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LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Six Officers to be Charged in Gray's Arrest; Rep. Elijah Cummings Holds a News Conference; President Obama Responds to Charges. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired May 1, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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


ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[12:00:02] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. I want to welcome our CNN viewers here in the United States and from around the world as well. I'm coming to you live today from Baltimore in front of the city hall.

Listen, this has been a heck of a day, a lot of surprises coming out of this city, 19 days after the arrest of Freddie Gray simply for making eye contact with a police officer on a bicycle. Twelve days after Mr. Gray has passed away from the broken neck that he suffered in the back of as police van, all six of the officers who were involved in that takedown and in the transportation of that 25-year- old previously healthy Baltimore man, are now facing arrest.

The warrants went out. Whether they're in custody, we don't know that yet. But those charges range from misconduct to second-degree murder. And you could feel this city holding its selective breath as the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby, stepped out 90 minutes ago and declared Gray's arrest was unlawful, that his untimely death was a homicide.

I want you to hear now how Baltimore's newly-elected prosecutor, herself a daughter and granddaughter of police officers, laid out the gristly narrative that led to this moment.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARILYN MOSBY, BALTIMORE STATE'S ATTORNEY: On April 12th, 2015, between 8:45 and 9:15 a.m. near the corner of North Avenue and Mount Street, Lieutenant Brian Rice of the Baltimore Police Department, while on bike patrol with Officers Garrett Miller and Edward Nero, made eye contact with Mr. Freddie Carlos Gray, Jr.

Having made eye contact with Mr. Gray, Mr. Gray subsequently ran from Lieutenant Rice. Lieutenant Rice then dispatched over departmental radio that he was involved in a foot pursuit, at which time bike patrols officers and Nero -- Officers Miller and Nero also began to pursue Mr. Gray. Having come in contact with the pursuing officers, Mr. Gray surrendered to Officers Miller and Nero in the vicinity in the 1700 block of Presbury Street. Officers Miller and Nero then handcuffed Mr. Gray and moved him to a location a few feet away from his surrendering location.

Mr. Gray was then placed in a prone position with his arms handcuffed behind his back. It was at this time that Mr. Gray indicated he could not breathe and requested an inhaler to no avail. Officers Miller and Nero then placed Mr. Gray in a seated position and subsequently found a knife clipped to the inside of his pants pocket. The blade of the knife was folded into the handle. The knife was not a switchblade and is lawful under Maryland law. These officers subsequently removed the knife and placed it on the sidewalk.

Mr. Gray was then placed back down on his stomach, at which time Mr. Gray began to flail his legs and scream as Officer Miller placed Mr. Gray in a restraining technique known as a leg lace, while Officer Nero physically held him down against his will until a BPD wagon arrived to transport Mr. Gray.

Lieutenant Rice, Officer Miller and Officer Nero failed to establish probable cause for Mr. Gray's arrest as no crime had been committed by Mr. Gray. Accordingly, Lieutenant Rice, Officer Miller and Officer Nero illegally arrested Mr. Gray. Upon arrival of the transport wagon driven by Officer Caesar Goodson, Lieutenant Rice, Officer Nero and Officer Miller loaded Mr. Gray into the wagon, and at no point was he secured by a seat belt while in the wagon contrary to a BPD general order.

Lieutenant Rice then directed BPD wagon to stop at Baker Street. At Baker Street, Lieutenant Rice, Officer Nero and Officer Miller removed Mr. Gray from the wagon, placed flex cuffs on his wrist, placed leg shackles on his ankles, and completed required paperwork. Officer Miller, Officer Nero and Lieutenant Rice then loaded Mr. Gray back into the wagon, placing him on his stomach, head first, on to the floor of the wagon. Once again, Mr. Gray was not secured by a seat belt in the wagon contrary to a BPD general order.

Lieutenant Rice then directed Officer Goodson to transport Mr. Gray to the central booking and intake facility. Following transport from Baker Street, Mr. Gray suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet, and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon. From Baker Street, Officer Goodson proceeded to the vicinity of Mosher Street and Fremont Avenue, where he subsequently parked the wagon and proceed to the back of the wagon in order to observe Mr. Gray.

Despite stopping for the purpose of checking on Mr. Gray's condition, at no point did he seat nor did he render any medical assistance for Mr. Gray.

