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Violent Protests, State of Emergency in Charlotte; Police: One Person Critically Injured, Shot By Civilian; CNN Correspondent Is Knocked Down During Report; Professional Athletes React To Police Shootings; Reaction of Presidential Candidates on Police Shootings. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired September 22, 2016 - 01:00   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.

[01:00:51] JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. I'm John Vause in Los Angeles. We'd like to welcome our viewers in United States and around all the world. We are following breaking news from Charlotte, North Carolina. For a second night protesters have clashed violently with police, and the governor has declared a State of Emergency. The crowds are starting to thin a little now, but the situation is ongoing. Earlier one person was shot and critically wounded during these demonstrations and is on life-support. Police say that person was shot by a civilian, not by a police. One officer has also been injured. Police have used tear gas at times to try and disperse the crowds. We've seen protesters shattering windows, breaking into building, restaurants, stores and a hotel have been vandalized. And some journalist have been attacked and pushed to the ground including our own reporters. But as of now, no serious injuries from any of those incidents.

These protests was sparked by the police shooting of an African- American man on Tuesday. Keith Lamont Scott who was killed when officers try to serve a warrant, but they had the wrong man. Police say Scott was armed and they found a gun, at the same, Scotts' family says he did not have a gun and was reading a book in his car waiting for his son when he was killed. OK. Let's go to CNN's Ed Lavandera who has been covering the story now for many, many hours. So Ed, what's the latest there now? How many people are still on the streets, and is the National Guard out yet at this point?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the police presence is still out there. Although, it is calmed down considerably, there's still a couple little pockets of the last remnants of these rioters and protesters who were out here in the downtown streets of Charlotte, North Carolina, where throughout most of the night, we've heard the relentless bangs of teargas ricocheting throughout the streets here in this downtown area, as several, perhaps close to a thousand protesters. So, at its highest peak, really caused a great deal of havoc including -- this is one of the scenes here that was left behind as the looters, rioters, whatever you want to call them, came down this street and just ransacked this store which is basically like a little souvenir shop, a sundry store for snacks and that sort of thing. We were just across the street, when we saw a group of about 20 to 30 people, just break into this store and start ripping apart and smashing the windows and leaving this, the mess that you see right here. But there have been a number of arrests throughout the evening. We have not gotten official numbers on just how many people. The governor of California -- of North Carolina, excuse me, activating a state police and a declaring a State of Emergency here in this area. And so S.W.A.T. teams have been fanned out throughout various portions of this downtown streets, dealing with these protesters. A very difficult scene to control, violence would erupt, one person critically wounded. We understand that they're on life-support. But that was from what authorities are saying at this point, that that was someone who was shot by another civilian. Not an officer-related shooting. In fact, we didn't see any signs that the police fired hand guns or anything like that, it was crowd control tools like teargas and those types of canisters that were used in this situation.

We've seen a number of arrests still going down here just off to one side, and about two minutes before we came on air here, another tear gas canister was deployed. So -- but things have calmed down here tonight considerably in the - in the last hour so, which is a very good sign, but this is a city that's going to have to ask itself a lot of hard questions tomorrow morning. Especially for the leadership here as to whether or not they can expect another violent night tomorrow and how to handle it and what to do and trying to figure out what to expect. Those are going to be the questions that the city leaders here are going to be grappling with throughout the night and into the early morning hours. John?

VAUSE: Ed, earlier while you were reporting live, you were knocked to the ground by one protester. I want to play what happened, here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

LAVANDERA: They were trying to get various people, agitators out of the crowd and this other people came in to try and grab those people - it's OK. It's OK. Calm down. OK. All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We're fine.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

VAUSE: You know, clearly - I hope that you're OK, and that you weren't too badly hurt by that. But were protesters just simply randomly targeting anyone they could find?

LAVANDERA: Well, there were a number of journalists that were - that were targeted, and that's part of the difficult part in covering this, is, you know, you're trying to pay attention to what the story that is unfolding before us, and trying to report that as accurately as we can, but at the same time, there are a number of people who have just as much anger for what we do and, you know, you have to kind of look, you know, keep your eyes open, and expecting something like that and always watching the people around you, you know, when you're doing live television. Kind of impossible to fully tell what, you know, what's coming - what's coming up even on your side. All I heard was someone yelling at me to tell the truth, next thing you know, we're getting hit. The - and we were all kind of in a difficult situation at that moment. You know, some of my CCN colleagues have just been in the middle of the teargas being deployed. So, we were trying to get them water and get their faces cleaned up, so that they could -- they could breathe better and that sort of thing. So, it was kind of a chaotic moment as we're all kind of watching each other's back. And obviously, it ended the way it did. But a one kind of bizarre footnote to all of that, John, about an hour after all of that happened, that same guy, somehow found me in the crowd again and apologized for what he did. So, kind of a surreal ending to that - to that part of the story for me. You know, it's a surreal night to say the least.

