.

We think it is a moot point. Everybody knows. No one has been misidentified. We were just taking a lead from the families. I promised the night that their loved one was killed that I would not release their name until you tell me it was OK.

And I -- I believe in keeping that promise.

Hang on just a second. This guy was after these two.

Yes, sir.

QUESTION: (Inaudible), can you talk a little bit about the decision to (inaudible) you might bring the building down, concern at all? And also (inaudible) do you see that robot (inaudible)?

BROWN: I ask the question of how much we were using, and I said, don't -- don't bring the building down. But that was the extent of my guidance.

All right. I just said, I trust you. You know what I want done. They improvised this whole idea in about 15, 20 minutes -- extraordinary.

There was somebody over here that hasn't asked. Hang on, I'm sorry. I'll get to you as soon as I get back over here. There was someone -- yes, ma'am.

QUESTION: (Inaudible) and it's not in special (ph) regards to the investigation (inaudible)?

BROWN: We've turned the responsibility of security detail for the president to our law enforcement partners. Arlington P.D. is working with the Secret Service on that, and they will be working with any other law enforcement partners we have in the area to do that.

I didn't want my cops having that responsibility because of the fatigue factor. I didn't want something to go wrong with the president coming here, because we are tired.

They volunteered to do it. I appreciate Arlington doing that.

Let me speak about the scare here at headquarters the other day. And this -- this is a little lecturing. So, I'm going to lecture and then I'm going to get off the soap box.

BROWN: But when -- when reporters say there are shots fired, irresponsibly, when they did not hear any shots fired and no one else heard any shots fired, that puts our officers at risk.

If you tell me shots are fired, I'm -- the adrenaline pump and rush for that, it is hard to take a step without falling, let alone think about where the shots are coming from, is anybody hurt. It is the most irresponsible thing a reporter can do is say shots fired when you didn't hear it. And if you heard it and you are near an officer, tell the officer, don't tweet it, so we can convey the message in the way that creates safety for our officers.

So I'm going to get off my soap box. But it wasn't you. I'm just saying, you know who you are. Don't do that again. That makes -- that makes the hair on our head raise and it just makes us unsafe in the way we conduct ourselves just to say shots fired. Don't do that. That's irresponsible.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BROWN: No, it hadn't been used before. I'ma (ph) wrap up. I'm tired. I don't have anything else left for you, but I'll give you -- oh, I'm sorry. You -- this is the last question right here, lady. You are persistent.

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BROWN: All right.

QUESTION: You did a...

BROWN: You were late...

QUESTION: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

BROWN: We've been looking for you for like 30 minutes.

(LAUGHTER)

QUESTION: (OFF-MIKE)

BROWN: Go ahead, Hannah. Last question. You got the last question. QUESTION: You've been an officer for (inaudible), you've worked a very long time (inaudible). But what do you need to do right, urgently, to -- like what else can you possibly do to restore (ph) (inaudible) the violence that you've seen in the last (inaudible) weeks (inaudible)? Something specific.

BROWN: So we are -- honestly it's a priority focused on the families for the funerals. While that's happening, we're getting 911 calls every second and we're fighting against the increase in violent crime that every city in the country has been fighting against since last summer.

We had plans to do some things as a result of the spike in violent crime this month that we had to delay. The No. 1 thing I would say that we are doing is supporting each other as officers, watching each other's back, showing that we care about each other.

I think not letting anything divide us as a police family. Not anything or anyone get us off track on our mission and that's simplified, but I think it's easy for cops to understand that the No. 1 thing is for us to stick together. Watch out for each other, protect each other, care about each other. Say it. Express it. And make sure we do everything we can to go home to our loved ones every shift.

QUESTION: But what about the (inaudible) community who...

BROWN: See, you taking liberties that you don't have (inaudible) late.

(LAUGHTER)

Being late. Thank you all so much. I appreciate it.

[12:08:37] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And as the police chief in Dallas has said so often in the interest of transparency, yet another update on what happened last week that led to the killings of five police officers and the update is nine of them were wounded, five of them were killed. A couple of other things to note. There is 170 hours' worth of body

cam footage that they are going over in this investigation. They are also looking at all dash cam video from all of those police cruisers that were on location. They have also asked for all of the surveillance video from businesses in the area. Imagine the number of real time hours of video that this police department is having to go over now.

And, understandably, this chief has said the Dallas Police Service is exhausted and has thus turned over the responsibility of the security partnership for the president of the United States' visit tomorrow to another partner in that area, the Arlington Police Department. So, the Arlington Police will now be spearheading all of the coordination of the presidential visit that is expected tomorrow for memorial service in Dallas, Texas.

A couple of other important details that the police chief mentioned, and that is that the cruisers that belonged to the dead police officers have now been taken to I believe what he said was the naval air station so that they can be combed for all the personal effects of those officers and that those personal effects can be returned to their families.

[12:10:11] He also mentioned that he has received death threats via a FaceBook page of the police department in Dallas. And not just him, his family as well. And then very emotionally he said that this all comes on the heels of the idea that police officers make on average about $44,000 a year. And for that they are feeling very unloved and very thanked for what they went through last week.

