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Demonstrations Across Country Protest Excessive Use of Force by Police; Police Cruiser Rams Suspect; Arizona Citizen Shoots Suspect While on Operation with Police; Hillary Clinton Visits Iowa; Chris Christi Launches Town Hall Tour; Obama Puts Economic Focus On Women In Workplace; Senate Bill Gives Congress Say In Iran Deal. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 15, 2015 - 06:00   ET

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

[08:00:00] JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: -- hours and still counting. Jurors returned this morning for a seventh day of deliberations. If Hernandez is found guilty, he could face life in prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is NEW DAY with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota, and Michaela Pereira.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, and welcome to your NEW DAY. It is Wednesday, April 15, 8:00 in the east. Alisyn is off. J.B. is here with me and Michaela for you. And there's a lot of news. Protesters on both coasts sounding off on excessive use of force by the police. Dozens of people handcuffed after blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge, officers injured as a result. Protesters arrested after laying down on light rail tracks in Los Angeles.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All of this comes as another video emerges showing an Arizona officer uses his cruiser, yikes, to ram into a suspect running through the streets firing a gun. The sheriff saying deadly force was warranted, but does all of this point to a bigger problem? We begin our coverage with CNN's Rosa Flores. Good morning, once again, Rosa.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, good morning. The video is disturbing. It shows the cruiser ramming into the suspect, the suspect's body flying in the air. And hear this -- police say that they actually saved the man's life because he was suicidal. The suspect's attorney says no way. This is excessive use of force.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Hundreds taking to the streets in cities across the country in protest of police use of force, crowds converging on police precincts and blocking highways, leading to dozens of arrest from California to New York. More than 200 protesters marching across New York's Brooklyn Bridge. Police say an off-duty officer was assaulted after exiting his stopped car during the demonstration. A second officer was struck in the head with a bottle just a short time later.

The outrage sparked by the shooting death caught on tape of Walter Scott in South Carolina. The unarmed black man shot several times while fleeing police after a routine traffic stop. Officer Michael Slager has since been charged with murder.

Scott's death is just the latest in a string of fatal shootings at the hands of police, starting with the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer. And now this new video out of Arizona igniting more questions about excessive force. This dash cam video shows a police cruiser ram into an armed suspect in a violent crime spree, seen here waving a gun and firing it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One round just went out into the sky. It's definitely unlocked now. He's definitely loaded.

FLORES: The first officer on the scene warns a police unit coming towards 36-year-old Mario Valencia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand-off, stand-off. The gun is loaded.

FLORES: But just two seconds later --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Jesus Christ, man down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FLORES: Valencia is facing 15 charges for allegedly robbing a 7- Eleven that morning in his underwear, then setting a church on fire, and then stealing a gun, a car, and also ammunition. We should add that the protests are continuing. We are expecting hundreds of people here in New York today. Michaela?

PEREIRA: All right, Rosa, that video is something else.

Also this morning, the reserve deputy who gunned down a suspect in Tulsa is out of jail after posting bail. The victim's family saying that the 73-year-old essentially paid to play cop. But should Robert Bates been part of a sting operation in the first place? We are going to speak with Bates attorney in just a moment. But first let's turn to Ryan Young who is live from Tulsa with the latest this morning. Ryan?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michaela, that is a part of the conversation here. In fact, many people want to talk about all the donations that Robert Bates has made to the sheriff's department over the year, has donated five cars and money to the sheriff's reelection campaign.

But it's this video that has made so many people across the country talk about exactly what happened here. As we show it to you. Robert Bates was on the outside of the operation. And then all of a sudden the man takes off running, and you hear somebody say, "Taser, Taser," and then a shot is fired. Robert Bates' attorney has said that this was an accident, and of course you can hear him say "I'm sorry."

That suspect, Mr. Eric Harris, died a short time later. And now there's conversation just exactly about how Mr. Bates ended up on detail like this. And there is people who want this reviewed because Tasers and guns are usually separated on a deputy's body. It's a conversation that will continue as Mr. Bates faces second degree manslaughter charges. Michaela?

CUOMO: All right, I'll take it, Ryan. Thank you very much.

Let's bring in Mr. Bates' attorney right now. Scott Wood is representing him. He is a reserve deputy, remember, Mr. Bates charged with manslaughter. Thank you for joining us, counselor. The charge of manslaughter you say is inappropriate, because?

SCOTT WOOD, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT BATES: Well, this was truly an accident, something that occurred by accident and misfortune, which is the essential element of an excusable homicide defense here in Oklahoma. There was no culpable negligence under this circumstance. Clearly, and just as you reported, he intends to use his Taser but does not.