VAUSE: OK, Ed. We're glad that you're fine. It seems so far, injuries are been kept to a minimum, although there is one person who was shot in a critical condition. Ed Lavandera live this hour from Charlotte. Thank you, Ed.

We move on now. Zack Locke was in the middle of the protest as well. He joins us now, on the phone, with more. So, Zack, you were in fact outside the Omni Hotel, which seemed in some ways to have been the epicenter of where the violence began.

ZACK LOCKE, WITNESS (via telephone): Yes, it was a kind of - I mean, as alluded to. It was just chaos. There's no real central leadership, which was the complete opposite of the peaceful protest that started roughly around like 7:00 p.m. that night. So, you know, as the night went on, people got more and more upset, more and more frustrated and certainly more and more violent.

VAUSE: Do you know why the protesters decided to surround the Omni Hotel in the first place?

LOCKE: I'm not - I'm not sure. Honestly, there's a lot of storefronts in that area that are primarily glass and the Omni was just kind of an easy target, so to speak. But it wasn't the only - the only target, multiple different -- there's a - there's a restaurant or two in there that were being - the glass was being broken on those as well. So, the Omni was probably just the most recognizable of the spots that were being broken into and looted. But it is an essential location in that part of the city. You know, lots of traffic and that sort of things.

VAUSE: And you saw - yeah, you saw a lot of looting of a number of the business there. The people who are doing the looting, the people who are doing the damage, could you differentiate from the protesters in any way?

LOCKE: Honestly not. Not really. And that's -- I think just a central theme of the night. For me, my roommate and I went down to be involved in the protest peacefully. And that was really our end goal, and as the night went on, we just, you know, kept seeing crazier and crazier things. It was hard to tell who was, you know, trying to spread what message, and I think that, that's what ended up hurting the night in the end and really hurting our city. You know, this is - I listen to a local news report earlier, the governor on the phone, who used to live in Charlotte and our mayor who are correct in saying that this is not what our city is all about, this is not who we are. And it's just unfortunate that, you know, this is the - this is the publicity that were showing. I understand that there is true anger out there. I get that, and I certainly sympathize with that, but at some point, we have to decide as a community, a collective whole here in Charlotte and around the rest of the world, when enough is enough. And you know, tonight was shocking. I'm still shaking a little bit. Just kind of reliving what all went down. And so, it's kind of a long way to answer -- no, there really was no way to tell who is trying to do what, and who is on what side.

VAUSE: Well, you've been through quite a lot, but I'm just curious, quickly here if you can - if you could quickly answer this, was there any particular moment, was there any trigger that you know of that turned this from a peaceful protest into the violent one that we saw?

LOCKE: I think, definitely the sound of gunshots, that kind of when I moved up. I believe its Trade Street up the hill there, I heard gunshots, and everyone kind of ran away from it. And I just continued to walk that way and I didn't actually see the man who is shot, but I saw the man who is holding him. The man who got shot was dragged out pretty quickly. And I just started taking pictures and videos of the blood, and all those sorts of things. And at that point, it was just beyond saving, it was chaos.

VAUSE: Yeah. OK. Zack, well, we appreciate you calling in and sharing your experience with us and also the images that you recorded just a few hours ago. Zack Locke there on the line from Charlotte. And joining me now here, CNN Law Enforcement Contributor Steve Moore, and civil rights attorney, Areva Martin. Steve, the governor has declared a State of Emergency, deploying the National Guard. That's a pretty big decision to make. What are the reasons behind that?

[01:11:29] STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Most likely because Charlotte Police Department doesn't have enough people to keep up this type of defensive posture for day after day after day. They may have it for one night, but then you have to start thinking that people need to actually sleep. And so, it's probably a manpower issue, more than anything. VAUSE: Areva, are there implications? From your point of view for

this decisions.

