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Protests Erupt For Sixth Day Following Death Of George Floyd; Six People Shot, One Killed Overnight In Chicago. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired May 31, 2020 - 18:00   ET

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


[18:00:00]

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York, and I want to give you live images right now of scenes playing out across the country.

On the left is in Minneapolis. On the right is in Miami as protesters take to the street. The nation experiencing its sixth straight day of protests following the death of George Floyd, the unarmed African- American man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer put his knee on Floyd's neck.

For days, scenes like this have played out across the country. Some protests nationwide have been peaceful, like these, but in other areas, they have turned violent, especially when night comes, rocking a nation already reeling from more than 100,000 deaths from a pandemic and some 40 million Americans out of work right now.

Let's begin this hour in Philadelphia with our Brian Todd, who is on the scene. And, Brian, as of 6:00, right now, a curfew is supposed to be going into effect. What are you seeing there right now? Looks like people are still out on the street.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right. Ana, it's a pretty dangerous situation. These people are running from what appear to be rubber bullets and tear gas. We were just here and had to run down the street when they fired rubber bullets and tear gas. So, we're going to have to move back down the street. We had a tear gas canister land on a wall right by us a few minutes ago when we were running down the street and running with people who were running from this intersection, 52nd and Chestnut Streets, as they were trying to clear this.

52nd street over here is where two police vehicles were set on fire not long ago. People smashed windows. They poured lighter fluid in there. They set these police vehicles on fire. After that, it was sheer and utter chaos there, because the police did not have a presence immediately after that. There was looting that we witnessed going on over here on 52nd Street. And then the police moved in, in force, with tactical vehicles, tear gas, rubber bullets, and many, many officers in riot gear.

They've been doing these sweeping and clearing operations. People have kind of gone down the street. Citizens have gone down the street to see what's happening. Then they're running back here, being pushed back by, again, rubber bullets and tear gas. We were running with them a moment ago. So it's still very tense and very dangerous here in West Philadelphia.

We can tell you that there have been a number of arrests for looting since noon Eastern Time, at least six, but I'm sure that number is going go up because the police have just, again, swept down here. We witnessed some looting at a business down the street there while there were fires in the street. So, you know, again, a very dangerous situation.

We do know from the Philadelphia Police that more than 200 people have been arrested since yesterday at about noontime Eastern. And, again, that number is probably growing exponentially as we speak. And so, you know, the question is, how dangerous is this area going to be after nightfall. Are there going to be more instances of looting? Are there going to be more fires being set?

So, we're going to be monitoring this and kind of checking to see where some hotspots flare up. But, again, very dangerous situation here. People have kind of congregated on that street, again, to try to get a look at the police.

The police do have a line down there. We just had to fall back because these people were running past us. And as I mentioned, the tear gas canister was fired and landed on a wall right above us, so we had a bit of a close call and there was a gentleman injured that was running with us.

So, Ana, you know, very dangerous situation here in West Philadelphia. We were also at a scene in the northeastern part of the city earlier where there were some widespread looting, at least a lot of looting at one particular storm, Foreman Mills Store. We were on the scene of a Walmart that was looted in Northeastern Philadelphia.

We are told that the center city area has been basically shut down, that all businesses have been ordered to shut down immediately as of, I believe, an hour ago. And as you mentioned, the curfew is now in place as of right now. And that will go least until probably 6:00 A.M. tomorrow, Ana. So it could be a very tense night ahead here in Philadelphia.

CABRERA: We are looking at images right now from earlier this afternoon of the looting that you were speaking of happening. Obviously, there are still so many people out and about right now, Brian, even though this curfew was supposed to go into effect at 6:00. Do you know what happens next? I mean, given that this curfew is now in effect? What are police planning for tonight?

Because we know, last night, more than a dozen police officers were injured. Some of them very seriously with chemical burns to the face, we're told, two with head injuries, four with injuries to extremities, according to police officials there. So, what is the plan for tonight to try to stop that from happening again?

TODD: Well, you know, Ana, they're not giving away a lot of their strategy right now, so it's unclear what the police strategy is going to be in the coming hours. We can tell you that they're probably going to be out in force. We know that the state police are reinforcing, the city police. There are police from other jurisdictions, like Bucks County and Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, who have come here.

