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ANDERSON COOPER 360 DEGREES
New Protest in Ferguson; Attorney General Holder Meets With All Sides; Officer Suspended: Pointed Gun at Protesters; New Video of St. Louis Shooting Death; New Witness to Brown's Death Talks; Supporters of Officer Wilson Marching; Protesters Want Prosecution Off the Case; Remembering James Foley
Aired August 20, 2014 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, AC360 HOST: Hey. Good evening. Thanks for watching our special extended 360 covers live from Ferguson. Sundown here in Ferguson now after a big day here but thankfully and largely quite one. Protesters again, marching in the streets in the number of areas here and throughout the town. Fewer though than we've seen before so far. No serious incidents, scuffles or any violent clashes.
They're marching here and also near by Clayton, Missouri on the county prosecutor's office. People calling for him for recuse himself from the case. Also today, Attorney General Eric Holder as you know, visiting, meeting with top investigators, officials and Michael Brown's parents. We're going to talk about his visit and their concerns shortly in this program. We'll also show, you know, especially tense encounter last night between protesters and a police officer who pointed his rifle directly at unarmed protester saying, "I'll f--ing kill you.
In addition to all of that, new video of that other fatal police shooting of a man in Saint Louis not far from here. The question is does the video in which you see the man actually shot the death by police officers, does it square with the official story that the shooting was justify. We'll show you that video. You can decide for yourself.
We begin though with Michael Brady's account of Michael Brown's killing. As you know, several witnesses have come forward, each one somewhat different from one another.
They also differ of course from the police account that Michael Brown first grab at Officer Wilson's gun then rushed at him, the one autopsy that we do have result from so far. The private one backs up pieces of some eye witness versions but to not conclusively settle all questions. Now with all that in mind, listen to Michael Brady, eye witness who I talked to just a short time before we run on air about what he says he saw. He lives within view of the shooting site which is about three blocks from where I am right now. I spoke as I've said short time ago. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So when did you first realized something was happening?
MICHAEL BRADY, EYE WITNESS: Well, this is a little bit after 11:30ish, friend of mine actually woke me up out of nap. He comes over. I step outside waiting for like three to five minutes. After that, I come in say some to my fiancee in the kitchen and then I go into the bed room. Within two minutes in the bed room I heard an altercation outside and ...
COOPER: What did you hear?
BRADY: Just some heavy (inaudible), you know, like a strong voice, like a strong voice. I'm not sure, you know, what word is exchange exactly but it's just a strong voice.
COOPER: So what did you do then?
BRADY: (inaudible), when in heard the altercation I looks out the window and I see somebody at Ferguson police window, some kind of tussle going on here.
COOPER: So you saw somebody at the window of the police car?
BRADY: Yes.
COOPER: Police officer was still on the vehicle.
BRADY: Yeah, inside the vehicle. So like I say there's some kind of tussle going on. He also had a friend also. He runs on the side of the car because all of the sudden they just takes off running. After the tussle?
COOPER: Right.
BRADY: They'd just takes off running.
COOPER: Did you know Mike Brown?
BRADY: No, no.
COOPER: OK.
BRADY: I see him, you know, around or whatever. So ...
COOPER: But it was Mike Brown at that vehicle?
BRADY: Yes.
COOPER: And you said there was a tussle, how long did it go on for that you saw it?
BRADY: Second, second, 10 seconds I should have say.
COOPER: Did you see -- when the tussle was around, did you see was one person were being pulled in or pulled out or ...
BRADY: Oh, no. He was just exactly at the window and they may look like he was trying to get away.
COOPER: You couldn't tell exactly what was going on.
BRADY: Yeah, but, you know, I just seen some kind of tussle going on through the window. So -- but, like I say he has a friend also and he stand in like in the front of the police cruiser, on the bumper side, on the passenger side but like five feet away from it though.
And like I say, all of the sudden they just take off running. Mr. Brown, he just running directly down in the middle of the street and his friend is -- there was a car that was park on the sidewalk, the Ferguson cop, his vehicle was in the middle of the straight diagonal.
So like I said, they take off running.
COOPER: Had there been a shot when there was still that tussle on the police.
BRADY: I'm not -- I didn't hear the shot, I didn't hear the shot. Quite a few people that was around say they heard a shot go off in the car. Maybe they ...
COOPER: But the important thing is what you heard. You did not hear it?
