MODELS SHOW BY THIS FALL, BY
JUST A FEW MONTHS FROM NOW.
WE WILL RETURN TO THE STORY BUT
WE TURN TO ATLANTA AND ANOTHER
POLICE INVOLVED SHOOTING OF AN
UNARMED BLACK MAN.
ACCORDING TO THE GEORGIA BUREAU
OF INVESTIGATION RAYSHARD BROOKS
WAS SHOT OUTSIDE A WENDY’S
RESTAURANT AFTER TWO POLICE
OFFICERS RESPONDED TO A REPORT
OF A MAN SLEEPING IN THE VEHICLE
IN A DRIVE-THRU.
WE WANT TO WARN YOU THE VIDEO IS
DISTURBING.
AUTHORITIES SAY BROOKS FAILED A
SOBRIETY TEST AND THIS POLICE
BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE, SHOWS THE
STRUGGLE THAT ENSUES AS THEY TRY
TO ARREST HIM.
EYEWITNESS VIDEO SHOWS BOTH
OFFICERS ON THE GROUND
STRUGGLING TO DETAIN BROOKS.
ACCORDING TO INVESTIGATORS HE
WAS ABLE TO GRAB ONE OF THE
OFFICERS’ TASER AND RUNNING
AWAY.
VIDEO SHOWS HIM TURNING BACK
WITH THE TASER APPEARING TO FIRE
IT.
THE OFFICER RETURNED GUN FIRE.
THE OFFICER WHO DISCHARGED HIS
GUN HAS BEEN FIRED.
THE SECOND OFFICER HAS BEEN
PLACED ON ADMINISTRATIVE DUTY.
AND ATLANTA’S POLICE CHIEF,
ERIKA SHIELDS, RESIGNED
YESTERDAY.
ACCORDING TO AN AUTOPSY THE
FATAL POLICE SHOOTING HAS BEEN
RULED A HOMICIDE.
THE MEDICAL EXAMINER SAID BROOKS
SUFFERED TWO GUN SHOT WOUNDS TO
THE BACK.
THE LAWYER REPRESENTING THE
FAMILY OF RAYSHARD BROOKS TOLD
MSNBC LAST NIGHT THAT THE
OFFICERS HAD OTHER OPTIONS.
>> THEY DIDN’T HAVE TO TAKE THIS
MAN OR ATTEMPT TO TAKE HIM INTO
CUSTODY BECAUSE HE WAS SLEEPING
IN HIS CAR.
HE WAS TRYING TO DO THE RIGHT
THING, HE DIDN’T WANT TO DRIVE
DRUNK.
HE WAS STOPPED, NOT A THREAT TO
ANYONE.
THEY COULD HAVE TAKEN HIS KEYS,
SAID, HEY, WHAT’S YOUR WIFE’S
NUMBER, CALL HER, THEY COULD
HAVE DONE ANY NUMBER OF THINGS.
BECAUSE YOU TUSSLE WITH AN
OFFICER IT SHOULDN’T BE A DEATH
STEN SENTENCE FOR ANYONE.
>> WE’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT SO
MANY THINGS DURING THIS DEBATE
ON THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD,
"NEW YORK TIMES" THIS MORNING IS
TALKING ABOUT THE TREMENDOUS
LEEWAY THAT POLICE OFFICERS HAVE
BEEN GIVEN IN THIS COUNTRY.
LET ME READ THE SECOND PARAGRAPH
FROM THIS ARTICLE.
SAYS, ALTHOUGH LAWS VARY BY
STATE POLICE OFFICERS IN AMERICA
ARE GENERALLILY ALLOWED TO USE
DEADLY FORCE WHEN THEY BELIEVE
THEIR LIVES OR LIVES OF OTHERS
ARE IN DANGER.
A LEGAL AUTHORITY GIVING
ENORMOUS LEEWAY TO MAKE SPLIT
SECOND LIFE OR DEATH DECISIONS
WITHOUT HESITATION OR FEAR OF
PROSECUTION.
BUT THEN THE TIMES GOES ON TO
SAY THE RISING ANGER OVER THE
PAST SEVERAL WEEKS MAY
COMPLETELY ALTER THE LAWS.
THE LAWS INVOLVING THE USE OF
FORCE BY POLICE OFFICERS,
ESPECIALLY IN SITUATIONS LIKE
THE ONE WE SAW IN ATLANTA.
>> WE SHOULD HOPE SO.
AND I THINK THE COUNTRY IS FOR
ONCE PRETTY UNITED THAT WE NEED
AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT VISION OF
HOW WE KEEP OUR FAMILIES AND OUR
COMMUNITIES SAFE.
