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Erin Burnett Outfront
911 Call Just Released In Rayshard Brooks Killing; Atlanta Police Foundation Says 19 Atlanta Police Officers Have Resigned Over The 10 Days; Protests On Its 21st Night Across U.S. For Racial Justice As Family Of Rayshard Brooks Demands Answers In Death; Trump Says Texas Doing A "Fantastic Job" With Virus On The Day The State Sees Record High Hospitalizations; New Coronavirus Cases Trending Up In 18 States. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 15, 2020 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Nick Watt reporting for us from Los Angeles. Thanks very much. I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.
"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT starts right now.
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next breaking news, the 911 call from Rayshard Brooks' fatal encounter with Atlanta police just released. This as 19 officers with the Atlanta Police Department have resigned tonight.
Plus, one of the nation's top cardiologists and medical adviser to the George W. Bush White House has serious questions about the President's health. Dr. Jonathan Reiner will tell you why.
And a black teen's gun goes off in a struggle with police. One officer is shot but no officer fires back. Tonight that teens father has a message for the police department. Let's go OUTFRONT.
And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.
OUTFRONT tonight, the breaking news, the 911 call just released from the shooting in Atlanta over the weekend. Rayshard Brooks died after he was shot twice by a police officer. It happened after two officers attempted to arrest Brooks in the parking lot of a Wendy's for being intoxicated. Here is that initial 911 call just released.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. You need police, fire, ambulance out here?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, tell me what's going on?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a car. I think he's intoxicated. He's in the middle of my drive-thru. I tried to wake him up, but he's parked dead in the middle of the drive-thru, so I don't know what's wrong with him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Is he breathing now, do you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, woke up, looked at me and I was like, you have to move out of the drive-thru because people can't - they're going around him and he's in the middle (inaudible) --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Tell me what kind of car (inaudible) --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- but they're trying to go around him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the color of his --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I asked him to pull over. He said, "I have too much drink to pull over and go to sleep." He said (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of car is it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a white car (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he black (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. He's black.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, in a white Sedan in the middle of the drive- thru.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I'm not sure what kind of car. It's right here. Yes, he's right here and the car is going around him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. Does he appear to having weapon, ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does he appear to having a weapon from where you can see it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No. I think he's intoxicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Not armed, just intoxicated and the officers talk to Brooks for nearly 30 minutes. After all of that there has then a struggle between Brooks and the arresting officers. Brooks ran away with an officer's taser. That is when the shooting happened.
Now, this killing of another black man by police, leading to more mass protests across the country tonight, nearly three weeks after the protests began in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The head of the Atlanta police foundation says morale is low and as of tonight 19 officers on the Atlanta police force have resigned and that's just in the past 10 days. Now, in terms of the case with Mr. Brooks, Atlanta's top prosecutor says a decision on charges could come by Wednesday.
Martin Savidge is OUTFRONT live in Atlanta tonight to begin our coverage. And Martin, you're just learning some new information about the officers involved as well. What is it?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right. Remember, these are two white police officers now involved in the shooting of a black man. And this is the information that's coming from the initial disciplinary reports for those two officers. We're still going through those records. They've only just come out, but we understand that Officer Garrett Rolfe, he's the officer that is believed to have fired the shots that killed Rayshard Brooks.
He had a use of force complaint that was against him and he received a written reprimand. We're still looking into exactly what that complaint was. Meanwhile, a city and, of course, a family is waiting to hear if those officers are going to be charged.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (voice over): The wife of Rayshard Brooks is calling for those protesting her husband's death to remain peaceful.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMIKA MILLER, WIFE OF RAYSHARD BROOKS: He was a sacrifice for people to see that black lives matter and I hate that it was my husband whose life will sacrifice. But we have to stand up for our people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE (voice over): For a third straight days, crowds take to the streets of Atlanta. This demonstration called 'march for justice' ended up at the state capitol.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) somebody.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE (voice over): Friday night, two white Atlanta police officers are called to reports of a car blocking a drive-thru at a Wendy's restaurant. They find Brooks, a 27-year-old father of four seemingly asleep. This is police body camera video of the incident that for 20 minutes seems normal.