[01:01:51] AREVA MARTIN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, we've seen so many instances where the police bring in extra police enforcement and that, you know, causes the situation to actually worsen. I understand the need to relieve people who've been on from the streets maybe for 24 or 48 hours, but I think we've got to make sure that the police aren't doing anything to escalate the protesters. Protesters have a right to be out there obviously. They don't have a right to break the law or to engage in any kind of violent activity, but we do want the peaceful protesters, those who are out there expressing their frustration, their overwhelming sense of grief, and sadness about the shooting of Keith LaMont Scott, to be able to do so and not have their constitutional rights trampled upon.

VAUSE: OK, well, with that in mind, I want to play some sound for you from Carolinas' governor, North Carolina's governor who describe actually exactly what you're talking about, the protesters who are involved in the looting and the violence.

PAT MCCRORY, NORTH CAROLINA GOVERNOR: Their goal is not to contribute to a discussion. Their goal is destruction and anarchy and that is something that our nation cannot accept. And as Governor of North Carolina will not accept someone trying to turn a very good city into anarchy.

VAUSE: Does he have a point?

MARTIN: Well, He has a point with respect to the law enforcement has a job to do, and if people are breaking the law, they have to, you know, intervene and prevent people those people from breaking the law. But what I did not him say is that, he's doing something to make sure that the peaceful protesters are allowed to protest to express their concerns, to express their frustrations. What appears to be a great deal of lack of transparency? Their apparently is a videotape of the shooting and the people are saying "let us see it" and they won't release the video tape. So, I think we could put an end to some of these protest if we could

just see the video tape.

VAUSE: And with that in mind, Steve, how long would a police investigation in to a police-involved shooting typically take here?

MOORE: Well, this isn't a normal situation. This is - this is a toxic environment now, and I think you have to be much more transparent. You have to be more transparent, more quickly than any other time. This is not business as usual, you have to react to the situation as it is. And with all due respect to my friend, I think that the one thing that was keeping - see, I did 25 years in the FBI to fight for the right of peaceful protest.

VAUSE: Right.

MOORE: The peaceful protest was ended and was really stopped, not by the police, but by violent rioters who came in. And I think that does a disservice to the entire movement who is trying to shed light on what actually happened.

VAUSE: What I'm - I'm sorry, Areva.

MARTIN: That is true, but protesters can't stop protesting because some small group of rioters or people who, you know, plan to do harm to a city infiltrate the protest. So, protesters, we moved the needle on this police brutality because of the work of protesters, we now have body cams.

MOORE: Protesters not rioters.

MARTIN: Because there is an issue of safety. Yeah.

MARTIN: So, there's a distinction, but I think we have to acknowledge that protesters play a critical role in criminal justice reform.

MOORE: Agree.

MARTIN: We wouldn't be sitting here with body cams and waiting to see this video but for the work of the protesters that we've seen year in and year out, raising the issue of police brutality.

MOORE: No disagreement on that case.

VAUSE: OK. Do you think that the -- that the Charlotte Police could have avoided a lot of what we saw tonight if that videotape, or the dash cam and the body cam, the images have been released? Should they be a lot more nimble here realizing that the situation that we're in? I don't think you would see a noticeable difference. They should have done it, they should have released it, I agree. Because if what the Charlotte Police is - are -- is saying is true. There - it's in their best interest to stop this -- nip it in the bud right now. But I think the type of person who comes in in riots, while other people, like the caller, was trying desperately to protest peacefully. You're not - they're looking for an excuse to riot, not looking for, not looking for a peaceful resolution. MARTIN: But John, let'us not let the story tonight just be about the

rioters. I think we got to stay focused on what the story is about. It's about -

VAUSE: And that's the problem, is that the violence tracks from the message of the protester.

MARTIN: Well, it doesn't have to. We're in the position to stay focus on the issue here, and the issue is the shooting of Keith LaMont Scott and their -- the claim by his family that he was, unarmed, sitting in his car, reading a book, not committing a crime, and that there was no justification for the shooting. So, we're trying to get the facts on that.

And the - and the police. And the police responds that he pulled there, that he had a weapon, he refuse repeated orders to put it down, and he was shot by a black officer. So, we have a huge chasm to bridge.

MARTIN: Well, I don't - I don't think that issue of him being a black, John, has anything to do with whether this shooting was justified. If a cop doesn't have justification for a shooting, someone whether their black, red, white, or green doesn't matter, and I think that has come up so much in this conversation, somehow to justify because one cop is black and the victim is black that we shouldn't be so outraged. And I've heard people say that today, it is a problem.