YOU KNOW, THERE ARE MILLIONS OF
AMERICANS WHO HAVE HAD SOMETHING
CLOSE TO WHAT MR. BROOKS
EXPERIENCED, WHICH IS CONSUMING
TOO MUCH ALCOHOL, IT SEEMS
ACCORDING TO MOST REPORTS, AND
PULLING OVER THEIR CAR AND
SAYING YOU KNOW WHAT, I’M NOT
GOING TO DRIVE RIGHT NOW.
AND AT THE BEGINNING OF THE
30-MINUTE INTERACTION, WHICH WAS
FRIENDLY, WHERE MR. BROOKS
TALKED ABOUT VISITING HIS MOTHER
AND TALKED ABOUT PLANNING HIS
DAUGHTER’S BIRTHDAY PARTY, HE
SAID I LIVE A COUPLE BLOCKS AWAY
LET ME GO HOME AND SLEEP THIS
OFF.
AND FOR SOME REASON HE WAS
THEN -- THE POLICE OFFICERS
DECIDED TO PUT HIM IN HANDCUFFS.
I’M NOT SAYING THAT HE SHOULD
HAVE RESISTED ARREST OR GOTTEN
UPSET AT THAT MOMENT AND GOTTEN
FEARFUL WHICH IS OBVIOUSLY WHAT
HAPPENED AS HE BECAME TERRIFIED.
BUT ALSO WE HAVE TO KNOW RIGHT
NOW THAT GOING TO JAIL RIGHT NOW
COULD BE A DEATH SENTENCE FOR
PEOPLE.
JALS
JAILS ARE A MAJOR HOT SPOT FOR
THE CORONAVIRUS AND ONE THING WE
HAVE TO RECOGNIZE IS THAT THIS
IS A PANDEMIC OF RACIAL VIOLENCE
WITHIN A PANDEMIC OF THE
CORONAVIRUS.
GEORGE FLOYD HAD HAD COVID-19
BEFORE HE WAS MURDERED.
SO WE HAVE TO RECOGNIZE THAT THE
KIND FEAR THAT STALKS
AFRICAN-AMERICANS AS THEY
INTERACT WITH THE POLICE IS THE
CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER.
AND THAT HAS HAPPENED BECAUSE OF
THE WAY POLICE TREAT US.
WE ABSOLUTELY COULD HAVE HAD A
DIFFERENT OUTCOME.
I THINK WE SEE MAYOR LANCE
BOTTOMS HAVING TAKEN A HARD
LINE.
WE’RE STARTING TO SEE BECAUSE OF
THE MULTIRACIAL PROTESTS IN
EVERY PART OF THIS COUNTRY, A
DIFFERENT LEVEL OF
ACCOUNTABILITY COMING OUT OF
THIS
THIS INCIDENT THAN WE HAVE
OTHERS.
WE HAVE SEEN THE POLICE CHIEFS
THE OFFICERS -- IT’S TIME THE
QUALIFIED IMMUNITY, WHICH IS THE
BROAD LEEWAY FOR THE USE OF
FORCE TO STOP, TIME FOR IT TO
END, AND WE NEED TO SEE THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE SENATE
TO PASS A BILL TO END QUALIFIED
IMMUNITY FOR THE POLICE.
>> MIKE BARNICLE, I THINK YOU
AND I HAVE ON THIS SHOW SAID
TIME AND AGAIN THAT IT IS HARD
TO SECOND GUESS LAW ENFORCEMENT
OFFICERS, IT’S HARD TO SECOND
GUESS POLICE OFFICERS WHEN THEY
ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF A CONFLICT.
IT’S HARD TO PUT YOURSELF THERE.
BUT IN THIS CASE, WHERE THEY HAD
BEEN TALKING FOR 30 MINUTES TO A
MAN THEY BELIEVED WHO WAS
INEBRIATED, AND THEN, AS HE WAS
RUNNING AWAY, DESPITE THE FACT
THEY KNEW WHO HE WAS, THEY HAD
THE INFORMATION ON HIM, SHOOTING
HIM IN THE BACK TWICE, IT
REMINDED ME OF WHAT HAPPENED IN
APRIL OF 2015 IN NORTH
CHARLESTON WHERE WALTER SCOTT
WAS SHOT IN THE BACK BY THE
POLICE OFFICER AS HE WAS SLOWLY
RUNNING AWAY AND POSING NO THREAT, ABSOLUTELY NO THREAT TO
THREAT, ABSOLUTELY NO THREAT TO
POLICE OFFICERS.
>> WHAT HAPPENED IN ATLANTA,
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING.
YOU CAN TRAIN PEOPLE FOR A HOST
OF ISSUES.
>> HIS SOUND IS NOT WORKING.
>> MIKE, WE GOT TO WORK ON YOUR
SOUND.
MIKE WE’LL GET BACK TO YOU.
>> EDDY GLAUDE, SAME TO YOU.
