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Daunte Wright's Family Speaks with CNN Before Today's Funeral; Body Camera Footage Shows Police Officer Shooting and Killing Teenage Girl Wielding a Knife; LeBron James Draws Controversy for Tweet with Picture of Police Officer; New Data Indicates COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Outpacing Demand in U.S. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 22, 2021 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

PETE BUTTIGIEG, TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: Now, there are a lot of different ways to do this to keep the president's promise. We have an open mind, but that is a very important line for this White House.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Mr. Secretary, Pete Buttigieg, we appreciate you coming on NEW DAY. Thank you so much for your time.

BUTTIGIEG: Thanks for having me.

BERMAN: And be sure to watch a special CNN townhall with White House Climate Envoy John Kerry and others taking questions on how to fight climate change. Dana Bash hosts "The Climate Crisis" tomorrow night at 10:00 on CNN. And NEW DAY continues right now.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Brianna Keilar alongside John Berman on this NEW DAY. And we are expecting some new comments from President Biden at any moment telling the world about a big American commitment in the climate crisis.

And a verdict politicized, some conservatives suggest the Derek Chauvin jury was afraid to acquit him.

BERMAN: Just hours from now, a funeral for Daunte Wright killed during a traffic stop which police claim was accidental. We'll speak with his aunt about what justice means for her family.

And what are the chances of getting COVID once you've had your shot? New information on the risk of breakthrough infections.

KEILAR: A very good morning to viewers here in the United States and around the world. It is Thursday, April 22nd, Earth Day, as it were. And we are expecting to see President Biden speaking at any moment to dozens of world leaders in a virtual climate summit. We have learned just a short time ago that some -- about some of the things that he plans to talk about.

BERMAN: The White House revealing this morning that the president will commit to reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. by as much as 52 percent. That is an enormous number. The White House hopes other countries will follow its lead. We'll bring you the president's comments live in just a few moments.

Right now, tension over law enforcement tactics is building. One day after celebrating the Derek Chauvin guilty verdict, Minneapolis is mourning again. Daunte Wright will be laid to rest today, 11 days after being fatally shot by a police officer during a traffic stop. Police say the former officer accidentally drew her handgun instead of a taser. She faces a second-degree manslaughter charge.

KEILAR: Also in Minnesota, Derek Chauvin awaits sentencing in June for murdering George Floyd. He is being held in solitary confinement for his own safety, and now the Justice Department is launching an investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department. Meanwhile, LeBron James is facing a backlash for a two-word post about another police- involved shooting in Ohio. And Athena Jones is joining us from Columbus. Athena, tell us the latest.

ATHENA JONES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Brianna. There is frustration and a demand for answers here in Columbus this morning. Many people in this community feel this latest case, the shooting, police shooting of Ma'Khia Bryant is an example of police not valuing the life of this young black girl.

Meanwhile, law enforcement says that this shooting appears to be a reasonable use of force and they're focusing on transparency. The interim police chief saying that the department was able to release that initial body camera footage, the footage from the officer who shot Bryant, within about five-and-a-half hours of the incident. That's the fastest they've ever been able to do so.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

JONES: Anger and frustration in Columbus, Ohio, with protesters gathering and demanding answers about the death of 16-year-old Ma'Khia Bryant, shot and killed by a police officer Tuesday. NBA star and Akron, Ohio, native LeBron James also expressing his outrage over the shooting, sending a now-deleted tweet with a photo of a Columbus police officer at the scene of the shooting with the caption, "You're next, #accountability." James later explaining why he removed the tweet from his account, writing, "I took the tweet down because it is being used to create more hate. This isn't about one officer. It's about the entire system. I am so desperate for more accountability."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want full accountability and transparency in what happened for Ma'Khia Bryant.

JONES: This frustration shared by many seeking answers as an investigation is under way looking into the fatal shooting of the teen who police say attempted to stab two people with a knife.

MICHAEL WOODS, INTERIM CHIEF OF POLICE, COLUMBUS DIVISION OF POLICE: Regardless of the circumstances associated with this, a 16-year-old girl lost her life. I sure as hell wish it hadn't happened.