[12:05:07] Officer Goodson returned to his driver's seat and proceed toward the central booking and intake facility with Mr. Gray still unsecured by a seat belt, contrary to a BPD general order.

Several blocks later, Officer Goodson called into dispatch that he needed to check on the status of his prisoner and requested a additional units at Dolphin Street and Druid Hill Avenue. Officer William Porter arrived on the scene near Dolphin Street and Druid Hill Avenue. Both Officer Goodson and Officer Porter proceed to the back of the wagon to check on the status of Mr. Gray's condition. Mr. Gray at that time requested help and indicated that he could not breathe. Officer Porter asked Mr. Gray if he needed a medic, at which time Mr. Gray indicated at least twice that he was in need of a medic.

Officer Porter then physically assisted Mr. Gray from the floor of the van to the bench. However, despite Mr. Gray's appeal for a medic, both officers assessed Mr. Gray's condition and at no point did either of them restrain Mr. Gray, per BPD General order, nor did they render or request medical assistance.

While discussing the transportation of Mr. Gray for medical attention, a request for additional units was made for an arrest at the 1600 West North Avenue. Officer Porter left the vicinity of Dolphin Street and Druid Hill Avenue to assist in the arrest of another prisoner at North Avenue. Despite Mr. Gray's obvious and recognized need for medical assistance, Officer Goodson in a grossly negligent manner chose to respond to the 1600 block of West North Avenue with Mr. Gray still unsecured by a seat belt in the wagon, without rendering to or summonsing medical assistance for Mr. Gray.

Officer Goodson arrived at North Avenue to transport the individual arrested at the location of North Avenue and Pennsylvania Avenue, at which time he was again met by Officer Nero, Miller, Porter and Lieutenant Rice. Once the wagon arrived, Officer Goodson walked to the back of the wagon and again opened the doors to the wagon to make observations of Mr. Gray. Sergeant Alicia White, Officer Porter, and Officer Goodson observed Mr. Gray unresponsive on the floor of the wagon.

Sergeant White, who was responsible for investigating two citizen complaints pertaining to Mr. Gray's illegal arrest, spoke to the back of Mr. Gray's head. When he did not respond, she did nothing further despite the fact that she was advised that he needed a medic. She made no effort to look or assess or determine his condition. Despite Mr. Gray's seriously deteriorating medical condition, no medical assistance was rendered or summonsed for Mr. Gray at that time by any officer.

After completing the North Avenue arrest and loading the additional prisoner into the opposite side of the wagon containing Mr. Gray, Officer Goodson then proceeded to the Western District Police Station where, contrary to the BPD general order, he again failed to restrain Mr. Gray in the wagon for at least the fifth time. At the Western District Police Station, the defendant arrested at North Avenue was unloaded, escorted, and secured inside of the police station prior to attending to Mr. Gray. By the time Officer Zachary Novak, Sergeant White and unknown officer attempted to remove Mr. Gray from the wagon, Mr. Gray was no longer breathing at all.

A medic was finally called to the scene where, upon arrival, the medic determined that Mr. Gray was now in cardiac arrest and was critically and severely injured. Mr. Gray was rushed to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma where he underwent surgery. On April 19th, 2015, Mr. Gray succumbed to his injuries and was --

(END VIDEOTAPE) BANFIELD: I just want to break in if I can for a moment to the tape that we're running the tape of Marilyn Mosby because Congressman Cummings has just shown up here at our location. He's about to give a live news conference. So let's listen in as the Congressman addresses everyone here.

REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), MARYLAND: Good afternoon, everyone. This morning at 7:00, I said on one of the national networks that I would trust whatever Marilyn Mosby did.

[12:10:06] I didn't know that a decision would be coming down today.

And I said this morning that I believe in her integrity, her pursuit of excellence, the fact that she is an outstanding lawyer, and that she has been elected by the people of our great city. And I said that I believed what she would do is she would take all the information that she had already gathered and look at it very carefully. And if she thought that there was any additional information that was needed, that she knew she had the full force of not only the Baltimore City Police Department, but of the federal government behind her.

