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Turning Point in Baltimore; Curfew Remains Through Next Week; Schools Reopen; Police and National Guard on Patrol; Obama Blames Criminals and Thugs for Violence; Empty Orioles Stadium. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 29, 2015 - 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, also 1:00 p.m. in Baltimore, 6:00 p.m. London, 8:00 p.m. in Jerusalem. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We begin with the breaking news, the governor of Maryland says the situation in Baltimore has reached a turning point, his words. The city is under a curfew and a state of emergency but a tense calm has returned after the looting and lawlessness on Monday.

Two thousand National Guardsmen and more than a thousand police are helping patrol the streets. Only 10 people were taken into custody overnight, compared to the 235 arrests Monday night. The 10:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew will remain in place through next week.

Baltimore public schools reopened today. Classes had been canceled because of the violence that erupted Monday. The head of the school district praised the students who did not take part in the rioting.

And the Baltimore Orioles baseball team will take on the Chicago White Sox next hour, but the teams will play before an empty stadium. The game is closed to the public.

And these are the live pictures we're getting of a peaceful protest going on right now outside the state's attorney's office in Baltimore. No fires, no looting and fewer arrests in Baltimore overnight.

Let's get the very latest on what's happening right now. Our National Correspondent Ryan Young and Correspondent Athena Jones are both joining us from the streets of Baltimore. Athena, you had a chance to speak, just a little while ago, with the governor of Maryland, Larry Hogan. Tell us what he said.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Wolf. That's right, I spoke to him after he met with NAACP volunteers here at the satellite office that they just opened in a neighborhood not far from the Gilmore house -- Gilmore homes housing project where Freddie Gray was arrested back on April 12th. I asked him how he -- how he felt about how things went last night. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) GOV. LARRY HOGAN (R), MARYLAND: Things are way better than they were and we've turned a corner dramatically. It was a completely different story from Monday night. We had -- we had the National Guard. We had the state police. We had police officers from all around the state and the country helping us. We were working with community leaders. It was a great night.

But it's not over yet. There's still a lot of frustrations. There's still a lot of hostility. There's still anger in the community. And there's still people out there that want to make trouble and there's still some, you know, folks that are out there that want to get things out of control that don't want to go in a peaceful way like the majority of people do.

So, we're going to stay until the city is safe and until we feel, you know, it's safe for us to leave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: So, they're going to stay as long as necessary with this increased law enforcement presence. One more thing I asked him about, Wolf, is something that a lot of folks have been talking about, a larger issue of the need for criminal justice reform, the need for reforms to police departments like the one here in Baltimore. The governor is planning to sign several bills that will treat some of that.

I'll just mention a few things those bills would do. One, they would study the use of body cameras and make recommendations. They would also require the police to report on demographics of traffic stops, including race. They would require the police department to report to the governor's office about deaths of civilians in police custody and that sort of thing.

So, those are -- those are some of the reforms that the governor is planning to sign and they could go in some direction towards addressing some of the concerns that are brought up around this issue that Freddie Gray faced -- Wolf.

BLITZER: Athena, stand by. And I just want to alert our viewers as well. Momentarily, fairly soon we're told, the attorney general, the new one, of the United States, Loretta Lynch, will be speaking out on the situation in Baltimore. We'll have live coverage of that, of course.

Let's go to Ryan right now. Ryan, as you know, some residents actually were praising Baltimore police for their restraint in enforcing the curfew last night. What kind of reaction are you hearing from folks there on the streets of Baltimore?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've actually talked to several people who told us they were glad this has sort of disarmed itself. Now, I want to show you something, Wolf. You can see, this used to be where the police line was. We'll take a walk up here. This is where the armored vehicle was. That armored vehicle was removed. The officers were standing blocking the street. Now, you can see just a few officers who are standing in front of this business that was looted recently. We've actually talked to the commander here and they've been telling us all day long, they've having sidewalk conversations with the people, with the community, who have been coming out here all day to kind of voice their opinions. The officers were standing here. It's been very peaceful so far. There is a man preaching on the corner. But besides that, now this whole intersection is open. The shields are gone. There's a lot of smiles back here on the people's faces. Even though some of them are still frustrated, Wolf, they even feel like they've been able to talk to the officers one on one for most of the afternoon.