Officers suspect Brooks has been drinking. As a solution, Brooks offers to leave his car behind and walk to his sister's home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAYSHARD BROOKS, AFRICAN-AMERICAN SHOT DEAD WHILE RUNNING FROM POLICE: I can just go home. I have my daughters there right now. My daughter's birthday was yesterday.
OFFICER GARRETT ROLFE: All right. Hold up, Mr. Brooks. Will you take a preliminary breath test for me? It's a yes or no.
BROOKS: I don't want to refuse anything. ROLFE: It's yes or no. It's completely up to you.
BROOKS: Yes, I will.
ROLFE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE (voice over): Brooks fails the test and as police attempt to arrest him, a struggle begins. Brooks manages to get a hold of one of the officer's tasers and runs.
[19:05:01]
What happens next is seen by a surveillance video. Officer Garrett Rolfe gives chase transfers his taser to his left-hand and reaches for his gun. Brooks turns back towards the officer pointing the taser, firing it. Officer Rolfe drops his taser, draws his gun and fired three shots.
An autopsy report reveals Brooks is shot two times in the back and rules his death a homicide. In an interview with CNN, Tomika Miller said their daughter will always associate her birthday with her father's death.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: And she'll forever remembered this birthday as the day that my daddy was killed. The day that my daddy was murdered, not just the day that my daddy died or passed away, because he didn't just die of natural cause and passed away. This is the day that he was murdered.
CROWD: Rayshard Brooks (inaudible) --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE (voice over): Protesters took to the streets, Saturday they blocked the main highway through downtown shutting off traffic. Police in riot gear moved in to make arrests. Then, the Wendy's where the shooting occurred, demonstrators began breaking windows. Fires broke out on the property before someone torched the inside. Police are searching for a suspect.
Speaking on CNN Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard says he's considering criminal charges against the two officers, but is waiting on more evidence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL HOWARD, FULTON COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: One of the things that we must attempt to finalize before we make a decision is to confirm the ballistics. We try to make sure that the projectiles in the body of Mr. Brooks that we can expertly trace them to a firearm.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SAVIDGE (voice over): Meanwhile, Tomika Miller wonders what the two officers may be thinking now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILLER: Do they sympathize with my family? Do they feel sorry for what they've taken away? That's what I want to know. If they had the chance to do it again, would they do it the same way or whether they'd do it totally different.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Atlanta's Chief of Police resigned within 24 hours of the shooting that took place on Friday night. Meanwhile, as for the two officers that were involved, one of them has been fired, that's Gareth Rolfe. The other officer has been assigned to desk duty. Behind us here is the scene itself as another tense night begins to set in here in Atlanta, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Martin, thank you very much.
And I want to go now to Cedric Alexander, former Chief of Police for DeKalb County, Georgia right next to Atlanta, also the former President of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, Melissa Murray, Professor at the NYU School of Law and Richard Rose, President of the Atlanta NAACP.
Chief Alexander, let me start with you. Obviously, we've heard the 911 call. You're incredibly familiar with this area and this police force. We've now seen the video too, was there anything that the officer in this case, the former Officer Rolfe, could have or should have done instead of shooting Brooks?
CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER CHIEF OF POLICE FOR DEKALB COUNTY, GEORGIA: Well, there are several things I've indicated in the past and I will continue to see this, is that doing the initial investigation when they arrive to the scene. They spent 20 minutes there. There seemed to have been cordial conversation between Mr. Brooks and officers. And they allowed him to park his car in a parking slot, which he did and he appeared to cooperated.
Officers had an opportunity to either give him a ride home or to call him an Uber. Oftentimes, arrest is not always necessary and particular in the light of where we are right now in this country, Erin. We have to be able to use discretion and certainly it was their discretion. But I think all of this could have been avoided once investigate it, they had a person that cooperated with them.
He was a few blocks from his sister house. They could have dropped him off. He could have got an Uber. She could have came and got him. And sometimes you just extend courtesy to people and everything doesn't always have to turn into an arrest. And I think this is some of the things you're going to see when you're talking about police reform.