OFTENTIMES WE HAVE SAID IT’S
HARD TO SECOND GUESS POLICE
OFFICERS IN MANY SITUATIONS
WHERE A VIOLENT OUTBREAK OCCURS,
WHERE THE LIFE OF THE POLICE
OFFICERS MAY BE AT STAKE, WHERE
THEY MAY BE THINKING I MAY NOT
RETURN HOME TO MY FAMILY THIS
EVENING, I MAY NEVER SEE MY
CHILDREN AGAIN.
THAT’S ONE THING.
IN THIS CASE, JUST LIKE WALTER
SCOTT, THE COAST GUARD VETERAN
IN NORTH CHARLESTON WHO WAS
SLOWLY RUNNING AWAY FROM A
POLICE OFFICER, POSING NO THREAT
WHATSOEVER, TO GET SHOT IN THE
BACK, GUNNED DOWN IN THE BACK,
IT’S JUST A -- THERE IS NO
JUSTIFICATION FOR THAT.
AND I’M JUST BEYOND STUNNED THAT
THESE POLICE OFFICERS WOULD ACT
THIS WAY ANY TIME, BUT
ESPECIALLY IN THE MIDDLE OF A
NATIONAL RECONNING ON THE USE OF
POLICE FORCE.
WHEN HE POSED NO IMMINENT THREAT
OR DANGER TO THEM.
>> BEFORE THE OFFICER RETURNED
TO DECLARE THAT BROOKS WAS I
NEEB RATED AND THAT HE WAS GOING
TO PUT HIM IN HANDCUFFS THERE
WAS AN EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE TWO
OFFICERS, AND WHAT DID BROOKS
SAY TO OFFICER BRONSON, I KNOW
YOU’RE JUST TRYING TO DO YOUR
JOB AND BRONSON SAID TO HIM, WE
WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU BECAUSE
YOU WERE ASLEEP IN YOUR CAR,
THERE WAS A HUMANE EXCHANGE
BEFORE THE TWO BEFORE THEY
DECIDED TO PUT THE CUFFS ON HIM.
YOU THINK ABOUT THE JUDGMENT,
JOE, BECAUSE IN SOME WAYS,
BRONSON AND ROLF COULDN’T HANDLE
BROOKS, HE GOT AWAY.
DID YOU SEE THE LINE OF CARS IN
THE DRIVE-THRU?
HE DISCHARGED HIS WEAPON WITH
ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE AROUND.
RIGHT.
AS THE GUY WAS RUNNING AWAY.
IN SOME WAYS WE’LL HAVE TO SEE
HOW THE INVESTIGATION PROCEEDS.
THIS LOOKS LIKE MALE EGG GOO, BR
GOT THE BEST OF HIM AND HE
EXECUTED HIM IN THIS WAY.
THINK ABOUT THIS, YOU HAVE THIS
HUMANE EXCHANGE, THE ROW OF CARS
TRYING TO GET THEIR FOOD, AND
THE OFFICER DISCHARGES HIS
WEAPON FOR A GUY WHO’S RUNNING
AWAY, WITH NO WEAPON, NOT POSING
ANY IMMINENT DANGER.
IT’S UNCONSCIONABLE JOE IN EVERY
WAY IMAGINABLE.
>> YOU KNOW, EDDIE, I’M SURE YOU
WOULD UNDERSTAND.
SAY THEY WERE GOING FROM ROOM TO
ROOM IN A HOUSE, CHASING FROM
SOMEBODY FROM ROOM TO ROOM IN A
HOUSE AND IT’S DARK, AND YOU
TURNED AROUND A CORNER AND A GUY
IS OLYMPIANING SOMETHING AT YOU,
MAYBE IT’S A CELL PHONE, MAYBE
IT’S A TASER, MAYBE YOU DON’T
KNOW WHAT IT IS AND YOU SHOOT
THAT PERSON WHILE IN PURSUIT
BECAUSE YOU FEAR THEY MAY HAVE A
GUN, THAT’S WHAT THE "NEW YORK
TIMES" THIS MORNING CALLED
LAWFUL BUT AWFUL.
BUT THIS WAS IN AN OPEN PARKING
LOT, THEY SAW THE RISK.
THEY COULD HAVE TURNED AROUND
AND RUN TO THEIR CARS.
THIS GUY WAS GOING TO TIERE AND
RUN OUT OF STEAM.
BUT SHOOTING HIM IN THE BACK --
THIS IS WHAT I SAID ABOUT
MINNEAPOLIS.
THIS IS NOT JUST ONE BAD APPLE.
THIS IS A CULTURE, A CULTURE
FROM TOP-TO-BOTTOM THAT HAS TO
CHANGE.