I want to now go to our people in the field who are covering not only this live news conference, but also all of the events of the weekend and the upcoming presidential visit as well. Victor Blackwell is with us. He's live in Dallas, as well Drew Griffin, our investigative correspondent is with us, and Cedric Alexander joins us, our CNN law enforcement analyst, who's with us.

And before I go to our reporters in the field, Cedric Alexander, I want you to just bounce off what we just heard from this police chief, who, by the way, if there is a textbook in what leadership involves, you might say that it is this police chief who is standing by his dedication to transparency from the moment this incident -- the guns stopped blazing, to what you heard today. And I'd like you to just expand on what you heard.

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, I think if you look up leadership in the dictionary, you'll see Chief Brown's picture right there. He is a true essence of leadership. He has been strong and stern, at the same time showing his own sadness around this situation. He's said a lot over the course of the last hour, but I think one thing that sticks out for me the most, quite frankly, Ashleigh, is his ability to be transparent and to be open and to be honest. And there's not anything that I find in his verbiage that I question. And being a police administrator, and many of us who across this country who are watching him today and have been watching him for the last few days, our hearts goes out to him and his department. BANFIELD: Yes.

ALEXANDER: And his family, even though they're under threat, which you'd find it very hard to believe, but he is the true essence of leadership and he's just demonstrated that again today.

BANFIELD: And let -- and let me ask you, quickly, before I go out to the field for the updates, and that is that he said for all of you who oppose or protest the police, we are hiring. Come in off of the protest line, I have a job, and I will put you to work in your own community. That is profound to hear him say that, but will it resonate? Will he actually get that to happen?

ALEXANDER: Well, it will be if it should happen. But here's what I applaud about the statement. For those who state that there are not enough police officers out there from neighborhoods, enough police officers of color, here's your opportunity. Here's your opportunity to apply, to go through the process to become a candidate or a recruit in their academy and go on and become a police officer. Here's an opportunity for you to serve in the community you say you love very well.

And if it's not you, maybe it's someone that you know, another family member. So I applaud the fact that he made that announcement for the recruitment of those -- those protesters who really want to effect change. If you want to effect real change, be a police officer in America today and at this very moment in Dallas, Texas.

BANFIELD: Drew Griffin, in Dallas, Texas, if you could weigh in on this. He also said that for that salary of about $44,000, the police get every single extra duty that the city can't afford to do, from dog catching to education, and that they are extremely strained. Can you talk to me a little brit more about what we're finding out now about the person who didn't see it that way, who only saw them as targets last week?

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, as you know, Ashleigh, we've been looking at his FaceBook likes, his connections, the fact that we now know he went to an African centric bookstore. He was very much interested in what was happening in the black community, in the Black Lives Matter movement, but also apparently in the more black nationalist type of movement, which would be considered more -- have a violent bent, some even considered to be terrorist groups by the SPLC.

What we don't know what was in his mind because he -- after coming out of the military, according to all his friends, became somewhat introverted. And he -- and now we know he really didn't reach out to any of these militant groups. We just talked with one of those leaders on the phone, says he never knew him. And what struck me is the hatred that this guy must have had for the police, even during the negotiations when they were trying to get him to give up. The police chief said he was asking us, how many did I get? I mean can you imagine that him, shooting at the police, now knows that he's going to be dead, is asking, how many did I get before he succumbs to the injuries of the explosions? [12:15:08] So we may never know what was in his mind, Ashleigh, but

certainly there was a lot of bent-up frustration and hatred toward police in general. Although, we don't see any signs of why he, himself, had ever had any contact with the police that would have led to that.

BANFIELD: Drew, his own parents have now given an interview and I'm not sure that it's insightful for us to get a better handle, but what did they say?

GRIFFIN: Well, first of all, the father was just in tears and heartbroken. Of course, never saw this coming. But his mother and his stepmother, who, his stepmother is white, both said that they did notice this change after he got out of the military. That it was his experience in the military that they thought may have let him down, that the experience wasn't all that he had thought it would be.

We should point out that he did have a slight bit of trouble in the military where he was actually asked to leave. He was deployed to Afghanistan. And during that deployment, he was in carpentry and masonry. He wasn't involved in any kind of battle activities. He was accused of some sort of sexual harassment or creating a hostile work place environment toward a female soldier. That soldier asked for a restraining order and asked for Micha Johnson to get mental help. It was -- eventually led to him leaving Afghanistan and months later led to his departure from the military.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: And, I'm not sure -- Drew, I'm going to just ask you to stand by for a moment. The gunman's mother's name is Delphine Johnson. The gunman's father, James Johnson, stepmother, Donna, who Drew just referred to. Do we have that interview ready to go? I want to roll some of that, if I can, so I can let our viewers hear directly what they had to say. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES JOHNSON, DALLAS SNIPER'S FATHER: I don't know what to say to anybody to making anything better. I didn't see it coming.