BURNETT: Right. I mean, Richard, it just seems that this case that, right, it didn't need to escalate to the point that it did. I mean, when you look at video that we have, things start off calm outside that Wendy's. Officers try and rouse Brooks. He's given that sobriety test. They talk with him.
As the Chief just said, this all unfolds in about 27 minutes. Then though there's a scuffle that we see during which Brooks takes one of the officers tasers, runs. He turns back and I guess that's when possibly they would have thought they could have been shot by that taser. Then, the officer shoots and this all happens in less than a minute.
[19:10:02]
So when you look at this, Richard, what went wrong here at that moment?
RICHARD ROSE, PRESIDENT, NAACP ATLANTA: Well, as Dr. Alexander said, it went wrong from the moment of when they didn't allow - he offered to walk home. There was no need for an arrest and it just shows the tendency toward incarcerating men and women of color, not only in Atlanta and Georgia, but across America.
This could have been avoided. It showed horrible judgment on the part of Police Officer. They cuddled up. They didn't have to - and I don't know what went to Mr. Brooks mind, but we know that it costs to be, encounter with law enforcement, arrested, gone away from home, perhaps lose his job, hire lawyer. It was just so many things that might have gone through his mind, but it could have been avoided.
And we look at it, we think that the whole structure needs to be restructured toward public safety and not just policing.
BURNETT: So Melissa, when you hear that 911 call who came from the employee at Wendy's saying that he appeared to be intoxicated but unarmed, what do you hear there as you think about what the possible charges could be here for Officer Rolfe, who we believe fired the shots on the other officer currently on desk duty?
MELISSA MURRAY, LAW PROFESSOR, NYU SCHOOL OF LAW: I think one thing that's really important to note here was that Mr. Brooks was unarmed. So the whole question of whether the officer who fired was in fear of his life felt threatened.
That seems to be a harder question to gauge simply because Mr. Brooks had a taser. It's not a deadly weapon. It doesn't necessarily require a confrontation to be met with deadly force. And so I think that is definitely something the prosecutor will be weighing.
The charges could range anywhere from murder, which either requires an intentional killing or alternatively felony murder, which is a murder committed during the course of some other inherently dangerous felony here. It might be aggravated assault, for example, or it could be a form of killing that doesn't necessarily require an intent to kill, but rather some form of less extreme recklessness or negligence, like involuntary manslaughter and all of those, I think, are on the table and a lot will depend on the statements made at the time of the incident. The fact that the officer said after Mr. Brooks was shot, I got him,
that may weigh in favor here. And, of course, the history that this officer has as well may also play a role.
BURNETT: Richard, the only African-American Republican U.S. Sen. Tim Scott who is about to come forward with his formal proposal for reforming police said that the Brooks killing is different than that of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Here's what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. TIM SCOTT (R-SC): That situation is certainly a less clear one than the ones that we saw with George Floyd and several other ones around the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Do you think there's a difference between them, Richard?
ROSE: No, I see them as the same thing. That is a disregard and almost a disdain for human life, if it is a black life. I see that in both cases, obviously. The other part with this killing in Atlanta, it was dangerous for him for that officer to discharged his weapon in a crowded parking lot in a neighborhood with other businesses.
I mean, somebody a half mile away could have been killed by the officer discharging his work.
BURNETT: Chief Alexander, I also want to ask you about some new audio that we do have in the George Floyd case. This is a 911 dispatcher and it's pretty powerful because this dispatcher is watching real time footage of the arrest. So as it was happening, not on the video, as we have all seen, but actually as it was happening and was so alarmed by police officers actions as he saw them, I'm sorry, as she saw them live that she called a supervisor and I want to play the dispatcher so you can hear it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know, you can call me a snitch if you want to but we have the cameras up for 320s call. I don't know if they had to use force or not, but they got something out of the back of the squad, and all of them sat on this man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: It is unclear, Chief, what the dispatcher and the supervisor did after the dispatcher call. But what do you think when you hear that? Someone watching this in real time is so disturbed that she rings the alarm.