JONES: The final moments of Bryant's life unfolding in just seconds. Columbus police and city officials releasing body camera footage, and we warn you, it is disturbing, showing Officer Nicholas Reardon responding to a 911 call from an unknown caller Tuesday afternoon.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got these girls over here trying to fight us, trying to stab us, trying to put her hands on our grandma. Get here now!

[08:05:00]

JONES: The officer approaches a group in the driveway outside a home. Bryant appearing to push a person to the ground before she moves toward another wearing pink. The officer firing four shots, killing Bryant. Despite efforts to save her on the scene, the teen died. Authorities releasing this slowed down video seemingly showing Bryant holding a knife in her hand, aiming it toward the person in pink. In the wake of the shooting, the mayor asking the community to wait as the city investigates whether the officer's actions were justified.

MAYOR ANDREW GINTHER (D) COLUMBUS, OHIO: We don't yet have all of the facts, but we do know that a 16-year-old girl, a child in this community, tragically died.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JONES (on camera): Now the officer is on paid leave while an independent investigation being conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Investigations, part of the state attorney general's office, is under way. John?

BERMAN: Athena Jones in Columbus, thanks so much for being there for us.

From a law enforcement perspective, I want to bring in Art Acevedo. He is the chief of the Miami Police Department. He was also chief of police in Houston during George Floyd's funeral. Chief, it's always a pleasure to see you. Thank you so much for being with us.

LeBron James took down the tweet that he posted that said, "You're next." It had an image of a police officer. We don't know exactly who that police officer is. He said it wasn't about violence but accountability. Still, what was your reaction when you saw that from LeBron James?

ART ACEVEDO, CHIEF, MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT: That was the first time I heard of it. It's disappointing because, look, this is such a tragic event. A 16-year-old young girl has lost her life. But I think we're forgetting that other lives were at risk and those were innocent young people that were at risk of being stabbed. And my understanding is that one person was stabbed, and she was attempting to stab someone else.

And so I think we all need to start taking steps back, taking a deep breath. Recognizing it's tragic, but we need to understand that what would the conversation have been had the officer not taken that shot or those shots and another person was stabbed to death in front of his eyes? I think it would be another conversation. So let's talk about why was there a 16-year-old with a knife? Are we doing enough for mental health in this country for young people and counseling and all the things that -- when I was a kid, we had counselors, we had school nurses, we had school psychologists. A lot of places don't have that anymore. And so when you talk about investments to avoid these confrontations in the first place, and then talk about accountability. But accountability truly is a two-way street.

BERMAN: We have to be able to step back and look at each case, the totality of each case, no question about that, Chief. During the news conference yesterday, the chief there was asked a question about the decision the officer made. Let's listen to that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can an officer shoot the leg? Can they shoot somewhere that would not result in a fatal wound, right? So a lot of people have said, couldn't he have just shot her in the leg so she could have dropped. Couldn't he have shot her in the arm, something like that?

MICHAEL WOODS, POLICE CHIEF, COLUMBUS, OHIO: One of the difficult things with that is, when you're trying -- we don't train to shoot the leg because that's a small target. We train to shoot center mass, what is available to stop that threat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: We train to shoot center mass. You know this is a question a lot of people ask when they see something like this. Help us understand that answer.

ACEVEDO: Well, I think that that's the real world we live in. This is unfortunately, the public's perception of what police can, can't do, should, shouldn't do, is greatly, I think, influenced by Hollywood. The Starsky & Hutch movies where they're running a mile after someone, jumping over cars in between buildings, then they roll over a car, come up, take a shot, hit the guy in the arm. That's just not real world. That's not real life. We don't get a second, third, fourth take.

And so we do train to shoot center mass. I can tell you that SWAT officers that the public hates, they have disdain for them, those officers, especially the snipers from a distance, can and are trained -- highly trained to take shots that sometimes will save lives that aren't fatal shots. And so the answers aren't -- they are difficult. I think that we need to keep having them, but we all need to take, again, a deep breath. We can't just say a young person has died, the police must have messed it up, because until you find yourself in those situations where you have to make those split-second decisions, you can't really appreciate.

Let me tell you, I have fired a lot of cops, investigated a lot of cops in my career. But we've got to call balls and strikes. And from what I've seen so far, I just don't think this is the one -- as it relates to the officer's actions -- that we should hang our hats on. We need to take back, step back and say, how did we get there in the first place? And are we doing enough to invest in mental health in this country and counseling and education and all the things that create healthy young people and ultimately healthy adults?