The National Guard, we believe, is on standby, ready to deploy, if needed.

[18:05:02]

We have not had word that they will be deployed here yet. So, you know, the police are not going to give away their specific strategy here, but you can bet that they're going to be out in force, probably, you know, again, patrolling the streets pretty closely. But the question is, do they have the manpower to handle this if there's widespread looting and burning?

CABRERA: Okay. We know you are going to continue to monitor it. We'll check back. Please let us know if we need to get back to you immediately and stay safe there, Brian.

Let's head to New York right now, where demonstrators have been peaceful so far, a sharp contrast to last night's fiery protests. Shimon Prokupecz is live on scene for us. Shimon, what are you seeing?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, much different than even at this time yesterday, Ana, when we saw protesters clashing with police, police moving in, making arrests. Today, it's been peaceful. I will tell you that these marchers, these protesters, I've heard them chant, if you see looting, you stop it. They are saying that this is a peaceful protest, and they've been chanting that as well.

And they've now been marching from Union Square, so about 40 blocks now, as they've been walking through the streets and just chanting. The police allowing them into the street. There are police around. They are on the outskirts. They are on the outside of the protest, just following along. You don't see any police in front of the protesters here. You see the police here. They are on the side, and they are just walking along with the protesters.

And they have been peaceful here, and they've been marching and chanting. And like I said, a much different atmosphere, certainly, than what we saw yesterday at this time, Ana. And they're just marching. They're here to voice their feelings, and they've been allowed to do that, and it's been a peaceful afternoon here, Ana.

CABRERA: And, clearly, they want us to know their message is all about George Floyd. That is why they are marching. We can hear them repeating his name. What else are you hearing from those protesters?

PROKUPECZ: Yes, they are marching in his name. They are mentioning other individuals who have died in encounters with police officers all across the country. The thing here you can hear, which we weren't really hearing yesterday, there are promises of peaceful protests, promises of no looting.

You're hearing that from them. And they really just want to express their emotions and how they're feeling. And that's what we're seeing here today in New York City, as we march up Fifth Avenue. And now we turned and are heading to the Times Square area is where we are now.

And it's been a large group. There are several hundred here. The other thing I should point out, there are other protests around the city, similar style, groups gathered, several hundred, and it's been a peaceful afternoon here so far with police just following along on the outside as marchers here, as you see the protesters chanting, getting an opportunity to express themselves. And they're going to continue now.

Now, we'll probably head towards Times Square, Ana.

CABRERA: Okay. Shimon, we will check back with you as well. Thanks.

And we're going to continue to monitor these protests. And while we do, I want to talk to Derrick Johnson. He's the president of the NAACP. Derek, we have seen some of these protests evolve into vandalization and looting. What is your message to demonstrators today?

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT, NAACP: Well, my message to America is, let's stay focused on why we have to have peaceful protests, because when injustice is governing our ability to move forward as a nation. We had an individual who was murdered in broad daylight. Several camera angles showed the murder. And it took protests for the district attorney to move forward. That's unfortunate.

It is also unfortunate that we have individuals who are impersonating as peaceful protesters inciting activity that's not consistent with what NAACP and many of the protesters are seeking here. We have three individuals who charges have not been brought against. We've seen these types of incidents involving police officers across the country.

And for African-Americans, for all Americans, we have to have justice systems that really benefit everyone, not just some people.

CABRERA: Yes. Why do you think those police officers haven't been charged, those three others who are part of the killing of George Floyd?

JOHNSON: Well, that's really a question for the district attorney. If that community wants to see the protests stop, this district attorney needs step up and do its job. It is unfortunate that it took so long to indict one person, but all three should be brought to justice. All of the camera angles that we've seen -- I believe about 11 angles -- all are showing the same thing.

[18:10:03]

It is not a high burden to charge individuals for the murder of Mr. Floyd. It wasn't difficult for the police chief, who have done a great job, to step up to the plate and move forward. And, unfortunately, this district attorney, one person is holding this nation hostage. And he should either step back, if he cannot do his job, or do his job and charge the other officers for this crime. It was a crime. CABRERA: It's understandable why emotions are running so high right now across the country after what happened to George Floyd, but we also know that that incident was just the catalyst for these protests and that the pain is so much deeper and the problem is so much bigger and widespread.

Civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis released a statement as he was seeing what was happening on the streets, that these protests turning into violence. And he writes to the rioters here in Atlanta and across the country, I see you and I hear you. I know your pain, your rage, your sense of despair and hopelessness.

Justice has, indeed, been denied for far too long. Rioting, looting and burning is not the way. Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand-up. Vote. Be constructive, not destructive. History has proven time and again that non-violent peaceful protest is the way to achieve the justice and equality that we all deserve.

How do you get there from where things are right now?

JOHNSON: You know, what a moral giant John Lewis is. And he is absolutely correct. But also I want to focus on the core of why we are here, NAACP. We did a report in December of 2019 showing the disparities of African-Americans in the twin city, but particularly in Minneapolis. And we said in that report that that city is a bomb ready to explode. What we're looking at now is that explosion.

The district attorney can begin to step in the right directions by bringing charges against all of the officers involved so we can get to the place of not only healing but repairing the damage that has been done for decades now. It is our opportunity as Americans to do the right thing, but we should not put the burden on individuals who are in the street protesting what was obviously an injustice that has taken place.

CABRERA: The president has no plans to address the nation today, we are told, although he has been blaming Antifa and extreme left-wing agitators for the vandalization and the looting. The mayor of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, says she doesn't want to hear from him and that he should, quote, just stop talking. Would you like to hear from the president right now?

JOHNSON: There's been nothing that this president could bring forward that can be constructive. In the last 60 days, we have been saddled in this nation with a public health pandemic, an anemic federal response to this national problem, a collapsing of our economy, ongoing racial strife as a result of police-engaged violence and death. There is nothing this president has proven that he will say to change the trajectory of where we are.

As Americans, we need to look forward to change who is sitting in the seat in the White House, and I'm saying that as the head of an organization that is non-partisan. This is not healthy for our democracy. It's not healthy for our economy. And it is not sustainable as a nation.

CABRERA: The president of the NAACP, Derrick Johnson, thank you very much for being here with us.

JOHNSON: Thank you for the opportunity.

CABRERA: Much more still to come, as protesters take to the streets for a sixth straight day. You're looking live at Miami right now.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're back in just a moment.

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[18:15:00]

CABRERA: Now to Miami, the city, no stranger to racial unrest over the years. And CNN's Rosa Flores is joining us. Rosa, you are in downtown Miami. And, obviously, you are among the protesters we are seeing walking on streets there. Tell us what's happening.

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: well, Ana, a lot of tense moments here in Miami. We're actually on I-395 heading east. You can see that the protesters are now going down the on-ramp to downtown Miami. If you look to the left, you'll see a wall of police officers that are blocking off the other lanes of I-395.

Now, everything has been peaceful so far today. We heard multiple protesters today say do not clash with the police, we want to make sure that these protests continue peacefully. That was not the case yesterday late into the evening. We saw several cars burned down in downtown Miami. There was a lot of vandalism, signs defaced, buildings defaced, looting.

Now, from what we hear from officials, at least 57 people were arrested overnight, 13 of those local, the others from out of town, including from the States of Michigan, Minnesota and New York. That, of course, a huge concern for officials here in Miami.

But take a look. This crowd has been growing in the hours leading to right now. They have been marching all along downtown Miami, including to the government center very close to where the police station is and all of the courthouses are, and also to very symbolic locations in Miami that symbolize freedom, as the Freedom Tower and Freedom Torch as well.

Overhead, you can see that there is sheriff and Miami-Dade Police helicopters also patrolling. There is a huge police presence here, Ana. And we also learned that Governor Ron DeSantis has activated the National Guard. At least 150 guardsmen are in Miramar, Florida, which is about 30-35 minutes from where we are right now.

[18:20:05]

Then we're going to head over to the westbound lanes of I-395 to show you what's happening and what's going on. But, again, there is the wall of police officers with their cruisers and protesters continuing to roam the streets of Miami. Ana?

CABRERA: Rosa, you are on the interstate. Now, is this a situation which the police shut down the interstate ahead of the protests in order for protesters to be able to do what they're doing, or did the protesters arrive and essentially stop traffic?