ALEXANDER: Yes. Well, I think (inaudible) looks at it certainly look at this video in its entirety are alarmed by it. And particularly when it comes up to the point where shots are fired. Look, things can be lawful but (inaudible) and you have discretion reasoning that you have to apply when you're a police officer when you're out on those streets.
And even though in this case, Mr. Brooks, was in possession of a taser, but the bigger question becomes this 1910 [00:04:48] as it unfolds, you look at it in its totality, was it necessary for Mr. Brooks to die as a result of a, what was suggested to us, to be someone who was intoxicated?
[19:15:01]
This is the same thing that we continually see across this country. We saw it in the George Floyd case and we're seeing it in this case. In the end, we end up with young man who had died and it's unnecessary that it gets to that point and a lot of this is going to be based on training (inaudible) and people that we hire into these departments who come in there with an attitude, rather you're going to be a guardian or are you going to be a warrior.
We understand, I certainly understand the challenges that come with policing in this country. I get it and the American people get it, but what people will not tolerate is what they begin to see over and over again as a sense of senseless shootings and killings that take place in which other decisions certainly could have been made, because if you ask someone who is not a train (inaudible) who can understand how to use discretion and we have officers who are trained, then I think certainly we can do a better job at what we're doing.
Everybody understands that policing is a tough job and even in light of everything that's going on and let me just say this before we close, Erin, in light of everything what's going on, we still have to remember we got good men and women that are out there serving today, tonight, keeping our community safe. But reform is going to be huge in this country, because the way that we have been policing, the way that we engage the public has to change. We can't have these type of reckless deaths.
BURNETT: All right. We said. Well, I appreciate all three of you taking the time tonight.
And next, she read about a black man shot and killed in an encounter with Atlanta police and thought this is war and then she realized the man who died was our friend. Rayshard Brooks' former boss is OUTFRONT.
Plus, as coronavirus cases climb across the country, the President says this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That if you don't test, you don't have any cases. If we stop testing right now, we'd have very few cases, if any.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Well, there's the logic.
And questions about Trump's health as he defends his walk down a ramp and his drink from a cup. Dr. Jonathan Reiner who advised George W. Bush's White House is OUTFRONT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:46]
BURNETT: Breaking news, looking at live pictures out of New York, the 21st day of protests across this country since the death of George Floyd and tonight they're also protesting the fatal shooting of Rayshard Brooks, another black men killed by police over the weekend.
OUTFRONT now, Ambrea Mikolajczyk. She was Rayshard's boss last year at a commercial and residential restoration business in Ohio. And Ambrea, I really appreciate your taking the time. I know that this was shocking for you. I mean, how did you first learn about Rayshard's death?
AMBREA MIKOLAJCZYK, RAYSHARD BROOKS' FORMER BOSS: Well, first, Erin, thank you so much for allowing me the opportunity to share my story as it relates to Ray as we called him. I first heard about it Saturday morning. I got out of bed to get dressed and my husband didn't say anything and he just handed me his phone.
And I read the headline and it said African-American man died by the hands of police officers at a Wendy's parking lot. And when I read it, I just thought, oh, my gosh, when is this going to ever end, we're at war. And my husband's still not saying anything and then as I went down to the next paragraph, I saw that it was Rayshard Brooks. And that was my first time hearing about it and that he had died in that way.
BURNETT: I mean, I know he was an employee of yours and not for a long time Ambrea, but you've been affected by his death and now you say you've talked to other people who knew him, who interacted with him who have been deeply affected. Tell us about him.
MIKOLAJCZYK: For sure. So we are a small team of about 16 people. He came to us at the beginning of summer 2019 and he came highly recommended from another guy on our team. And so when he came on board, right away we noticed he was (inaudible) hard worker, dedicated, kind, respectful, in fact, he rode a bike to work every single day and he was the first one to show up and always the last one to leave and he would ride that bike in all conditions, rain, cold, hot, but he could always come on ready to be there.
He was a family man and he was also someone who cared about everyone. In fact, when he got an apartment here in Toledo, he not only was furnishing his apartment, but I just found out from one of my employees today that he then furnished the apartment of his neighbor next door to him as she was a single (inaudible) and she didn't have any furniture. So this is the type of person that I want you guys to know.
