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Bernie Sanders Declares Presidential Candidacy; Police Give Freddie Gray Case to State, Announce New Discovery; How Ferguson Has Faired Since Protests; A Look Back at Los Angeles Riots. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired April 30, 2015 - 13:30   ET

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


WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get back to the breaking news in Baltimore. Police just revealed that the van transporting Freddie Gray after his arrest made a previously unknown stop. Look at this. You're look at live pictures of that intersection right now. Much more on that coming up.

Plus, I'll speak live with the city's first African-American mayor and get his take on the city's cycle of poverty, where the community leadership goes from here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[11:35:34] BLITZER: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, reporting from Washington.

The breaking news this hour, the investigation into the death of Freddie Gray. In a surprise move, Baltimore police handed over their files to the prosecutors a day earlier than scheduled. In a statement, the state's attorney said that -- I'm reading right now -- "We'll continue to leverage the information received by the department, we are not relying solely on their findings, but rather the facts that we have gathered and verified."

Meanwhile, during a news conference earlier today, police revealed the van carrying Freddie Gray after his arrest actually made an undisclosed stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN DAVIS, DEPUTY COMMISSIONER, BALTIMORE POLICE DEPARTMENT: The second stop has been revealed to us during the course of our investigation and was previously unknown to us. We discovered this new stop based on our thorough and comprehensive and ongoing review of all CCTV cameras and privately owned cameras. And in fact, this new stop has been, was discovered from a privately owned camera.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Police reiterated the task force assigned to Gray's death will continue investigating. Meanwhile, the events in Baltimore shed new light on the plight

of impoverished neighborhoods, not only in Baltimore, but around the country, what some are calling in Baltimore a tale of two cities.

Joining us now is a man who calls his hometown just that, two cities. Kurt Schmoke became Baltimore's first African-American mayor. He was elected back in 1987. He's now the president of the University of Baltimore. He's joining us via Skype.

Mayor, thanks very much for joining us.

And not only were you mayor of Baltimore, you were state's attorney as well. So give us your reaction to the information we heard from the police today. They just learned, not from police, but from a private closed circuit camera that there was a fourth undisclosed stop. What's your reaction to that?

KURT SCHMOKE, PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY OF BALTIMORE & FORMER MAYOR OF BALTIMORE: Well, you know, I think that the community actually is going to be very pleased that the report is not, has not been released publicly, but is going to the state's attorney because this investigation is ongoing, and I know that she, the state's attorney, would not want any information released that might compromise her ability to prosecute if she decides to prosecute. So there are a lot of information still coming out. You have six people, police officers, who know what went on and apparently another person who was in the police transport. So, you've got to get all of that information together before a decision can be made on prosecution. And the other thing that the community really has to understand is that all these statements that have been given to the police are statements, not given under oath as opposed to what the state's attorney can do which is to bring them into the grand jury, put people under oath, and there you're subjected to a sentence of ten years if you lie to the grand jury, whereas a false statement to the police, you get six months.

BLITZER: Well, that raises the question, if she suspects there were some wrong doing on the part of those police officers, does she take that information to her grand jury, or does she simply go ahead and file charges?

SCHMOKE: No, she's going to have to take a little bit more time because you just don't know exactly what level of copability that there was. For example, and this is just hypothetical, suppose one person was just doing the driving whereas another person was giving orders, and that person giving the orders far more copable than somebody who's just doing the driving. So she's going to find out more information before she can make a final decision. And of course you remember that the, the standard for criminal prosecution is different than the standard for filing a lawsuit for negligence. So she's got to get evidence beyond the reasonable doubt before she makes that final decision.

BLITZER: And because she said in her statement, yeah, appreciates the information that police have provided, but she's not simply relying on that information. What other tools does she have to get more information?

