Return to Transcripts main page

New Day

Derek Chauvin Found Guilty on All Counts for Death of George Floyd; George Floyd's Brother Philonise Floyd and Floyd Family Attorney Ben Crump Interviewed on Jury Verdict in Derek Chauvin Trial; Columbus Officer Fatally Shoots Teenage Girl Holding Knife. Aired 8- 8:30a ET

Aired April 21, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:06]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. This is NEW DAY. I'm John Berman alongside Brianna Keilar. And this feels different. Something has changed. That is what you were hearing people say this morning. That is certainly the hope this morning for so many Americans.

The jury in Minneapolis finding former police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all three counts in the death of George Floyd. It took them just 10 hours to reach the verdict. Chauvin is in a prison cell this morning. He may be there a long time, a very long time once his sentence is handed down in June.

Overnight at the intersection where George Floyd drew his final breath, there were celebrations overnight.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: President Biden urging all Americans to confront police brutality and systemic racism. He and Vice President Kamala Harris called the Floyd family very soon after the verdict was announced.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you doing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is Gianna doing?

JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Feeling better now, and nothing is going to make it all better, but at least now there's some justice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.

BIDEN: And I think of Gianna's comment, my daddy's going to change the world, is going to start to change it now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Amen. BIDEN: Going to start to change it now. So you're incredible. You're

an incredible family. I wish I were there just to put my arms around you. I'm standing here. We've been talking. We've been watching every second of this, and the vice president, all this. And we're all so relieved, not just one verdict, but all three, guilty on all three counts. And it's really important. I'm anxious to see you guys. I really am. We're going to get a lot more done. We're going to do a lot. We're going to stay at it until we get it done.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE FLOYD FAMILY: Hopefully this is the momentum for the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to get passed to have you sign.

BIDEN: You got it, pal. That and a lot more. Not just that, a lot more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Joining me now is George Floyd's brother Philonise Floyd and Floyd family attorney Ben Crump. Thank you both for being with us today. I know this has been a long and painful journey to this point yesterday. Philonise, you were in that courtroom. What was it like to hear the verdict?

PHILONISE FLOYD, GEORGE FLOYD'S BROTHER: It was biblical because I was -- first of all, I was pacing back and forth before I even went into the courtroom. And Ben and my wife, they were like, hey, whatever you have to do to be comfortable, just do it. If you need to pace back and forth, do it. So I did. And when it was time to go into the courtroom, I prayed for over 30 minutes because it took like 30 minutes before the judge and the jury even came out. But the moment I heard guilty, guilty, guilty, I was excited. It felt like I had just won a championship. It felt like the world had won a championship, because African Americans, we feel like we never get justice. And we always feel it's just us. But for the officer to be held accountable, that was a major step in this country.

KEILAR: Ben, you have been fighting this fight. What message is sent to police, to Americans, to African Americans by this guilty verdict on all three charges?

BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE FLOYD FAMILY: Brianna, it is our hope and our prayer that this will set a new precedent. So when we say with liberty and justice for all, that means all of us, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, Native Americans, all of us, that we can live up to our high ideals of equal justice under the law. We pray that is the precedent, that police officers will now know that they have to treat us like they treat our white brothers and sisters, and they can't police us and protect to serve everybody else.

KEILAR: Philonise, you've said this is not just justice for your brother. I know that since your brother's death, you have struck up -- you seem to have found some comfort in a friendship with Emmett Till's cousin. And I'm wondering how you are seeing this moment as a moment in history. FLOYD: It's big. This is historic. You have to understand that, to

me, Emmett Till, he was the first George Floyd. It just wasn't any cameras around.

[08:05:04]

That's the only thing that changed, the cameras, the technology. It helped open up doors, because without that, my brother just would have been another person on the side of the road left to die. The moment that we're in right now today, this is monumental. This is historic. There has never been a case of this magnitude. And people all over the world came out for what was right. I'm talking about put their lives on the line through the pandemic, COVID. And they all came to one conclusion that it's not about black, it's not about white, it's not about Asian. And it's only one race, and that's the human race. And the world let it be known that we all can breathe again because justice for George means freedom for all.

KEILAR: It does feel that there was a humanity that was communicated in the trial that America received, that they absorbed when it came to understanding your brother as a person, as a human being. And you mentioned the outpouring that you've received. You've seen the crowds who have gathered in support. You've also received a call from President Biden and from Vice President Kamala Harris. Have you heard from anyone who else has reached out to share with your their reaction and their comfort with you?