So many times when black men get murdered in this (inaudible) they become dehumanized. And I want to (inaudible) everyone that Ray was deeply loved by everyone he came in contact with. In fact, one of my clients called me over the weekend and said, "Ambrea, this isn't our Ray, is it?" And I said, "Yes, it's our Ray."
And we sobbed together on the phone and he literally was on our job for only a month and it was an office remodel. But he had that type of impact on everyone no matter where he was. His smile lit up a room and he just never had a bad day. And so I just want that message to be very clear. This was a man that was incredibly loved, incredibly respected and we will not be the same without him.
BURNETT: Well, I'm glad that you shared that with us and with everyone, because you're right, it's so important for people to know the human being. The human being and his story and I thank you for sharing it, Ambrea. Thanks.
MIKOLAJCZYK: Thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, the Governor of New York now threatening to shut parts of the state back down as coronavirus cases rise across the country. As President Trump's defense of his health is raising more questions tonight, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, OUTFRONT medical team joins me next.
[19:25:01]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:28:58]
BURNETT: Well, tonight, President Trump touting the response in states with troubling new coronavirus numbers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: Tremendous progress is being made. I spoke with the Governor of Texas where they've done a fantastic job. Florida is doing very well. Georgia is doing very well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: Texas reported a record high in hospitalizations today. And Florida and Georgia are among 18 states with cases trending up.
Erica Hill is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR DAN GELBER (D) MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA: People really got to take this seriously. This is not an all clear where people can do whatever they want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR AND NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT(voice over): The Mayor of Miami Beach not ruling out new mandates for his city. One of the last in Florida to reopen as cases across the state continue to rise. More than 2,500 new cases added on Saturday, a third straight day of record high numbers.
They're up in Texas too and it's not just because there's more testing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. UMAIR SHAH, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HARRIS COUNTY TEXAS DEPT. OF HEALTH: The question I'm getting asked a lot is did reopening or did other events have something to do this and some saying no it didn't and the answer is absolutely it did. The hard part is to know how much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[19:30:05]
HILL (voice over): Across the country, 18 states seeing the number of new cases trend up over the past week.
In Oklahoma, also deep orange on the map, Tulsa recorded its highest daily increase in cases on Friday. President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign rally there this weekend. The county health director telling the local paper he wishes it could be postponed to a time when the virus isn't as large a concern.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: People are violating everything, everything.
HILL: In New York state, more than 25,000 complaints about businesses and patrons breaking the rules.
Governor Andrew Cuomo tweeting this video of packed streets and few face covering is.
CUOMO: There are a lot of conscientious people who paid a very high price, did the right thing, and they don't want other people ruining it for them.
HILL: The surgeon general encouraging Americans to wear masks tweeting, face covering is bring more freedom. Dr. Anthony Fauci in a new interview with "The Telegraph" urging people to keep them on when chanting and screaming at demonstrations, estimating real normality likely won't return until at least next year.
The CDC now recommending all close contacts of confirmed cases should be tested not just quarantined and monitored.
South Carolina Congressman Tom Rice announcing on Facebook today he and his family are recovering from the virus, though calling it the Wuhan flu. Last month, he told CNN he didn't wear a mask on the House floor because he was social distancing.
And the FDA revoking emergency use authorization for hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine based on new evidence that they may not be effective to treat COVID-19 and could have adverse health effects. DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hydroxychloroquine, try
it.
HILL: President Trump repeatedly touted the drug without evidence.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HILL: Erin, you noted the record number of COVID-19 related hospitalizations in Texas. Also today in that state, the mayor of Austin extended the stay-at-home order for his city through August 15th, noting the high rise in case numbers there saying his city is at stage-four risk, Erin.
BURNETT: All right. Erica, thank you very much.
And I want to go straight to Dr. Sanjay Gupta, our chief medical correspondent.
You know, you heard Erica's report here on rising cases and does that, you know, mean it's really getting worse or is it just increased testing, and the health officials clearly saying it is -- it is getting worse. Trump, though, says Texas is doing a fantastic job. Texas had a record high in hospitalizations which is a very important metric.
So, what's your reaction to the president?