BRADY: Right, right, right. So I definitely didn't hear that. So like I say his friend takes off running and like I said, the parked car was on the side walk and, you know, like I say he is far like five feet away from a police cruiser in the middle of the street. So like I said they just takes off running and I see the officer, he get out of the car, emerge and just immediately start shoot. So (inaudible).
COOPER: You say he immediately starts shooting. You're saying -- he didn't say anything, he didn't ...
BRADY: Like I say, I didn't hear because everything -- I'm still in the window.
COOPER: OK.
BRADY: I'm still in the window. So when he gets out of the car, I see the first shot, as Mr. Brown like I say he directly in the middle of the street running with his back turn, running away and he's probably was about 20 feet down and his other fiend, he's around the car, the truck side of it. So I see him, you know, looking up at the (inaudible) just to see where he's at but when he gets out of the car, he (inaudible) like one or two shots but at that time, he has already passed his own police vehicle and Mr. Brown's friend where he run into, as he was in his gun, shooting range, you know, position, he walked pass the vehicle to where his friend ran to.
So I think that the officer knew where his friend is but I'm saying that he's showing me that he wasn't shooting at this friend.
COOPER: Did you see? You said there were one or two shots, you think. BRADY: Yes. The very first one, the first person when he gives out.
COOPER: Did you see if Mike Brown was hit by any of those shots?
BRADY: No, I don't think he -- maybe it was at the time because like I said he was 20, 25 feet down. So obviously he was still running.
COOPER: Right. Because we don't know -- the autopsy said that there were at least six shots that hit Mike Brown but we don't know how many shots may have been fired if there were other shots that were fired, if other bullet casings have been collect. We don't know.
BRADY: Right.
COOPER: So you said, you heard one or two.
BRADY: Yeah. I definitely saying one or two but like I say he still have his back turned and I notice that he passed his friend up, so where his friend ran too. So that's when I decide I'm going to run outside with my phone and see what I could get. So I run as fast, so quick. About the time I get outside, he's already turned around, facing the officer. He's bolder, he had his arms like under his stomach and he was like half way down like he was going down and officer lets out by three or four shots at him.
So like I say, just like the body, I took a few pictures and a video about how his body is on the ground just like with his arms tacked in. That's how he got shot or whatever but like I said, before he went down he was already like this and he took like one or two step going towards the officer and he, like I said like about three or four more shots at him.
COOPER: You're saying it's your impression that he was essentially falling down onto the ground or going down onto the ground?
BRADY: Yeah.
COOPER: Because there is an account by a friend of the -- allegedly a friend of the officer, said that the officer is claiming any sources of the investigation back his up is where the officer's claim is that Mike Brown was running toward the officer. Did you see him running toward the officer or anyway?
BRADY: No, no. Not after when he was running away. No. Not at all. Like I say by the time I come outside, I'm taking that he's now hit after I've seen the officer shooting in him while he was running away. So I'm thinking that he is hit because now, he's turned to round now like this, like he was going down. He didn't even look like he was giving up. It just look like, you know, I'm hit, you know, I was going to down now. That's what it look like.
COOPER: That was your impression.
BRADY: Yeah, yeah.
COOPER: So from what you saw, there weren't hands up or anything the hand ...
BRADY: Yeah. I really (inaudible) -- I didn't see no hands up, I probably just missed it from going out from bed room, going outside.
COOPER: Right. There was a gap in what you saw because you are moving ...
BRADY: Yeah. And then on top of that and there was also a gap from the officer pausing as he was shooting. Because like I say I'm there in the window and he shoots a couple of times and by the time I gets outside he's shooting again. So I really didn't hear a shot between a running, he's probably dead, you know, maybe ...
COOPER: And you don't know that (inaudible)...
BRADY: Yeah.
COOPER: This entire thing about how quickly he did -- from the time you first heard what sound and like it's tussle and started seeing tussle to the time Mike Brown was down in the ground. How long do you think?
BRADY: It was -- how should I say it. I was definitely say -- if I'm not mistaken not even a minute.
COOPER: It all was quick.
BRADY: Yeah, it was just quick, definitely quick, prior within 30 seconds or 40 seconds maybe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, Mr. Brady says he has told to start to local investigators not to the FBI. Small group of protesters, probably about 20 or maybe 30 or 40 people moving by this area. One thing I notice just in the last 15 minutes or so, the crowd just started to grow. There is definitely less of a visible police presence on this main street and they're really allowing people to kind of stand around which is something we have not seen over the last several nights, whether they're going to continue to allow people to do that or whether they're going to start to try to move people along.