BLITZER: What about the effort to clean up in Baltimore? What are you seeing? A lot of volunteers trying to do good things, right?

[13:05:03] YOUNG: Well, after last night, you thought there would be a lot of trash on the street. And we're still seeing people showing up with brooms and trash bags, walking around and actually picking up some of the trash on their own. And that's been something very positive. And people have not been throwing anything all day long. The street that was closed is now back open and the conversations have completely changed so far. I mean, it's remarkable. We've had --

BLITZER: All right. Ryan, one more thing -- the -- we could hear somebody with a bull horn I think behind you or near you. What's going on? What's he saying?

YOUNG: Well, he is talking about the conditions of this community. He has been addressing the fact that he is tired of the community giving their life to the devil and he wants them to give their life to God. And that's been a theme that we've been hearing. People wanting to give more to Christ and not just relying on men to take care of these issues.

BLITZER: But slowly, but surely, it looks like life is getting back to normal in those blocks where there was so much serious trouble just on Monday and Tuesday?

YOUNG: That's something to stress. They are trying to clean up parts of the neighborhood. In fact, this check cashing place right here, this is one of the places we saw on T.V. that looters went into. They're actually cleaning that up right now. You can see the officers kind of protecting the front of the store. They are trying to clean this business up.

We've talked to business owners who say, look, we employ 10 to 15 people in this community, and we want to open back up so we can start servicing. But, look, the issues are not over here. They want their voices heard. A lot of people have been coming up to us and saying, don't leave until we get the information that we need to figure out exactly what's going on in this community. They want more education. They want more jobs. And we hear this over and over, Wolf. This commentary that they don't want this to be a flash point and everybody go away in 20 days and then they don't hear any more about Baltimore.

BLITZER: They've got a story -- you're in front of that check cashing store. We saw live pictures of when it was being looted Monday. Do we know what happened inside? Do we know if they stole cash, if they stole checks, if they stole debit cards or whatever? What happen -- do you have any idea what actually went down inside that store?

YOUNG: Well, we looked on the inside and, honestly, it was a complete mess. There's still trash in there. And you can see they're starting to get the windows together. The officers have formed a line really to keep people out, but also they want to make sure these people can work and clean things up themselves, so we haven't had a chance to talk to the workers on the inside. Not sure if the owner is here. But they've been handing out waters to the officers as well. They have formed this soft line because they've really pulled back everyone from this area. We haven't seen any sort of people going back and forth with them. But it looks like people from the community are also helping out on the inside, in terms of just trying to push some of that glass out of that store.

BLITZER: All right, Ryan, thanks very much. Ryan will be on the streets of Baltimore watching what's going on.

I want to show you what's happening outside the states attorney's office. This is a live picture. We're getting a protest underway there. Friday morning, the police, they're supposed to be presenting their initial report to the state's attorney on the death of Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who died in police custody. These people are protesting. You know what? Let's just listen in briefly and hear what they're saying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what democracy looks like.

CROWD: This is what democracy looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what democracy looks like.

CROWD: This is what democracy looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what democracy looks like.

CROWD: This is what democracy looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is what democracy looks like.

CROWD: This is what democracy looks like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, no justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more killing.

CROWD: Police.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice.

CROWD: No peace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No more justice.

CROWD: No peace.

BLITZER: All right. They're saying, no justice, no peace. This protest happening outside the office of the state's attorney in Maryland over there. They're going to be getting the police report on Friday on the death of Freddie Gray. We're going to find out what happens, presumably they'll be making a statement. When we come back, we'll be speaking with Baltimore District Seven councilman, Nick Mosby. His wife, by the way, is Marilyn Mosby. She's the state attorney who's going to be getting the report from the police.

We'll be right back.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Justice.

CROWD: Police and justice.