SCHMOKE: Correct. Well, she has her own investigating staff, that's one, but the most important tool she has a grand jury where you can put people, witnesses under oath and, you know, have them tell their stories. You know, we already have seen this situation where, I believe it was "The Washington Post" reported that a person riding in the van gave one story about Freddie Gray banging around, and then to the police he gave another story that said the ride was quiet. And that nothing occurred. Well that, that's the type of person you would want. Put into the grand jury and let them know, you're under oath now, and whatever you say, you better give us the truth or else you're subjected to prosecution solely for lying to a grand jury.

[13:40:50] BLITZER: One final question before I let you go, if you go to a grand jury, this could go on for weeks, right? You have a great city of Baltimore, tale of two cities, but Baltimore, we all love Baltimore, are the people going to be patient during weeks of testimony that could go forward before a grand jury?

SCHMOKE: Well, yeah, you know, I actually think that the level of patience will actually increase. Primarily because the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, was just recently elected. It was somewhat of a surprise upset election, but she already has the credibility now coming out to the community, talking about giving thorough investigations of these types of matters. So I think that she has a level of credibility with the community that will allow for that patience. I can't say how long, but I do think that people will give her a little bit more time to do it right rather than to do it fast.

BLITZER: Yeah. All right. Let's hope for that.

Kurt Schmoke is the former mayor of Baltimore. He's now the president of the University of Baltimore.

We'll stay in close touch, Mayor, if that's OK.

SCHMOKE: Great, thanks.

BLITZER: Still to come, various cities experiencing similar scenes of protests and violence, but the lessons don't seem to carry over. Ahead, a look at how the city of Ferguson, Missouri, has faired over the last few months.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:45:22] BLITZER: Unfortunately, the scenes of rioting and looting in Baltimore this week look all too familiar in August of last year. The town of Ferguson, Missouri, erupted following the shooting death of Michael Brown, an 18-year-old black teenager by a white police officer. Protests both peaceful and violent along with vandalism and looting continued for a week. Ferguson, obviously, though, a much smaller city than Baltimore. Then, in November, rioting broke out again when a grand jury decided not to indict Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, in the shooting.

Our CNN correspondent, Sara Sidner, has a look at how businesses in Ferguson are fairing now almost six months after the rioting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sonny Dayan is frustrating, forced to finish the job looters started when they bashed in half of his store's front door. This is Ferguson trying to rebuild. For Dayan, the setbacks keep coming.

SONNY DAYAN, BUSINESS OWNER: This is the fourth time in a year and a half that I have a break-in. This is the mildest one yet.

SIDNER (on camera): Mildest one?

DAYAN: Mildest one yet. The last one that was in November, the end of November, whole store, the whole front was busted. All of the shelves were destroyed.

SIDNER (voice-over): This is what he's referring to, November 24th, when West Florissant, the street he's on, looked like this. It was the day a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson in the killing of unarmed teenager Michael Brown after the two got into a scuffle.

Despite the hardships though, Dayan's determined to stay right in the heart of the protest zone. This is why. Guys like Steve Smith.

STEVE SMITH, FERGUSON RESIDENT: I'm just trying to help him get back and build a board back. Just so he can sleep tonight. So we both can sleep tonight.

SIDNER: Smith and Dayan formed a friendship in Ferguson years ago, it began with Dayan offering Smith a couple day's of work at his bill payment store. Now, on nights like this, Smith jumps to help. Catching a ride in the middle of the night to make sure he and his business are secure. Both are well aware of the frustration continuing to simmer and sometimes boil over in Ferguson.

SMITH: The police, I would say the black community, they don't get along at all. It's no secret, you know what I'm saying, but it don't give them the right to do all this. I understand. I understand the movement. I understand why they're out here. But to just destroy buildings and to get the point across, that's too far, you know what I'm saying? It's too far.

SIDNER (on camera): Though some boards remain, there are several businesses that are rebuilding after November's mayhem. Many are going to online sites like gofundme, to help out. So far, more than $500,000 has been collected.

(voice-over): For others, the signs of rebuilding are absent. Unable to sustain the financial beating after their shops experienced a physical one.