The other thing that maybe anticipating is a big storm is coming and they may anticipate that that may clear out a lot of people from this area, at least as long as the storm last. Now, another voice, Dorian Johnson as you know, was with Michael Brown, both in that convenience store and at the Michael Brown was shot, saw the whole thing, watched his friend die. A short time ago, I spoke with his attorney, Freeman Bosley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: There obviously been now so many different accounts, that's why I want to try to clarify some of what your client has said. The reports about the officer having injuries to his face, is that anything that your client saw or can you kind of explain how the officer would have gotten injuries to his face?
FREEMAN BOSLEY, DORIAN JOHNSON'S ATTORNEY: And that's just more of a saying. We believe that they are engaging in a lot of insinuation and a window like this point. Injury like that is something that should have been disclosed much early on.
COOPER: So according to your client, there was no injuries to the officer's face?
BOSLEY: No.
COOPER: None or whatsoever?
BOSLEY: None.
COOPER: And if it turns out that there were injuries to the officer's face, what would that indicate about your client's credibility?
BOSLEY: Well, I think that my client was in situation which all of this occurred all of the sudden and everything was very fast. He doesn't recall any injuries tot the officer's face.
COOPER: OK. It does sound to some though like your client is living kind of wiggle (inaudible), on the one hand is saying for sure there was no injuries and on the other hand is saying well, it happen so fast.
BOSLEY: Yeah. But when people testify and testified to the best in their knowledge and just the best to their ability. They don't say, "Well I know exactly this is what happen."
COOPER: I talked to somebody who said he's an eye witness, a short time ago, Michael Brady in the neighborhood, who said that he saw Michael Brown on the passenger side during this altercation, is that your clients understanding that this had occur on the passenger side or do this occur on the driver side?
BOSLEY: According to my client they were never on the passenger side, they were always on the driver side. That's where the incident occurred.
COOPER: And does your client maintain that a shot actually went off while the officer was still in the vehicle during that tussle?
BOSLEY: Yes. He believe that the shot was fired and while they were at the car, yes.
COOPER: Do -- Your client also has said in the interview that he saw Michael Brown running away -- Michael Brown was shot and turn around with his hands up. Do you know how high his hands were because now, there're seems to -- according to New York Times your client has now saying that the hands may not have been all that high up and one may even higher than the other because it looks like he was favoring one arm?
BOSLEY: Yeah, we told that to the FBI, yes. And he believes that. He said that when Mike turned around, put his hands up, they didn't ask him how high his hands were and then say, "Were they way in there." He said, "No, not way up in there." And he said but one was lower than the other one. All right and he recalls it.
COOPER: I talked to another eye witness who said that look like his hand for short of like moving up like this but it didn't necessarily indicate whether or not it was I'm giving up or what.
BOSLEY: Well, he hands up above the shoulders. His surrender position I think that's almost like universals.
COOPER: So your client is saying that the hands were above the shoulders?
BOSLEY: Yes.
COOPER: The second autopsy was done. Indication from Michael Baden, the pathologist, there was a shot to top of the head. Is that consistent with what your client believes happen?
BOSLEY: Well, he didn't tell the FBI that the shot was above the head. He said the shot was in the head, to the head.
COOPER: Yeah. According to the pathologist, Michael Brown's head would've been down whether that means the officer is maintaining. According to the friend of the officer, that Mike Brown was rushing the officer, others are maintaining Mike Brown was going down onto the ground. What does your client say?
BOSLEY: Yeah. Well, here is I mean my clients says "Mike, the officer shooting." And come closer gap, continue to shoot him and Mike feel down I mean that's what he's saying.
COOPER: And your client is saying that they have no time that Mike Brown bum-rush or rush toward the officer.
BOSLEY: No. That is correct.
COOPER: Has there've been a change on what your client has said about the position of the hands? Again, the New York Times just saying, that he's now saying that hands were not particularly high, earlier he seem to indicate that the hands were up (inaudible).
BOSLEY: If the New York Time just saying that, they're saying it because they've got it from some place other than my client. My client testified with the FBI for about three hours and they were very clear on what he testified, what he said he saw.
COOPER: Are you concern at all about the credibility of your client because some are now (inaudible).
BOSLEY: You know, I feel -- well, first of all, you know, when people witness something like this, I mean it's not an exact science. I mean the things kind of -- it happens in a blur, it's hard for people. And the guy -- he's 22 years old. He was scared for his life. Gun goes off at the car. He's in shock. I mean so, yes. COOPER: Eye witness testimony is notoriously unreliable.