FLROES: You know, as a precaution, state troopers blocked off I-95, which meets with I-395 where I'm standing right now. And there was a police trooper that was blocking off the ramp on to I-395, but protesters went through that blocked ramp and continued on to 395.

Now, right before it meets with I-95, that's where there was a mass police presence. And you can see that there's a mass police presence on this end as well. Again, troopers and state police trying to stop the protesters from getting on to the interstates and weaving through traffic, as we saw yesterday.

Yesterday at multiple points, Ana, both the southbound and the northbound lanes of I-95 were closed by police trying to get the protesters off of the interstate. And that, of course, allowed them to weave through the streets of downtown Miami, where we saw most of the destruction, including burned cars. Ana?

CABRERA: Okay, Rosa Flores on the scene in Miami for us, thank you.

Let's head to Washington, where a law enforcement source tells CNN demonstrators have brought boxes of rocks to this evening's protest in Lafayette Park, right across from the White House. Another person was observed with a bat. And our Alex Marquardt is on scene there.

Fill us in, Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana. Things have been changing fairly dramatically in the last few moments. This has evolved in the past hour, I should say, from what was very much a peaceful protest into what is now a tense standoff with police.

And I want to show you a bit of what we're seeing, which is it's difficult for me to move around, because there are so many people, as you can see. This is the northern part of Lafayette Park, which is just one block north of the White House. And there are thousands of protesters out here chanting, black lives matter, chanting the name of George Floyd.

And they have now moved into the park and come face-to-face with, as you can see here, this long line of police who are dressed in riot gear. The protesters have moved the barricades forward into the park. And what we've seen is a movement up and back between the protesters and the police.

So far, it has remained relatively unviolent. We have seen projectiles flying, but those projectiles have been bottles of water, some eggs. There has also been some pepper spray fired by the police. So far, no tear gas, no rocks or anything like that that we did see here in Washington last night.

The sun is going to start setting soon. There's an ebb and flow to these protests. Even with the best of intentions, sometimes the protests will then devolve into more violent demonstrations, which is, frankly, what we have seen here in D.C. over the past two nights, with a fair bit of destruction.

But it's no mistake, Ana, that the protesters have gathered here. This is right outside the front door of the White House, of the home of President Trump. And the message that these protesters are trying to send is very much one that they would like the president to hear.

Of course, as you mentioned, Ana, the president is not expected to address all of the demonstration, all of the pain, all of the drama going on in this country tonight. But what you are looking at is a significant police presence.

We are on federal land right now, so you have a combination of U.S. park police, of Secret Service, uniformed Secret Service, who are assigned to defend the White House. You have D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department all around this area around the White House. You have officers from the Department of Homeland Security, and as we saw last night, Ana, members of the D.C. National Guard, who have been called up.

So, there is a significant amount of police presence. There is a significant amount of firepower and manpower. And then, of course, thousands of protesters who are angry, who are frustrated, who are sad and who are showing no sign of going home any time soon, Ana.

CABRERA: In fact, at least 15 states and the District of Columbia, as you mentioned, have activated the National Guard to help keep things under control this evening. Alex Marquardt in Washington, D.C., for us, thank you.

And I want to leave you with some live pictures as we take a quick break. These are protests happening in Miami as well as in New York. Disregard the banner there on the top. That is New York, we are told, on the left-hand side. And you can see, obviously, in the background there, it says as such.

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And we'll be right back with much more after a quick break.

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CABRERA: We're back with our breaking news, the sixth straight day of protests across the country, and these live images from New York at this hour. It appears to be near Times Square, where we know protesters have been marching toward not long ago. And you can see them appear to be standing peacefully with their signs, at times chanting George Floyd's name.

And I want to bring in a couple of law enforcement analysts with us this hour.

[18:30:00]

James Gagliano is a CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, retired FBI supervisory special agent and Cedric Alexander is the former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. Cedric, what are your top takeaways from all of the protests we've

been seeing?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: Well, one thing is for sure, people in this country are being very consistent, which suggests to me that they're feeling a great deal of pain and anger and hurt around what has occurred over the last several days, and they're continuing on their mission.