MARTIN: Well, I think that we can't ignore that that's been the dialogue, gentleman.

MARTIN:: Well, a bigger part of the dialog has also been officers acting under the color of authority. Using that - abusing that (INAUDIBLE) authority and shooting African- American wen,

VAUSEL: And with that, well, later we'll continue the discussions next hour. Thank you both for being with us. We'll talk about (INAUDIBLE) soon. We'll take a short break. You're watching especial coverage her on CNN of the violent protest in Charlotte, North Carolina. When we come back we'll have more on the police shooting, of an African-American man there. We'll have more on the State of Emergency and those who been hurt. Also some high profile professional athlete, speaking out about the fable police shootings of African-American men.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[01:19:51] KATE RILEY, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I'm Kate Riley, with your CNN WORLD SPORTS Headlines. There will be no upset for Manchester United and Jose Mourinho as they sign negotiated their way past north Hampton. In the English of football league cup, despite the 47 places between the two sides, the league one side held their own into the second half, before the Premier League powerhouses re-establish control, goals from Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera, and another from teenage sensation Marcus Rashford, sends United into the fourth round where they will face their neighbors, Manchester's City. In Spain, Real Madrid had a frustrating night missing out on a chance of creating history by failing to beat Villarreal at home. The one all draw knocks Real's winning streak in the league at 16 matches, though, they would stay top of the table.

It was also a frustrating night for Barcelona, Lionel Messi went home injured, and it side will held to a one-all draw by Atletico Madrid. Barca took a first half lead through Ivan Rakitic, but the visitors equalized on the hour mark, a minute after Messi went off, Atletico scored through Angel Correa. And Rome have dropped its Olympics bids possibly once again. The Italian capital has apparently abandoned its bid for the 2024 summer games, something it did in 2020 fighting financial problems at the time. Money was also the reason given on Wednesday, when Rome's Mayor rejected the bid, saying, "The Olympics would bury the city in debt." And that's a look at all your SPORTS Headlines. I'm Kate Riley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOUSSAINT ROMAIN, PUBLIC DEFENDER IN CHARLOTTE: We don't need more people to go to die, no more people being arrested. We need to take a stand and do it the right way. The people are hurting, man. People are upset. People are frustrated. People need leaders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[01:21:50] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody. That was a public defender who tried to calm things down in Charlotte, North Carolina. Protest turned violent there after a police officer killed an African- American man on Tuesday. The Family of Keith Lamont Scott, says he was unarmed. A State of Emergency has now being declared in Charlotte. Police say a civilian shot another civilian during a second night of protest. And Police used teargas to try and disperse the crowd, at least one police officer has been injured. Meantime, Scott's wife is calling to peaceful protest. Cedric Alexander is CNN Law Enforcement Analyst and director of public safety in the DeKalb county Georgia. He joins us now live from Atlanta. Cedric, thank you for being with us.

[01:22:29] CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Thank you.

VAUSE: Explain for us now the tactics that the riot police have been using to try and reclaim the streets, try and clear these protesters, because right now it does seem that it's working.

ALEXANDER: It is working. They had a little difficulty certainly during the early part of the night. But they maintained their posture, they maintain their training. They appeared to have stayed very professional and very focused on what the mission was, and that was to keep people safe as best that they could. And I think they did an outstanding job tonight considering the number of protesters that you had out there that turned violent. So, I think we have to commend them on the work they have done. Keeping that -- doing everything they can to keep that community safe there in Charlotte.

VAUSE: And it has been a dangerous work from what we've heard from the Charlotte Police. In fact, they've just put out some new information. We're hearing from Charlotte Police, that four police officers have been injured in the past few hours. There we are. All the injuries are non-life threatening. Cedric, clearly, the peaceful protesters have now left. How would you describe the once who are still out there?

ALEXANDER: Well, you'll always going to have a few that's going to linger around, but over time, they'll move on as well. The police there will maintain their professional posture until those streets are cleared. A lot of work need to be done throughout the course of the night. There going to be people returning back to those communities to work in the morning, and to live. So -- but the community will remain safe, it will stand safe. But, you know, it's a very challenging time at this particular moment in Charlotte. We've seen these video images before following these types of events. But Charlotte is a very strong community and has very good leadership there in their police department. And it is without question, I have no concern that they're going to pull this together and they're going to get through this. It's going to be though. But they're going get through this challenge.

