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Holder Holding Ferguson Forum in Atlanta; Cleveland Officers Sue over 2013 Shooting; Obama Pushes to Improve Law Enforcement; Ray Rice Reinstated, Wife Speaks Out

Aired December 01, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Ed. Thanks so much for that update.

Attorney General Eric Holder will hold a town hall meeting in Atlanta tonight. He'll lead a round-table discussion with law enforcement, local officials and community leaders about the relationship between police departments and their communities in the wake of the tragic shooting like the ones in Ferguson and now in Cleveland, as well.

The meeting will be at the Atlanta's historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, which was once led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We are joined now by Dr. Raphael Warnock. He is the author of "The Divided Mind of the Black Church" and is the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church.

Good morning, Dr. Warnock. Great to see you.

DR. RAPHAEL WARNOCK, SENIOR PASTOR, EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH: Good morning, great to be here with you.

CAMEROTA: OK. Tell us about this conversation you're hoping to have when Eric Holder arrives.

WARNOCK: Well, I met with my staff a couple of weeks ago, actually, and said that, shortly after the decision came down in Ferguson, we should pull together a town hall meeting at Ebenezer Church. And so the opportunity came to invite the attorney general. And we're happy to have him tonight, a night which incidentally is the 59th anniversary of the start of the Montgomery bus boycott.

Fifty-nine years ago today the people of Montgomery decided that they could take it no longer. And they engaged in a local struggle which morphed into a national movement, which changed America for the better. Fifty-nine years later, we're dealing with this issue of police brutality.

And I'm really inspired by the young activists on the ground in Ferguson and all across some 130 cities or more in the United States of America. This is a very critical moment. And we're glad to be a part of that conversation.

CAMEROTA: And I do want to ask you about the young people in Atlanta, because I know in particular you're reaching out tonight to high school students and college students. You want them to be part of the dialogue. What perspective do you think they have?

WARNOCK: Well, as I said, I'm very inspired by them. There's been lot of focus on, you know, some of the looting that's gone on. And Dr. King used to say that riots are the language of the unheard. So we need to hear from our young people. They are focused on an issue that we have been dealing with a very long time.

Several years ago, when I was a young student at Union Theological Seminary in 1999, an East African immigrant by the name of Amadou Diallo was shot dozens of times by New York City police officers, and that got our attention. I went with scores of New Yorkers who were arrested in the wake of that, and all of these years later, we're still dealing with this issue.

I came across an application for the NAACP in the 1940s, and they were dealing with this issue of police brutality. This is an issue that American can no longer ignore. Dr. King, a 26-year-old preacher at the time of the boycott, said that the time comes when the cup of endurance runs over and the human spirit says, "I can take it no longer." For this issue and for this generation, that time is now.

CAMEROTA: You know, Dr. Warnock, people are angry. The African- American community is angry in Ferguson that Officer Darren Wilson wasn't indicted. They ultimately wanted to see him convicted. But the fact is, he never even went to trial.

And, of course, looting and destroying property isn't the answer, but what are you recommending to people who are still so angry today?

WARNOCK: Well, that's why we're glad that we're going to hear tonight from the attorney general. There is still a federal investigation going on. We want to hear more about that, of course.

His family, the Brown family, can pursue civil charges, but I want to put anger and perspective. As a clergy person, I have to tell you that anger in the face of injustice is not just all right. It is absolutely the right response. But that anger has to be channeled into discipline -- into discipline and into a response that can actually change America.

So -- so the looting and the destroying of property, we do not support that. It somehow undermines your moral authority.

But as we look at what's going on in Ferguson and across several counties in St. Louis, the truth is there's more than one way to loot and steal. We are witnessing in that county and across the country a kind of poverty, capitalism in which municipal government, sometimes very, very small, operate on the backs of poor people, through speeding tickets and traffic violations and other minor violations that get ramped up into fees and interests. Some of those municipalities, as much as 40 percent of their revenue or more is supported by these times that rest inordinately on the backs of poor people. So we're not just talking about police brutality. We're talking

poverty. We're talking about America's prison and industrial complex. The truth is the land of the free is the prison capital of the world.

