Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Coordinated, Targeted Attack On Police In Dallas; Source: One Suspect Dead In Standoff; Obama: "Vicious, Calculated, Despicable Attack"; Deadliest Day For Police Since 9/11; Officers Targeted Were Protecting Peaceful Protest; Dallas Mayor: Two Civilians Also Injured In Shooting; Dallas Mayor: "We Killed Gunman". Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 08, 2016 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00] CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Congressman Hurd, obviously all hearts and minds are focused on Dallas this morning, and please let us know how we can help. Any efforts that you have down there to make this situation better, we'll certainly give it attention, I promise you that. And thank you for being with us this morning.

REP. WILL HURD (R), TEXAS: Thank you, will do.

CUOMO: All right. There's a lot of news to tell you about this morning. It is still a developing situation of breaking news in Dallas. Five police officers murdered, six others wounded during an ambush that came in the midst of a protest over recent police shootings in Dallas.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is the deadliest attack on police in this country since September 11th. Five officers killed. The deadliest in the country in the last 60 years, not including September 11th and Oklahoma City. That gives you a sense of the scope of what we saw last night.

I want to give you a sense of the horror of what we saw last night. We're getting a new look at some of the moments caught on video -- watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that a cop dead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a cop down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dude, that's a cop down. Dude, that's a cop down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there's four cops down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he shot five, seven times.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a dude?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it's a sniper from up here somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a sniper?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You hear the shots.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: Confusion of these young guys who had their cell phone out echoed by what the police officers were dealing with.

BERMAN: But one thing you hear right then, from a very early point, there is clearly -- several officers were down, and very quickly.

CUOMO: And that speaks to the preparation and potential training of the murder or murderers who did this because just because you have lots of equipment doesn't mean you know how to use it. You're going to hear throughout our reporting that what happened during this ambush really gives concern to how well-prepared and how planned this was.

We have Sara Sidner on the ground live in Dallas with the latest -- Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, when you look at the number of police officers killed, when you look at the fact that the officers say that there were two snipers who were on, what they say, was a parking garage and literally picking officers off during this standoff that lasted 45 minutes. Gunshots going back and forth between the officers and the snipers.

And you consider that one of the witnesses said that they saw one of the suspects with so much ammunition it was falling out of the suspect's pocket. Clearly, there was planning that went into this. When you look at the situation, a lot of people were saying hey, was this part of the protest? And the answer to that at this point, even from the police standpoint, is no.

The protest was breaking up -- that protest against police brutality. And what happened after that -- some of the witnesses saying hey, police actually saved our lives trying to push us out of the way of all the barrage of bullets that was coming from up above.

A nightmare not just for the police department, but for this community who is reeling after seeing their officers gunned down. Eleven officers hit by bullets, five of whom are dead, six of whom are wounded.

CUOMO: The juxtaposition -- the juxtaposition, Sara. I mean, you and I have lived it in different cities where there have been protests and violence surrounding police shootings where police officers, male and female, still do their job. We've heard from police officers that they, most of all, want to see excessive force cases investigated and justice applied because it's a stain on all of them.

And then you have this situation. There's a protest going on that is certainly negative towards aspects of policing, and then this ambush and murder of police.

SIDNER: You know, I wanted to share this with you and I'm glad you brought it up, Chris. I was on the phone talking to the sister of a young man who was killed by police and she was weeping because of all these videos that have come up. That brought all that emotion back.

And, literally, a few hours later I'm standing here in Dallas and seeing the emotions well up in the citizens' and police's eyes because of the officers gunned down here. And in the end when you talk to people, even the protesters, who say listen, we don't want to see police officers killed. We don't want to be killed by police officers, either. We have to come together and do something.

ButI have to tell you that my heart certainly ached in talking to that sister who had lost someone she so loved. And then when you see and think about the number of families who are going through hell right now because their loved one has been gunned down.

Not only those who have deceased -- five people, including a Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer, the first one ever to be killed -- but also those whose loved ones are still in the hospital and being treated after being shot at multiple times.

It really is heartbreaking to watch this happen and to know just how many people are going to be suffering for a very long time because of the shooting -- Chris.