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I mean, I don't know what numbers he is looking at or what the governor of Texas told him. Texas is heading in the absolute wrong direction. They had as you mentioned the record number of hospitalizations right now. They are thinking about opening the stadium to potentially handle overflow of patients. So, on one hand, they are preparing for a significant problem. We hope it doesn't happen.
But it's clearly not a model to say things are going well. Florida and Georgia are two of 18 states as Erica mentioned that are also heading in the wrong direction. Miami, they may reinstate stay-at-home orders again.
I mean, it's kind of remarkable to me, Erin, that people still in many places seem to have forgotten the virus but, clearly, in most places around the country the virus has not forgotten the people. So, you know, I mean, we need to stay very vigilant about this. Texas and Florida and Georgia are states I'd use as examples of staying vigilant not examples of success.
BURNETT: So, you know, the president was talking about safeguarding senior citizens in an event, and obviously, you know, those most at risk of getting sick and dying. He said this about the cases increasing. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you don't test you don't have any cases. If we stopped testing right now, we'd have very few cases if any.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BURNETT: OK. To state the obvious that is not true, right? You either know about the problem that is stalking you or you can choose to not know about it. I mean, just, Sanjay, what do you make of the president of the United States saying this just don't bother testing and we can pretend we don't have cases?
GUPTA: It's frustrating at this point, Erin. We are six months into things, five and a half months into things here. I mean, that is a fundamental lack of understanding. You absolutely need to test if you want to get ahead of this.
We don't even know what we don't know at this point, which is the worst position to be in. And I -- you know, I hate -- you know, I don't enjoy these conversations at all, talking about the number of people who have died but you know that more people died in the last 24 hours than in some countries throughout the entire pandemic. More people died in the last 24 hours than in some countries during the entire pandemic for the last several months.
We need to be testing because that is how you find people who are infected, that's how you isolate them, that's how you get ahead of this thing.
[19:35:04]
Right now, there is a real concern that we could go back into exponential growth. It was always known, Erin, that as we started to reopen the numbers were going to go up. But, you know, I hope we're not in a place now where we think, you know, 600, 700, a thousand people dying every day is okay. It's not. It doesn't have to be that way.
We don't have to have a therapeutic or a vaccine to get ahead of this thing but we do have to have testing. We do have to have the basic public health things implemented in countries all around world that we could do as well.
BURNETT: All right. Sanjay, thank you very much. Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
I just want to highlight here as we were just talking, the IHME just came out which they use for the forecasting, now forecasting 201,000 deaths by this fall, with a sharp uptick in September and October.
OUTFRONT next, questions tonight over President Trump's health after his own defense of this raised more questions.
And police say a black teen shot an officer in the hand but the officer, though, did not return fire. That teen's father has a powerful message for police tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:40:02] BURNETT: Tonight, new questions about President Trump's health, after this walk down a ramp at West Point's graduation ceremony this weekend. The president drawing attention to this moment, tweeting that the ramp was, quote, very long and steep, had no hand rail, and most importantly was very slippery. Final ten feet I ran to level ground. Momentum.
OUTFRONT now, Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a member of the OUTFRONT medical team who advised the George W. Bush White House medical team for eight years.
Dr. Reiner, the president says the ramp was slippery but the skies were obviously clear. It was a gorgeous day. The man walking next to him obviously was not struggling to make his way down. Do you make anything of the way the president walked here?
DR. JONATHAN REINER, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION LABORATORY, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Well, it is more than just the way he walked, Erin. One doesn't need to be a physician to note the president hasn't looked well recently and didn't look well on Saturday.
There are three things about his appearance at west point that I noted. Number one is his speech has become very, very slow as if he is struggling to read from the teleprompter and really developed a very mono tone way of doing it in stark contrast to the way he spoke just a few years ago. Number two, when he lifted a glass to take a sip of water during the speech, he had to assist his right hand with his left hand. Very, very unusual. And then finally as we just watched his really very tentative almost feeble gate walking down the modest incline.