If they're peacefully -- and we certainly are seeing that today, which is certainly improvement over the last couple of days -- but if people want to continue to go out and march and make their point, which I hope that they do, then it is great that they're able to do so and exercise their constitutional right because what their concern and interest is about around this case and other cases is paramount, I think, overall to us becoming a better place in this country.

CABRERA: And James, when I have you, I want to make sure we get a chance to talk about some of what we are seeing and how police are reacting to protesters. And unfortunately, it has gotten out of hand the last couple of nights in some cities across the country, including in New York City last night. We have some video that surfaced of an NYPD car appearing to plow into crowds.

The police commissioner defended the officer saying there are protests and there are mobs, and this appeared to be a mob. And we are also told by a police official that one of the reasons that that police officer vehicle plowed forward had to do with protesters throwing things at the vehicle, including some kind of bag that had been lit on fire and was thrown at the vehicle. Put us in an officer's shoes in a moment like this.

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sure. And Ana, I go back to 1992 and the riots in the wake of the Rodney King verdict and even going back to the summers of 2014 and 2015 with the riots in Baltimore, and the riots in Ferguson.

I look at it from this perspective. I mean, cops are human beings, and they're being dispatched and they're being asked to do a lot right now in order -- number one, protect the protesters who are out there exercising their constitutional protected rights, all right?

Protect them. Protect innocent bystanders. But you've also got to protect people and property that aren't involved in this. And right now, they're having a difficult time doing this. They started out trying to do a light footprint. I don't know if that was the right move right up front, but now we're looking at it moving into a larger footprint.

To your point about the video there, I can't get into the individual cops' minds, except to think that the night before, a Molotov cocktail had been thrown in a police vehicle with four police officers in New York City. I'm guessing that they were nervous about what was happening. Things were being thrown at the vehicle. There was no way out. Somebody stepped on the gas. It's unfortunate. It's awful. We don't want to see any harm, anybody

hurt, but this right now, this -- it's like a war zone in this country, Ana.

CABRERA: It does seem like different law enforcement agencies are taking different approaches in addressing protesters.

And Cedric, there have been some really moving moments with law enforcement really showing outreach toward, you know, people who are angry with them. Some have started marching with the protesters. We've seen it in Flint, Michigan, and in Camden, New Jersey, in Santa Cruz, California. The police chief took a kneel. What do you think about that approach?

ALEXANDER: Well, I think, you know, in that community, and I think that decision that he made, and it's a very good one, because one thing here is for certain, is that we're going to have to find ways to join with our communities. People are not trusting the police right now. And certainly, I think many of us, for good reason, can understand, particularly people of color, and the challenges that have been abound for a long, long time.

So, the gestures that we're seeing, where you have some law enforcement executives who are walking with and sharing their concern, showing some compassion and empathy to this particular cause is nothing but a positive step in the right direction. But each chief and sheriff must make that judgment themselves in their own respected communities.

So I applaud those who have taken opportunity to march out there in good faith with their citizenry, showing that they do not uphold what we saw on Monday, May 25th, and everything that has occurred before that, where we've had a number of shootings of young black men and Hispanic that have been highly questionable.

CABRERA: James, local officials as well as federal officials have suggested that outside, more extremist organizations are causing trouble, and they are infiltrating these protests. Do you think there's intelligence involved in that, in identifying who these outside people are?

[18:35:01]

GAGLIANO: Well, absolutely. And Cedric can certainly speak to this, too. I mean, having run a department down in Dekalb County, Georgia. There's a lot that goes into this, in dealing with the crowds. Now, understanding that passions are enflamed right now, people are upset. We understand that. But also, a lot of this, kind of a piece of what you were just talking to Cedric about, involves communication skills.

And on the job, 25 years in the FBI, much of that time, 99 percent of it was spent using eyes and ears and communicating with people. But yes, law enforcement is going to have people in the crowd. They're going to have mobile units, plainclothes observers. It's critical that they understand crowd dynamics, too. I'm not suggesting in any way, shape, or form, that the large

proportion of folks that are involved in these have violence on their mind or anarchy or chaos or attacking police, but there are groups of instigators and agitators. What police have to do, identify them quickly and remove them from the crowd as safely as possible, Ana.

CABRERA: All right. Thank you both, James Gagliano, Cedric Alexander. I really appreciate both of you helping us through this story as we continue to follow this sixth straight day of protests over the killing of George Floyd.

