♪♪
>> Stephen: HEY, EVERYBODY, WELCOME BACK.
LET'S CHECK IN WITH OUR FRIEND, JON BATISTE.
HELLO, JON.
>> Jon: HELLO.
WHAT'S GOING ON?
WHAT'S THE WORD.
>> Stephen: I WANT TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON WITH YOU BECAUSE
I KNOW ON SATURDAY YOU ARE GOING TO BE LEADING A MARCH, AN EVENT,
A HAPPENING-- >> Jon: YES.
>> Stephen: ABOUT JUSTICE.
WHERE IS IT GOING TO BE?
AND HOW CAN PEOPLE LEARN ABOUT IT.
>> Jon: OH, MY GOODNESS, GO ON INSTAGRAM, JON BATISTE, AND
YOU'LL SEE IT THERE.
IT WILL START AT UNION SQUARE AT 1:00 P.M., AND WE ARE GOING TO
MARCH AND WE ARE GOING TO CELEBRATE AND SING SONGS OF LOVE
AND FREEDOM.
AND I THINK IT'S GOING TO BE VERY, VERY IMPACTFUL.
SO, PLEASE, JOIN US.
>> Stephen: I AM SO HAPPY TO HEAR THAT, JON.
>> Jon: MMM.
>> Stephen: I THINK-- I THINK YOU HAVE THE SPIRIT OF LOVE AND
INCLUSIVENESS, AND JOY THAT IS GOING TO BE SO MEANINGFUL TO
PEOPLE THIS WEEKEND.
AND I HOPE A LOT OF PEOPLE SHOW UP.
BE CAREFUL, PLEASE NCHTSZ OH, YEAH, YEAH.
GOTTA BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.
>> Stephen: PEACEFUL MARCH.
PEACEFUL.
>> Jon: IT'S PEACEFUL.
WE ARE PEACEFUL, BUT WE MEAN BUSINESS.
SO THE WE'RE THE BUSINESS OF PEACE.
>> Stephen: WELL, JON, DO DO YOU HAVE ANYTHING TO PLAY FOR US
AS WE GO OUT TO THE WEEKEND HERE, MAYBE SOMETHING YOU MIGHT
BE PLAYING TOMORROW.
>> Jon: OH, MY GOODNESS.
♪ AIN'T GONNA LET NOBODY TURN ME 'ROUND
TURN ME 'ROUND, TURN ME 'ROUND ♪ AIN'T GOING TO LET NOBODY TURN
ME 'ROUND GOING TO KEEP ON MARCHING, KEEP
ON MARCHING, ♪ MARCHING ON TO FREEDOM LAND ♪
>> Stephen: IT'S NOT GOING TO GET BETTER THAN THAT.
THANK YOU, JON.
>> Jon: YES, INDEED, YES, INDEED.
>> Stephen: HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.
>> Jon: YOU, TOO!
HAVE A GOOD ONE!
>> Stephen: MY FIRST GUEST HAS BEEN A CONGRESSWOMAN SINCE 2011.
SHE'S CURRENTLY THE CHAIRWOMAN OF THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK
CAUCUS AND LEADING THE HOUSE'S LEGISLATIVE STRATEGY ON JUSTICE
FOR BLACK AMERICANS.
PLEASE WELCOME CONGRESSWOMAN KAREN BASS.
CONGRESSWOMAN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON.
>> Stephen: NOW, I UNDERSTAND AS THE CHAIRMAN OF THE
CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS, YOU JUST ENDED A VIRTUAL TOWN HALL
CALLED, "LIVING WHILE BLACK IN AMERICA."
WHO WERE SOME OF THE VOICES YOU WERE HEARING FROM TODAY?
>> WELL, LOTS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT COMMUNITY
ACTIVITIES, PERIOD, BUT ESPECIALLY RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF
WHAT WE'RE FACING.
AND PEOPLE WERE JUST IN GENERAL EXPRESSING THEIR ANGUISH AND
THEIR FATIGUE-- HOW LONG, HOW LONG, HOW LONG?
HOW MANY PEOPLE HAVE TO BE KILLED ON A VIDEO?
>> Stephen: WHAT... WHAT IS-- WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW
LEGISLATIVELY?
WHAT DO YOU AS A CONGRESSWOMAN, THE CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS,
THE DEMOCRATS AND THOSE ALLIES YOU CAN FIND IN THE REPUBLICAN
CAUCUS, WHO CAN SEE THE INFLECTION POINT WE'RE AT RIGHT
NOW NOW?