And so we just focus sharply on the shooting of a young man, as important as that is, we really miss the issue. Michael Brown, like Trayvon Martin, like Jordan Davis, is the victim of a deadly cocktail of systemic injustice in which young black men are profiled, warehoused through the largest prison system in the world. They come out as pariahs. And if you can manage to dehumanize someone, turn them into the hope, turn them into a demon, not only can you take their life, you can take their life and have very little to pay as a result of it. That's the issue that we have to address.

CAMEROTA: Dr. Raphael Warnock, it sounds like you're going to be having a very interesting discussion tonight when Eric Holder arrives. We'll look forward to hearing more about that this week. Thanks so much.

WARNOCK: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's go over to Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Alisyn, here's another story that speaks to just how flawed the situation is currently.

To Cleveland, where nine police officers, eight white and one Hispanic, are suing. And here's their claim. That they endure harsher discipline after officer-involved shootings of African- Americans than their black colleagues.

All of that is unfolding in the wake of last weekend's tragic shooting that left 12-year-old Tamir Rice dead, a 12-year-old kid with a toy gun. He wound up being shot because the cops simply thought it was real. The boy's family is now claiming he didn't have to die.

Alexandra Field has the latest developments -- Alexandra.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Chris.

This is a case where the officers actually say that they're the ones who are being discriminated against. And they spell out these claims in a lawsuit which they filed exactly two years after two people were killed in a police shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): Over the weekend, family and friends in this Cleveland neighborhood mourned the life of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. Many in this community outraged over a police officer's split-second decision to fatally shoot Rice, who was flashing a pellet gun.

The officer says it looks like Rice was reaching for a real firearm when they arrived on scene.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice! UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No peace!

FIELD: Frustrated community members taking to the streets, demanding police reform.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one more family loses their child.

FIELD: The public outcry calm but firm.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A black person reaches for something, knee-jerk response now is to shoot.

FIELD: So far, Cleveland has been spared the racially-charged violent protests that have been rocking Ferguson, Missouri, after a grand jury decided not to indict white police officer for killing an unarmed black teenager who the officer says attacked him.

But now, eight white officers and one Hispanic officer with Cleveland P.D. have filed a federal lawsuit against the city and police officials, alleging racial discrimination.

The officers claim their superiors subject them to harsher discipline than African-American officers when it comes to police-involved shootings of African-American civilians.

The lawsuit stems from a 2012 high-speed car chase. Two unarmed African-Americans killed inside their vehicle by a hail of 137 bullets. Later, a grand jury indicted six of the officers involved, including one who was facing two counts of manslaughter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: Those six officers who were indicted all pleaded not guilty. The nine officers involved in that lawsuit are suing for unspecified damages. We have reached out to the city and the police department, but we have not yet heard back -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: OK. Alexandra, thanks so much for that update.

As Ferguson continues to deal with the fallout from the Michael Brown shooting, President Obama is mounting a full-court press to improve law enforcement nationwide. The president is holding key meetings today to discuss what options would strengthen relationships between law enforcement and minority community members.

CNN's Jim Acosta joins us live from the White House with more. Good morning, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Alisyn.

That's right. After a long holiday weekend, President Obama wades back into the politics of Ferguson later today. The White House schedule almost publicly, almost completely is all about Ferguson. First, the president will meet with members of his cabinet to start talking about what his administration will be doing to deal with this issue, this lack of faith in law enforcement that exists in some minority communities.

And then later on in the afternoon, he'll be meeting with young civil rights leaders in the Oval Office. After that, though, a larger meeting between the president, the vice president, church groups, law enforcement officials and other community groups around the country. And that meeting at least partially, will be open to the public, open to the press. And so we may hear from the president just briefly, make some remarks during that meeting.

But still no word on the lingering question of whether or not the president will travel to Ferguson. The White House is still not saying whether he will make that trip. But Attorney General Eric Holder, as you were saying earlier this morning, will be in Atlanta later on today to meet with church leaders, meet with civil rights leaders about this issue of law enforcement and race.