[08:05:14] And I want to make sure that everybody understands that this is three distinct events. The gun, and the incident where the shooting occurs, and everything that happens afterwards which my client didn't have any part of it.

CUOMO: Right, but isn't it by definition what you see in the law that is second degree manslaughter, that it's reckless disregard of a situation? Yes, it was accidental, but you want to play cop, you put on the Taser, you put on the weapon, you don't know which one to use, you're are taking a risk when you go out there. Mr. Bates had to know that and his lack of experience resulted in another man's death.

WOOD: I don't think characterizing his lack of experience is a fair description under the circumstances. He has been on hundreds of these types of operations since he has been working with the task force in 2008. He has always been on the outside parameter and used in a backup capacity, but in this case, Mr. Harris, so to speak, took the fight to him.

When this buy bust occurred my client was over one-third of a mile away sitting in a gas station parking lot waiting to go on the surface of a search warrant. So he was never intended to be in on the arrest, but the way the circumstances unfolded, that's what happened.

CUOMO: Two things. One, have ever heard of another case of a trained police officer, a regular duty police officer, mistaking a Taser for their weapon and killing somebody?

WOOD: Absolutely. I think there is at least nine or 10 other documented cases in the last 15 years.

CUOMO: All right, good, so that will be helpful to you in formulating that others have done that who have proper training. Then there's the big question. You say a third of a mile. Why was he within 30 miles of something like this? Why do you say -- when you say he has done hundreds of these, that's more concerning not less, counselor, because a 73-year-old man who basically as his family says paid his way to play cop shouldn't be around an operation like this. Don't you acknowledge that? WOOD: No, we don't. Look, I know what the Harris family attorney is

saying, and that's just simply not true. He is a certified reserve officer in the state of Oklahoma. If he wanted to go get in a patrol car and go out on his own and make arrests, he is certainly legally authorized to do that in this case. He has he chosen to work with a the drug task force. He has a certain affinity for fighting the drug problem that we have in our community, and certainly his contributions to the drug task force and the sheriff office have had a dramatic impact over the last five or six years.

CUOMO: Now, you say that Mr. Harris brought the fight to your client, that he was a third of a mile away, but isn't it true that your client ran up on the situation and unilaterally decided to use force?

WOOD: No, he decided to use his Taser. And I know we have explained thoroughly the slips in capture, which is also a known issue with some people, but it's well documented in many other different kinds of occupations. And like I said, over the last 15 years, other incidents like this have occurred. And so I think it's an unfair characterization to say that he intended to use this force. A Taser would have been the weapon of choice or the tool of choice in trying to get Mr. Harris into custody. He had not been searched. He just sold a gun to an undercover deputy, and it was of paramount importance to get him into handcuffs as quickly as possible.

CUOMO: There are a group of people around him, and you hear the other officers when they realize he has been shot, their shock, their awe of what happened because it seems to be so out of line with what their approach was. Remember, it wasn't just Harris and your client, right. He ran up on a scene, and that is supposedly beyond dispute of the facts. You can see it in the camera that he runs up on to the scene.

WOOD: Well, you have to remember, too, even if you are just a reserve deputy, a certificated reserve deputy in the state of Oklahoma, you have taken an oath of office to perform your duties. And if you see somebody that's in peril, you are duty bound by your oath to take action, and I believe that's what Mr. Bates did.

CUOMO: Right, but you can't have it both ways. You say that he was a third of a mile away, that he wasn't supposed to be part of it, he's done hundreds of these. You are painting him as somewhat of an observer, but then you are saying but he also had an oath to run up on the scene and use the force that he thought he needed to use, which was the Taser in this one, and that makes it OK. It's one or the other. It can't be both.

WOOD: He has assisted in arrests. This isn't the first time that he had to get directly involved with a fleeing suspect, and he has all the requisite training.

[08:10:03] Now, you can cast aspersions on him for his philanthropy with the sheriff's office, but he is a good, solid citizen, and just happened to be involved in just a horrible, tragic accident.

CUOMO: There is no reason to cast an aspersion. And certainly I'm not doing that. I don't think you would suggest that, counsel. What I am suggesting is a 73-year-old man who makes lots of nice donations to the police force is a good citizen, not necessarily entitled to being a police officer with deadly weapons.

WOOD: He has got the training. Every news outlet has checked with the certifying agency in the state of Oklahoma, and everyone has been told he is a certified reserve deputy in the state of Oklahoma and has all the requisite powers that come with that. He has done the training. He's proven himself on the firing range, and --

CUOMO: And he made a mistake that cost a man his life.