[13:09:18]

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BLITZER: It was the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray in police custody that ignited the protest movement in Baltimore on Friday. Baltimore police are expected to send the report of their investigation to the state attorney's office. Baltimore District Seven councilman, Nick Mosby, is joining us right now. Nick, thanks very much for joining us. I know your wife is the state attorney there in Baltimore. She's going to be receiving that report. You have no involvement with her office. But a lot of folks want to get some information on what happened to Freddie Gray. What do we expect? What do you think, as a councilman, we should be expecting to learn Friday?

NICK MOSBY, COUNCILMAN, BALTIMORE DISTRICT SEVEN: I think what's fair and really the gist of a lot of the initial protest was the basic information. You know, why was he chased? I think the police need to formally need to state that. You know, why was he ultimately detained and then arrested. And what was he charged with? You know, it's really important for the police to kind of evaluate that because that's kind of the nexus behind the situation as it relates to him running, him being chased and then him ultimately being arrested. And then, seemingly, a 25-year-old guy who folks feel is pretty healthy, you know, 40 minutes later is in the condition that he was in.

So, the community really wants to know, like, just the basic information of the policing tactics that were used to arrest and detain Mr. Gray.

BLITZER: Do you think we'll get that on Friday? Because I know there's been some concern. If your wife, Marilyn, if she relations that information, potentially, the fear is that maybe it could undermine the legal process if, in fact, any of those police officers are going to be charged?

MOSBY: Well, I think there is some information that clearly is critically important to any criminal investigation to ensure that you put yourself in the right position as it relates to going to trial. But there's also some basic facts of, you know, what actually took place that folks want to know. They want to know, why did the police feel they had the probable cause to go after him and why they ultimately made the decision to arrest him? I mean, you know, at the end of the day, that's the things that the community has been calling out, prior to even Mr. Gray dying. As soon as he was arrested, folks wanted to understand and know why he was arrested.

BLITZER: Fair enough. Let's talk a little bit about some words that have been used. As you know, the mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, she's referred to those individuals that were involved in the rioting, the looting, the burning on Monday night as thugs. Even President Obama used that term when discussing the violence. Listen to the president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My understanding is you've got some of the same organizers now going back into these communities to try to clean up in the aftermath of a handful of protesters -- a handful of criminals and thugs who tore up the place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[13:15:13] BLITZER: Now, some people are suggesting, community leaders, the word "thug" is equivalent sort of the new "n" word, if you will. What are your - what are your thoughts?

NICK MOSBY, BALTIMORE DISTRICT 7 COUNCILMAN: I think that at the end of the day, you know, clearly everything that they did was criminal. Everything that they did we should go after and figure out who these folks are and they should be prosecuted if we can figure it out. But, you know, to - throwing around words, I don't think really - it kind of takes us off base. You know, at the end of the day, this was criminal activity that occurs. You know, much more violent activity occurs in our communities on a daily basis.

The bigger point I think I'd like to highlight here, Wolf, is, it really exposes to the world urban America. You know, unfortunately, we don't necessarily highlight the intricacies associated with the systemic issues that plague our communities. And this is not a west Baltimore thing. This is my community. I love this community. This is an urban America phenomenon. You know, decades old systemic issues that have been playing our communities and that's the byproducts of what we see.

Again, I'm not condoning it. It's completely unacceptable and we must go after those folks. However, I think this is a huge opportunity for America to look through the lens of being Americans and understanding and knowing that those children who were violating the law and should be, you know, pursued, at the end of the day, there's byproduct of generations of failed policies, they're byproducts of ills from generations ago. You know, they're basically living through their fathers and their grandfathers' plight associated with the economical struggle in these communities. And, again, it's not a west Baltimore thing, this is an urban American thing.

BLITZER: Yes, that's a point that President Obama made yesterday as well.

As you know, the - last night was relatively calm. How much of that do you believe was the result of an extra police/National Guard presence, how much was the involvement of people in the community, how much of a role did they play? Why was it relatively peaceful last night?