I won't pretend to make a diagnosis. I have no idea what is ailing the president but he doesn't look right. I'll remind you that in November, he made an unexplained and unplanned visit to Walter Reed on a Saturday afternoon and had testing there. The results of those tests, in fact, what tests he had have never been disclosed to the public.
BURNETT: Let me just ask again. I know we played it. The glass. This moment stood out to me strangely. He held the glass with his right hand. This is at West Point.
Then he, I don't know, appeared to struggle to lift his arm and used his other hand to push it up, to push the bottom of the glass up to his mouth.
All right. We -- so I don't know what explanation there could be for that. But if there is a medical explanation for that, what in the world could it be?
REINER: Well, I don't know if he was lacking the strength to raise the water glass or whether he was concerned that as he approached his mouth his hand would start shaking. I think the latter is probably closer to the truth, that he worried that he would start shaking and maybe spill some of the water. So, he steadied it with his left hand. Again, it is impossible to know what the president's issues are. We've
gotten very little data. The medical report issued by the White House two weeks ago was dropped to the public during the massive protests around the country as if they were trying to bury the report and it listed very, very little data.
BURNETT: All right. Dr. Reiner, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.
REINER: My pleasure.
BURNETT: Dr. Jonathan Reiner, as always.
The next protest started in Minnesota after a rumor a black teen was shot by officers but that rumor turned out not to be true.
And President Trump's visit to Tulsa, Oklahoma, still drawing scrutiny. He's backed down on the date but he's been standing firm with the location and masks optional. Will he change his mind?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:47:34]
BURNETT: Rumors posted on social media that two black men had been shot by officers in St. Cloud, Minnesota. We all saw it across and it sparked rage drawing a large crowd outside police headquarters overnight. The rumors were not true, and quickly emerging after it was revealed it was actually a police officer who was shot.
It happened while the officer was trying to arrest an armed teenager. The officers on the scene did not fire back. They were able to subdue the teen and take him into custody.
St. Cloud Police Chief William Blair Anderson joins me now.
And, Chief Anderson, your officers are being -- have this response -- we all saw the story. Like many I sort of had a, gosh, when I saw the headline but that is not what happened at all. Now the 18-year-old's father has reached out to you and thanked you.
What did the message say from him and what is your reaction tonight, Chief?
CHIEF WILLIAM BLAIR ANDERSON, ST. CLOUD POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, first, thank you for having me. I just want to make sure everybody keeps our officer and the family in their thoughts and prayers. That officer is doing well.
I spoke to him less than 15 minutes ago. The message wasn't sent directly to me but the message did thank us, did say that he was grateful we didn't kill his son. He wanted to pass that along.
BURNETT: Chief, can you tell us more about what made your officers choose to hold back? I mean, this teenager was armed. One of your officers was shot in the hand. And yet they did hold back. What happened there?
ANDERSON: Well, I wasn't there but my best answer is that they made the decision that they thought was best at the time. And I back that decision 100 percent. I won't let anyone second-guess their actions.
We heard from across the nation people ask, well, what justifies deadly force? Well, here's a textbook explanation of what would have justified deadly force and had they decided to discharge their firearms, I would back that decision as well.
I can tell you how proud I am of our officers because one of the things we stress is, you know, we try and make the best decisions possible at all times and we try not to strip human beings of their dignity.
[19:50:02]
And I don't want people to think we are apologists for criminals. And I don't want people to think that this is going to be the outcome or that it should be each and every time officers are faced with these encounters.
BURNETT: So, you know, you did just say you spoke to the officer about 15 minutes ago. Fourteen-year veteran of the force, if I'm correct, and, obviously, he was shot on the hand. I know you said he's doing OK, but how is he feeling right and how serious is his injury?
ANDERSON: Well, during the conversation, I can tell that he was in good spirits. Got a long rehab ahead and we're hoping that a full recovery and a quick return to duty is the outcome here.
I can tell you how grateful we are and moral is good at the St. Cloud P.D. Our community has backed us and we have their full support and for that we're eternally grateful. For the lie over social media, it's -- we need to be careful. We're in dangerous territory right now.
And it's unfortunate even when confronted with the truth, with the facts, which that group was before they attempted to storm our police deputy, they wanted no parts (AUDIO GAP).