FLOYD: Yes, Pelosi, Speaker of the House Pelosi. We had the governor. We had the senator, people reaching out. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, she has been behind me for so long, and she's pushing the issue. We have to pass the George Floyd Policing Act. And she runs at a pace that I never thought at the age that she is. Every time I look up, I tell her, hold on. Slow down. Let me take this battery out your back. She's just like the Energizer Bunny. She just keeps going and going.

But we need people like that that's going to fight, and Reverend Al told me, hey, we've got to keep fighting. That's what we're here for. I didn't ask to be here. Attorney Crump, he came, and he just held these officers accountable. And to my knowledge right now, Derek Chauvin, he's understanding what that means right now.

KEILAR: Ben, there's been so much focus on the bystanders that day who were begging for George Floyd's life, who testified passionately about what they saw. And that included a teenager who was just, at the time, 17 who captured the video of George Floyd's death. How are you reflecting on their role in this verdict today?

CRUMP: I think it was so crucial the bystanders. Everybody from the first 911 operator who saw the video to Donald Williams who painted that picture, Brianna, in court comparing the fish suffocating and dying from lack of oxygen to George Floyd dying from being deprived of air because Chauvin's knee was on his neck, all the way to the nine- year-old. I have an eight-year-old daughter Brooklyn, and when that little nine-year-old girl said -- he asked them nicely at first, but he still didn't take his knee off his neck. Your heart just broke because they all had humanity. The only people who seemed not to have any humanity was Derek Chauvin and his fellow officers who would not let George Floyd take a breath.

And we're better than that, America. And I think that's what this verdict signifies so much to the world. We are better than that. We can make a better world for all of our children if we just start trying to treat each other with humanity.

KEILAR: Philonise, the defense, predictably, tried to put the onus for what happened to your brother on your brother. They were not successful. Why do you think that is?

FLOYD: Because facts outweigh assassinating someone's character. Everybody has seen the video. The video is a staple for what police officers shouldn't do. They should all be held accountable, and that's why we're pushing this George Floyd Policing Act, because we need to end qualified immunity. We need officers to have their cameras on all the time, dash and bodycams. The no-knock warrant for Breonna Taylor, it's blood on this bill. You have got to think about Eric Garner. Miss Carr, I love her so much, and she still hasn't got justice for her son.

[08:10:06]

My brother, his blood is on that bill, and that's the no chokehold law. So we have to stick together and continue to fight because this world is a place that we supposed to be united and stand together.

KEILAR: What are you expecting, Ben, when it comes to the other three officers now?

CRUMP: I expect, just like Chauvin, that they will be held accountable for their actions and the role they played in killing George Floyd. What we want is just equal justice under the law. The same thing that George Floyd being a white American citizen, we expect that, Brianna. We don't want it to be two justice systems in America, one for black America and one for white America. What we want is equal justice for all American citizens. And so that's what the police should face. If it was one of our white brothers and sisters, what would the sentence be? That's exactly what it should be, because George Floyd's life matters.

KEILAR: And Philonise, you have justice. You do not have your brother. And nothing is going to bring him back. This verdict doesn't bring him back. Do you think that this is a step in the direction of getting this country to the point where it's not something about getting justice after the fact. It's about preventing deaths. Do you have hope that this can effect that change?

FLOYD: I'll always have faith. I pray a lot, so I'm going to speak everything into existence. But what happened to my brother, it was a crime. He was tortured to death. I don't want any more George Floyds. I don't want there to be any more Daunte Wrights. I don't want there to be any more Ahmaud Arberys. We should be able to go, walk free, and not be killed because of the shade of our skin color.

It just made me start an institution called the Philonise and Keeta Floyd Institution for Social Change. We're turning our pain into purpose. And I will make sure I see that's my brother's legacy, because he was a defining moment in time that people will always look at because he's a symbol now, because you have to understand, you can make federal laws to protect the bird, which is the bald eagle, you can make federal laws to protect people of color. And I think George has set the tone for that.

KEILAR: Philonise and Ben, I want to thank you for joining us. This is a huge day. A momentous day for you, and we appreciate you sharing part of it with us.

CRUMP: Thank you.