[07:35:00] BERMAN: Sara Sidner for us in Dallas there. I'll take it. Thanks so much. Sara. Eleven people shot, five of them killed. We only know the identity of one, Brent Thompson, Dallas Area Rapid Transit officer, 43 years old. We will bring you the identities of the others who were killed as soon as we learn them because these are people with family, with lives that were taken from them.

I'm joined right now by a Democratic member of Congress, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey. She joins me from Washington. And Congresswoman, you've been at the nexus of a whole lot of news events over the last 24 hours.

Originally, you were coming in to talk to us because at the hearing yesterday in Congress with FBI director James Comey, you made a point of bringing up the officer-involved shootings that we've seen in Baton Rouge and St. Paul this week to get his reaction.

Then this happened overnight with five Dallas-area police officers killed in the line of duty protecting protesters who were protesting those officer-involved shootings. I first just want to get your reaction when you woke up this morning, like so many people across the country right now waking up, to learn that this is the worst attack on law enforcement in this country since September 11th.

REP. BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN (D), NEW JERSEY: My heart is absolutely broken. There were peaceful protests across this nation in various cities, including here in Washington, D.C. The police here were just absolutely fabulous and supportive and protective as they were, apparently, in Dallas. My heart breaks for those who have lost their lives and for those who

have been injured, including one of the protesters. I pray for the souls of those who died and I pray for the families of those who've had these injuries. This is tragic, it is horrific, it is heartbreaking. I watched it until I could no longer watch it last night and it just is so sad.

BERMAN: It's hard to watch, it's hard to talk about. Those officers doing their jobs on the streets during the protest while they were peaceful, and then they're doing their job so well, so heroically after the fact, trying to apprehend the perpetrators -- the murderers, the killers.

And again, the news this morning, one of the suspects is dead, a few others in custody. We're learning more about them right now. Representative --

WATSON COLEMAN: Yes.

BERMAN: -- we are hearing from some people connected to law enforcement this morning who say that they feel targeted. Cops feel targeted right now in this country. They feel like they are not respected, their jobs are not respected. Some of the things we have heard over the last several days in the wake of the officer-involved shootings -- we've heard people say -- African-Americans -- that they feel hunted by police officers.

We heard from the fiancee of the man killed in Minnesota that she feels that cops are out to assassinate African-Americans right now. Now her grief and her anger understandable, but do you think that that level of discourse, that rhetoric -- do you feel it's contributed to the environment where these five officers were killed last night?

WATSON COLEMAN: Well, first of all, let me say that I don't think that there is a wholesale disparagement of law enforcement. I think, on the most part, law enforcement does what it's supposed to do. It protects us, it keeps our communities protected, and we respect the jobs that they do which are very dangerous. And we want them to be able to go home at the end of the evening to their families, just like we want every other individual in this country who is peaceful to be able to go home to his or her family.

I think that we're at a very heightened time right now. There are so many factors taking place right now that kind of contribute to the tension that we're experiencing now and we need to be able to talk about this. We need to be able apply resources in the areas that would be helpful to communities and police coming together and understanding and mutually respecting.

I understand that police are feeling targeted and I understand that African-Americans, particularly African-American men, are feeling targeted. Neither -- neither should be targeted. The one element here that I think is very consistent with the majority of the sort of killings that are taking place is that we need to address the whole gun issue. With regard to law enforcement we have some police that need

retraining. We need to look at how our police forces can be trained in de-escalation, in keeping peace, and in discouraging and ensuring that the force that is fatal in the interaction between the police and the individual is not deadly force unless absolutely necessary.

[07:40:00] But on the other hand, we in this country need to have a conversation about the danger associated with guns in the hands of wrong people. Those police officers that were killed last night, those police officers who are in the hospital, that peaceful protester that is in the hospital in surgery right now -- this is not America and this is not what we should be expecting. We should be safe in our communities and the police should be safe in doing their jobs.

BERMAN: This is not America. We shouldn't be seeing this, this morning or any morning. Representative Bonnie Watson Coleman, thanks so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

WATSON COLEMAN: Thank you for having me, and God bless us and God bless America.

BERMAN: Chris.

CUOMO: And yet, the problem is it is America today. You were just seeing, outside Baylor University there, officers saluting the fallen. Medical workers joining arms with police, creating a barrier there of solidarity because of what just went down on the streets of Dallas.

