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Deadly Ambush of NYPD Officers; Mayor Speaks as Tensions with NYPD Rise; Giuliani Slams NYC Mayor on Protests; Mayor Speaks at Police Lunch

Aired December 22, 2014 - 13:00   ET

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


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WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 6:00 p.m. in London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem, 9:00 p.m. in Moscow. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

Up first, New York's mayor addresses a charity organization with ties to the NYPD. The New York Police Department, this hour, as tensions rise over the assassination of two police officers. Mayor Bill De Blasio speaks at a luncheon for the Police Athletic League just a few minutes from now. We'll bring you his remarks live. This is a very, very sensitive moment in the story. Tensions between the mayor and police are very, very high right now.

And we just learned a while ago that the mayor visited the homes of the two police officers who were killed, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. Mayor Bill De Blasio has been the object of a lot of anger, a lot of finger pointing since the officers were gunned down brutally over the weekend.

Our National Reporter Nick Valencia walks us through the timeline of how it all unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The shooter's onslaught of terror began Saturday morning just before 6:00 a.m. in Baltimore, Maryland. Police say 28-year-old Ismaaiyl Brinsley shot and seriously injured his ex-girlfriend in her apartment hours before he would kill two New York police officers. Police say one of the last posts he put on social media was this, I always wanted to be known for doing something right, he said, but my past is stalking me and my present is haunting me.

The post followed with another anonymous warning, I'm putting wings on pigs today, he wrote. They take one of ours, let's take two of theirs. Police say the posts were flagged by authorities in Baltimore but a message to be on alert in New York was too late. At 2:47 p.m., without warning or provocation, Brinsley walked up to the patrol cars of New York police officers, Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos.

WILLIAM J. BRATTON, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: While sitting in a marked NYPD police car in full uniform, they both were ambushed and murdered in front of 98 Tompkins Avenue in the Bedford- Stuyvesant (ph) of Brooklyn, New York City.

VALENCIA: Liu and Ramos never had a chance to draw their weapons. They were rushed to the hospital where later pronounced dead. Immediately after the shooting, nearby officers gave chase following Brinsley into a subway station.

BRATTON: While on the platform, Brinsley shot himself in the head. He took his own life.

VALENCIA: Police recovered a silver Semi-automatic gun from the shooter which they say was used in the killings. Saturday night at the hospital, more tense moments. New York Mayor Bill De Blasio shows up to pays his respects. And while past a row of police, officers turn their backs, demonstrating their anger towards a mayor who they say shares the blame for the officers' deaths.

PATRICK LYNCH, PRESIDENT, PATROLMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION: There's blood on many hands tonight. That blood on the hands starts on the steps of city hall in the office of the mayor.

VALENCIA: For the family of slain officer, Rafael Ramos, the focus was not on blame but on grief. Late Saturday, Ramos' 13-year-old son wrote this on Facebook. Today, I had to say bye to my father. I will always love you, and I will never forget you.

(on camera): On Sunday, New York Police Department commissioner, Bill Bratton, released a message to his police force. That message read, in part, May God grant Officer Wingin Liu and Officer Rafael Ramos rest. And to all the members of the service, be safe.

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: A lot of critics have lashed out at the mayor, Bill De Blasio, over the police officers' shootings. They point to a support of protests over the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, two black men who died at the hands of white police officers. The former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani, says De Blasio let the demonstrations get out of hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUDY GIULIANI, FORMER MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: We don't want to silence it, but it doesn't have a right to take over the city. It doesn't have the right to cost a person their life because an ambulance can't get through. It doesn't have a right to take over the Brooklyn Bridge so a man can't get home from work. You can protest in an appropriate place and in an appropriate manner. That's perfect first amendment law. That's why protest is a place, you know, across the street from the president rather than right next to the president. They get to make their point but they don't get to take over the city. And when you see the protesters taking over the city, then, all of a sudden, the police get the impression that you're supporting them, not him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But is that -- GIULIANI: There's no question he was -- he was supporting the protesters and not the police.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Well, Giuliani says he disagrees with the decision by those police officers to turn their backs on Mayor De Blasio at the hospital and so does the current police commissioner. William Bratton was asked if the mayor has lost the confidence of the NYPD police force. Here's what he said on NBC's "Today" show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. BRATTON, COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: I think he has lost it with some officers, that the -- I was at the hospital when that event occurred.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you support their office -- those officers and the way they protested?