And then we should point out that the White House is offering some pretty candid talk about this issue of Ferguson. The White House is saying last night in a statement that there is really a disintegration of trust that exists right now in some minority communities when it comes to police and the people they're supposed to protect -- Alisyn.

CAMEROTA: It sure seems like it. Jim Acosta, thanks so much.

There is other news to cover. Let's get over to Michaela.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Good morning, guys. Here we go.

U.S.-led coalition warplanes pounding a few target, the de facto ISIS capital in Syria. A London-based human rights group says more than 30 coalition airstrikes targeted positions in Iraq overnight, including an airbase that ISIS seized from government troops.

Up until now, much of the coalition's focus has really been around that area of Kobani on the Turkish-Syrian border.

Violence once again escalating between police and pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong. Authorities moving in on the protestors' biggest street camp after they surrounded Hong Kong's government offices Sunday fight. You can see police using pepper spray and batons to beat back the crowd. At least 40 were arrested.

The death of a missing Ohio State football player is raising new concerns about sports related concussions. Police found 22-year-old Kosta Karageorge in a Dumpster near campus, killed by an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His parents says -- say, rather, he had several concussions and confusion spells and complained of those symptoms shortly before he disappeared after practice last Wednesday.

Something many Thanksgiving travelers were not thankful for this year: the journey home. Three thousand flights delayed Sunday. Some 200 others were cancelled altogether. And in the ultimate test of endurance and patience, security screening lines at Chicago's Midway Airport, you know how long they were? One point two miles long.

CUOMO: Stop.

PEREIRA: One reporter that was in the line measured it, and she clocked it at around 1.2 miles long.

CUOMO: Stop.

PEREIRA: And they said that happens, apparently, you know, occasionally, especially on the biggest travel day of the year. After those first rush of flights left, apparently, it cleared out, and things were back to normal.

CUOMO: No, it does that. It happens. It happens.

PEREIRA: One point two miles.

CUOMO: No, it happens. In those apocalypse movies, everyone is booking for the bridge when the aliens come. Not supposed to happen in real life.

CAMEROTA: I know, but look at those pictures. Those tell the story.

CUOMO: We got lucky. We stayed close to home. Right? You stayed here.

PEREIRA: In Jersey.

CUOMO: You were in Jersey. And I was just driving around. So it was all good.

PEREIRA: All good.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I was happy that you were able get back from Ferguson. We were afraid...

CUOMO: We got very lucky. That is a strong point. The -- our senior producer, Griffin, our flight got cancelled. Griff found us another flight. We got there thinking we had pulled one, and all the media were on it. Everyone had found their way onto it, but we got lucky.

PEREIRA: Well done, Griff.

CAMEROTA: All right.

CUOMO: All right. So, Ray Rice, sorry about that. I was distracted by my travel maladies here. Ray Rice is back in the news now. Here's the deal, he's also looking for a job. What do you think was the right thing here to do? And what do you think will happen? Because now you have NFL policy up in the air. And you have what happens in his marriage. And you have his future. He's talking about it with his wife. We have it next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: NFL running back Ray Rice has been reinstated. That was the easy part. That was pretty obvious legally. The hard part is going to be what does it mean for the league and for him? Will a team take him?

When a judge ruled Friday that Rice did not lie to the NFL or Commissioner Goodell; therefore, he should not have been disciplined beyond the infamous two-game suspension, because the league didn't have a real policy on this, that was pretty much straight law. That's what was going to happen.

You remember all this. It came out of the video that came out of him knocking his fiancee, Janay, then -- now his wife -- unconscious in an elevator in Atlantic City. That's the back story. But now it's all about what happens next.

Let's bring in CNN commentator and legal analyst Mel Robbins and former NFL player Wally Williams. Good to have both of you here.

Is one of you willing to make the case that Ray should be in on a team and playing? Wally, are you comfortable making that one?

WALLY WILLIAMS, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Oh, yes, of course. I'm very comfortable.