Now, one of the main parts and focus of this ambush was this building, a parking lot for El Centro College. The Dallas police officers were ambushed from there. It became a scene of chaos. Police wound up in a standoff with one of the gunmen, or the sole gunman. We're not sure yet how many were involved.

Patrick Cooper was there. He's a security guard on campus. He was inside one of the buildings when the shots rang out. He took cell phone video -- here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK COOPER, WITNESS: Gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(Gunshots)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(Screams)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down.

(Bleep)

COOPER: Dude, for real? In El Centro? They're shooting in El Centro College downtown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(Bleep)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE).

COOPER: My gosh.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Show me your hands. Show me your hands.

COOPER: My hands are good, sir. I'm a security, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where you come from?

(Bleep)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE).

(Bleep)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why can't they shoot the guy?

COOPER: I don't know. It's like they can't apprehend him. Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

COOPER: We're right here, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's like 20 police but they keep shooting, so I don't know if it's more than one person. It may be more than one.

COOPER: I think it's just one person. Sounds like he's got a rifle, so it sounds like --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A rifle?

COOPER: -- or a semi-automatic pistol and they just letting it go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why haven't they --

COOPER: I don't know. They (INAUDIBLE) shooting.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

COOPER: He's just running loose.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's just running loose. (Bleep)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: All right, Patrick Cooper was the one you just heard speaking to another woman who was with him in this building and now he joins us live from Dallas. Patrick, we trust that you are OK. Tell us what it was like being in that building.

COOPER: Man, it was crazy. I never thought I would actually be put in that situation. That situation is like, you know, you're supposed to be sitting at home watching this and I'm actually living this in real life. I was petrified. I didn't know what to do. The gunshots were all around me and I'm thinking they are firecrackers or something else.

So when I come outside to look I see a suspect -- somebody just running -- running towards where I'm at, going upstairs. And I'm in the bathroom. I close the door and I take a peek and I just hear gunshots and that's -- and they told me to stay inside.

And the lady that's with me, she's trying to leave. I'm telling her to stay, you know, stay put. Keep calm, stay put, you know, and wait for further instructions. But man, I just never thought something like this would actually happen, you know. It's crazy.

CUOMO: Patrick, the person you saw running toward you and going up the stairs, do you think that was a security guard? Do you think that might have been a shooter?

COOPER: It was a shooter because right when I did that and I slammed the door, they told me that the suspect's going upstairs. They said he's in the stairwell, and I had just left the stairwell and went inside the bathroom when they told me to go to the bathroom. They said go ahead, go to the bathroom, hide in there.

CUOMO: But you didn't see a --

COOPER: And right when I did that I went to make sure --

CUOMO: You didn't see a weapon?

COOPER: Sir?

CUOMO: Could you make out anything about this person? Was it a man, how old? What can you tell us?

COOPER: Yes, the person was carrying a long weapon. I don't know if it was a shotgun or a rifle, I just know it was a long weapon man, it wasn't no pistol. It was a rifle, or a shotgun, or a sniper rifle. I couldn't really tell because I was so scared --

CUOMO: Sure.

COOPER: -- you know, because they were coming toward me. So I just -- yes, sir? [07:45:00] CUOMO: Can you describe the person at all? Was it man, was it a woman?

COOPER: From what I seen it was a man, but the thing about is it happened so fast and that person had on so much clothing I couldn't tell. I couldn't really, you know, make a good description of the person so I'd be lying if I said that. At the same, they were like the shooter's going upstairs. The shooter's going to the stairwell. And I was right next to the stairwell in the restroom, right next to the door, so it's like he was coming right at us.

And I heard them slam the door -- the guy in the stall -- I said just keep calm, just keep calm, you know, trying to keep her under control, and that was everything. After that they told me to come out of the bathroom. I came out of the bathroom with my hands in the air. I had about 20 guns pointed at me.

They told me to put down my bag of chips. I put that down. Had my hands in the air and the rest is history, you know. But it just -- I could hear so much -- so much gunshots going off all around me, I didn't know really what to do besides, you know, survive. But I tried to get what I could on camera because, you know, I didn't know if it was my last day on earth. I didn't know if this was going to be it.

