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New Day

Russia Claims Key City Of Lysychansk In Eastern Region; Major American Cities Bring Back July Fourth Festivities After 2-Year Hiatus; Police Release Bodycam Video Of Jayland Walker Shooting. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 04, 2022 - 07:30   ET

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

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[07:31:16]

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Russian forces have taken control of the last Ukrainian-held city in the eastern Luhansk region. Images shared this weekend from the city of Lysychansk show crews working to put out fires caused by Russia's brutal attack. You can see homes and buildings left charred and destroyed. And this morning, Ukrainian military officials say that Russia is preparing for an assault on the nearby Donetsk region.

So, is this a turning point in the war?

Joining us now to discuss is CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger. David, good morning -- appreciate you sharing part of your holiday with us.

Put this into context for us. What does this victory mean for Russia?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE AND NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES (via Webex by Cisco): Well, good morning, and Happy Fourth -- always my favorite holiday.

It's a big moment for the Russians. After five months in which they were basically the superpower that couldn't shoot straight, they have shown that their plan B, which was consolidating power in the territory closest to them -- areas where they have fought for the past eight or nine years on and off -- has worked and that basically, they were able to seize this territory and move their way on. And it seems pretty clear that they're going to end up taking the whole area of the Donbas, and that means a little more than 20% percent of a country.

So, this is an important turning point in the war, as important as the retreat from Kyiv was when the Russians overstretch. And I think it comes at a really critical moment because it's just as fatigue is setting in with many in Europe and even some here asking the question how long can we afford to keep pouring these kinds of weapons and pouring this kind of support into the hands of the Ukrainians.

SANCHEZ: And realistically, what's the answer to that question? How long do you think the West's support will last?

SANGER: I think it will continue for some time because I think among the Eastern Europeans, this is existential. They think they are next.

I think President Biden made it pretty clear in this press conference at the end of the NATO meeting that he sees this in very cold war terms and that if the Russians win in this region they will come back for the rest of Ukraine.

But there's also going to be pressure on President Zelenskyy to find a way out, and that means to enter a real negotiation. And, of course, you want to enter a real negotiation when you've got the upper hand, not when you've lost 20% of your country.

SANCHEZ: Yes -- more than a fifth now of Ukraine is in the hands of the Russians.

The armed forces of Ukraine had this Facebook post where they essentially said that they would return to retake this territory. There's a chunk of their statement.

TEXT: "After heavy battles for Lysychansk, the Defense Forces of Ukraine were forced to withdraw from their occupied positions and lines. We will be back."

SANCHEZ: We've seen the Ukrainians retake territory that the Russians invaded and took in their possession. Do you think it's going to be possible here?

SANGER: I think it's possible but it's a lot harder.

First of all, this is right on the Russian border so the Russians don't have the long supply line issues that they had when they were elsewhere in the -- in the country. Second, this is territory that's been fought over for a long time. There's a lot of Russian speakers in this -- in this region. The Russians know it well.

I think they make take back pieces of it. I think they could make this very painful and expensive for the Russians. But it is making it pretty clear that the only truly effective thing they can do right now is get these very powerful long-range weapons that the United States and some others have been offering and really take it out on the Russians.

[07:35:00]

But that means a long, grinding war at a moment that you've already seen the United States focus, understandably, on other things, from gun violence to abortion and the rest of the Supreme Court decisions. You know, the American focus on a war like this, especially when there are not American troops involved -- and fortunately, right now, there are not -- it's a hard thing to sustain.

SANCHEZ: No shortage of domestic issues for Americans to focus on, especially when the economy is in as rough a shape as it's in. That Facebook post that I noted moments ago from the Ukrainian

military -- they send a not very subtle message to the West, saying that will and patriotism will not be enough against the Russians. They need more resources.

You touched on this just a moment ago but exactly what would the Ukrainians need for help to limit the Russian advances as they look to take more territory in Donbas.

SANGER: Well, they're going to need more of these HIMARS systems, which are satellite-guided, high-precision, very expensive weapons. And I think they've already used those to good effect to take a lot out of the Russians.

They're going to need general support for their economy. We haven't even gotten to the discussion of what's it going to cost to rebuild and where that money is going to come from. Some have suggested it should come from Russian assets held abroad, including their central bank assets, but the administration has got some concerns about the legality of doing that.