I KNOW SPEAKER PELOSI HAS ASKED YOU TO LEAD THE ACTION THAT'S
GOING TO BE TAKEN TO-- INVESTIGATE WHAT CAN BE DONE
RIGHT NOW.
WHAT ARE YOUR PLANS IN THE SHORT TERM?
>> SURE.
WELL, ON MONDAY WE WILL BE HAVING A PRESS CONFERENCE
UNVEILING A BILL WE WILL INTRODUCE SIMULTANEOUSLY IN THE
HOUSE AND THE SENATE.
AND, BASICALLY, THE BILL COVERS SEVERAL AREAS, BUT LET ME JUST
PUT IT THIS WAY: IT IS SO DIFFICULT WHEN YOU FIND AN
OFFICER THAT HAS BEEN PROBLEMMIC-- EXCESSIVE FORCE,
NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS-- IT'S DIFFICULT TO FIGHTER INDIVIDUAL,
PRIEWPT THE INDIVIDUAL, OR SUE THE INDIVIDUAL.
AND SO LAWS NEED TO BE CHANGED TO ALLOW OFFICERS TO BE
ACCOUNTABLE.
THEN THERE NEEDS TO BE LEGISLATION THAT INCREASES
TRANSPARENCY.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, WITH THE OFFICER THAT KILLED GEORGE FLO
FLOYD, HE WAS FIRED.
IF HE HAD NOT BEEN ARRESTED, HE COULD HAVE EASILY MOVED TO
ANOTHER TOWN AND BEEN HIRED AS A POLICE OFFICER.
AND SO, COMING FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ANY PROFESSION--
I DON'T CARE WHAT PROFESSION IT IS, YOURS, MINE-- NONE OF US
WANT TO HAVE BAD APPLES IN OUR PROFESSION THAT SOILS THE NAME
OF THE PROFESSION THAT WE'RE IN.
SO WANTING TO GIVE POLICE DEPARTMENTS TOOLS SO THAT THEY
CAN FIRE AN OFFICER AND THEN THEY CAN KNOW WHETHER THAT
OFFICER IS GOING TO ANOTHER TOWN.
SO A NAICIAL DATABASE OF OFFICERS THAT ARE PROBLEMATIC.
>> Stephen: SO IF A, SAY, THE OFFICER WHO KILLED GEORGE FLOYD,
IF HE HAD GONE TO ANOTHER TOWN, THERE WOULD BE NO CALL TO THE
PREVIOUS POLICE DEPARTMENT HE'D WORKED FOR?
THEY WOULD NOT SAY THAT HE HAD BEEN FIRED FOR CAUSE AND THE
UNLAWFUL DEATH OF SOMEONE?
>> THEY COULD, BUT MAYBE NOT.
SO, FOR EXAMPLE, DO YOU REMEMBER THE 12-YEAR-OLD CHILD THAT WAS
KILLED, TAMIR RICE?
HE WAS PLAYING WITH A GUN, AND THE OFFICER WITHIN 60 SECONDS
SHOT HIM AND KILLED HIM?
THAT OFFICER HAD BEEN FIRED A FEW MONTHS EARLIER BY ANOTHER
DEPARTMENT.
SO YOU KNOW HOW IT IS WHEN YOU HIRE SOMEBODY.
MAYBE THEY TELL OW AERENCE, MAYBE THEY DON'T.
MAYBE YOU DO DUE DILIGENCE, MAYBE YOU DON'T.
SO PART OF THE DUE DILIGENCE WOULD BE A LOT EASY FER THERE
WAS A NATIONAL DATABASE, JUST LIKE THERE IS-- I MEAN, IN THE
MEDICAL PROFESSION, THE LEGAL PROFESSION.
THIS IS NOT A NEW IDEA.
BUT POLICE OFFICERS ARE ESSENTIALLY SHIELDED FROM THAT.
AND IF YOU HAVE AN OFFICER THAT HAS REPEATEDLY BEEN INVOLVED IN
OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTINGS OR NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS, THEN WE
NEED TO DO SOMETHING TO INTERVENE, AND RIGHT NOW, IT'S
VERY DIFFICULT TO DO THAT.
>> Stephen: HAS WANT POLICE UNION BEEN HELPFUL IN THIS?
DO THEY UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETHING NEEDS TO CHANGE?