[08:10:00]

BERMAN: Chief, there's a new law on the books in Florida pushed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. He calls it this anti-riot measure. There are many people who fear that it cracks down on civil rights and civil liberties and could put people who are at peaceful protests in legal jeopardy if the protests get violent, even if they don't engage in any violence. Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who we had on earlier in the show, says, I don't see why this law is necessary. What's your view on it?

ACEVEDO: I share -- Francis Suarez is one of the most intelligent, balanced, I think, bright leaders in our country right now. And I share his sentiments. Look, rioting was already against the law. I think there was one aspect of the law that said if you hurt an officer, there's a penalty announcement. That may make sense because officers have been -- a couple of officers have been killed last summer, some seriously injured.

But it was really a law in search of a problem, to be honest with you, because there's something that can be done in a riot situation where we don't already have laws on the books that could have taken care of it. So it's a little bit more political theater than it is good policy. The one part that I worry about, the stand your ground laws, the castle doctrines, when people that are people of conscience exercise those rights, there isn't a problem. When there's people looking to be able to take a life, especially a life of someone they don't agree with, it can be problematic.

And so it's not going to change the way we do business. We're going to protect the first. My motto is, defend the first, and that's where we're going to continue to do. The First Amendment is a fundamental right, but people going, engaging in rioting, we're going to focus on the rioters and not on peaceful protesters.

BERMAN: Chief Art Acevedo, love having you on the show. Thank you so much for being with us.

ACEVEDO: Thank you. Have a great day.

KEILAR: That's really something. A law in search of a problem, he said.

BERMAN: Yes. So you now have the mayor of Miami, the police chief of Miami saying there's a new law, has to do with the whole state, but Miami is the biggest city in the state saying, we don't need this. We don't want this.

KEILAR: That was very interest, a very interesting interview.

The coronavirus vaccine couldn't come soon enough, and suddenly we have too much -- 87 million Americans are now fully vaccinated, which is 26 percent of the U.S. population. But experts are warning of a new challenge, and that's that the U.S. is reaching a tipping point with vaccine supply threatening to overwhelm demand, according to a new report that is out from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Joining us now is CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, this is being framed as a problem. Is this a problem?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: The problem is -- the problem is that we have a lot of vaccine. That is a good problem to have. The problem is that too many Americans are unenthusiastic about getting vaccinated.

So let's take a look at what this Kaiser Family Foundation survey found. What they found in that two weeks, everyone who wants a shot will have one. In other words, if you want a shot, within two weeks, you will already have had it or be about to get one. And 37 percent of Americans don't want the shot or aren't sure. That is a problem. It is going to be a problem to reach herd immunity if 37 percent of Americans don't get vaccinated. Brianna, John?

BERMAN: So South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem announced yesterday that her state will ban vaccine passports. She said, quote, I encourage all South Dakotans to get vaccinated at COVID-19, but we're not going to mandate such activity and we're not going to restrict freedom with un- American policies like vaccine passports. Other states like Florida, Texas have announced similar demands. What are the benefits of having a vaccine passport system? And does a ban on passports disincentivize people to get the vaccine?

COHEN: So, John, first let's take a look at how many states where governors -- where the governors have said, opposed to them or have talked about some opposition to vaccine passports. It's a lot of states. It's about 23 states. So almost half of the country the governors have voiced some opposition to passports. You can see this is not a terribly popular thing. The advantages are obvious. You're telling people, look, if you want to go into a restaurant, if you want to go into a concert or whatever venues they choose, you can't unless you have a vaccine passport. That could incentivize many people to get vaccinated.

The concern is that a big chunk of those 37 percent of Americans that I just mentioned, a big chunk of those are conservatives. They're pretty angry about all of this. And if you start mandating vaccine passports it might make them dig their heels in even more and say I'm not going to get vaccinated because I don't like being told what to do. For better or worse, and you can judge that, that could be the reality.

Another point to keep in mind is that vaccine passports don't take into account people who have immunity from previous infection. For example, in Israel, where they have a lot of experience with passports, you do get a passport if you had COVID. You don't have to be vaccinated. Just having COVID gets you a passport. A lot of people in the United States, maybe as many as one in four, one in five have had COVID. Those people wouldn't be accounted for in a vaccine passport system.