VAUSE: There has been some talk of declaring a curfew in Charlotte. Do you think that's needed right now?

ALEXANDER: Well - and, you know, that's a determination in which the leadership there, the elected officials in that state, in that city, are going to have to make -- they have sometimes curfews work. They did not work very well in Ferguson, I know that for a fact. They haven't been there on the ground in Ferguson. When the governor put curfews into place, they're in Missouri, they didn't work at all. Because you will find those who are out to destroy property and to not to exercise the First Amendment, right, the way in which it was written. They don't care anything about curfews whatsoever. And it just becomes more of a challenge for the police, but that'd be a decision that they will have to make.

VAUSE: And just clear something up for me, because we saw a lot of canisters being fired and what looked like tear gas, but it's not always teargas, because sometimes the police will fire a smoke in to the crowd. Can you explain why that is?

ALEXANDER: Well - and I think what we saw tonight was teargas that was being utilized and we also heard a number of flash bangs that we use as well to disrupt crowds and move them along. It has somewhat of a shocking effect, and I think most of what we saw tonight was just not smoke, but potentially tear gas that we use to move the crowd. And if you notice, when the deployed the teargas, the crowds did move away. But soon as the teargas evaporated into the night, they came right back. So, they had to repeat that scenario a number of times before they received any real results.

VAUSE: OK. We'll leave it there. Cedric Alexander, thank you for being with us.

ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me.

VAUSE: OK. Many NFL players have refused to stand for the National Anthem this season to protest what they call "racist police tactics." Two of the most outspoken athletes said Wednesday, "enough is enough."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD SHERMAN, NFL SEATTLE SEAHAWKS CORNERBACK: The reason this guys are kneeling, the reason we're locking arms is to bring people together, to make people aware that this is not right. You know, it's not right for people to get killed in the street."

CAM NEWTON, NFL CAROLINA PANTHERS QUARTERBACK: I'm an African- American, you know, I'm - I am not happy what or how, you know, the justice had been, you know, kind of dealt with over the years, you know, the state of oppression in our community. But we also as black people, had to do right by ourselves. You know, we can't be hypocrites.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: San Francisco 49ers Quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the movement. He says, he's now receiving death threats. Back live to Charlotte, North Carolina after a quick break. Protesters turning violent after a police officer shot an African-American man. You're watching CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:30:49] ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAT MCCRORY, MAYOR OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA (voice-over): Charlotte has always been a place where people can peacefully have dialogue and move forward. And when I look at the pictures, it is just -- this is not -- this is not who we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Breaking news this hour, a state of emergency declared in Charlotte, North Carolina, after a second night of violent protests. The governor is calling in National Guard troops and extra police to help restore order. Police have used tear gas to try to disperse the crowd. Four police officers have been hurt, and police say one person is on life support, shot by a civilian. The protesters are demanding justice after police shot and killed an African-American man on Tuesday. The family of Keith Lamont Scott says he was unarmed.

CNN's Boris Sanchez joins us live from Charlotte with an update on the latest.

How many people are still on the streets and how much longer is it expected to go on for, Boris?

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, It has no end in sight at this point. There are quite quiet a few protesters on the other side of the street. They dispersed. We came around and we found pockets of more. There are several dozen people here.

And I want to show you on the left side, we are seeing reinforcement, more police in riot gear coming for these protesters trying to move them out of the way.

Things have been peaceful but about 20 minutes ago there was another agitator that got close to police and was taken behind the line and arrested. Then they let out a few flash bangs. But these folks are staying here.

And we are seeing several SUVs drive by, slow down in front of the cops, make a couple of loops and turn around. It is a situation that is tense, not like where we saw before where there were regular rounds of tear gas and pepper spray being used to get the crowd to move. Right now, there is a line of police officers coming off a city bus, it looks like they are going to try to force the folks to disperse. We have heard over a loud speaker several times this morning telling them they have to leave and get out of the way. And they're asking folks to do so peacefully or risk physical force. And we have seen them shoot non-lethal pellets at people. One of our security people got hit by one.

Again, the situation still unfolding here, not nearly as destructive as what we saw before. We saw several people throwing rocks and rods through windows. At one point, some protesters got inside the hotel and punched some of the people who were taking care of the hotel and work there. We have seen reporters getting knocked to the ground. We have seen fires set in the street. We've seen rocks and the tear gas canisters being thrown back at the police. It has been chaos here.