>> WELL, I MEAN, I THINK-- YOU KNOW, WE-- OUR OUTREACH WILL
BEGIN.
SO FAR, THE INTERACTIONS HAVE BEEN GENERALLY POSITIVE.
NOW, WE WILL SEE.
WHEN THE BILL IS REVEALED-- BEFORE WE WERE JUST TALKING
CONCEPTUALLY.
BUT WHEN POLICE UNIONS SEE THE BILL, WHEN IT'S INTRODUCED ON
MONDAY, THEN THAT'S WHEN WE WILL SEE.
BUT I HAVE REASON TO BELIEVE THAT THERE IS AN OPENNESS RIGHT
NOW.
I MEAN, YOU HAVE SEEN ACROSS THE COUNTRY, YOU HAVE SEEN POLICE
OFFICERS KNEELING, TAKING A KNEE.
YOU'VE SEEN THEM MARCHING ALONG WITH PROTESTERS.
NOW, YOU'VE SEEN SOME BAD THINGS, TOO.
BUT I DO THINK THAT WE ARE AT A MOMENT OF AN INFLECTION POINT IN
OUR COUNTRY.
AND I AM VERY, VERY HOPEFUL THAT THAT INVOLVES POLICE OFFICERS,
TOO.
SEVERAL POLICE CHIEFS, AFTER THEY SAW THAT HORRIFIC VIDEO,
SAID THAT IF ANYBODY IN MY DEPARTMENT THINKS THAT THAT WAS
OKAY, THEY NEED TO TURN IN THEIR BADGE.
THAT'S THE KIND OF LEADERSHIP WE NEED RIGHT NOW.
>> Stephen: WHAT-- WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE ACTIONS IN
LOS ANGELES ABOUT REMOVING $150 MILLION IN THE BUDGET FOR THE
POLICE DEPARTMENT AND PUTTING THAT MONEY INSTEAD INTO
ORGANIZATIONS AND ENTITIES THAT CAN PROVIDE THE SOCIAL SERVICES
THAT ARE TOO OFTEN PUT ON POL POLICE, AND THE POLICE DON'T
WANT TO DO THEMSELVES?
>> WELL-- AND SHOULDN'T.
I MEAN, I THINK THAT THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT.
AS FAST AS, IN LOS ANGELES, WE HAVE VSOME SUCCESSFUL MODELS OF
COMMUNITY-BASED POLICING, WORKING WHERE A POLICE OFFICER
WILL GO HAND IN HAND WITH ANOTHER PROFESSIONAL, LIKE A
SOCIAL WORKER.
SO WE DO HAVE EXAMPLES HERE WHERE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO
REDUCE CRIME WITHOUT JUST MASS ARRESTS OR ABUSING CITIZENS.
BUT, YOU KNOW, PART OF IT IS A CULTURAL CHANGE.
AND SO STRUGGLING TO GET THE POLICE DEPARTMENT TO CHANGE
THEIR CULTURE-- LIKE, FOR EXAMPLE, I REPRESENT A DISTRICT
IN LOS ANGELES WHERE PART OF MY DISTRICT IS WEALTHY AND IT'S
WHITE.
THE OTHER PART OF MY DISTRICT IS SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES, THE
INNER CITY THAT'S AFRICAN AMERICAN AND LATINO.
POLICE OFFICERS APPROACH THOSE SIDES OF TOWN COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE AFFLUENT SIDE OF TOWN, THEY'RE THERE TO
PROTECT AND SERVE.
WHEN IT COMES TO SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES ARE, A LOT OF TIMES
THEY GO IN WITH A WARRIOR MENTALITY.
EVERYBODY IN THE COMMUNITY IS SEEN AS PROBLEMATIC.
AND MANY POLICE OFFICERS HAVE TOLD ME THAT THEY HAVE TO DEAL
WITH ROOKIE OFFICERS WHEN THEY'RE GETTING OUT OF THE
POLICE ACADEMY SAYING, "YEAH, I WANT MY FIRST ASSIGNMENT TO BE
SOUTH CENTRAL SO I CAN GO DOWN THERE AND KICK SOME BUTT."
NOW, IF THAT'S YOUR VIEW OF THE COMMUNITY, THEN WHY WOULD YOU BE
SURPRISED THAT OFFICERS WOULD GET INTO TROUBLE AND THAT
COMMUNITIES WOULD FEEL THEY ARE NOT RESPECTED?