KEILAR: That's a very good point. And no vaccinate is expected to be completely effective, right, 100 percent effective in preventing disease. [08:15:00]

But a new study published in the New England Journal Medicine shows that 0.5 percent of participants became infected after being fully vaccinated.

So break down these numbers for us in the study and tell us how significant this is.

COHEN: Right. That is still such a teeny tiny number.

So, let's take a look at this study. It was employees at Rockefeller University in New York who had been vaccinated. There were 417 of them. Only 2 of them got COVID after being vaccinated. Both of them had variants.

That tells us a lot. These variants are a problem. And we certainly want to address them. And that's why vaccine companies like Pfizer and Moderna are trying to come up with boosters to account for these variants.

So, hopefully, the vaccines will be even better in the future. But still, 2 out of 417 getting COVID, that's a pretty great number -- Brianna, John.

BERMAN: Minuscule.

KEILAR: It's amazing. It really is. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. Great to see you.

The family of a Minnesota man shot and killed by police is preparing to bury him today. We will talk to Daunte Wright's aunt. We'll talk to the family's attorney, next.

BERMAN: Plus, the black-owned funeral chapel helping the Wright family today just as it did for George Floyd's family last year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRACEY WESLEY, CEO, ESTES FUNERAL CHAPEL: On one hand, you're upset, being African-American in this country. And on the other hand, being a professional, you have to do all that you can to focus to help our family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:20:14]

BERMAN: Just hours from now, Daunte Wright will be laid to rest, helping his friends and family say their final good-byes is never easy. But for one funeral director, the most difficult part is coming face-to-face with yet another killing of an unarmed black man.

CNN's Adrienne Broaddus live in Minneapolis with more on this really touching story -- Adrienne.

ADRIENNE BROADDUS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, John.

Tracy Wesley says it never gets easy. It's one thing when people transition or die because of natural causes but he is troubled when people, especially, he says, black men and women, are killed, unarmed at the hands of police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WESLEY: It's hard.

BROADDUS (voice-over): For three decades, Tracey Wesley has met people on life's most difficult days.

WESLEY: Yeah, absolute worst.

BROADDUS: He runs Estes Funeral Chapel, one of only two black-owned funeral homes in Minnesota. And he's handled some of the Twin City's most high-profile deaths.

WESLEY: We've dealt with Jamar Clark. We've dealt with, of course, George Floyd. And now here we are with Daunte Wright. Not only have you lost, but you're suffering a loss that was unnecessary.

BROADDUS: As George Floyd's family celebrated a guilty verdict for the murder of their loved one --

WESLEY: It will be this one here.

BROADDUS: Wesley helped Daunte Wright's family arrange their son's funeral. Wesley said the urn is red for Daunte's favorite color. The casket holding his body for viewing, white.

WESLEY: White always means angelic. With the white and red and white roses, they just kind of liked that.

BROADDUS: Wright was shot and killed by police during a traffic stop about 15 miles from the cup foods where George Floyd was killed.

WESLEY: It's a little bit of a different state of mind that you have to be in to help. On one hand, you're upset being African-American in this country. And on the other hand, being a professional, you have to do all that you can to focus to help our families.

BROADDUS: Wesley has also handled killings, people of the state outside of Minnesota no nothing about. They are among the names here at this symbolic cemetery called "Say Their Names."

STEVANTE CLARK, BROTHER OF STEPHON CLARK: Just too many names.

BROADDUS: Stevante Clark's brother Stephon is among the names at this symbolic cemetery, blocks from the site where Floyd died. Here, men and women killed by police are honored. Sacramento police shot and killed Clark's brother in 2018. They thought he had a gun, but only discovered a cell phone. Now, Daunte Wright will join the other names.

CLARK: My heart breaks for the family because this is a club nobody wants to be a part of.

BROADDUS: The youngest was 7 years old.

CLARK: I see different names that really bring back to like, whoa, we couldn't get together after. Where did people go wrong? Where's the respect for life?

BROADDUS: In the face of death, Wesley does his part to help families celebrate life.