Sonny Dayan is hoping his message to the community he loves doesn't fall on deaf ears. DAYAN: Yes, things need to be changed. Yes, we have issues, of

course, but, you know, destroying my windows won't change your life. You're not going to have a better life tomorrow because my windows are broken.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: And now, we're one block from the police department where there was lots of tear gas, broken windows here at Kathy's Kitchen. Some of the businesses are rebuilding. They're open. This one, not fairing so well. This one has closed since November.

And then there's still a bit of a reminiscence left of what happened in November here you can see boards that are up. I can tell you this, Wolf, there is rebuilding here. The same folks that owned Kathy's Kitchen have opened a brand new business just down the street. And so far, it's doing well -- Wolf?

BLITZER: All right, wish them only the best. Let's hope all of them can recover.

Sara, thanks for the excellent report.

Coming up, is history repeating itself? The unrest in Baltimore bringing back memories of terrible riots in L.A. 23 years ago. How far have we all really come? That story when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:53:04] BLITZER: 23 years ago, the streets of Los Angeles looked a lot like Baltimore does this week, only worse. Rioting, looting, arson, all set off by the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King.

CNN's Stephanie Elam looks back.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ferguson, Missouri --

(SHOUTING)

ELAM: -- and now Baltimore, cities thrown off kilter by riots in recent months after the deaths of young black men at the hands of police officers.

(SHOUTING)

ELAM: The violence a boiling over anger and mistrust.

(SHOUTING)

ELAM: America has been here before.

BERNARD PARKS, FORMER POLICE CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: Poverty, lack of education, under education, unemployment, large return of people out of the state prison system. These are the same issues that were relevant in the '65 riot in Los Angeles, same issues that were relevant in the '92 riot.

ELAM (on camera): This is Florissant and Normandy. On April 29th, 1992, here in south-central Los Angeles, this was the epicenter of the L.A. riots. It was all in response to the acquittal of four white Los Angeles police officers in the beating of Rodney King, a beating that everyone saw since it was videotaped.

EARL OFARI HUTCHINSON, POLITICAL ANALYST & COMMUNITY ADVISOR: There was a sincere expectation, one of the rare times when you're dealing with police and blacks in these kinds of situations, maybe justice would be done.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't believe it. What is this city coming to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like a collective jolt, collective shock.

ELAM: It was here at this intersection that Reginald Denny, a white truck driver, was pulled from the cab of his truck and beaten.

Over the riots, which lasted for five days, the damages cost more than $1 billion and left more than 50 people dead.

RODNEY KING, BEATEN BY L.A. POLICE: Can we all just get along?

ELAM (on camera): When you look at what's happening in Baltimore, how different is it from what we saw happen here? L.A., 23 years ago?

HUTCHINSON: You still have the same kind of sense on the part of many people in the community, whether it's L.A. or Baltimore. We're not going to get justice.

ELAM: So the need to establish trust is ongoing.

HUTCHISON: If, in fact, an officer is accused of and it is proven that this officer used or overused excessive force, they're going to be punished. So if that message is sent very clearly, I think you're well down the road.

[13:55:26] ELAM: And in L.A., lessons have been learned.

PARKS: You have to stop criminal behavior before it takes over the city.

ELAM: And changes made by law enforcement, changes that Hutchinson argues may benefit other cities like Baltimore and Ferguson.

HUTCHINSON: You have the command structure in the LAPD now that certainly is very aware of the importance of community relationships. It's a much broader and much more diverse police department than it was 23 years ago.

ELAM: Stephanie Elam, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And when the mayor of Baltimore called out the National Guard this week, it was the first time troops had been deployed because of civil unrest in the state since the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Many public officials described the riots in 1968 as inevitable. President Lyndon Baines Johnson saying, quote, "What did you expect? I don't know why you were so surprised. When you put your foot on a man's neck and hold him down for 300 years and then you let him up, what's he going to do? He's going to knock your block off." LBJ, back then.

That's it for me. Thanks very much for watching. I'll see you 5:00 p.m. eastern in "The Situation Room."

The news on CNN continues right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)