You can see in these images protests from coast to coast there in New York. On the left, Santa Monica, California. On the right, we know there have been reports out of Santa Monica today, unfortunately, of looting happening there.

We were seeing in these images moments ago what appear to be some kind of gas that had been fired off, and we'll continue to gather more information so we can make sure we're reporting what exactly is happening there.

Quick break. We'll be right back. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

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[18:40:45]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We are seeing an explosion of pain and anger across the country today over the death of George Floyd, and these images are live right now in Chicago. Lots of dark smoke. And it appears a building is on fire. We can see the fire crews on scene there pouring water into what appears to be a building. Very dark, tough to see. We know that Chicago is one of those cities that has sustained a lot of damage in the last few nights of anger that has erupted in the streets there.

Let's talk about what's happening right now, not only in Chicago, not only in Minneapolis, not only in L.A. or New York City, but in cities across the nation, including smaller cities in the Midwest as well as on the coasts and big, urban areas.

And joining us now is CNN legal analyst Elie Honig. Back with us constitutional law professor Gloria Browne-Marshall. She is also the author of "The Voting Rights War: The NAACP and the Ongoing Struggle for Justice."

And Gloria, I want to start with you. These protests happening in cities all over America seem to be escalating by the night, but this didn't start with George Floyd. It didn't start in Minneapolis. We are watching years of anger, pain, frustration, boil over. What does the country need right now?

GLORIA BROWNE-MARSHALL, CONSTITUTIONAL LAW PROFESSOR, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, this is a power struggle that's taking place, and it's taking place before our eyes in the street. And the power that the African-American community has experienced as far as advancement in politics, in corporate America, in education, in so many other areas, but not in criminal justice.

For generation after generation, the criminal justice system has crushed the dreams of African-American families and African-American communities. The prosecutorial process is broken and corrupted. The prosecutors have far too much power when it comes to whom will be charged, what the charges will be. And there's so much of a racial element that at this point, the answer's got to be in, hopefully, a change in the criminal justice system.

I just want to add this one last thing. These African-American protesters and the pain that we feel -- I just heard from my sister back home in Kansas City, Missouri, and there's protests going on there. The police department has been out of control for generations.

So, how are we going to change that? What are we going to do? And our Justice Department has decided to set aside consent decrees under the Donald Trump administration that were put in place to try to reform some of these police departments.

So we have to kind of start from scratch with a sincere effort that this country can do better than oppress black people and murder them on a regular basis with impunity and have people just sit back and watch and say, I feel sorry for that black person or make excuses for the police.

CABRERA: Elie, I want to talk about the George Floyd case for a moment specifically, because right now, one officer of the four who were involved in his death has been taken into custody and is facing charges, Derek Chauvin, the man who was kneeling on George Floyd's neck.

Now there's new video out that shows the moments before George Floyd's death. And in this clip taken from a security camera appears to show police struggling with something in their cruiser. You never actually see Floyd. What could this possibly mean for the investigation?

ELIE HONIG, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yes, Ana, if I'm prosecuting this case, obviously the horrific cell phone video that we've all seen would be exhibit A. This video would be my exhibit B in prosecuting these police officers.

I used to supervise police training academies. If I had this video I would show it to the recruits as an example of what not to do. If you break it down. We know George Floyd is in the back of that police car. We know he is handcuffed, rear cuff, behind his back. He can't be grabbing, holding, punching. All the cops need to do there is get away, close the doors and it's over.

The key thing that police officers have to do, the best thing they can do, and the professor I think can tell you this, is de-escalate. Take the temperature down on heated situations. And here we see them doing the exact opposite.

CABRERA: Gloria, we just got a new mug shot of Derek Chauvin, the ex- officer charged in Floyd's case. He was just moved to a different jail. The Hennepin County prosecutor said, "This was by far the fastest we've ever charged a police officer." That's a direct quote. It took four days, Gloria. Does that seem fast to you?

[18:45:05]

BROWNE-MARSHALL: Well, look at it this way. Let's go even further back. This all started because a store owner said that Floyd passed a counterfeit $20 bill. That's how this started. Just one person's word against another person's word. There was nothing even here to support an arrest.