CUOMO: Is that why you pulled out the cell phone and started to video, just to let people know where you were?

COOPER: Yes. That's correct, sir, that's correct.

CUOMO: How long do you think it all lasted, and were you able to tell if the gunfire in that building was coming from only that one person?

COOPER: Oh, no. No, it had to be multiple people because there was somebody already running upstairs and then there was already somebody in the far corner, which was around the 7-Eleven entrance in El Centro, so it had to be at least two -- at least two gunshots from two different areas of the school.

So that's my observation and everything I heard, you know, it was going -- it was going so fast I couldn't really tell what was actually happening. I just know survive, survive, survive. That's why I was running back to the bathroom once I heard some gunshots and they told me he was coming your way, he's coming your way.

I kept trying to turn my camera off and turn it back on and get some more footage but, you know, my life's on the line, you know. I'm not going to do that. But at the same time, you know, it's a life- changing experience. I'm thankful for my life. I'm not going to take it for granted and that's really it.

CUOMO: What does it mean to you that that man and maybe other men were hunting police officers, killed five of them, hurt six others?

COOPER: It's a cold world we living in right now, man, and just to show you you're not safe out here, you know. You always got to be prepared for anything. And, you know, these officers gave their lives for us, you know, so that we could be free, we could be OK, we could be safe out here.

I just -- I just -- you know, I feel sorry for their families and I just show the utmost respect to all of them, especially the ones who have fallen, and I just thank you. Thank you for getting me out of that situation. That's all I can do, you know. That's all I can do.

CUOMO: Patrick Cooper, we're glad you're OK. Thank you for sharing with us your experience and good luck going forward.

COOPER: I appreciate it, sir.

CUOMO: I know this is going to be tough to deal with. All right, you be well.

COOPER: All right, thank you.

BERMAN: All right, more of our breaking news coverage on the Dallas police killings. The mayor of Dallas joins us right after a quick break.

[07:48:45] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:50:45] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BERMAN: All right, our breaking news out of Dallas. Five police officers killed in what was the deadliest attack on law enforcement in this country since September 11th. The deadliest attack in this country over the last 60 years, not including September 11th and Oklahoma City. That gives you a sense of the horrific, historic night that it was in Dallas.

We're just getting some new numbers. Five officers killed, again. We're now told seven officers wounded. We're also told two civilians have been injured as well. We'll get an update on their condition as soon as we can.

Joining us now on the phone is the mayor of Dallas, Mike Rawlings. Mr. Mayor, first of all, let us send our deepest sympathies to you right now and say that the entire country is standing by you and standing by your city. I'm wondering if you can give us an update on the investigation. We heard about an hour and one-half ago that one suspect is dead. Is there currently a search for more?

MAYOR MIKE RAWLINGS, DALLAS (via telephone): Well, thank you, John, and I think we feel that blanket support from the country. We are in the midst of this investigation and we don't have any new information except that we were able to take out one of the suspects, who had cornered in a garage, with an explosive device.

We've got other possible suspects that we're interviewing. They're not being real cooperative at this point. We've called in a lot of people to make sure that we've got all the background material we need.

BERMAN: Was this suspect killed by police or do you know if he took his own life? RAWLINGS: We haven't announced the final results but it seemed to be a gunshot sometime after the explosion took place, so we're going to have all that and make sure we have our i's dotted and t's crossed at our press conference this morning.

BERMAN: What explosion, sir, are you talking about? Was there some kind of a flashbang used by people confronting this individual?

RAWLINGS: No, we had a device that was able to -- we would automatically and robotically send in an explosive device. He was being very, very volatose (ph) and very -- saying that he was going to take everybody out. He threatened other bombs and we felt that was the safest way to get in, and it was.

BERMAN: Is there any information you can give us about the identity of this suspect -- who he was and/or the other people right now in custody being questioned? Do they have any connections to any groups?

RAWLINGS: No, there's no information I can give you at this time. I know we've fingerprinted the perpetrator and we're doing background work with him, using all the agencies that everybody's got. I talked to the president. He was very supportive. The governor has brought in our Texas DPS and so we've got a lot of people working on this.