BOSLEY: Well, that change from time to time but the beauty about this situation is he won't be judge by what the media says, he'll be judge by 12 people sitting in the box. They'll get a chance to see him. They'll look at his face. They'll see him talk. They'll look at his appearance, his demeanor, they have to judge his character and at the end of the day I feel pretty fine. He's very credible.
COOPER: I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.
BOSLEY: Anderson, thanks you for coming to Saint Louis. We appreciate of having you. All right.
COOPER: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Hello everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. We'll get back to Anderson as soon as possible. There's a few technical difficulties there related to a storm in the area as Anderson had mentioned. So meanwhile, the rest you saw a whole lot to digest. We'll get some reaction from our panel as best as we can, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Before we got knocked up here by this coming storm, we saw a number of police officers running up in that direction with the number of police vehicles going in that direction as well. It appears to be some kind of confrontation going on. We just got some video of it. Two people apparently pro-police demonstrators were here, were being confronted by the crowd.
Jake Tapper is there. He joins us now. Jake, as we're playing this video, did you see what happened?
JAKE TAPPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what happen was Anderson, is there was a woman who was a counter protester holding a sign in favor of Officer Darren Wilson and obviously there were individuals protesting in favor of Mike Brown who took issue with it. And one man try to take away the sign from the pro Officer Wilson counter protester and police swarmed and they arrested that man and then the woman was kind of whisk away.
This is all now about all now about two blocks away from us as we speak. Some of the police are now getting some heat from some of the protesters or in the view of the protesters protecting this woman even though she was in their view trying to provoke the protesters. So that's what going on right now but looks as there's -- arrest has been made and everything is relatively peaceful, except now or something else is going on. What's going on down here? OK, guys let's go.
All right. We're just running at the street here to see what's going on. COOPER: And we can see police vehicles heading up to where Jake is heading. A small incident, one small incident can really change the entire dynamic of this crowd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody to back up, everybody to back up. Back up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back off. Back off.
COOPER: Jake, can you tell us what you're seeing or let us know if you could see something.
TAPPER: It sounds like what happen was the woman -- tell us what happen because we missed it.
DANIEL GOLD (PH): There was a woman holding pro Darren Wilson sign and a lot of people are kind of around her. There was a sort of the (inaudible), the protesters were trying to stop them from gathering around her and, you know, things sort of getting a lot worst and the police is sort of grab her and took her away.
TAPPER: So was there only one counter protester?
DANIEL GOLD: I think there was one -- maybe two.
TAPPER: One or two.
DANIEL GOLD: I couldn't get close enough to see her sir.
TAPPER: And the crowd was not happy with her.
DANIEL GOLD: The crowd was not happy with her, you know, I didn't see anything, it got too crazy but I was definitely a scene building and the police came in to snatch her away before anything really bad could happen.
TAPPER: All right, Daniel Gold thank you so much, appreciate it. So that's what happen. It's the same incidents just prolong down the street and as you noted, it's tense. It's a very tense situation and one person can change the course of events here because it is so combustible. But right now, what appears is though this woman has been or is being escorted away by the police, obviously her pro Officer Wilson sign was not met with approval from the protesters.
And here is an armored vehicle. This is from the sheriff's department here in the Jefferson county sheriff.
COOPER: And Jake it may seems the viewers at home that this is a small incident but in a tense atmosphere like this one small incident can really ignite the entire thing.
TAPPER: Well, that's right. It was a small incident between two individuals and then it became more than that and then when the woman was escorted down the road or she kept walking down the road, other people, dozens and dozens of the protesters who saw her surrounded her. And now, of course here comes the thunderstorm Anderson. As if this whole saga wasn't replete with metaphors enough.
COOPER: Yeah. Certainly police I think ...
TAPPER: But the police are -- I think ...
COOPER: ... are hopeful that if heavy rain comes -- go ahead Jake.
TAPPER: I was just going to say the police are -- right now, what they're doing is just trying to keep the piece. They are standing on the side, trying to keep protesters from moving, trying to keep crowds from gathering around the woman and you see the police officers. They're just trying to keep the peace right now and they're trying to keep the protesters crowds moving and they're trying to make sure that the confrontation dissipates as quickly as one of these things can erupt, one of these little scenes in the situation as tense as this one has fraught with emotion and passion.