BRATTON: I don't support that particular activity. I don't think it was appropriate, particularly in that setting. But it's reflective of the anger of some of them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: The commissioner, Bill Bratton, also says he hasn't seen this kind of tension in New York since the 1970s. While we wait to hear from the New York mayor, Bill De Blasio, let's get some perspective on this current rift between the mayor and the police department.

Chris Smith is a contributing editor for "New York Magazine," and Tom Fuentes is a Law Enforcement Analyst, a former FBI assistant director. Chris, have you seen tension like this between the police and the mayor of New York, I guess since the early 1970s when there was real tension?

CHRIS SMITH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": No. The closest comparison would probably be in the late 1980s, early 1990s. There was a police demonstration on the steps of city hall that was loud, angry, vitriolic. Mayor David Dinkins was leading the city, at that point. Rudy Giuliani, in fact, was a participant in those protests. But this kind of direction shunning of the mayor with officers turning their backs on the current mayor, no, we've never seen that.

BLITZER: Well, you just wrote an article in the "New York Magazine" Can De Blasio Unite New York in the Wake of Cop Killings? Can he? What does he need to do?

SMITH: Well, it's a very difficult thing. And, you know, it's probably impossible to talk about truly uniting a city of 8 million people but he can certainly try to bring more opinions together. And he started doing that yesterday, attending mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral with Cardinal Timothy Dolan. And, in general, trying to lower the volume, trying to get in the words of De Blasio's aides, other responsible voices out there, a surrogate somewhat. Governor Andrew Cuomo yesterday, borough president, Eric Adams, himself a former police officer, has been making appearances.

But De Blasio, of course, has to address this himself head-on and he would be giving his first public remarks since Saturday night at the hospital at the police athletic league today and that's an event that was scheduled long before this. Whether you can say, you know, it's good or bad timing now depends on your point of view. But it's very high stakes for De Blasio. He -- his theme is going to be trying to unite people, that it's not us against them. It's not cops or community. That it's all of us.

BLITZER: We're showing our viewers a live picture from the podium there at the Police Athletic League luncheon. Once again, the luncheon is designed to strengthen the bond between police and the community. And we're told the mayor, you saw him arriving just a moment or so ago at this Park Avenue location. He'll be speaking and we'll have live coverage. We're going to stand by to hear what he has to say about this current very, very tense situation.

This is tape, by the way, of the mayor arriving at this location on Park Avenue right in Manhattan, walking in, getting ready to make what will be a significant speech. He knows the tensions are severe right now. There's a lot of anger toward him directly over the killing, the brutal killing of these two police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu who were just simply sitting in their car in Brooklyn when this other individual, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, walked up with a hand gun, as you saw in that report, and shot both of these police officers and killed them both.

Tom Fuentes, you're here with me. I understand, based on what we're getting from New York, there are a lot of threats now, more threats, that have been picked up on social media against New York City police officers. I guess they really have to be afraid -- and you used to be a city cop. They really have to be afraid of copycats out there.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Absolutely. And these postings, if you will, started right after the murders on Saturday. The police starting receiving all kinds of threats Saturday night into Sunday. An individual that was going to travel to New York and expressly said he was going to kill police and several other threats that were followed up on. So, it's not -- you know, it's not just a small amount. It's a large amount directed particularly at New York police right now.