And the other thing that I said was this -- and I believe with all my heart -- that she would take the facts, once she did all the research she needed to do, size it up with the law, and make the right decision. And I said this morning before I knew any of this, that whatever her decision would be, because of her integrity, and the fact that I believe in her, that I would accept that decision.

(APPLAUSE)

CUMMINGS: I said something else. I said something else. I said this at Freddie Gray's funeral. I said, you know, did you see him? Did anybody see this man? Did they see this man who was a mother's child? Did they see this man who was just trying to get through life? Did they see him as a human being?

And I have come here today to thank God --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank God.

CUMMINGS: -- that Marilyn Mosby and her team saw him, saw him. The process has started. That's the main thing -- the process has started.

So many people in the neighborhoods that you have been filming over the last few days. I think somebody said it a little bit earlier, Mr. Thomas I think said it, they've never seen a victory. They've never seen a victory. And they had begun to believe that the system could not work for them. So many of them have felt like the system had worked against them. And so again, we are beginning the process.

And one other thing that I said this morning, I said that as we approach the evening of our lives, many of us, we want to make sure that our children have a better morning. And so I want to thank everybody. I want to thank Bishop Walter Scott Thomas, all the members of the clergy, all the community leaders and organizations, our elected officials, for coming together to stand with our children, but most important, to hear them, to hear them.

And so from here on, we'll, again -- Ms. Mosby, you will take the case from here. I'm sure this investigation will still be ongoing; that is not unusual. And the fact is, is that it is a new day in our city.

But let me leave you with this. I don't want anybody to be confused that the issues of police and community is one part of a broader set of issues. Our children need to be properly educated. They need to be trained in certain areas so they can get jobs, so they can be functional, and so they can have equal chance for opportunity.

And so, as I close out, I just want to say this. This is a great day. This is a great day, and I think we need to realize that.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a role for, Congressman (ph), to use Baltimore as a model, an example?

CUMMINGS: I think we -- I'm going to caution everybody -- this is the beginning of a process. We did witness history in one respect, and that is so often these things happen and nothing happens.

[12:15:05] And I think it's sending -- and we witnessed history and this is the thing. Our children, they went out there and protest for the most part peacefully. But they had to protest in order to get here. And they -- and this creates a faith in them. They -- I mean, I had a young man that said to me just last night, a 16-year-old, 16 years old, he said, Congressman, I love you, but I feel like I'm in a casket crawling and clawing to get out. Just trying to get out. Just trying to be somebody.

So we've still got work to do. But, yes, I think this is -- from a -- and let it be known, that this is national.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CUMMINGS: I've said it before, these things can happen anywhere. And so with that, I think a message has been sent by our state's attorney that she treasures every life, that she values every person, and so let the wheels of justice begin to roll. And it's good that they are rolling as opposed to standing still.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman, with the charges against the officers in North Charleston a couple weeks ago, and now these charges against these officers, do you see a shift in the tide where these officers are going to be held accountable for their actions?

CUMMINGS: I said many times that we need to establish a new normal. See, a lot of times we think that we are in a normal situation, but it's a thing of mutual respect. Our policemen and they are -- most of them are great. And they know that -- they know themselves, I've talked to policemen. I mean, a lot, and they tell me themselves that there are certain police that should not be on the force. And so they're going to have to help us weed out those folks so that they can be the elite of the elite. One of the things that I'm determined to do, and I'm hoping that we're

able to do, is make Baltimore a model for the nation. A model for the nation.

(APPLAUSE)

CUMMINGS: We don't have to follow anybody. We can set the model. I believe that we set the model when we were at Pennsylvania and North, going out and talking to people. And a lot of the folks that we talked to, they just simply wanted to know that you hear them and you see them and you love them and you respect them. And they want to live in dignity. And they want to see their futures. They want to see their future and they want somebody to see them.

Last but not least, and then I'm closing. When I thought about Freddie, I could not help but think about my own childhood. And I looked at him in that casket and I said to myself, here was a young man just trying to exist, trying to exist. So hopefully now, with this, our city can begin to heal, to come together. Policemen will look, and women will look, at their jobs from a different standpoint and realize that -- that they are here to protect and serve. And, by the way -- and that our community must respect them, but -- and it's got to be a mutual respect thing. Because let me tell you, the police need us as a community and we need them.

Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

BANFIELD: Congressman Elijah Cummings wrapping up comments right outside of city hall in Baltimore, just feet from us, in fact. We're going to see if we can't ask the Congressman to come over to our live location. So many questions I have for him about these charges.

But in the meantime, look at the pictures that are developing live in Baltimore. These are the pictures of spontaneous protests that have erupted in the streets. And I'm not sure you can call them protests or if you can call these celebrations. It may be a little of both. People have been emerging ever since the state's attorney in Baltimore announced that six of those officers involved in the arrest and the transport of Freddie Gray that ultimately resulted in his death have now been charged. The warrants are out. They have now been charged with everything from second-degree murder all the way down to misconduct in office, and each of the six facing a slightly different kind of array of charges, some of them being pointed to as more to blame for the death than others.

In fact, the driver of the van being singled out as one who perhaps is the most culpable, if the charges are accurate. That is the second- degree murder charge that that driver is facing. Those a arresting officers, however, are facing different kinds of charges, mostly because of the way that Freddie Gray was pursued and arrested.

[12:20:06] The Eighth Amendment says you have a right to avoid unlawful search and seizure and you do not have the right to be arrested if there is isn't some kind of probable cause. And the state's attorney says there was not probable cause to go after Freddie Gray. In fact, she even went so far to release a piece of information we had not known up until now, and that was that the knife that Freddie Gray had was, in fact, a legal knife. It was not a switchblade, as had been reported before. It was a legal knife. And that Freddie Gray had done nothing to warrant the chase and the arrest, and that is why you're seeing these kinds of charges yielding towards those officers who made the arrest.

But, again, other charges pertain to the way he was treated during the transport. The fact that he needed the help, the medical attention, that he did not get, time after time after -- six times, six times, in fact, during that arrest and transportation, when he asked for help, was checked on, and did not get that medical help.

Couple things we're also watching is the streets in Baltimore, start to see people coming out, many of them in support, many of them calling that justice has been actually found at this point, or at least observed at this point. We are a long way from the end of this justice process, because charges are one thing, trials and convictions are quite another thing.

We're also watching Oakland, California, where there are some protests and demonstrations that have spontaneously erupted as well, since just about two hours ago, about an hour and a half ago. Marilyn Mosby, state attorney for Baltimore announced on the steps of the War Memorial that there will be charges.

And look at that. It is 9:21 in the morning in Oakland, California, and already -- probably I would say that's upwards of 200 at least on your screen, people coming out. Don't forget this is also May Day, International Workers Day, so many people had planned to protest today for those reasons. Immigration as well on the agenda. But today many also coming out because of Freddie Gray and because of the announcement of charges against him.

Soon for you, we're also going to have the president, who at the White House has reacted as well, to the situation developing in Baltimore. And this situation I called it developing, it is emerging. Everything has been changing from the first day that Freddie Gray was arrested to the day that he died, to the day the protests erupted, to the day the looting and the destruction and the crime in the streets erupted, to the days afterwards in which we all waited for a police report that was just delivered yesterday to the state's attorney.

I asked that state's attorney, did that police report play heavily into your decision to make the six officers now arrested and facing these charges? And she said they didn't give us anything we didn't already know. They'd already been conducting their own independent investigation in the state attorney's office, and that was effectively what she said yielded the information she had.

We're also, like I said, awaiting word from the president as he reacts to what's happening in Baltimore and Elijah Cummings, hoping to get him to our location as well, but as you can imagine, the situation out here extremely fluid. A couple of other things on the agenda today, we're going to analyze

some of these charges. I mentioned a few moments ago, it is one thing to face charges; it is quite another thing to face convictions. And I just want you to remember back in '92, there were riots in the streets of Los Angeles because four officers who had gone through the process, there had been probable cause, they had been arrested, they went to trial, for the beating of a black man and they were acquitted. And when they were acquitted, the L.A. riots erupted. So we're going to talk a little bit about that and what that means for this case as well.

In the meantime, I want to go to Brian Todd, our correspondent, who's out on the streets and monitoring this situation and those who have now heard the message from the state's attorney -- Brian.