Right now, it is appearing to be slow down. But things may get heated again as we watch these officers get closer to the crowd. They are going to try to force these folks to move out of the way.

This crowd has been very, very heated. They've gone back and forth yelling at the police and you know, throwing things at them. We're going to keep an eye on what's going on here. It looks like they're going to try to force these folks off the street corner. They're, obviously, with their hands up, not moving. Many of them are also on their phones and filming this for social media, feeding it live into their social media feeds.

We mentioned the one civilian that was hurt. There were rumors online that quickly spread after that. There was misinformation pertaining to his wellbeing and who hurt him. And that was fueling the fire of this crowd, making people angrier as we watch the police come closer to this corner. Some loud noises in the distance. The police have forced these demonstrators off that corner as they start chanting "Hands up, don't shoot."

We'll keep an eye on this, John. I'll send it back to you for now.

[01:35:22] VAUSE: Boris, if you are still there, is there any reason do you know why the police decided to move now or is it all part of the process going on for a couple of hours to clear the city?

SANCHEZ: I'm sorry. I missed the first part of your question. The protesters are getting loud and the police are moving closer to the center of the intersection. They want these folks to go home. Several people have been hurt and there is extensive property damage. They're trying now to get this crowd to finally go home.

This started at about 6:30 with about 100 people in front of a police station and it was peaceful. Some people were just having conversations. Very emotional, dramatic conversations with officers, but it quickly escalated and now as we get closer to 2:00 a.m. We're watching the remnants of this very violent demonstration slowly started to wither down.

But the danger is still real. The SUVs keep passing by. Here comes another one. They start doing loops in front of the police. And obviously that's a concern, considering the events we've seen that unfolded in Baton Rouge, the attack on police in Dallas as well. It has to be harrowing for the police department and the protesters as well. Some were here to demonstrate peacefully. I would say most of the folks that were demonstrating peacefully have gone home. We've had threats made against us. My colleague, Ed Lavandera, got shoved to the ground by a protester. Obviously, the danger is still very real, even though, I would say there are only a couple dozen protesters left -- John?

VAUSE: Boris, we'll leave it there. We appreciate the update and will continue to monitor what's happening at your location.

In the meantime, I want to bring in criminal defense attorney, Brian Claypool; and commentator Segun Oduolowu, here in Los Angeles.

Brian, first to you.

Many people ask, how does this help the cause damaging cars and looting stores. This is what Charlotte's mayor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MCCRORY (voice-over): There are people who are protesting peacefully and folks who are working to get their message out without creating violence and destroying things. And I think what we need to now remember is that this is a small section of a population.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: OK, let me send that to Segun, actually.

Are these protests a distraction here?

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, SOCIAL COMMENTATOR: I think it's not just a distraction. One person can't do -- this is a mob mentality. It's almost the mirror image of what the protesters are claiming the police to be. It's not one bad cop but when they are allowed to kid people in the streets and precincts continue not to prosecute them. If protesters in the street can be dispersed with tear gas and nonlethal bullets, and we are talking about a mob of people, how can motorists and individuals be shot dead in the street?

VAUSE: And, Brian, to that point?

BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think the problem we have in dealing with any protest after a law enforcement kills a black man is it's combustion because you have people who are frustrated. They want answers quickly. The problem is you're not going to get answers quickly. I've been involved in plenty of police shooting cases. John, it can take up to six to eight months to complete an investigation. So when people want answers quickly they want transparency and they don't get it they run out on the street.

VAUSE: You could also say this is the end result of what many people in the African-American community claim is systemic racism. Four of the six people killed in Charlotte this year were black.

CLAYPOOL: Right.

VAUSE: If you look at the numbers that come out, the blacks are the ones who are stopped and detained and have force used against them by the police.

CLAYPOOL: And the behavior tonight is not the result of one shooting that happened yesterday. It's many years of frustration.

ODUOLOWU: It's systematic racism that -- there is no well-thinking black person that is for violent protests that wants to see black faces that look like mine jumping on the roofs of police cars. But that person jumping on the roof, he probably went home that night. He wasn't killed. How can a guy with his hands up get killed?

[01:40:05] CLAYPOOL: That's the frustration.

VAUSE: A lot of people make the point that the police officer who carried out the shooting was a black police officer who shot a black man, and this is proof it's not racial.

ODUOLOWU: We have to separate the power of the police department and the color thing. This is not a black/white issue or all cops are bad or all black people are bad. This is police department not weeding out bad apples or training them properly. This is the outcome.