BLITZER: Yes, they've got to be really careful and they're beefing up their patrols, if you will. I want to talk about that. We're going to get ready. We're standing by. We're waiting for the New York City mayor, Bill De Blasio. He's going to come to the microphone there. You're seeing live pictures from this luncheon address he's going to be making for this Police Athletic League. That's a charity group. The group -- the event was scheduled a while ago but it's critically important right now as this mayor of New York, embattled, tries to restore confidence from New York City cops. We'll be right back.

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BLITZER: We're waiting on the New York City mayor, Bill De Blasio, to begin his speech to a Police Athletic League charity event in New York City. You're looking at live pictures coming in from that event. This event was scheduled a long time ago but it takes on an added urgency right now. By the way, the New York City police commissioner, Bill Bratton, will be there as well as the Manhattan district attorney.

Tensions are on the rise significantly between the mayor, Bill De Blasio, and the city police force. Officers have been very critical of the mayor's handling of the anti-police protests that have been underway in New York over these past several weeks.

Over the weekend, some officers, look at this video, actually turn their back on the mayor of New York at a public appearance. He was going to the hospital to pay his respects to the two police officers who were brutally gunned down. They turned their backs to the mayor of New York. All of these police officers, they wouldn't look at him as he walked by this corridor over there. It's a really, really devastating scene. And it underscores the tension between the mayor and the police officers right now.

CNN's Crime and Justice Producer Shimon Prokupecz is joining us now. Shimon, you're outside this luncheon. Tell us, first of all, what you are hearing. Are we expecting a lengthy speech from the mayor or a short speech? He's got a lot of work to do to try to repair his relation with New York City police officers.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: Well, yes, Wolf. And he's got a lot of work to do. I mean, this speech was initially to build that sort of -- you know, what his campaign was about, how are we going to fix the relationship between the community and the police department? And now he has a much bigger issue, perhaps, you know, how is he going to fix his relationship with police officers across the city? So, we expected, you know, this speech to sort of focus on some of that. But, you know, this is still expected to mostly talk about some of the community policing and how police officers in the community can get along better.

You know, this speech was written fairly recently after the event of Saturday when the two officers were killed. So, we're told (ph) he's supposed to incorporate some of that. And, you know, but it's still sort of -- he's still going to be mostly talking about community issues is what we've been told. You know, he just got here after visiting the officers' families this morning. And, you know, he just got here and he got in the elevator and is now heading upstairs. And the police commissioner arrived, you know, a short time later and they're both upstairs. You know, these are mostly donors, people who donate to this program, which helps sort of support some gyms and basketball courts across the city to help and reduce crime. Sort of keep kids off the street. And that's what this program's about. And so I think he's going to focus a lot about that.

BLITZER: Yes. PEREZ: And really this program is billed as a way for communities and police to sort of work together. So that's sort of what we expect here, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it will be an important speech and I know the mayor and the police commissioner, they're going to be holding a joint news conference later this afternoon. We'll, of course, have live coverage of that as well. I think it's scheduled for around 3:30 p.m. Eastern.

But in this speech, people are going to be watching. Also, are there police officers in that event, at this luncheon? Because yesterday we saw that ugly scene of those police officers turning their backs on the mayor of New York. They refused to even look at him as he was walking down that corridor and we're going to be watching closely if there are police officers at this Police Athletic League luncheon right now where we're going to see their reaction. I saw a lot of people -- these are like donors to the Police Athletic League, basically, is that right, Shimon?

PROKUPECZ: Yes, that's correct, it's donors, it's also community leaders, you know, and like you said, the Manhattan district attorney, and retired D.A. Morgantha (ph) and also former Mayor Dinkins I saw going in. So it's a lot of, you know, community local people, some, you know, local politicians. You know, I don't expect to see any police officers in there. I haven't seen - you know, I've been to these events before and usually police officers are not in attendance. So I don't expect that there will be any police officers. Certainly not in uniform. I mean the commissioner's senior staff will be there, the chief of staff I saw was going in, some of his deputy commissioners will be in there. But the rank and file sort of, you know, what we saw on Saturday, we will not see here. Also, these officers are in uniform. You know, if they are here, they'll be in uniform and I wouldn't expect to see something like that here.