FLOYD: Thank you.

KEILAR: Thank you.

BERMAN: They've been through a lot the last year.

So just minutes before the Derek Chauvin verdict came down, there was a deadly police shooting in Columbus, Ohio. A 16-year-old girl was killed. Body camera video shows a chaotic scene, and it's difficult to discern exactly what happened. The officer appears to have arrived on the scene in the middle of a fight, and there are still many questions to be answered. CNN's Ryan Young live in Columbus with the latest on this. Ryan?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, John, a tough story. One of the reasons why this bodycam video might be out so soon is because there was such an outcry from the community. Social media really pushing some of the narrative here. Police wanting to show that their officer they felt may have been justified in the shooting. The reason why, they believe, is when he arrived, he saw some teens fighting, and he saw a knife in the hand of Ma'Khia Bryant. And he felt he had to fire. That's according to police.

Let me show you this video. It is obviously tough to watch. I want to warn our viewers. It's also tough to follow because it happens so fast, but if you focus on the girl with the jeans and the black shirt you can kind of see what's going on as the officer approaches. Take a watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going on? Hey, hey, hey -- get down! Get down! Get down!

(GUNSHOTS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: Just so very tough, obviously, John. Four shots there. It was reported that Ma'Khia Bryant actually called for police help, but despite continuing to escalate even as police arrived.

Now, the police department here in Columbus actually released a slow- mo video to show sort of the parts of what the officer was dealing with. Roll that right now so you can kind of see what's going on here. It shows that the officer had to make a split-second decision, according to the police department, because that knife was being wielded back toward another person.

[08:15:04]

So, they felt they had to make that move.

Now, they have been explaining this. There are people who took to the streets last night very upset about this.

In fact, listen to the mayor of Columbus talked about how this all has impacted the city so far.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ANDREW GINTHER (D), COLUMBUS, OHIO: Not just the mayor, I'm a father. The city of Columbus lost a 15-year-old girl today. We know based on this footage the officer took action to protect another young girl in our community. But the family is grieving tonight, and this young 15-year-old girl will never be coming home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNG: John, we know so many people in this country are hurting right now. They have so many questions about law enforcement and the role that everyone is playing in this national story about how we move forward with policing. Obviously, this community has a lot more questions ahead of it and the future with this shooting of this 16- year-old with so many people in the community asking why and, of course, the police department saying maybe they had to protect another teen.

We'll have to see how this plays out today, John.

BERMAN: Ryan Young, thank you for being us.

Joining us now is Ira Graham, a neighbor of the young victim of this.

Ira, thanks so much for being with us.

We just saw the bodycam video of the shooting released by the police department and the slow downed version. It appears in the slow downed version there may have been a knife in Ma'Khia Bryant's hand and her arm may have been moving towards another person.

I think you now had a chance to look at this well. How does it line up with what you learned, what people have been saying in the neighborhood about the incident?

IRA GRAHAM III, NEIGHBOR OF TEEN KILLED IN OHIO POLICE SHOOTING: Well, what happened yesterday and when I went outside, the relative of the deceased explained to me that there were a group of kids who had came over to fight Ma'Khia and that Ma'Khia in defense of herself drew a knife, and in the midst of that a police officer pulled up and just proceeded to shoot four times in Ma'Khia which ultimately killed her. It sounded at the time as if Ma'Khia was merely just trying to defend

herself in a situation where she was overwhelmed with people trying to attack her. Now since that time, I've had a chance to look at the video and I must say it seems to show a little bit of a different story. It's obvious, in my opinion, from the video, that Ma'Khia at the point in which the police officer approached was the aggressor and she was wildly going after multiple other teenagers.

And I must say the slow motion portion of the video, in my estimation, clearly shows that she was in mid-swing with a knife going after a second teenager when the cop shot her. And I can certainly see why the police officer chose to stop her.

Now whether or not less lethal will force could have been used, whether or not a Taser could have been chosen instead of a gun, I don't know. But I do know that with Ma'Khia having that lethal weapon in her hand she did need to be stopped.

And, you know, I just want to say condolences to the family of Ma'Khia Bryant. No family should have to go through such a tragedy as this. So, I want to say that just off the bat.

But in this particular instance, I think it's a little bit different than the other incidents we've seen in these police shootings in that it appears as though Ma'Khia was in the process of trying to stab a teenager and that could have led to the death of a teenager.