But, you know, this is always the case in wars like this. And we're talking about this on the Fourth of July. We needed a lot of support in 1776 all through the next seven or eight years and got it from the French and others.

But this is in for the long haul and I'm not sure that Americans have got their heads around, yet, that very central fact because it's going to alter the way we think about Europe, about our commitments in Asia, about our commitments here at home, and about our willingness to put up with high gas prices.

SANCHEZ: And about the world order in general.

David Sanger --

SANGER: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: -- we appreciate you joining us. Hope you get to enjoy some hot dogs and fireworks later.

SANGER: Thank you -- you, too.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

This is like a scene out of a movie. A Florida teen is at the beach when she's attacked by a shark. Her brother springing into action, fighting it off. You're going to hear from them directly just ahead.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And after two years of tone-downed celebrations, July Fourth is making a big comeback all across the country.

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[07:41:52] KEILAR: After a 2-year hiatus, some of America's biggest cities are bringing back their Fourth of July celebrations, like in Milwaukee where they kicked things off a little early. They began their festivities last night with just this breathtaking fireworks display.

And joining us now with more on these celebrations, we have Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, and Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott.

Mayor Johnson, to you first. I mean, this is pretty exciting just to kind of get back to things being normal. How was it?

MAYOR CAVALIER JOHNSON, (D) MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN (via Skype): Oh, well, thank you so much. It is so, so exciting to have fireworks back in Milwaukee on the lakefront of Lake Michigan. It's one of those spectacular shows in all of the Midwest. And citizens in Milwaukee and across the state were thrilled to join us in Milwaukee for our fireworks celebration. It was great.

KEILAR: Yes, we're enjoying it. We've showed it like five times this morning so that everyone else can enjoy it along with us.

Mayor Scott, tell us what you have on tap in Baltimore.

MAYOR BRANDON SCOTT, (D) BALTIMORE, MARYLAND (via Skype): Yes, after two years, we're going to be back at the -- at the world-renowned Inner Harbor. We're so excited to have people back after everything we've been through.

We're doing it with a little spin, too, this year. Being a Black city, we wanted to honor -- and being the place where Frederick Douglass spent so much time, we're going to be doing a lot of things. We have music from our BSO, performances of -- a performance of what does the Fourth of July mean to a slave as well. Just a great time for everyone to understand all of the history and have a great time.

We have two fireworks displays tonight -- one at the Inner Harbor and one in Middle Branch at the Cherry Hill music and cultural festival. I'll be at both of them to just enjoy having a great time.

KEILAR: That sounds amazing -- amazing what you have planned there.

Mayor Johnson, I wonder -- you know, this year, when you're thinking about what your city has been through here over the last couple of years, why is it so important that things are kind of getting back to normal even as the country, even as your city still has its share of challenges?

JOHNSON: In this city and in this state, and in this country there are a number of differences, right? So we need to look at things that bring people together.

And in Milwaukee, we're fortunate enough to have a lot of great events like the spectacular run the Milwaukee Bucks have had over the past few years that have brought people together in our city.

It doesn't matter if you're young or old, gay, straight, able-bodied, disabled, rich or poor, folks come together around things like that. And folks also come together around the celebration of America. Everybody loves the United States in this city and it's important that we have events like that to bring people together, including when we have trying times in Milwaukee and across the country.

KEILAR: Yes, and, I mean, Mayor Scott, with the celebration that you have, which is so geared towards being inclusive and acknowledging the experience and the different experiences of people, I think that must really be the case in Baltimore as well.

SCOTT: Yes -- and listen, like we said, we're doing it in a different way, right? So you have to think about all that history here in Baltimore. We -- what kind of city would we be if we didn't honor the history of Frederick Douglass who was here so much?

[07:45:00]

And as my brother may have said, with everything that everyone has been through over the last two years to have people come together despite those small differences and know that we still have great things that we have to tackle here in Baltimore, in our state of Maryland, and in our country.

Clearly, the pandemic isn't over. We still want people to be safe.

We are all seeing the issues around gun violence in this country but we need to allow people the opportunity to just enjoy themselves and be around each other with great company. We did that when we brought our African American heritage festival (AFRAM) back a few weeks ago and we're going to do it again as we celebrate the Fourth of July as well

KEILAR: Well, I hope that you both enjoy this beautiful weekend and the celebrations in your city, and we thank you so much for being with us this morning on NEW DAY. Mayor Scott and Mayor Johnson, thank you.