DONNA JOHNSON, DALLAS SNIPER'S STEPMOTHER: (INAUDIBLE). He was a good son. He was a good son.

JOHNSON: I loved my son with all my heart. I hate what he did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did he ever talk about any of his experiences in the military that maybe made you question that something happened? Was it the war or --

DONNA JOHNSON: I don't remember anything.

DELPHINE JOHNSON, DALLAS SNIPER'S MOTHER: I don't remember anything about it. He just -- the military was not what Micah thought it would be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It disappointed him?

D. JOHNSON: He -- he was very disappointed. Very disappointed. But it may be that he -- the ideal that he thought of our government, of what he thought the military represented, it just didn't live up to his expectation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: That interview given to theblaze.com.

I want to bring in Victor Blackwell now, who's live in Dallas.

And I know that you were listening along with that news conference from the police chief and then came this word about this arsenal of weaponry --

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

BANFIELD: That was found on the body of the murder. Can you go over what exactly they discovered, Victor?

BLACKWELL: Yes, let's talk first about what was discovered with this shooter's body and then what was found at his home. We've got this list here.

According to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation, a Glock 19, generation four pistol, Frazier .25 caliber handgun. There there's a variation of the AK-style semiautomatic assault-style rifle also found with his body. We're told that he was wearing a bullet proof vest as well.

Let's talk now, Ashleigh, about what was found at the home. Evidence of acquisitions, including a gun box packaging, receipts, paperwork for a Cobra, a Lorsen (ph), a Glock handguns as well. Those weapons were not found at the home, but evidence and packaging receipts for those weapons. This source saying that the weapons there at the home would not represent a stockpile of those weapons specifically. But what we heard from Chief Brown, Ashleigh, today, is that the bomb- making materials indeed indicated stockpiling of those weapons. A bomb tech who spoke with the chief on the day of that evidence collection said it was a large stockpile of bomb making materials. He knew what he was doing. No evidence, though, on how he was going to use that ammunition, those bombs.

We also did not get any indication of in what stage of the bomb building process they were, if they were still just materials or if any of these bombs were fully assembled and ready to use. But again, evidence from the chief we've learned over the last few days and reiterated during this news conference that this was fast-tracked. Whatever the initial target was, it was shifted to target officers on Thursday night after that protest.

[12:20:14] BANFIELD: All right, Victor Blackwell with the most recent reporting of what was found on the body of the killer in Dallas the night that he was effectively blown up by a robotic device that had an extended arm with an explosive device on it. That's quite a list of weaponry that he had with them, as well as what was found in the house.

Coming up after the break, the president getting ready for a big trip to Dallas, Texas. Not just this president, either. George W. Bush joining Barack Obama as they both join to memorialize the five who were killed and speak in Dallas as well. This as the police in Dallas reorganize who's helping to protect those men. Not only that, the arrests mount as do the protests across the country. We're going to speak with a prominent leader of Black Lives Matter on that side of the debate all after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:24:57] BANFIELD: President Obama plans to speak tomorrow at a public memorial for the fallen Dallas police officers. And CNN's Athena Jones joins me live from the White House now with that.

And, obviously, Athena, I know you were listening along as Police Chief David Brown just happened to mention that the Dallas Police are exhausted and they've have to offset some of their work covering the security for the president.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ashleigh.

That's right, the president travels to Dallas tomorrow to speak at that interfaith memorial. Vice President Biden will also be there. The president is also going to meet with the families of the victims of that horrific shooting last week, and also the survivors, the people who were injured in that shooting. He'll be meeting privately with them. And we also know that former President George W. Bush will be attending that memorial service and also speaking there.

And, yes, we did hear from the police chief about all sorts of things. It was really a remarkable press conference. One of the interesting things we heard at the top of those remarks were him laying out a sort of -- listing statistics for how the murder rate has come down in Dallas. And this is interesting and relevant because we've been talking about Dallas as a good example of the kind of community policing, the kind of recommendations that people want to see employed by law enforcement agencies across the country, and so it is a shame that this shooting happened in Dallas.

We can expect the president and also President Bush likely to address two big themes. One is unity. The need for people to come together at this time, not divide into their separate corners. The need for people to try to understand, for all sides to try to understand where the other side is coming from.

And also we expect the president to spend some time praising the Dallas Police Department, praising the steps they've taken to reduce the number of complaints, for instance, of police misconduct, to reduce the number of shootings. The president has already taken some opportunity to do this in his past several remarks he's made over -- over -- over the weekend from Spain and from Poland, talking about their professionalism, talking about how even as they were being shot at, they were working to clear the streets, to remove the injured and the fallen from the area. So he's having to strike a very delicate balance between talking about the emotions that are surrounding these shootings and also trying to show that -- the fact that someone maybe -- the people are against police brutality does not mean that they don't support the vast majority of police officers who were doing their job, doing it well and without bias.

Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, doing the job for us at the White House. Thank you for that.

And coming up next, the number of black versus white people shot by the police, are the statistics as lopsided as so many people assume? And the pushback against police, pushing them out of the communities where they're needed the most. That story, next.

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