VAUSE: As we watch the live pictures here from Charlotte, North Carolina. The police are still out there and it is 1:40 in the morning right now. And we have seen police with riot gear moving in using tear gas. There is a possibility they could use it again to clear the streets. We'll continue to watch that.

But, Brian, much of the anger centers on the decision not to release the video from the body cam and the dash cam. They said the investigation is underway. But this state passed a law, which would make it illegal, come next month, for the police to release that video. Many say this state is moving away from transparency.

CLAYPOOL: We absolutely need transparency. We have video cams now so the public can see what is in the video. That is a big problem of what we are seeing tonight. If we have the video, it speaks the truth. You can glean a lot of information from that video. The problem we have in this country is, state to state -- I have a case right now, John, I represent a Hispanic man beaten by a police officer. The police officer pled guilty to assault. That was two years ago. I still don't -- it was videotaped and I still don't have it.

VAUSE: A lot of people and a lot of African-Americans have said, how is it the terrorist in New Jersey be taken alive after bomb in two states but a guy with his hands up is killed.

ODUOLOWU: It's not just a suspected terrorist, he was in a fire fight. In the Boston and New York bombings, they were in fire fights and they were captured and alive to be questioned. How can a black man with his hands up in Tulsa, Oklahoma, or lying in the middle of the street helping an autistic kid in Florida be shot when they are unarmed.

And black people cannot be hypocrites saying -- they are doing the same thing in Chicago with a record number of black-on-black crimes. But I don't pay them to protect and serve me. Do better, or Charlotte is going to look like Baton Rouge and Ferguson, Missouri, it's going to look like Dallas, and we go city after city after city seeing the same thing.

VAUSE: OK, Segun and Brian, thanks for being with us.

We'll take a short break, but we'll continue to keep an eye on the images coming to us from Charlotte in North Carolina. The police are in riot gear and a small number of protesters are on the streets after hours of violence there. A lot more in just a moment.

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[01:45:23] VAUSE: Welcome back, everybody, 1:46 in the morning in Charlotte, North Carolina. The end of what has been a violent few hours. The governor has declared a state of emergency. One person is in a critical condition after being shot by a civilian. Demonstrators threw rocks and bottles at police injuring four police officers. Protesters also attack a TV reporter and a cameraman. They were taken to the hospital and treated there. Demonstrators smashed windows of the Hyatt Hotel and attacked two employees inside. The protests started Tuesday night after the police fatally shot an African- American man.

We are joined by a Jasmyne Cannick, Democratic political consultant; and Luis Alvarado, a Republican strategist and also Latino political and media consultant.

OK, we have not heard from Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton tonight in response to the violence, which is not surprising. But we heard from the candidates earlier in the day. Donald Trump talked about the victim in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was also shot by police. He said seemed like a good man. Then he went on to question the action of the police officer involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Hands up. He was doing everything he was supposed to do. Everything. And a young policeman shot this man. I don't get it. You can come -- I don't care where you're coming from, there was something really bad concern.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You saw he had his hands up.

TRUMP: I don't know if she choked. He was walking. His hands were high. He was walking. He put the hands on the car. Now maybe, she choked. Something really bad happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Luis, for the law-and-order candidate Donald Trump has been for the last couple of months, that does seem to be a significant departure for him.

LUIS ALVARADO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST & LATINO POLITICAL AND MEDIA CONSULTANT: It is very significant. During his rally, it's spewing, let's be tough and be violent and let there be casualties mentality and, all of a sudden, he is pivoting to the middle to advocate to minorities.

VAUSE: This is the scene right now in Charlotte. We can see the riot police are again moving in towards the protesters. These -- this group of protesters seem to be the last of as many as 1,000 who clashed violently with the riot police earlier in the evening. This is what has been happening in the last hour or so, the police slowly moving in towards the protesters, moving in, closing off the area that they can occupy in downtown Charlotte. Again, we'll continue to watch that.

But we'll also talk about the political implications about the police shooting and the violence that we're seeing.

Jasmyne, to you, Trump's website does not have a single detail on police reform. Instead, we hear that the police don't go far enough and need to harden up.

JASMYNE CANNICK, DEMOCRATIC POLITICAL CONSULTANT: That's not surprising. He has never been big on details. But he can pivot as much as he wants to minorities, African-Americans, Latinos. This is the same man who championed making Stop and Frisk a national program. So you know, I hear Donald Trump with his comments about Tulsa, but I'm not buying it, and neither are the majority of African-Americans.