SCOTT: Thank you.

JOHNSON: Thank you.

KEILAR: And you can catch coast-to-coast fireworks -- your town -- it's not enough? You can get them coast to coast and some incredible music from some of the biggest stars tonight on CNN. Celebrate "THE FOURTH IN AMERICA" live at 7 p.m. eastern.

SANCHEZ: Check this out. A Norwegian Sun cruise ship on its way to an Alaskan glacier had to cut its trip short after it hit a piece of an iceberg.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My God, Titanic 2.0. Oh my God.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we hit a big old one.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my -- we hit some iceberg. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit some ice.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hit some ice. Oh my God.

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SANCHEZ: The sequel is never as good as the original is.

KEILAR: No, it's not. I like his commentary, though.

SANCHEZ: Yes. The ship sustaining some damage to its starboard bow last week. It was determined seaworthy enough, though, to return to its home port in Seattle at a reduced speed. There, passengers were able to disembark. Repairs were also being made. Fortunately, no injuries reported. But a cruise that was slated to start on June 30 had to be postponed.

No word yet if Rose made any room for Jack on that plank of wood they were floating.

KEILAR: And she never will. And she never will, Boris.

SANCHEZ: So, on to some serious news. The Uvalde school district police chief is stepping down from the city council. We're going to be joined by a state senator with how the community is now reacting to that news.

KEILAR: And newly-released body camera video revealing the moment that a man was shot during a police pursuit last week. What we are learning this morning.

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[07:51:29]

KEILAR: Police in Akron, Ohio releasing body camera footage of the death of Jayland Walker who suffered 60 wounds during a pursuit last week. He was shot. This shooting occurred when Walker fled his vehicle following a car chase as officers tried to initiate a traffic stop. Police say officers heard what was described as a gunshot coming from Walker's car.

We do want to warn you the video is graphic.

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POLICE OFFICER: Don't move! Don't (bleep) move! (Bleep) move! Don't move!

Multiple gunshots.

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KEILAR: CNN's Polo Sandoval is live for us in Akron with the very latest on this -- Polo. POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Brianna, there's a recently-passed city ordinance that basically requires APD to release body camera footage at least a week after the incident, and that's exactly what was released yesterday -- at least a portion of it.

That law requiring them to release not only the moments of the shooting incident but the 60 seconds leading up to it. And that is why we don't see the subsequent interactions among the eight police officers that fired that barrage of bullets that, according to the police chief, saw Walker as a perceived threat -- according to him -- taking a firing position after reaching for his waistband as you see -- at least what they say is shown in that video.

In addition to that body camera footage, investigators here in Akron also releases a still shot from a traffic camera. And in it, they say you can see what appears to be a muzzle flash coming from inside the vehicle that was being driven by Jayland Walker on Monday during the vehicle pursuit of the incident.

That, together with what sounded like a single gunshot, led authorities to believe that at least one shot was fired from inside the vehicle. Now, at who or at what, that is still a very big question that's being asked here this morning that ultimately, that third-party investigation will have to reveal.

But in that eventual body camera video, you see those eight officers, with an average experience on this force of about 2 1/2 years, chase after Walker. And that is when at least eight of them opened fire.

Now, the police chief who you're about to hear from basically saying that investigation was immediately handed over to state officials who will have to reach out to these officers who have not yet offered statements, though they have cooperated with the investigation, according to the police chief. And the police chief making it very clear that they will have to account for every one of the rounds that left their barrels.

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CHIEF STEPHEN MYLETT, AKRON POLICE DEPARTMENT: When they make the most critical decision to point their firearm at another human being and pull the trigger, they've got to be ready to explain why they did what they did. They need to be able to articulate what specific threats they were facing. And that goes for every round that goes down the barrel of their gun.

And they need to be held to account. The officers have not been able to provide a statement yet. I am reserving any sort of judgment until we hear from them.

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SANDOVAL: Both Akron's police chief, who you just heard from, and also the Walker family's attorney have told us that he was unarmed the moment of the shooting. But when you look at that still image it's also important to keep in mind that they also located a pistol inside of the vehicle, which is that Glock pistol. The magazine had been removed, which is certainly a puzzling development as investigators try to find out potentially why that was.

[07:55:10]

In the meantime, we're also hearing more from the family's attorney who is demanding also accountability, basically saying that the use of force exceeded what the situation potentially called for.