MOSBY: Wolf, I think it was a collaborative effort. You know, I was out on Monday night walking through the street while buildings were on fire, while folks were still looting. You know, I - we came out with some elders of the community, a lot of pastors and a lot of preachers and we walked and we were able to really calm down a lot of the young folks before the police moved in. I think that folks, after seeing that, knew the importance of reaching out to these young guys on the street, knew the importance of organizing from a community perspective.

All throughout yesterday there was so many groups and so many businesses and so many clergy folks that were engaged on the community to try to ensure that the calm was kept. Going - saying that it's also critically important we had 5,000 law enforcement folks from jurisdictions all around Maryland out there. We had National Guard out there. And I think the curfew made us silence a lot. You know, I was out driving around in my district around 11 and then I went back out around 12:30. It was completely empty and, you know, folks obeyed the law of curfew. So I think it was a mixture. It was a collaborative effort.

BLITZER: So you think keeping the curfew at least a few more days into next week is a good idea?

MOSBY: I definitely do, Wolf. I think that, you know, for us to pat ourselves on the back and be overly optimistic is the wrong stance at this particular point. Folks are really in pain, folks are really frustrated, folks really want answers and I think that this is going to be a very fragile and delicate time in the city of Baltimore. So I think it's critically important that we do not let off associated with the tactical operations of ensuring that our communities and our residents and our constituents are safe. However, at the same time, knowing that hopefully we're towards the end of the tunnel and light is there. But I don't want to be overly optimistic. I think we need to do exactly what we did last night.

BLITZER: And there's a lot of work to do in the immediate days ahead. And as you correctly point out, in the months and years ahead as well. This is a bigger problem than just Baltimore. As you point out, it's a problem happening all over the United States.

Nick, we'll continue our conversations. Hopefully you'll join us back here tomorrow as well. Thanks very much. Good luck.

MOSBY: Any time, Wolf. Yes, the residual impact of this could be for decades and that's what we're trying to fight through.

BLITZER: Yes, everybody's got to work hard to make sure this country is a better country. Thank you. Nick Mosby is a Baltimore district councilman.

Much more coverage of Baltimore's state of emergency coming up, including a live report from Camden Yards where they're about to play the first ever Major League Baseball game in the United States without a single fan in the stands. We'll tell you what's going on. Stay with us.

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BLITZER: The new attorney general of the United States, Loretta Lynch, is getting ready to speak. You see a live picture coming in from the Justice Department. She's going to make a statement right at the beginning of her remarks on what's going on in Baltimore. Her first public comments on this situation since she was sworn in as the new attorney general on Monday. We're going to have live coverage of that coming up. That's momentarily. We'll hear what the attorney general of the United States has to say.

We're following all the troubles in Baltimore. We're continuing our special coverage, the unprecedented scene about to play out at the home of the city's Major League Baseball team. Less than an hour from now, the Baltimore Orioles will host the Chicago White Sox in a game that's closed to the public. That means there will be no fans cheering them on. Nearly 46,000 seats, all empty. Even Major League Baseball says that has never happened before.

Let's bring in our sports anchor Rachel Nichols. She's outside Camden Yards there in Baltimore, home of the Baltimore Orioles.

This is pretty amazing. They've decided to let the game go forward, people will watch it on television, no fans in the stadium, out of security concerns, right?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Yes. Absolutely. I was just inside the ballpark and, Wolf, there's no other word for it but eerie. Batting practice is going on, like it usually does. The music is playing, like it usually does. But there's no fans in the stands like there usually are. I spoke to an Orioles' official. He told me that they are trying to

keep things as, quote, "normal as possible" for the players, although nothing is normal. Which means that you will hear that music throughout the baseball broadcast. They're going to have walkup music. They're going to have a national anthem, although it will be taped. They're going to try to do a seventh inning stretch, even though, well, there's not really a lot of people there to stretch, but they're going to try to play the John Denver music that is custom here in Baltimore and try to at least have some semblance of normalcy in what is a very abnormal situation.

I spoke to a few players. They said they, of course, have never seen anything like this because nothing like this has ever happened in the 100 year plus history of Major League Baseball.