WOOD: Yes, and it's happened before.

CUOMO: And that makes this OK?

WOOD: I think it makes it excusable homicide. It's not OK. Mr. Bates feels horrible about what happened. He is extremely distraught over the loss the Harris family has suffered.

CUOMO: Do you think he will stay as a deputy sheriff after this?

WOOD: You know, I don't know. We will see of course how the criminal case that rolls out, but that's a decision we will make sometime down the line, and it will be his decision to make.

CUOMO: Counsel, I appreciate you coming on NEW DAY. It would be very good to hear from your client as well. Thank you for addressing the issues.

WOOD: Thank you.

CUOMO: All right, what do you think about the situation. You just saw both sides of it laid out for you. Please tweet us at NEW DAY or go to Facebook.com/NewDay. John?

BERMAN: Thanks, Chris. Good discussion.

So how is the whole low key thing working out for Hillary Clinton? She's kicking off her White House bid in Iowa. She says she is committed to more listening, less talking. How is it working? Our Brianna Keilar live this morning in Iowa. Good morning, Brianna.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you, John. Today she is doing a lot of listening when she comes here to Capital City Fruit outside of Des Moines where she will be talking to small business owners. This comes after yesterday where she made a stop, a rather low key, but, still, this was her public first outing to a coffee shop in Leclaire, Iowa, a town of less than 4,000 people, so not very big, where she has made some conversation with patrons there inside of the store. And she also had a roundtable at a satellite campus of a community college where she talked about education, she talked about family issues. And she also struck a populist note taking on Wall Street and stagnant middle class wages. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HILLARY CLINTON, FORMER U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The deck is still stacked in favor of those already at the top, and there is something wrong with that. There is something wrong when CEO's make 300 times more than the typical worker. There's something wrong when American workers keep getting more productive, as they have and as I just saw a few minutes ago, is very possible because of education and skills training, but that productivity is not matched in their paychecks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR One policy proposal that she put out there, a constitutional amendment to do away with what she called unaccountable money, so that proliferation of Super PACs. What about her super PAC or the super PAC that is blessed by her to support her in this run? We've heard from the campaign that she doesn't plan to unilaterally disarm, so that is going to go ahead.

But I also want to show you some interesting video if you have not seen it yet. Talking to Iowans, they're pretty excited that Hillary Clinton has finally showed up. While it appears of course, we're reporters. I will tell you what happened in this scene, Michaela, if you wanted a better explanation. A lot of reporters, these are mostly local reporters in the limited crew of national media. They thought that Hillary Clinton was coming in the front of the building. It turned out she was going into the back of the building. It ended looking like total silliness, but it's hard to get in your cardio on the campaign trail I guess.

PEREIRA: Absolutely. It's happened to all of us before when they go the old back door routine instead of the front. All right, Brianna, we'll be checking in with you along the way. Thanks so much.

Meanwhile, there's a wildcard who could make a big difference on the Republican side if he decides to run. Chris Christie keeps testing the presidential waters in New Hampshire looking to revive a candidacy that once seemed much stronger. Let's turn to senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns live from Manchester this morning. Hey, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Michaela. We're waiting for Chris Christie right outside this restaurant in West Manchester, expected to be here in a few minutes. Later today he is going to appear at the event and the forum that seems to work best for him, a town hall. It's a place where he can sort of be more spontaneous with people, expected to talk, among other things, about his plan for means testing Social Security.

Now, he's done about 100 town halls in New Jersey. The challenge, though, for the governor is really not about the forum. It's about the timing.

[08:15:03] The investigation continues in his home state over that Bridgegate situation. Indictments could come, we're told, any day. He has denied wrong doing. None the less, it really has affected his polls; he's around 5, 6 percent, which is not good for somebody who could run for president. He gets questions about it all the time, just within the last 24 a

question about whether he's holding off on making a decision on his political future until he knows what the prosecutor is going to do.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

GOV. CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), NEW JERSEY: Listen, I have been U.S. attorney, I was it for seven years, and I understand these investigations take however long they take, and I'm certainly not going to be urging the U.S. attorney to do anything other than to do his job in a fair and responsible way. But other than that I won't urge him to do anything. It certainly is not what will make my decision.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

JOHNS: So, he has made some headlines just yesterday in an editorial, a board meeting with a local newspaper. He said, among other things, that what he's learned from the whole controversy is not to be so trusting, not to delegate. He's actually said that before quite a few times, all the way back into 2014, but making news here and now because a lot of people see a federal prosecutor as a very critical thinker.