BERMAN: What about the gender? What about the race of the suspect or suspects?

RAWLINGS: Well, the one that we killed was male. We know we have another female that we're interviewing. Other than that, I have no more information.

BERMAN: No more information on the race of suspect killed?

RAWLINGS: Not at this time. We know that -- excuse me, I do know that the female was a light-skinned African-American. That's what the chief told me last night.

BERMAN: At this point we have the identity of one of the law enforcement members who was killed last night. Brent Thompson, 43- years-old, a member of the Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Our heart goes out to him. We're still waiting to learn more about the identities of the others killed and wounded. I'm sure, at this point --

[07:55:00] RAWLINGS: Yes, we're going --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

RAWLINGS: We're being very focused on the families. One officer, who we're still trying to reach their family, and couple of others who were not ready for us to release their names. And so we will -- hopefully, we'll do that this morning.

BERMAN: Have you had a chance to speak to these families and what are your thoughts for them this morning?

RAWLINGS: Yes, I did, and they are -- all of them were in shock. Yes, there's grief, but there's more shock there that is significant. And I just was there to honor them on behalf of the citizens of Dallas. They put their lives on the line, lost their lives for the safety of citizens exercising their right to speech and it's a terrible tragedy when that happens.

This has never happened in the city of Dallas at this level. I would say not very many places in the United States. But I will say that the officers that made it through, the officers that are there, the force is coming together in a steely-eyed way and we were very happy when we were able to take this one suspect out.

BERMAN: You talk about the bravery of law enforcement. They were there keeping protesters safe walking arm-in-arm, in some cases, with protesters.

RAWLINGS: You know --

BERMAN: Were they -- go ahead.

RAWLINGS: It says that we live arm-in-arm and I don't know why we have to constantly be angry at each other. We're living in the same town, we drive on the same highways, we eat at the same restaurants, and we've got to make sure that we love each other this way and not argue with each other. We've got a tough enough issue to deal with some bad guys overseas.

BERMAN: We're all together this morning. One of the remarkable pictures we've seen is at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas where we saw police arm-in-arm with medical professionals there. That is where some of the officers who were killed were taken. That is where some of the officers being treated were taken. You know, it's a remarkable picture of solidarity.

Mayor, I wonder if you had a chance to talk to the law enforcement community in how they're feeling this morning as they go back on the streets today to do their job.

RAWLINGS: Well, they're tired, first of all. They were up all night. We called in every police officer and that's why I'mpleased to get some of the Texas officers in the backfill (ph) of these guys. But they are there and you know, I swear to a man they would step in harm's way for each other at this point.

I met one man who was shot in the leg and he was so distressed, not because of his wounds but because he saw some of his squadron go down around him and that was the pain he was feeling.

BERMAN: Well, I think we're all feeling that pain this morning. And again, our heart goes out to you and the community in Dallas, the victims -- five law enforcement officers, seven more people wounded. Again, we're just learning the identities of some of those. We'll bring them more to you as we find out that information. Our thanks to the mayor. Our breaking coverage of the Dallas police killings continues.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. CUOMO: Good morning, you are watching NEW DAY if you're here in the United States or around the world. Our breaking story this morning, John Berman and Chris Cuomo reporting on this ambush in Dallas. It is the deadliest incident for police in America since the 9/11 attacks.

Right now, five Dallas police officers murdered, killed by what is called snipers -- multiple. We are not able to get the police to confirm that yet. They're still working on this investigation. Seven other officers were wounded. Civilians, two of them at least, were wounded.

This happened during a protest of recent police shootings there. The protests obviously taking place in Dallas at about 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time and then it turned into an ambush.

BERMAN: Again, this follows the protests after the police shootings of two African-American men. The protests across the country largely peaceful. What unfolded on the streets in the hours that were after simply horrifying.

One gunman locked in an hour's long standoff with police is now dead. I just spoke to the mayor of Dallas. He would not confirm whether he took his own life or whether he was shot by police, but police officers confronted him with some kind of flashbang -- some kind of explosion to distract him. And it was after that that he had some kind of wound. Three other suspects, or three other people right now, are in custody including -- the mayor just confirmed to me -- one who is a woman.

President Obama spoke just a short time ago.