VAUSE: We'll hold this discussion for now because Boris Sanchez is live in Charlotte with an update of what is going on right now.

So, Boris, tell us the latest, please.

[01:49:48] SANCHEZ: Hey, John. So, John, we have the gas masks ready because we heard an announcement from police saying they were getting ready to deploy whatever means necessary to get people out of the street. They've completely dispersed. We saw two or three dozen protesters that were asked to leave by the SWAT team but it's the last handful of protesters. They were forced down this street and that street as well. There are maybe -- fewer than 10 people left and they are far down the street from the police officers. Fortunately, it appears that the situation at this street corner ended more peacefully than earlier tonight, even though it was very, very tense at some points with people throwing objects at the police, yelling at them, and SUVs circling the intersection had to make the officers nervous.

As you move away you can see the officer blocking the street. We had a difficult time getting to the intersection because there were so many road closures. They not only wanted to be out here they overcame several roadblocks and hurdles to be out here at this time many, in hours after the initial peaceful protest began roughly 6:00, 6:30 this evening outside of a police station a mile or so from where we are right now. It moved to a park. The peaceful attitude was intact there. There was praying and people chanting slogans. And then things escalated when we came downtown. Obviously, things finally calming down now. Most of the protesters that I can tell are on their way home right now.

John, I'll send it back to you.

VAUSE: Great, Boris. We appreciate the update.

Boris Sanchez there with latest on what appears to be the end, maybe, of the protest. Everyone seems to be heading home and police moving in. Back to the discussion about the political implications here, on the

other side of the equation, Hillary Clinton was on the campaign trail and said the shootings were unbearable, but she did not blame the police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Every day, police officers across our country are serving with extraordinary courage, honor, and skill. We saw that again this weekend in New York and New Jersey and Minnesota. Our police handled those terrorist attacks exactly right. And they likely saved a lot of lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And again, Luis, this does seem to be a deliberate decision by the Clinton campaign.

ALVARADO: There are two stories here. First of all it's about style. We see Donald Trump and know he's going to be brash and bravado. And Hillary Clinton seems to maintain her even keel and gives to the argument that she in a situation of panic, we want someone who has an even keel and Donald Trump doesn't seem to represent that. When it comes to style I think Hillary wins this. But when it comes to the police, Hillary Clinton doesn't have the full respect of those who are 100 percent pure law enforcement as Donald Trump.

VAUSE: He won endorsement of the police federation.

ALVARADO: That is a challenge she has.

VAUSE: Jasmyne, is there any room for them to come together with some sort of bipartisan leadership to address the issue of police shooting black men and also the violent protests that follow?

CANNICK: I don't think so. Donald Trump has made it clear he wants to make Stop and Frisk a national policy. This is coming from the man who just tried to do African-American voter outreach to a white audience. So, no, I don't think there is a middle ground. And I'm heartened to hear a Republican speak so highly of Hillary Clinton --

(CROSSTALK)

CANNICK: I love it. I love it.

VAUSE: He is very honest.

CANNICK: I love it.

But she did the right thing. There are thousands of officers in this country who every day do do the right thing every day. So we're in a campaign. You know, we're going to be deliberate are our statements. We're going to be fair -- she's going to be fair, but I can't speak for Trump.

(LAUGHTER) VAUSE: A lot to get to. We'll do again next hour.

ALVARADO: Absolutely.

VAUSE: Appreciate it. Thank you for staying around.

ALVARADO: Always a pleasure.

VAUSE: We'll take another short break. Police in Charlotte, North Carolina, were struggling to gain control after protesters turned violence. But now it seems maybe the protesters are starting to leave. This was the scene earlier.

Our breaking news continues next right here on CNN.

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[01:55:35] VAUSE: A quick recap before we finish the hour. North Carolina's governor is sending the National Guard and state troopers to Charlotte after a second night of violent protesters. Police fired tear gas to try and disperse crowds in the downtown area. Protesters threw rocks and bottles injuring at least four officers. One person is in critical condition after being shot. Police say he was shot by another civilian. Demonstrators set fire to trash cans. Smashed store front windows throughout the city. The protest started on Tuesday after police shot and killed an African-American man.

Thank you for watching CNN NEWSROOM, live from Los Angeles. I'm John Vause.

Stay with us. More news at the top of the hour.

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