>> Stephen: A LOT OF THE MOTIVATION FOR PROTESTERS RIGHT
NOW, IS CIVICALLY AROUND GEORGE FLOYD.
WHOSE MEMORIAL WAS JUST YESTERDAY IN MINNEAPOLI.
I WANT TO TALK ABOUT BREONNA TAYLOR FOR A MOMENT.
TODAY WOULD HAVE BEEN HER 27th BIRTHDAY.
SHE WAS KILLED EXWIEWRG AN ENTRY ON A NO-KNOCK WARRANT.
I WANT YOU WANT TO TAKE ACTION ABOUT THAT.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THAT CASE THAT YOU THINK CAN BE ADDRESSED
LEGISLATIVELY.
>> NO-KNOCK WARRANTS CAN BE BANNED, JUST LIKE CHOKE HOLDS
CAN BE BANNED, IN TERMS OF GEORGE FLOYD.
IN THAT SITUATION, YOU HAD THEM JUST GO INTO THE HOME,
UNANNOUNCED, AND HER BOYFRIEND WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF.
I MEAN SECOND AMENDMENT RIGHTS, RIGHT?
HE WAS DEFENDING HIMSELF.
YOU REMEMBER, HE WAS THE ONE THAT GOT ARRESTED.
HE'S CALLING 911, SAYING THAT SOMEBODY HAS JUST INVADED MY
HOUSE.
IS AND SO IT IS NOT-- IT IS NOT THAT UNUSUAL THAT THE POLICE
DEPARTMENT COULD MAKE A MISTAKE.
BUT IF YOU MAKE A MISTAKE LIKE THAT, IT CAN, OBVIOUSLY, HAVE
DEADLY RESULTS.
>> Stephen: YOU'VE MET WITH A BIPARTISAN-- IT'S CALLED THE
"PROBLEM SOLVERS CAUCUS."
>> YES.
>> Stephen: ARE YOU FEELING ANY SUPPORT FROM G.O.P.
REPRESENTATIVES RIGHT NOW?
AS I WAS SAYING BEFORE, THEY HAVE TO HAVE SOME SENSE THAT
THIS IS-- WE'RE AT A TURNING POINT RIGHT NOW.
>> YEAH, ABSOLUTELY.
IT WAS A VERY INTERESTING CALL.
AND I'M GOING TO REPEAT THE CALL NEXT WEEK, BECAUSE WHEN I CALLED
THEM THE OTHER DAY, WE DID NOT HAVE THE LEGISLATION READY.
WE WERE JUST TALKING CONCEPTUAL.
BUT THERE WAS INTEREST.
THERE WAS SUPPORT.
AS FAST AS, ONE OF MY FORMER COLLEAGUES-- ONE OF MY
COLLEAGUES I DIDN'T KNOW WAS A FORMER POLICE OFFICER.
ANOTHER ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES, HIS SON WAS A POLICE OFFICER.
SO THEY CERTAINLY SEEMED TO BE UNDERSTANDING.
THEY WERE ABSOLUTELY APPALLED AT THE VIDEO.
THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY CHOKE HOLDS SHOULD BE A PROCEDURE THAT
IS USED.
SO I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A LOT OF INTEREST.
THERE SEEMED TO BE A LOT OF SUPPORT.
BUT WE HAVE TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE RUBBER HITS THE ROAD,
WHICH MEANS IT'S TIME TO VOTE.
>> Stephen: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY, IF YOU COULD, TO THE
PRESIDENT, WHO TWEETED A LETTER TODAY THAT SAID THOSE PROTESTERS
IN LAFAYETTE SQUARE WEREN'T REAL?
>> WELL, I MEAN, SOMEONE ASKED ME WHAT I THOUGHT HE SHOULD SAY
TO THE NATION.
AND I, FRANKLY, SAID NOTHING.
HE SHOULD SAY NOTHING.
WHAT WOULD I HAVE TO SAY TO HIM?
I MEAN, I DON'T EVEN KNOW AT THIS POINT, OTHER THAN THAT IT'S
ANOTHER LIE.
IF WE HAD TO ADD THEM UP, I'M SURE IT'S 20,000 OR 30,000 AT
THIS POINT.
>> Stephen: CONGRESSWOMAN THANKS SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> THANKS FOR HAVING ME ON.
>> WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH ANDREW ROSS SORKIN.
THANK YOU, MA'AM.