CUOMO: Because Mel, I'm sure you don't want to take the other side on this? But let's start -- let's start, Wally, with Roger Goodell.

MEL ROBBINS, CNN COMMENTATOR/LEGAL ANALYST: Actually, no, Chris.

CUOMO: You both think he should be on the team. All right. I'll take the other side. Let's start with Goodell.

How does Goodell survive when this league, Wally, had no policy, then had too little a policy, then ignored its own policy on how it dealt with Ray Rice. How does he survive?

WILLIAMS: You know what? That is the million-dollar question. How does he survive after this? I mean, this is the governing body of the NFL sparked with players and signs and everything that coincides with what these guy have to endure off the field.

He is the legal system and now, this is a situation where the legal system is totally at fault in dealing with Ray Rice. And I thought the Baltimore Ravens were at fault in releasing him. So, you know, the trickle-down effect of this thing is really just starting, as far as the legal aspect and where does this go with the NFL players, the NFLPA, and the governing body now who has any kind of problems with Roger Goodell. Well, who is looking at his mistakes, and who is going to discipline him, now that this whole thing has...?

CUOMO: You know who is looking at him, Wally? Wally knows who's looking at him. Mel, you know who's looking at him. The owners are looking at him. You know what they're saying, Mel?

ROBBINS: Right.

CUOMO: We're making a lot of money. Let's let this ride until we have to do something. You think that's what's going on?

ROBBINS: You know, Chris, you're absolutely right. Wally called it the million-dollar question. I'm going to give you the multi-million- dollar answer, which is the only one that can get rid of Goodell is the owners. And they don't want him out.

And frankly, if Ray gets picked up by a team and everybody stays quiet on this, the fact that Goodell seems to have lied about what they know. I mean, in the interview that he gave, I think, to CBS, he said, "Yes, we knew what happened after the incident. We don't know what led up to it." And now we know, based on what this former federal judge found, that's absolutely not true, Chris.

CUOMO: He said something -- what as it? He said that it was ambiguous what about what actually happened. Wally, please, you're not a forensic investigator. Do you think you need to be to think that there was something ambiguous about what happened in the elevator?

WILLIAMS: No, you don't. Look, I'm surprised at all the posturing that the NFL took on a situation where it was obvious they made the mistake.

Look, they went through the process of amending the rules, amending the law to have from to a two-day suspension to a six-game suspension. When do we get off talking about having somebody suspended for the entire football season?

I don't understand having an arbitrator involved in the first place. I think this is still the arrogance of the NFL, of NFL owners. You had Robert Kraft still getting online and making posts, supporting what Roger Goodell is doing. So there you go. That is the answer right there.

The owners are still behind Roger Goodell. And they are praising what he has done up to this point. So until there's an influence coming from any outside source, whether it be the media, the NFLPA or even the public, I don't think anything is going to happen as far as disciplinary actions.

CUOMO: So what happens with Ray and his wife? They come out now. They're providing a unified front. He's getting the help. She believes in him getting the help. So that's the marriage part. That's for them. That's none of our business.

Then it comes to will a team pick him up? Mel Robbins, you are more than better qualified than most people running my team, so we'll use them as an example. The Jets, if you're running the Jets, do you pick up Ray Rice?

ROBBINS: Well, if I need him for the lineup, absolutely.

I mean, look, Chris, domestic violence is a very, very serious problem in this country, but let's be honest about the reality of the situation. Ray Rice did everything that we would want somebody who committed crime to do. He was put through the justice system. He went through a program. He's gotten counseling, according to he and his wife. He's gotten sober, according to he and his wife. They're committed to working things out. And I think the guy deserves a second chance.

So any team that wants him, and you know this, Chris, he was the No. 1 picked up player in all the fantasy leagues as soon as he was reinstated. And so I do think if at team wants him, they should take him.

CUOMO: There's going to be -- there's going to be some negative fallout. We saw some of it with Michael Vick. I would argue that what you do to people matters more than what you do to pets, but that will just get me in trouble with everybody. I already said it, so I guess it will.