BLITZER: Shimon, stand by, because once the mayor starts speaking, I want to listen precisely to what he has to say and I assume he's going to be trying to send a message out to the police force in New York City that h supports them, he - we'll see if he issues a regret for some of the comments he may have made, others may have made. We'll see how far he goes in trying to repair this clearly tense relationship that exists right now between the mayor and the NYPD.

I want to go over to Brooklyn, though, as we await the mayor. A makeshift memorial is growing in the neighborhood where these two police officers, Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, were shot and killed as they simply sat in their patrol cars. CNN's Sara Ganim is on the scene for us there in Brooklyn.

We've been watching the tensions between the mayor and the police officers, Sara. So what's the mood there? Set the scene for us in the neighborhood.

SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, none of those tensions that you just talked about between the mayor and the police, none of those are existing here. And as a matter of fact, I just talked to several community members who came out here and they said, look, they believe that those tensions are not a good thing, that is not a good conversation to be having right now. And they said they believe that tensions like that between the mayor and the police are only going to lead to more violence. And I have to say, I've been here for a few hours now and we haven't seen anything like that, no tensions between police and the community members.

You know, it really wasn't just that long ago or that far from here that people were protesting the NYPD in New York. Nothing like that exists here today. Today we are seeing people -- members of the community walk up and shake hands with police officers. Police officers are coming in groups and laying, you know, candles and flowers and memorials and so are community members and they are coming together. As a matter of fact, one of the most touching moments from this afternoon, I believe, was when a woman came up with a sign, a message to one of the police officer's sons. It says, "Jayden, your father did nothing wrong." And she was having trouble taping her message to the brick wall with duct tape and a police officer came over and helped her hold the signs, rip the duct tape, put it up on that wall. That was really a very touching moment and also just really indicative of the mood here. People are peaceful, they're respectful, they're quite and they're helping one another and there's no kind of tension that we've been seeing in New York City in the last couple of weeks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, that's the scene where these two police officers, Rafael Ramos, Wenjian Liu were brutally shot and killed by a guy, Ismaaiyl Brinsley who simply drove up from Baltimore and announced on social media he was going to kill two cops and he went ahead and did so.

All right, we're standing by to hear from the mayor of New York. He's got a lot of work to do right now to repair his own relationship with the New York Police Department. We're going to hear from Mayor Bill de Blasio as soon as we come back.

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BLITZER: We're waiting to hear from the mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio. There's real tension in New York right now. Tension between the mayor and the police force. They're not happy with some of the comments he made over these past several weeks.

As we await the mayor, he's speaking at this Police Athletic League luncheon in New York on the future of the community relations with the NYPD. Let's bring in Reverend Calvin Butts. He's a community leader. He's pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York.

Pastor, thanks very much for joining us.

Chris Smith is still with us. He's a contributing editor for "New York Magazine." Tom Fuentes, our CNN law enforcement analyst, a former FBI assistant director, is with us as well.

Reverend Butts, what do you think, what does the mayor need to do now? And he's got an opportunity at this speech, which we'll be seeing. We're going to take it live. People will see it in New York, indeed around the county. You know, we're being seen, in fact, around the world right now. What does he need to do to fix the relationship between himself and the NYPD?

REV. CALVIN BUTTS, PASTOR, ABYSSINIAN BAPTIST CHURCH: He needs to listen very carefully to the leadership of the NYPD. While I don't always agree, mostly don't agree with a lot of the things that the PBA president says, I think that the morale is very low at this moment. And not only does he need to be a cheerleader, but he certainly needs to let the police know that he is on their side.

Now, that's delicate for me to say because we're in a kind of tug-of- war here between different issues. But where the police are concerned in the city of New York, we need them to be strong, we need their (INAUDIBLE) to be vigorous because they have a very tough job to do in protecting the entire city. And the mayor certainly needs to listen more to the police than he does to some of his other advisers.