WESLEY: Because you know this is the last -- this is the last piece that's going to hold my loved one. So it's tough.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BROADDUS (on camera): And one thing, these families don't get to grieve like other families when they are killed by police. That's something Lee Merritt told me. He's the attorney representing Ahmaud Arbery's family. He also said on this day when the Wright family prepares to say good-bye to Daunte here at this north Minneapolis church. He said let everyone else, let the community do the fighting for you and take this time to grieve and mourning the 20-year-old you loved so much -- John.

KEILAR: Adrienne, thank you so much for that report. I'll take it from here, a wonderful report from Minneapolis.

With us now is Naisha Wright, who is the aunt of Daunte Wright. And we're also joined by the family's attorney, Benjamin Crump.

Naisha, thank you so much for being with us.

NAISHA WRIGHT, AUNT OF DAUNTE WRIGHT: Yes, ma'am.

KEILAR: This is a day --

WRIGHT: Good morning.

KEILAR: Good morning to you.

You are going to be gathering as a family and as a community to lay Daunte to rest. And so much of the country has seen the tape. They have seen the video, but they don't know Daunte. What do you want people to know about your nephew?

WRIGHT: Daunte was a shining light. He was a shining light. He was loved. He was a man in the making.

He was somebody. He was human. He died -- we can't understand why. Why? Why did he have to die the way he died?

You know, my family has to still come to grips with that. You know, it's sad.

[08:25:00]

That it's just not my family in America. You know, because of the color of our skin.

Our men, our young men, they are being murdered. And it's sad. We can't figure out why.

We are such loving people. We are so loving. The black community is very accepting, and we accept all.

But to keep having our nephews, our sons, our fathers, our brothers and stuff taken from us for no reason at all is hard.

KEILAR: Naisha --

WRIGHT: Unfortunately -- I'm sorry. Yes, ma'am.

KEILAR: No, no, please go ahead. You said unfortunately.

WRIGHT: Unfortunately, you know, at this time, I have to be the voice for so many people, not just for my family, not just for Daunte, even though they took my nephew's voice from him. But now, I have to be the one to try to speak to try to get it out there.

You know, no more. We can't keep having this. We just want to be accepted.

And today, I have to go lay my nephew to rest on my mother's 60th birthday. My brother and my sister should not have to go through this. They should not have to go through this. Nor should any other mother, father or anyone have to go through an unjust murder like what happened.

KEILAR: Naisha, I -- people hear your pain. They hear you as you are speaking for your family. There are so many questions about where things go from here.

You know that Kim Potter, who is the former -- now former police officer who shot your nephew, is out on bail. What do you want to see happen? What is accountability look like here to you?

BEN CRUMP, WRIGHT FAMILY'S ATTORNEY: Tell them how you feel.

WRIGHT: What does it look like to me? One, I would love to have my nephew. We would love to have him back. This young man means so much to us, so much to his mother, so much to his father.

But we know we can't get that, right? So we can get some type of justice because my nephew was murdered. We would love that. It would be a bittersweet moment, of course, because again, today, we close that casket on my nephew. This is the last day that we can ever touch, we can ever see him.

KEILAR: Ben, we know -- WRIGHT: We can give something where other families don't have to go

through this. See, people may see the pain, but you don't feel this pain. And this pain runs deep.

And it's a difference. And I appreciate everyone, but no family should have to go through this again. No family. And that's what we want. We want to make sure that other families don't have to go through this. You know?

I mean, come on. Why do we have to keep going through burying our babies? I sat up all night staring at the ceiling thinking, oh, my gosh, this is really happening. Why do we have to keep going through this? I'm sorry.

KEILAR: Naisha, you do not need to apologize. And you make such an important point there because I think, as people listen to you, they try to imagine your pain, and I imagine, quite frankly, it's too painful for them to continue imagining it. You get sort of a glimpse of what it might be, but that is what you are living right now. And we are hearing that, definitely.

Ben, I want to ask you, because in this video, we hear the police officer alerting other officers that she is going to tase Daunte Wright and yet we're watching and we see she's not holding a Taser. She's holding a gun. And instead, she shot him.

How do you mistake a Taser for a gun is very hard to comprehend. But it appears in this case that she did that. Does that make the actions that led to Daunte Wright's death complicated here as far as the legal process will go?

CRUMP: Well, you know, unfortunately, we live in a legal process.