Michaela.

CUOMO: All right, I'll take it, Joe. Thank you very much for the reporting.

JOHNS: You're welcome.

CUOMO: We've got a story about compromise in Washington, which is good, but it's causing fury in Iran. The White House and the Senate coming together on a bill that would allow Congress a say on any nuclear deal, but Iran, as a result, is fuming. The president saying Iran is negotiating with six world powers, not the U.S. Congress. He adds there will be no deal if Congress interferes and sanctions are not lifted.

PEREIRA: A judge throwing the book at several former public school educators convicted in Atlanta's cheating scandal, eight of eleven convicted in the scheme to raise test scores, got prison time, as much as seven years. Two of them were spared prison after admitting their guilt. One will be sentenced at a later date.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: The city of Boston will pause for a moment of silence and the tolling of church bells this afternoon to mark the two-year anniversary of the marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260. Banners will be raised near the finish line on Boylston Street to honor the victims and survivors. Lots going on.

The sentencing phase begins next week for now convicted marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. That will happen one day after this year's marathon. The marathon happens on Monday, it is Patriots Day, and thousands and thousands of people will go, and they will run, and they will celebrate what is the greatest day every year in Boston.

PEREIRA: Two years, hard to believe.

CUOMO: And we will have a special Good Stuff to commemorate that.

PEREIRA: Oh, good.

BERMAN: Fantastic.

PEREIRA: We'll look forward to that.

CUOMO: Absolutely. So, compromise in Washington supposed to be a good thing. The president gives way to the Senate on a nuclear deal, they'll be able to weigh in on the plan. Should he have done that? We're going to speak with the president's senior adviser, Valerie Jarrett, coming up. You judge.

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[08:21:48] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN.

CUOMO: We have three pressing questions for the president. Does he have a plan for the economy? Should he have given in to the Senate on Iran? And where is he on this apparent rash of excessive police force?

For answers, we have Valerie Jarrett, senior adviser to President Obama. Let's tick these off, Valerie. Thanks for being on the show.

VALERIE JARRETT, SENIOR ADVISER TO THE PRESIDENT: My please, Chris. Good morning.

CUOMO: What does the president have for the people who matter most, American families, and the economic situation?

JARRETT: Well, as you know, we've made a great deal of progress over the last 61 months, 12 million jobs, so our economy is certainly moving in the right direction compared to losing 750,000 jobs a month when the president took office. But we still know that we have a ways to go, and so today, the president will be heading to Charlotte. He'll be having a round table sponsored by BlogHer, and She Knows, meeting women where they are and talking to women about the issues that they talk about every single day as they sit around their kitchen table.

And now that nearly half our workforce is comprised of women, and 60 percent of children live in families where all of the adults are working, it's more important than ever that we focus on what can we do to create an atmosphere where we're growing our economy, middle class economics, and addressing the issues of not just women, but that men demand in order for them to be able to fulfill their responsibilities inside and outside of the home, in the office, and enable them to be productive workers who are ultimately going to lead to greater profitability for their companies. These are the issues that the president will be talking about today.

CUOMO: Two big solutions, one ERA, two, raising wages. Does the president hold either of those arrows in his quiver?

JARRETT: Well, the president has, beginning in his State of the Union well over a year ago, called on Congress to raise the minimum wage. Congress has not done so, but he's taken our efforts to the cities and states, and so far 17 states have raised the minimum wage, 26 cities and the District of Columbia have raised the minimum wage. We're seeing great progress.

We're now launching an effort on paid leave and paid sick leave. 43 million Americans, Chris, do not have a single paid sick day. So, the president's calling on Congress to pass the Healthy Families Act, which would give up to seven days of paid sick leave. But at the same time, we're also going around the country, Tom Perez, the secretary of labor, and I are traveling around, talking in cities and states that are also working on legislation to provide paid sick leave.

Equal pay, also very important.

CUOMO: Yes.

JARRETT: Workplace flexibility, changing schedules to accommodate workers' needs, child care, affordable child care, the president in his budget includes a measure to make it easier for families. In two- thirds of our states, you spend more on child care, early child care, than you do on tuition in a state university.

CUOMO: True.

JARRETT: So, we need to help families afford that so everyone can go to work and not have to worry about whether their children are being well taken care of and whether or not they can afford that.

CUOMO: It's amazing that --

JARRETT: All of these issues are so important to working families, and that's where the president has the spotlight, that's where he has had it since day one. And today is going to be a terrific conversation in Charlotte, North Carolina.