[13:25:08] And Adam Jones, in particular, the Orioles' all-star, had some very poignant words for this community. He has been very active in the inner city since he came to the team. He told the youth of this community, he said, I want you to know, someone has your back. He said, your frustrations are understood. But then he went on to say that the violent actions are unacceptable. So that's sort of the message here. Everybody trying to carry on, but certainly understanding how serious conditions are.

BLITZER: So the fear, Rachel, was that fans, if they showed up in big numbers, there could be riots or fans could be in danger? Was that the fear?

NICHOLS: I don't think anyone thought there would be riots at the ballpark, but it is a situation, when you have a large crowd gathering in a city where they are trying to encourage people not to gather in large crowds, it is a problem. It would be a tax on the city's resources to have the police presence that you would need here for a large crowd. It would probably be a magnet for protesters, which is not something that they want to create at this point in the city because some of those situations have turned violent. So, all of those considerations were at play.

That being said, there's some controversy here. There are certainly people who thought that, hey, if you look around Baltimore, today, at 2:00 in the afternoon, it's not as if this is an unsecure environment.

BLITZER: All right. Rachel, hold on for a moment. Hold on. The attorney general, Loretta Lynch, is speaking at the Justice Department. Let's listen in.

LORETTA LYNCH, ATTORNEY GENERAL: In restoring calm and resolving the unrest that broke out across the city. And I also want to take this opportunity to express my deepest condolences to Mr. Gray's family and friends.

As you know, the civil rights division and the FBI are already conducting a full and independent investigation into the tragic death of Mr. Gray. Also, both the office of Community Oriented Policing Services, which we call COPS, and the Community Relations Service, also known as CRS, have been working to defuse tensions as that process continues. Bonetta Gupta (ph), the head of the department's Civil Rights Division and Ron Davis, director over COPS office, are meeting with faith and community leaders in Baltimore and they have also visited one of the injured officers who still remains hospitalized after being injured in this conflict. I'm told that he is in good spirits and, of course, I want to convey my best wishes and my prayers for his speedy recovery.

I want to make it clear once again that these senseless acts of violence are not only a grave danger to the community and they must stop, but they are also counterproductive to the ultimate goal here, which is developing a respectful conversation within the Baltimore community and across the nation about the way our law enforcement officers interact with the residents that we are charged to serve and to protect. And that's a conversation that I am committed to advancing. I'm heartened that the unrest of last night - of a few nights ago has seemed to ease and that members of the community are trying to come together again to clean up their city. I'm hopeful that that progress will continue in the coming days.

But let me just add something else about this issue in a larger sense. As we watch the events unfold in Baltimore, from the relative security of our offices or through a television screen, it's easy to view Baltimore as a symbol of the issues that we must all deal with. And, of course, the difficult situation there does highlight so many issues that are part of our national debate. But I would ask that we remember that Baltimore, as significant as it is, is more than just a symbol.

Baltimore is a city. It's a great city. It's a beautiful city. It is one of our cities. And like so many cities, Baltimore is struggling to balance great expectations and need with limited resources. It's dealing with balancing the challenges of public safety and community expression. But more importantly, Baltimore is a home to more than 600,000 people and it was their home that the peaceful protesters were trying to make better. And it was also their home that the injured officers were trying to protect. So let us keep all of the people of Baltimore in our thoughts and in our prayers in the coming days.

So thank you for allowing me that digress. But I want to turn now to another one of my priorities for the Department of Justice, something else on the -

BLITZER: All right, so there we hears the first public statement, on camera statement, from the new attorney general of the United States, Loretta Lynch, who was just sworn in, succeeding Eric Holder, on Monday. And now she's speaking out passionately about what's going on in Baltimore right now. She made it clear that the rioters, the looters, the arsonists, that there is no justification for these kinds of senseless acts of violence. At the same time she said there are serious issues that must be addressed in Baltimore, indeed not just in Baltimore, across the nation. Very clearly echoing what President Obama himself said yesterday in the White House Rose Garden. We're going to get full analysis of what we heard, much more coming up.

[13:29:07] Also, two days, two different reactions. A look at what changed to bring about relative calm to the streets of Baltimore.

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