It also can be quelled. It also can be dissipated and thankfully I think at least right now, hopefully that's what going on of course, the thunderstorm and the rain shower is bearing down on us probably have something to do with that as well. Let's just walk down here. Hold on. Look over there, the police are -- where they're going?
Come here. You see the sheriff's department seems rather well armed. And presumably, the woman, the counter protester is still in one of these vehicles. It looks as thought there might be another complication going on. There's something that a bunch of these officers are headed towards across the street. Is my camera right here? All right. We're going to keep going.
John (ph), are you with me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
TAPPER: All right we're still here. Let's cross the street here guys. All right, let's cross the street. All right. I don't know what they're heading towards but it doesn't necessary -- it does seem like it's anything. All right. We'll monitor this but you know what? Right now we have to take a quick break. When we come back we'll have more live from the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: And we are back here in Ferguson. The rains now have really started to come down heavily, a number of protesters have obviously left to trying to get back to their homes or at least get out of the rain. That's actually, you know, something that has calm this situation down. It seems we're going to check back in with Jake. I do want to bring in Charles Blow, New York Times columnist. I also want to bring in Jeff Toobin, and Neil Bruntrager, who is here. I appreciate you being with us.
The status of the grand jury today which got underway, we learned that we may not get a result from that until October. Do you think this community can wait that long for some sort of resolution? NEIL BRUNTRAGER, ST. LOUIS POLICE OFFICER ASSOC.: You know, it's ashamed if it takes that long but they may have to because you want to make sure that you're putting everything in front of this grand jury. And McCulloch has pledge to do that. He has said that his staff will make sure that every scrap of evidence is going to be in front of these people. If they're meeting only on Wednesdays it's going to take a long time. I mean, I assume that there are probably a lot of witness interviews. Again, you got to get the ballistics. You got to get all of the toxicology.
All of that is going to take a little bit of time and we want to make sure the people have the opportunity to really (inaudible) it in and understand it.
COOPER: McCulloch, the prosecutor spoke about his situation. Many people here in this neighborhood certainly an elsewhere even some political leaders want to see him recuse himself. Let's listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT MCCULLOCH, ST. LOUIS COUNTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEY: It's over 50 years ago my father was killed. My father was killed. He was also a police officer in the line duty. I know the pain that the Brown family is going through right now and that doesn't change depending upon the circumstances in that.
It's a loss and it's a loss that they deserve ultimately to have everything put out there and then all the distractions that are going out there are inexcusable and it's certainly didn't make me, you know, an advocate for police officers who were victims of violence. It didn't make me an advocate for people who were victims of police violence. It make me -- and I think a very fierce advocate for victims of violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jeff, I know you in the past you have said you've seen a reason why he should recuse himself just because of familial connections and what happened to his father. I also want to ask you Jeff about the interview we did with the Michael Brady, a man who says he witnessed what happened to Michael Brown. He gave his account at top of this broadcast, you actually think what he said was quite important. Can you explain why?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well I really thought it was a bombshell because here is someone who is not a friend of Michael Brown, unlike Dorian, the other witness. Here -- he was the -- Michael Brady the person you interviewed was simply a bystander and, you know, his description was actually quite clear of an encounter where Michael -- where there was no treat to the officer at all.
In fact, Big Mike was walking away when he was shot according to the ...
COOPER: Well Jeff, let me jump in there because what -- but what he actually said was that there was a tussle at the vehicle. He does not know, he could not say for sure what -- how that tussle came about or what actually consisted of, whether Mike Brown punched the officer or the officer grabbed Mike Brown, he simply did not know. He didn't even know if there are shot went off inside that vehicle, that is really a forensic issue and we don't know about the medical condition of the officer either.
TOOBIN: That's right. But, I mean, there was clearly a confrontation by the car. I think all the witnesses agree on that. But the shots were fired after that confrontation. And to me, the key issue in the case was, was Mike Brown the victim threatening the officer in any way which would give him the right to shoot in self defense. According to Michael Brady, I'm sorry, Brady is that ...
COOPER: Yes, Michael Brady is the eyewitness.
TOOBIN: No, no. The one you interviewed today, Michael Brady.
COOPER: Yeah, Michael Brady.
TOOBIN: He said there was no treat to the officer and that's very significant. Now look, the eyewitness testimony as we have all said is potentially problematic but, you know, this is at a key witness who says there was no treat. Obviously the forensic evidence, the ballistics, DNA, toxicology, is all going to be important but this was ...