This is Bobby DiCello, one of the attorneys representing the Walker family.

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BOBBY DICELLO, ATTORNEY REPRESENTING WALKER FAMILY: The use of guns or the presence of guns does not give to an officer the carte blanche to just shoot until the guy stops moving, or shoot until he runs -- while he's running away. That is not how it works. You can't drop him and seize his body with bullets. (INAUDIBLE).

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SANDOVAL: As for the Walker family, really, patience and peace -- that's what they have been pleading for from the community since the day of the shooting here.

I had an opportunity to speak to one of the cousins of the family that says that they are allowing this investigation to run its course. They have been satisfied with the information so far, or at least the amount of information that has been shared with the police department up to this point, including the detail that he was unarmed at the moment of the shooting. But certainly, they are hoping, Brianna, that those officers will be held accountable if the investigation leads in that particular direction.

And as for the city of Akron, last night we saw another wave of demonstrations, at one point getting extremely tense. But according to the police department, no arrests made last night.

KEILAR: All right, Polo. We know that you'll continue to cover this. Thank you so much.

SANCHEZ: Let's dig deeper now with an expert. Joining us is CNN senior law enforcement analyst, Charles Ramsey. He's the former Philadelphia police commissioner, and former police chief of Washington, D.C. Sir, grateful to have a part of your holiday morning.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, CONSULTANT ON POLICING REFORM, FORMER PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER, FORMER POLICE CHIEF OF WASHINGTON, D.C. (via Webex by Cisco): Thank you

SANCHEZ: First and foremost, I just want to get your reaction to the video. What did you see that stands out?

RAMSEY: Well, first of all, the one video that shows the officers actually pursuing the individual on foot -- Mr. Walker on foot, it's difficult to really tell exactly what's taking place because of the movement of the camera.

But there was a second video that was shown during the press conference yesterday that really slowed things down and actually had a few still shots included in it. And when you look at that and start to think about the perception of a threat from the beginning to the end, you do see something that is a flash in the car. They say they heard a sound that sounds like a gunshot. OK, so that would immediately tell you that now you're pursuing an individual who is possibly armed.

He gets out of the car. There's another still shot that shows him with a ski mask on, getting out and running. Now, this is July. Wearing a ski mask in July is not what people normally do. He takes off running and there's another still shot that does show him turn.

So, all those things will be part of the investigation that we have to look at to determine whether or not the use of deadly force was justified by each of the officers. The chief is absolutely right. Every officer -- which means you probably have eight different body camera angles that you need to look at to determine if that officer actually had a perceived threat that would lead him to use deadly force.

Now, that's an awful lot of shots fired. And because of that, you have to justify at what point in time do you stop firing because the threat is no longer a threat. I mean, you've neutralized the threat. That's all part of the investigation.

And so, this is going to be one -- I'm very glad the chief turned it over immediately to a third party because that's the right thing to do.

But one interesting thing I want to point out about the photograph you showed of the gun laying on the seat --

SANCHEZ: Yes.

RAMSEY: -- with the magazine out. There is a ring that's there -- a gold ring. It looks like a wedding ring.

So, I mean, when you start thinking about the mindset, why would a person do what they're doing? I don't know if it was some kind of domestic -- a breakup with a girlfriend, a breakup with a wife. Was there something that made him take those actions -- that this isn't consistent with his behavior? In other words, he has no history of violent behavior or whatever. I just find that to be very unusual to see something like that.

But getting back to the shooting itself, it does boil down to whether or not the officers were justified in the use of deadly force at that time, and you can't really tell from that video.

SANCHEZ: I want to bring up the actual photograph of the gun in the front seat because Akron police say that that's the condition that they found the gun in. However, the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation reported that they found the gun in the back seat, so there's a discrepancy there. Walker's family attorney is also questioning why there were no bullet

holes in the vehicle. The car is intact.

What do you make of that discrepancy and what the family is saying?

RAMSEY: Well, I mean, looking at that picture I can't tell if it's back seat or front seat, but let's assume it's front seat and they're saying the gun was found in the back seat. I don't know why that would be a discrepancy. Some officer could have recovered it and taken the magazine out. That's all part of the investigation.

The window could have been down when the shot was fired. And so, that would not leave a hole in the window, obviously.

So there's a lot that needs to be gone through when trying to recreate the situation that existed throughout the entire.