TODD: Ashleigh, they've heard that, and they've heard it loud and clear. The announcement of the charges has provoked a spontaneous street celebration here at the corner of North and Pennsylvania Avenues. This has been the flashpoint for the protests; it has been the epicenter of some of the violence, but now it is a street party. People out here spontaneously jumping up, laughing, cheering. They're disrupting traffic a little bit, but not too seriously. A lot of horn honking, very loud, cars and trucks passing by here, showing you some of the atmosphere here.

A real street celebration here in West Baltimore. But at the same time, Ashleigh, we have to say that a lot of people out here are telling us that as happy as they are that these charges are being brought, that this is not over. We just talked to a couple of protesters, a couple of leaders of the protests, who say they're not really going to rest until they get the convictions that they feel are deserved in this case if those convictions come. So they believe that this is a big victory today, it's one step, and they're celebrating that big step. But they say this is not over yet, Ashleigh. We'll kind of let a photojournalist Jordan Gazardo (ph) show you what's going on here. And I'll toss it back to you.

[12:25:05] BANFIELD: Brian, I don't know if you can still hear me, Brian, but I wanted to ask you a question. The police union representing those officers has sent an open letter to the state's attorney, to Marilyn Mosby, effectively asking her to instead appoint an independent prosecutor to take over this process.

I'm going to read a short portion of this letter. It said, "Not one of the officers involved in this tragic situation left home in the morning with the anticipation that someone with whom they had interacted would not go home that night. As tragic as the situation is, none of the officers involved are responsible for the death of Mr. Gray. To the contrary, at all times, each of the officers diligently balanced their obligations to protect Mr. Gray and discharge their duties to protect the public."

You're out there on the streets with the people who are effectively celebrating, demonstrating. What about all those officers out there? Are you seeing anything? Can you read anything from them? Or is it business as usual, they're doing their job? TODD: It really is business as usual, Ashleigh. I can take you over

here to your right, my left. These are Pennsylvania state police officers intermixed with some Baltimore and Maryland state troopers. There are some other state police over, other -- these are Baltimore police over here.

But basically business as usual. They are hanging back, they are not moving into the street, they are letting these people have their space as they have in previous days. So as far as the police on the street right now, business as usual. They're being very subtle about their presence. They're out in force but they're really not moving in on these people.

BANFIELD: All right, Brian, thank you for that. Thank you, Brian.

I only want to wrap you because we've been awaiting word from the president. He gave some taped comments a short time ago from the Roosevelt Room in the White House. No doubt he's been seeing his television monitors in the White House as he prepares to make a statement about Baltimore. Have a listen.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely vital that the truth comes out on what happened to Mr. Freddie Gray, and it is my practice not to comment on the legal processes involved, that would not be appropriate, but I can tell you that justice needs to be served. All the evidence needs to be presented. Those individuals who are charged, obviously, are also entitled to due process and rule of law and so, you know, I want to make sure that our legal system runs the way it should. And the Justice Department and our new attorney general is in communications with Baltimore officials to make sure that any assistance we can provide on the investigation is provided.

But what I think people of Baltimore want more than anything else, is the truth. That's what people around the country expect. And to the extent that it's appropriate, this administration will help local officials get to the bottom of exactly what happened.

In the meantime, I'm gratified that we've seen the constructive, thoughtful protests that have been taking place, peaceful, but clear calls for accountability that those have been managed over the last couple of days in a way that's ultimately positive for Baltimore and positive for the country and I hope that approach to nonviolent protest and community engagement continues.

And finally, as I've said for the last year, we are going to continue to work with the task force that we put together post-Ferguson. I'm actually going to be talking to mayors who are interested in figuring ways to rebuild trust between community and police and to focus on some of the issues that were raised by the task force right after this meeting.

Our efforts to make sure we're providing greater opportunity for young people in the communities, all those things are going to be continuing top priorities for the administration and we'll probably have some more announcements and news about that in the days and weeks to come. All right. Thank you very much, everybody.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.

BANFIELD: The President of the United States from the Roosevelt Room, releasing those comments about the situation in Baltimore just moments ago, saying that these officers, all six who have been charged, at least one seriously charged with second-degree murder, they also deserve their due process, that they also are entitled to the rule of law.

[12:30:13] Also saying that the new Department of Justice head, the Attorney General Loretta Lynch, also involved in speaking regularly with officials in Baltimore to help in this process.

We are back live with the evolving situation on the streets of Baltimore and across the country in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)