WHEN THE CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT
CHIEFS WAS FORCED TO APOLOGIZE
TO EVERYBODY UP AND DOWN THE
RANKS FOR PARTICIPATING ON JUNE
THE 1ST, WHEN HE TO WRITE A
MEMO, BASICALLY SAYING I MADE A
TERRIBLE MISTAKE, THAT WENT TO
THE CULTURE OF THE MILITARY IN A
POSITIVE WAY.
THIS GOES TO THE CULTURE, AT
LEAST OF THIS POLICE DEPARTMENT,
AND TOO MANY POLICE DEPARTMENTS
ACROSS AMERICA.
AND YOU SHOULD KNOW, IF YOU
SHOOT A MAN WHO IS LUMBERING
AWAY FROM YOU AND IS POSING NO
IMMEDIATE THREAT TO YOU OR
ANYBODY ELSE, YOU’RE GOING TO
JAIL IF YOU GUN THEM DOWN IN AN
ATLANTA WENDY’S PARKING LOT OR
IN A NORTH CHARLESTON, VACANT
LOT.
>> YOU KNOW, JOE, THAT SEEMS
REASONABLE AND LOGICAL.
THEN YOU HEAR SENATOR TIM SCOTT
SAYING QUALIFIED IMMUNITY SHOULD
NOT BE ON THE TABLE.
IT’S A TOXIC PILL IN THE BILL.
THERE’S A SENSE IN WHICH WE WANT
TO HOLD POLICE ACCOUNTABLE.
THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES, AT LEAST
IN MY VIEW, WHO HAVE THE
AUTHORITY TO USE LEGAL LETHAL
FORCE, AND IT SEEMS TO ME THAT
THEY SHOULD BE HELD TO AN
ACCOUNT FOR THE USE OF THAT
LETHAL FORCE, JOE.
THIS IS UNCONSCIOUS IN EVERY
WAY.
THE GUY SAID I COULD JUST WALK
HOME, THE OFFICER HAD BEEN
TRAINED, HAD EXPERIENCED NINE
HOURS OF DEESCALATION, 20 PLUS
MINUTES OF REASONABLE
CONVERSATION ENDED IN THE
UNNECESSARY EXECUTION OF BROOKS.
IT MAKES NO SENSE, JOE.
IT MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL.
>> ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT JUST MAKE
SENSE.
>> YEAH, IT MIGHT JUST MAKE
SENSE.
MIKE, IF A WHITE TEENAGER HAD
DONE THAT, YOU KNOW WHAT THE
COPS COULD DO, THEY WOULD SHAKE
THEIR HEADS, GET IN THE CAR AND
FOLLOW THE KID AND ROLL DOWN THE
WINDOW AND SAY, KID, YOU BETTER
STOP RUNNING RIGHT NOW OR THINGS
ARE GOING TO GET WORSE FOR YOU.
STOP RUNNING, KID, STOP RUNNING.
IF HE DIDN’T THEY WOULD KEEP
FOLLOWING HIM IN THE CAR UNTIL
THEY TACKLED HIM TO THE GROUND
AND SLAPPED THE CUFFS ON HIM.
>> POLICE IN EVERY STATE AND
CITY ARE ALLOWED TO SAY THE
THREE MAGIC WORDS THAT NO ONE
ELSE IS ALLOWED TO SAY AND HAVE
IMPACT, YOU’RE UNDER ARREST.
THIS VIDEO SHOWS AN INCREDIBLE
LACK OF COMMON SENSE AMONG THOSE
TWO POLICE OFFICERS.
IT ALSO SHOWS THAT THE VICTIM,
MR. BROOKS WAS COOPERATING WITH
THE POLICE.
HE DECIDES TO RUN AWAY.
WHAT IS GOING ON WHEN A COP IN A
CROWDED AREA, AS EDDIE JUST
ELUDED TO, A LINE OF PEOPLE
WAITING FOR THEIR PICK UP FOOD
TAKES OUT HIS GUN IN PURSUIT OF
SOMEONE THEY KNOW IS UNARMED.
SURE THEY KNOW HE HAS A TASER.
THEY ALSO KNOW HE’S DRUNK.
IT IS MIND BOGGLING.
WHAT HAPPENED IN MINNEAPOLIS
WHICH GARNERED WORLD ATTENTION,
GLOBAL ATTENTION, I THINK, AND I
TRULY BELIEVE, BECAUSE THE FIRST
TIME YOU SAW A PUBLIC EXECUTION,
A PUBLIC EXECUTION, EIGHT
MINUTES AND 46 SECONDS OF POLICE
OFFICERS EXECUTING A HUMAN BEING
AND IN ATLANTA, YOU SAW A
STUNNING DISPLAY YOU CAN TRAIN
FOR EVERYTHING AT A POLICE
ACADEMY, YOU CANNOT PROVIDE
COMMON SENSE TO SOMEONE WHO
LACKS IT.
THIS WAS AN ASTOUNDING CASE OF A