BLITZER: Reverend Butts, you know this mayor. Is he up to the task? Can he fix this relationship? Because he's basically just recently started. He hasn't been on the job all that long. He's got a long tenure of ahead of him. And if the mayor's relationship with the New York Police Department is not good, that does not bode well for anyone in those five boroughs of New York City.

BUTTS: You're absolutely right, Wolf. And I have my concerns. I'm disappointed that when called -- when I called the mayor's office to set up a meeting between several leading clergy persons in this city and several very prominent business persons, the mayor did not reach back. This indicates that he is slightly out of touch, he's getting bad advice and, as a result, the tensions in the city between police and community are heightened. And it is, I think, a direct result of leadership.

Now, I haven't been able to talk to this man. He reaches out through minions in his office, but he does not really connect with those of us who are on the ground and who have contributed greatly to the life of the city. I'm not sure who he's listening to, but I would encourage him not to just speak to this luncheon today, but to really sit down and negotiate hard. And I think it's not only the mayor. I think there has to be more of a conversation with the commissioner. He cannot be left out of this equation.

BLITZER: We think the commissioner, Bill Bratton, said earlier today, he hasn't seen tension like this in New York City between the NYPD and a mayor and the city government, if you will, going back to the 1970s. Now, you've been a long-time resident of New York. Do you agree with Bill Bratton?

BUTTS: Yes, I do. I have been involved in many debates with the New York City Police Department, but I was able to work very closely with Ed Koch, very closely with David Dinkins. And, surprising, expect for one major issue with Rudy Giuliani for a whole. I'm telling -- and certainly with Michael Bloomberg. It was not a better relationship between myself and a mayor and a police commissioner. But that has deteriorated rapidly and I see it most importantly, Wolf, in the lack of spirit among the rank and file police officers. That's a crisis of leadership.

CHRIS SMITH, CONTRIBUTING EDITOR, "NEW YORK MAGAZINE": Wolf, if I could --

BLITZER: He's - yes, go ahead. Chris -- Chris Smith is still with us. Reverend Butts, I want you to stand by for a moment, Tom Fuentes. Chris Smith is the contributing editor of "New York Magazine." He's covered these stories for a long time.

Go ahead, Chris.

SMITH: Well, if I could, I know you know this, Wolf, I know the reverend knows it. Just to be explicit, we talk about the cops. The New York City Police Department is 35,000 men and women. It's certainly not monolithic. And it's really important, particularly at this time, to distinguish between the words and the rage of the head of the Police Benevolent Association and a larger maybe majority groups of cops who have anger, not necessarily directly from these shootings - I mean they're certainly sad and upset about those, but there's skepticism and wariness of de Blasio has built up over time. It's a hangover somewhat from the campaign he ran last year where he was vehemently calling for a reduction in the use of stop-and-frisk. And the mayor, as mayor now, after the election, has tried to make the argument that he was against tactics, he was not against the cops. And that's a very nuance, difficult point to make. And there's all sorts of folks in the media, in other political parties, in the unions with agendas to push who have distorted that message to some extent. And so it's important to note here that there are a lot of cops who agree with where de Blasio would like to take the department and others who are in the middle who want to see where he really wants to go.

BLITZER: Let me guess - get - we're -- I think he -- the mayor's getting ready to speak, Reverend Butts, but, quickly, you've been a resident. Do you remember a time when police officers refused to look - refused to look at the mayor of New York City and turn their backs on him as they did Saturday night when he went to the hospital to pay his respects to those two police officers who were gunned down?

BUTTS: Well, you know, I remember the days when the police officers made some very disparaging remarks about David Dinkins, but I also know that police officers, as Chris pointed out, are for the rank and file men and women who serve this city, they're good people. And it -- they are willing to work with the mayor. But the mayor has got to come off of a kind of - you know, I know where I'm going. I don't know that you understand where I'm going fully. And I'm listening to some people. But he doesn't seem to be listening to the police. And I just think fairly he needs to hear what his rank and file is saying.