This is so difficult to understand because Officer Lane, who should also be under arrest, pulled a weapon. It's in the charging documents. Pulled a weapon on George Floyd, who was sitting in the car with his hands on the steering wheel. And from there we have what was supposed to be a federal case, I would say counterfeit dollars, you know, if that's what this was, and now we end up with a gun and handcuffs? This was not a violent crime to even begin with.

So when we were talking about the arrest, there should never have been an arrest in the George Floyd case in the first place. And that this officer was arrested that quickly. These are crumbs. If you picture a white man on that ground with a white officer's knee on their neck, you can't even imagine it happening. You can't even imagine it. So, to have this be an arrest of an officer this quickly, I call that crumbs from the table of justice.

CABRERA: Gloria Browne-Marshall and Elie Honig, my thanks to both of you. I always appreciate your expertise and the passion. Thank you.

We'll be right back.

HONIG: Thanks, Ana.

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[18:51:07]

CABRERA: Welcome back. We continue our breaking news coverage. These images now in Minneapolis where you can see there is a confrontation happening. There is an intense moment happening on the streets right now. Fists are flying, it appears. Hard to see exactly who's in the middle of that scuffle taking place. These images from WCCO, our affiliate in Minneapolis.

We have our reporters on the ground where there have been peaceful protests today. Miguel Marquez, Omar Jimenez both reporting there from of the scenes in which people were together, chanting, holding signs. There's obviously different things happening right now in the streets of Minneapolis.

We'll work to gather more details as to what we are seeing. In the meantime, I want to read you something that we got in from NBA legend Michael Jordan offering his condolences to the family of George Floyd, and issuing a statement tonight in support of those standing against racism.

Jordan writing in part, "I stand with those who are calling out the ingrained racism and violence toward people of color in our country. We have had enough. I don't have the answers but our collective voices show strength and the inability to be divided by others.

We must listen to each other, show compassion and empathy, and never turn our backs on senseless brutality. Our unified voice needs to put pressure on our leaders to change our laws or else we need to use our vote to create systematic change."

Again that from NBA great Michael Jordan. Now let's head to Chicago, he of course played for the Chicago Bulls all those years ago. Today's protests include at least some apparent looting in Chicago. And Ryan Young is on the scene there.

What are you seeing right now, Ryan? We also are seeing some images of what appears to be fire and fire crews trying to put it out.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ana, really that's the big story right now today. Because Chicago was so effectively able to shut down, people getting into the downtown area, it seems like protesters and looters are able to spread throughout the city. They have been hitting the south and the west side very hard. In fact, there were some people who believe that wouldn't happen. But we are starting to see this, especially with that fire.

I do want to show you something right here, though. The bridges have been up all day long. They're trying to block access to all parts of this city. They're using sanitation trucks. They're using snow removal trucks to make sure that the ways into the city are blocked off. And that's really choked off a lot of people from even coming downtown to enjoy the day that it is because there's been a lot of onlookers who wanted to see what had happened.

We found out that over 130 businesses were damaged through this downtown Michigan Avenue area. But when you talk about their harder campaign, we've been talking to protesters who are very upset with what happened last night. But as you see because people can't access their town, they started to spread.

What we do know within the next few hours, there will be a National Guard presence here. We're told that more than 300 National Guard members will be coming in. They'll be doing mostly traffic enforcement to make sure no one can get in to this area.

We do know over 200 protesters were also arrested. But the real sad part of this story is six people were shot, one young man died last night during the protest. The conversation has been ongoing and in fact the mayor talked about her disappointment a little earlier today.

CABRERA: OK, Ryan, I guess we don't have that sound with the mayor but obviously awful to hear six people were shot, one person killed in unrest in Chicago overnight.

This is a country that is gripping with so much pain right now after the death of George Floyd and on top of the hundred thousand plus people who have been killed by a pandemic. 40 million people out of work right now. Ryan Young in Chicago, we appreciate your reporting. We'll check back.

And again live images in Minneapolis where protesters have taken to what appears to be a highway there.

[18:55:04]

We do know that highways were closed as police and law enforcement in that city are trying to keep things peaceful. Much more right after this.

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CABRERA: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ana Cabrera in New York. Thank you for being with us.