BURNETT: That's incredible that even then they didn't want any parts of it.
Chief, I want to ask you because you come to this as a professional but your personal story is important for people to know. You became a police officer after your home was fire bombed. Your two children were inside and the people that did it were never caught and now you're the first black police chief of St. Cloud. How does that impact how you're leading right now? That experience with which is so terrifying and hard for so many to understand.
ANDERSON: I think we're all products of our experiences and upbringing. You know, I'm grateful that everything I needed to know to succeed in life my mother and father taught me before I was 5 years old, that's simply how you treat people. And so, that -- those values are what we try and embody and invest in
the thing that we value at the St. Cloud Police Department and again, I can't be more proud of the men and women that serve our community. I can't be more proud of our community.
And the vast majority of police officers, make no mistake, are doing this job the right way for the right reasons, and we should not forget about them. If we continue to alienate them, we're going to have some very fine people and very fine officers walking away from this profession and none of us want that.
BURNETT: No, we don't. I hope people hear you, sir, and your story and that story from your police department. Our thoughts are with your officer and to his full and quick recovery. Thank you so much.
ANDERSON: Well, thank you for having me.
BURNETT: And next, the president's visit to Tulsa raising a painful past.
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[19:56:51]
BURNETT: In a rare retreat, President Trump rescheduling his rally in Tulsa. But for some, his visit is reopening old wounds.
Abby Phillip is OUTFRONT.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIFFANY CRUTCHER, TWIN BROTHER KILLED BY TUSAL POLICE IN 2016: We're twins, yes, three minutes apart. He came out first and calls me his little big sister.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before George Floyd, before a nationwide protest against police brutality swept the country, Tiffany Crutcher's twin brother Terence was killed by a Tulsa police officer in 2016.
CRUTCHER: Terence just needed help that day.
PHILLIP: Crutcher was unarmed and the officer who shot him was charged with manslaughter but later acquitted.
For Tiffany, the anger in Tulsa over policing dates back to 1921 when her great grandmother was one of thousands of black residents who ran for their lives as a mob of angry whites killed hundreds and burned down the black neighborhood of Greenwood known then as Black Wall Street.
CRUTCHER: Same culture that burnt down black Wall Street and killed innocent people and ran my great grandmother from her home is the same culture, same policing culture that killed Terence.
PHILLIP: Now, President Trump is coming here at a time when black Tulsa residents still feel like their voices aren't being heard.
TRUMP: The fact that I'm having a rally on that day, you can really think about that very positively as a celebration.
PHILLIP: Most of the city's black residents are concentrated in North Tulsa, literally divided by train tracks. A 2018 human rights watch report that black Tulsa residents are 2.3 times more likely to be arrested than white residents. The report also found traffic stops are more likely to happen in the black poor parts of the city, tend to last longer and more likely to result in search, questioning and arrest.
But it's not just drivers.
DAMARIO SOLOMON-SIMMONS, ATTORNEY FOR TULSA TEENS: My clients who are 13 and 15 have been walking on this road minding their own business.
PHILLIP: Earlier this month in Tulsa, two black teenagers arrest for jaywalking in a neighborhood with no sidewalks. Their story getting national attention when the police video was released.
Donna Corbitt lives just around the corner and also recorded what she saw. The video showing both teens in handcuffs, one struggling with officers and at one point an officer kicking him inside of the police car and the teen demanding that they call his mother.
DONNA CORBITT, WITNESS: It really made me very sickened to myself. It's a great burden to see such brutality on a child like that.
PHILLIP: Tulsa police say the arrest is being investigated. Corbitt and the younger teen's mother returning to the place where her younger son was arrested.
TAWANNA ADKINS, MOTHER OF TULSA TEEN: It broke my heart they felt comfortable harassing him, abuse him and humiliate him.
PHILLIP: Echoes of countless other viral videos that have laid bear the pain of black America.
CRUTCHER: I lost it. All I could think about is that baby thinking he would be the next George Floyd or the next Terence Crutcher.
PHILLIP: Abby Phillip, CNN, Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BURNETT: And thanks so much for joining us.
"AC360" with Anderson starts now.