COOPER: Right.
TOOBIN: ... an eyewitness who put officer Wilson in a lot of trouble.
COOPER: Charles, one of Eric Holder's first meetings here today was with some young African-Americans students also some community leaders, how critical do you think was doing something like that in particular meeting with the Brown family even just being here?
CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think, you know, Holder is trying to defuse the situation. I don't think anybody looking at the images coming out of Ferguson can see those and say that this is how we want any street in America, any town in America to be portray. We don't want this sort of police presence on the streets of American cities and if he can do something to root it down the anxieties, to turn down the suspicion of the process then I think that, that is probably helpful. However, there are probably people, you know, as in any large group of people protesting on any subject.
There is some people who are just not going to be a minimal to that but if you can do it, you can target most of the people and try to turn down the fire on most of them and I think that that's important to do. But I just wanted to just touch one thing on Jeff's point which is this, this idea of treat can wash back and forth, you know, 20 times a minutes. The officer could have felt some threat when he was on the car depending on what happened in the car but then that can dissipate and there could've been no sense of treat to you if the person is away from you at the time that you fired the shot. So this idea that yes he can legitimately maintain probably that he felt some sort f threat. We have no idea what Michael -- Mr. Brown felt because his no longer with us but that can wash back and forth all the time, he has to be able to prove ...
COOPER: Right. I got you.
BLOW: ... the six shots.
COOPER: Neil, when you see police officers here as we did last night and we have caught on video, police officer ladling his rifle directly at an unarmed protester saying, "I'm going to f---ing kill you." That officer has been relieved so far of duty, we're not sure for how long, exactly what's going to happen to him. But we've seen other police leveled their rifles, looking through the scopes of their riffles, I talked to Lieutenant General Honore who was working at Katrina, who said, "That's just something that you do not do." Does it surprise you to see that?
BRUNTRAGER: It does, it does. Because by in large the training that these men receive is that they don't use or even threaten deadly force unless the actually intend to use it.
COOPER: But do they really have training in large crowds? I mean, St. Louis city certainly deals with large crowds but, you know, some of these local law enforcement, do they?
BRUNTRAGER: No, not the smaller groups but the larger ones do and you hope that they actually kind of take control over things and I think you saw that last night when you had the one fellow who clearly snap and it's unfortunate but these people are human, they make mistakes and they're fatigued, they're tired, they're here all the time. So you hope that the other people that are with him pull him back and that's what happened last night.
Now I think it was appropriate to take them of the line.
COOPER: Certainly many people -- the community though say, "Look, that's the kind of thing that happens all the time that just not often captured on video." But obviously this ...
BRUNTRAGER: It's hard to respond to that because, you know, people can say all sorts of things and again we have to be aware that we have to be sympathetic to the concerns of people who had been subjected to that. You don't want that to happen but they're human beings Anderson, and they make mistakes. They're just like you and me.
COOPER: Charles, I mean, you know, I talked to one supporter of the police here yesterday who said that nothing the police does has an impact on the crowd, which I found hard to believe. When you hear somebody make that argument, do you buy that at all?
BLOW: I don't believe it. I don't believe that at all. And I think that aiming a loaded weapon at an innocent peaceful protester is an active aggression and violence in and of itself and I do not buy the line that, you know, these are just regular people, no these are people with rifles. These are people who have been trained to endure stress and if you're not up to the job of dealing with stress, in stressful situations, being armed, being in the position where you could take someone's life with lethal force then you shouldn't be in that position.
I don't -- I just don't buy that argument that these are people just like you and I. No I'm not actually walking the street with a riffle pointing at people. They're not like you and I. I can't -- I appreciate what police officers do, I couldn't do that job. I don't want you to do that job if you're like me and unable to deal with that type of stress, be like me don't do the job.
COOPER: Charles Blow. Jeff Toobin. Neil Bruntrager, I appreciate you being with us. Thank you and thanks for standing through the rain. Just to add new video, the police shooting yesterday in St. Louis, we're going to show it to you. You can decide for yourself whether you think it backs up the police version of exactly what happened. We'll be right back.
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COOPER: The rain seems to have dissipated or at least slowed a group of about maybe 50 or 60 protesters is walking by here right now calling for civil rights, saying we want justice. A lot of the rain has sent a number of people away off the streets. Now recall that last night tension was high, not just because of all the recent violence but also there was another shooting yesterday just a few miles over the city line in Saint Louis.