[08:20:10]

So, I really wish these young people would think twice before they do things and they would learn better skills for handling conflict resolution. Sometimes best these folks came to her house, maybe she should have stayed in the house rather than confronting them.

But it's very, very unfortunate and very, very sad. I have an 18-year- old teenager, and always advise him about how to handle conflicts.

And this is an example of what can happen when conflicts are not handled properly. And, you know, it's a tough, tough, tough pill to swallow but I certainly can understand why she needed to be stopped at the point in which the police arrived.

BERMAN: Ira Graham, I'm so glad you're with us. I'm so glad you had a chance to look at the video. I'm so sorry that your neighborhood is going through this.

Two things can be true. One is that it's a tragedy always when a 16- year-old is dead. But that the circumstances can be very complicated.

Ira Graham, thank you for your time this morning.

GRAHAM: My pleasure.

BERMAN: Brianna?

KEILAR: George Floyd's killing is sadly just one of a series of African-American men who died at the hands of police. What does the guilty verdict in this case mean to other families who are still seeking justice?

BERMAN: Plus, sports stars play such a major role in bringing attention to Black Lives Matter. Emotional reaction from the sports world to the guilty verdict, next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDACE PARKER, WNBA ALL-STAR: You look at the past and how many people before had to die and had to not receive justice for this to happen today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:25:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COURTENEY ROSS, GEORGE FLOYD'S GIRLFRIEND: We're finally starting to see, you know, we walked around with eyes wide shut for a long time so they are start to open today. This is going to be the first in a future of change. For me, it means that my friends and people that have also have lost loved ones have a chance to get their cases re- open.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: That is George Floyd's girlfriend saying she's hopeful a guilty verdict in the Derek Chauvin trial will thread real change in America for families whose loved ones were killed by police.

Joining us now is one mother who is still waiting for justice, Gwen Carr. Her son Eric Garner was killed by police in New York in 2014.

Gwen, thank you so much for being with us this morning.

GWEN CARR, MOTHER OF ERIC GARNER: Yes. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Your son Eric's death was also captured on camera. We can hear him also saying the words "I can't breathe," and the officer who had him in an illegal chokehold after five years was fired from the NYPD but a grand jury decided not to indict.

What does this verdict in the case of George Floyd mean to you?

CARR: Well, this verdict actually seems like we are pivoting into the right direction. Like with my son's death, we did not have this type of cooperation from the police department, from the mayor. And we seen on camera just like we did with George Floyd that my son was actually being murdered on video.

And he chose not to fire the police officers. He put one of them on desk duty. And then after five years, the DOJ decided not to go forward with the trial, and just dropped the ball on this. And if not for me and other groups pushing to have the departmental trial, it would have been all just swept under the rug.

But I was not letting it happen. And so, we did get a departmental trial where we got one officer fired. But that's not enough. And I think this set the precedent for the George Floyd movement.

So when we seen what happened to George Floyd we said no, no more. It seems the entire nation came out and said this is not going to be. We are going to take steps and it's not only the black race, but all races, nations, creeds, religions, everyone came out to say enough is enough.

KEILAR: I want to ask you something that I just asked Philonise Floyd, because there's been a lot of focus on justice, and certainly this is the outcome you wanted and so many wanted for the death of an African-American man at the hands of police. The goal should be for them to not die in the first place, right, or to be mistreated.

What needs to happen to get the country to that place?

CARR: Well, first of all, we have to get rid of this deep seated hate, this deep seated racism, because that's what a lot of that is in the police department. And we have to get rid of the bad apples, because even if you are a good police officer and you see bad police officers doing the wrong thing and you say nothing, you are just as bad.

So let's work on getting things going in the right direction because just because we got one victory, one victory is not enough. We need to stay woke. Don't just go home and sit on your couch and say oh, well, George Floyd has a victory. No. We all need a victory.

We have so many of us that didn't get victories. So we have to work on that and we have to work on other young men and women not being killed. Who wants their name known after they're dead? We need to do something now. We don't want another casualty.

KEILAR: No, we don't. Gwen Carr, thank you so much for your time this morning.

CARR: You're so welcome.

BERMAN: All right. We're getting more reaction from some sports stars who helped keep Black Lives Matter the movement in the forefront.

[08:30:00]