The question is now, though, Wally, you know, don't you think the test for the league is this? If you want to treat Ray Rice a certain way, you better make sure your house is clean and that you don't have guys in the league that you knowingly allowed to play when they get in trouble with the law and they do lots of bad things.

Do you think the league is anywhere near that standard of moral code of conduct of its players?

WILLIAMS: No. I think there are guys playing right now who've had domestic violence issues and are still on the field.

CUOMO: That's right.

WILLIAMS: And they're not having to deal with any of the situation that Ray Rice had to deal with. So if you want to talk about moral double jeopardy, there are situations like that in the league and they persist right now today.

So I think there is still a gray area that the NFL is walking with their disciplinary action. I think all those things need to be addressed. Now, whether it comes up in owners' meetings or in a new CVA, which I'm sure the NFLPA will probably use this as a piece of leverage in negotiating a new deal. So all these answers, all these questions are still there. And until these things are found out, I think we will still be in a gray area in how we move forward in being in a lot of different situations.

CUOMO: All right. We got to jump. Mel Robbins, we'll continue this conversation for sure.

ROBBINS: You bet.

CUOMO: Wally Williams, thank you very much. We appreciate having you on the show -- Alisyn.

ROBBINS: All right. Great to see you guys. CAMEROTA: Congress is coming back for its final two weeks before Christmas break, and there's a battle brewing over a potential government shutdown. We'll get all the details on "Inside Politics" with John King.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Good to have you back with us here with on NEW DAY. Here's a look at your headlines.

In just a few hours' time, President Obama begins a day of White House meetings on the situation in Ferguson. He will meet separately with cabinet members, civil rights leaders and law enforcement officials.

Several St. Louis Rams players are being criticized now for their "hands up, don't shoot" gesture before Sunday's game in support of Ferguson protestors. St. Louis Police are calling for those players to be disciplined.

Congress comes back in session today; they will be busy. They're going to try to cram two years of leftover business into two weeks. But the first order of business is avoiding a government shutdown when a temporary funding measure expires in the ten days. House and Senate committees are negotiating a trillion-dollar plus spending bill and are promising to have it ready in just a week.

An American couple blocked from leaving Qatar even after they were cleared by the country's legal system. An appeals court overturned the conviction of Matthew and Grace Wang, who were in the country making a living, in the death of their adopted daughter. However, their passports were confiscated at the airport. Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. welcomes the court ruling and expressed concern about new delays preventing this couple's departure.

Got to show you this. It's so great. Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade getting photobombing, or rather videobombed by his wife, actress Gabriella Union. It happened during a live TV interview following Miami's win over the New York Knicks. Wade was making a return from this hamstring injury. His wife clearly not that impressed. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GABRIELLA UNION, WADE'S WIFE: Wow, I mean, to come back with 27 points, we're going to talk about the free throws later, and he did good for an old geezer. It's nice; it's good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PEREIRA: Old geezer at 32. I love that. That's why we're given husbands, wives, family members: to keep us humble.

CUOMO: Yes. Just in case. Just in case you're having too good a day.

CAMEROTA: Yes, keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. PEREIRA: It's so good. I love that.

CUOMO: All right, let's get to "Inside Politics" on NEW DAY with Mr. John King.

Hello, brother, I've missed you. I hope you had a good Thanksgiving.

JOHN KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT/ANCHOR: Happy Monday. I had a great break. I hope you guys did, as well. Back in the saddle on Monday, though. And it's a busy day to go "Inside Politics," so let's go to it.

With me to share their reporting and their insights, Julie Pace of the Associated Press, Jonathan Martin of "The New York Times."

Let's start with the series. Not just one meeting, but the series of meetings the president is having today at the White House. His attorney general is also in Atlanta, having another meeting about Ferguson.

Now, there are some substantive things, Julie, the president can do, maybe stop transfers of military equipment to police departments, maybe have some federal rule about training or some civil rights rules in these cases.

And then there's the symbolic question. Many people have been wondering will the president go out to Ferguson? Will he address the community? Will he meet with the Brown family?