Police there are saying they shot and killed a 23 year old man apparently mentally disturbed, he was African-American man. They said as he branded the knife at police and then came at them. We've just gotten a video now, a new video, it's the first time anybody is seen it. You can decide for yourself whether what you see matches that account by police.
The man in blue is the suspect take a look. That's him. The police are rolling up there, let's listen in.
COOPER: Now we're freezing the video because we don't want you to actually see the man falling to the ground dead. He was killed by police but his hands appeared to be down and you can't see a knife in there. Chris Cuomo has been watching the video with me here as well. You were reporting it extensively on this yesterday.
You can't see the knife in that video, it doesn't mean it wasn't there but it seems to have been maybe perhaps down by his side.
CHRIS CUOMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does seem that he takes his hand out of his pocket, his right hand that his holding something relatively small in his right hand. Where we stopped the video, the question will be, well what happened after that? And I think the better answer is it's about what didn't happen. There was no racing, there was no (inaudible), there was no charge and we're not showing it for sensitivity reasons.
COOPER: The point where we've stopped it is essentially where he's hit and goes down.
CUOMO: They open fire, both officers opened fire and he falls to the ground and it ends there and of course he winds up dying.
COOPER: And we continue to play the sound, again let's just show that video. We're going to kind of put a circle around the man who was killed, let's put this back so we can watch that as our viewers were as well. Again, that's the man there in the blue with the circle around him, that's the store clerk where he took some items from watching.
He seems to be walking toward the police and then that's when the shots ring out. There was a slight confrontation before that where he seemed to stop in front of the police officer.
CUOMO: Right. But he never charges, there is nothing anything like that. So the question that becomes, "Why did they have to do this?" And that gets us to how we got this. This was given to us by someone who's concerned that this is the truth, not what we hear about someone charging or kind of leading to this, is this suicide by cop? That gets us to who this person was.
One of the signs that the protesters are carrying says police should know the community they police.
COOPER: He does appear to be walking toward the police officer. He takes two or three steps.
CUOMO: He definitely does. They tell him to stop, he doesn't. He then gets up on that curve and keeps walking towards them. He start saying, "Kill me. Shoot me." He starts saying things like that to them. The man was known to be disturbed. He was known supposedly by the store owner who called the police, did the store owner pass along that information? We don't know.
But people who live there, the person who's taking this video right now says, "We knew that he had trouble." Why didn't the police know that? Were they not told that? How would they know? If they knew the community better maybe they would have.
COOPER: Certainly, you know, from the police perspective this all happened incredible quickly. I mean, from the moment the police rolled up he seemed to confront them. He walks to the side and then approaches them. It all happens in a matter of seconds.
CUOMO: I think you have to give the benefit of the doubts to the police because they're doing their job, they're the ones who have to react in the moment but there's no question that the push back on it is well it's not that fast, you know, they have time. His walking, he stops. They have time to consider it, they don't seem to consider any other option other than shooting him, that's what people say to us about the video and why it concerns them.
COOPER: Right, so then would a taser have been an option? That's obviously so many people are going to be asking. We're going to continue -- we've reach out to the police officer for comment, we haven't yet heard back from them and we'll bring you that when we do, Chris, I appreciate the reporting on this.
The mother of Trayvon Martin offers her support to Michael Brown's mother. She joins us. Coming up, we'll be right back.
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COOPER: Well as much as people may sympathize, few people can truly understand what the family of Michael Brown is dealing with right now, Sybrina Fulton unfortunately does. In 2012 her 17 year old son Trayvon Martin was shot to death by volunteer neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman. As you know last summer Zimmerman was found not guilty of murder and manslaughter. And this week, Trayvon's mom wrote a powerful letter to Michael Brown's mother in Time Magazine.
Sybrina Fulton, right tonight, "Honor your son and his life. There's a (inaudible) on to say, I will support you and your efforts to seek justice for your Michael and the countless other Michaels and Trayvons of our country."
Ms. Sybrina Fulton joins me now. Thank you so much for being with us. I'm wondering what went through your mind when you first heard about Michael Brown's death?
SYBRINA FULTON, MOTHER OF TRAYVON MARTIN: The first thing that went through my mind was the family. And then I was thinking here we go again. Here we ware again. How do we stop this from happening? Is just a terrible tragedy that continues to happen and continues to happen and then, you know, people are finally opening their eyes to what's going on.