[08:25:05] CUOMO: Need light, also need heat, and it is just deplorable that there is no ERA this far into our social development.

Next issue, Iran, why did the president give into the Senate? He knows that this could compromise the deal with Iran. We're seeing the backlash already. Why didn't he hold strong?

JARRETT: Well, you know, the single most important concern for the president is insuring that Iran does not develop nuclear weapons. He believes the path to diplomacy that we are following, that Secretary Kerry has been leading together with Secretary Moniz, is the right way to go. And he's very confident that if we continue on this path we will be able to ultimately reach a deal in June. What the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did was a compromise. The

president had said that he would veto the legislation in its original form. Changes were made and now it provides a framework pursuant to which Congress can oversight over the process and notably limits their right to vote on removing sanctions.

And so, you know, life is about compromise. It's very good to see that both the House - both the Senate Democrats and Republicans have been working together, and we have done a Herculean effort of trying to include Congress, and had 130 calls and meetings up on the Hill. And as I said, just as recently as yesterday Secretary Kerry was on the Hill doing classified briefings, making sure that the members understand what we're trying to achieve here and including them in the process.

CUOMO: Right, it's just ironic that in all the areas that Congress has complained the president didn't have ability to go alone, this one he does have an ability to go alone and he's going with them. And now it may wind up bullocksing the process a little bit, but we'll see how it plays out.

JARRETT: Well, Chris, let me just push back on you for a minute there.

CUOMO: Please.

JARRETT: Ultimately the agreement itself, the president has always and will continue to have executive authority to do, and so that has not changed. What Congress is debating right now is the framework pursuant to which the president will consult with Congress, and they have always been the ultimate decision-maker on whether or not to can remove sanctions.

CUOMO: Right, but now they're going to get to plan, they're going to have to get it with all the confidential information. It just, you know, it injects some risk into a process, but I get it was a political compromise. We'll see how it plays out.

JARRETT: Yes, it was a compromise.

CUOMO: Let me ask you another question. Excessive force, you know, you can look at it two ways. Either the media is playing up examples of the exception to the rule, or we are getting more and more proof, thanks to video, of what is becoming the rule in too many places.

Leadership has been silent on it on too many levels including the White House. Where is the White House on this, because leaders go first and we clearly need some kind of leadership on this issue about the culture of policing?

JARRETT: Well, the president has - Chris, the president has been extremely outspoken on this issue, that's why he created the task force several months ago that delivered a report to him on 21st century policing. And this grew out of the violence that we saw last summer in Ferguson, and the peaceful demonstrations that followed there, and in Staten Island, in Ohio, Atlanta. There have been many examples that have been caught on video, but

there are also thousands, and thousands, and thousands of police men and women who go out there every day and put their life on the line and do right by the people that they're there to serve and protect.

CUOMO: No question, no question.

JARRETT: And so --

CUOMO: No question that police overall are positive influences and keeping our society safer. Excessive force numbers are down, but the problems where they are are entrenched. Body cameras would be helpful. How about federal funding for that, because everybody fights back about money? How about that?

JARRETT: The president has included in his budget $75 million to help fund body cameras, and also importantly with that, we have to have training. And so, one of the goals of the task force was to highlight what are the best practices around the country, and what we heard time and time again is you can't just put on a body camera, you have to have training of the police in general and you have to have training on how to use the body cameras.

And then citizens are now taking - using their cell phones and capturing evidence, which is important to the investigations. And so, I think that the president has absolutely been leading on this issue. That's why the task force's report is so important, and we are right now working with cities, and counties, and states around the country to implement the recommendations of the task force.

And, you know, just on a personal note, when you see these videos of violence of course our heart goes out to the families and to the people who have lost their lives, often times over committing a minor offense. And so, it's important to be transparent, it's important to put the spotlight and the video camera to gain evidence, not just to protect the citizens, but also to protect the police.

CUOMO: Sure.

JARRETT: I mean, there's nothing like a video that protects everybody, and so we're very supportive of that measure. But we also, we need a comprehensive solution. There has to be a building of trust between the communities and the police who are there to serve and protect them

CUOMO: The more big voices we have on the subject, the better. Valerie Jarrett, thank you very much for joining us on NEW DAY, as always.

JARRETT: Thank you, Chris.

CUOMO: John.

BERMAN: All right, thanks, Chris. Guilty, not guilty, or what? Jurors in the Aaron Hernandez trial weighing the fate of the former football star, still, still weighting it. The seventh day of deliberations coming up. What is taking so long? That's next.

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