COOPER: In your letter to Michael's mom, you tell her about the support that she'll get from around the world but you also wondered about the character assassinations, about Michael that she will be exposed to, is that something you feel you've already seen happening?
FULTON: Yes, for some reason information was leaked out and people had to decipher for whether it was true or not and a lot of the things that they said about my son were not true. A lot of things that they said about me and my family were not true. A lot of things that they're probably saying about her son are not true, you know, so I just -- I want her to be kept prepared for that.
And also, you know, I have been in contact with her and I mentioned to her that this is going to be the most horrible time in her life. It could not get -- possibly get worst than this.
COOPER: It's one thing to lose a child and to deal with that grief which is a grief that few people can understand but -- I'm actually taking to Trayvon Martin's mother right now, will you have some respect? I appreciate that, thank you.
Its one thing to go through grief, the kind of grief that you have experienced but it's another thing to do that in the public eye and then to have to go through a court case. What kind of advice do you have for the family of Michael Brown? FULTON: What I suggest to them is surround themselves with positive people. Surround themselves, make sure they host it best to their faith. Make sure that is positive people in their life. Make sure is praying people in their life because they're going to need all those things. All of those things are going to go into contribute to their well being and help them to come through this.
COOPER: Did -- do you believe or is there any concern on your part that the kind of protest, the kind of violence that we have seen here that it distracts from attention on what happens to Michael Brown?
FULTON: I think you have to look at the culture in that area and the community and they're doing what they believe is the best for their community. I can't say I haven't been there during this time. I've been to Saint Louis before but I have not been there during this time. I'm planning to come visit, I'm planning to come help organize and do what I can to contribute to the family but I don't know if this is helping out any but they want to be heard, they want their voices heard and long as this a peaceful protest, I'm for it.
COOPER: Sybrina Fulton, I really do appreciate you being on. I know it's a horrible situation to find yourself in yet, again, I appreciate you hearing your voice tonight. Thank you so much.
FULTON: Thank you Anderson.
COOPER: When we come back, we're going to kind of remember the American journalist who was murdered by Isis terrorist.
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COOPER: Breaking news tonight, there was a failed attempt just recently to rescue the American freelance journalist who was now been beheaded by ISIS terrorist. Earlier this summer President Obama authorized an operation to rescue James Foley and other hostages. As you know Foley was kidnapped in November 2012 in Northwest Syria where he was reporting on the conflict there.
Right now we do want to focus not on the horrific way that James Foley died but on the courageous way in which he lived following his passion and telling the stories that needs to be told.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jim Foley was no kid rushing into harms way for the pure thrill of being a war correspondent. He was 40 years old when he died experienced in covering vicious wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Libya. In 2011 he and three other journalists were captured during the height of the civil war in Tripoli.
JAMES FOLEY, WAR CORRESPONDENT: This was soldiers getting out of the trucks, walking towards you and shooting directly at you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When he got out after 45 days he told CNN he made a single phone call home and later told us what he told his mother.
FOLEY: I'm strong. I feel OK. I feel good. I'm praying as much as I can and she said, "Don't you feel us all praying for you?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE He spend some time at home before returning to the region as a freelance photo journalist for the GlobalPost of Boston based website devoted to covering international news. This time he went to Syria. He spoke about what he have seen in the aftermath of a helicopter attack by Syrian government forces near the Turkish Boarder.
FOLEY: We saw with our own eyes nine civilian bodies, some just body parts from direct hit on men leaving a Mosque or men in the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It wasn't long, five months after this video was shot that Jim Foley was captured again, this time in Syria winding up in the hands of the group calling itself ISIS, his boss at the GlobalPost with Jim (ph) Balboni.
PHILIP BALBONI, GLOBALPOST PRESIDENT AND CEO: You know I never for a minute gave up hope that we would see him and bring Jim home. You know, I was devastated last night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jim Foley's parents are obviously devastated as well. They work tirelessly for his release ever since he was taken in November 2012.
JOHN FOLEY, FATHER OF JAMES FOLEY: We miss his courage, his love, his determination, his laugh, his smile.
MOTHER OF JAMES FOLEY: He brought so much joy into this family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And his dad said what was left mostly onset about the terrible risk journalist like Jim Foley take everyday.
JOHN FOLEY: I think that we take journalist for granted sometimes. They -- particularly freelancer people, they risk their lives they have no resources, no protections, not a major network. They honest truth is they stay longer in their (inaudible) so they get better stories but we really have not enough regard for the people who do this work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jim Foley was 40 years old. That's it for us here.
