Transcripts For CNNW The Lead With Jake Tapper 20141124

County, and this is the lead. The national lead, it is official, a decision is in. They could charge him with murder or manslaughter or they could let officer Darren Wilson walk. As the grand jury gets sent home, new cnn polls breaking right now show that america wants the Police Officer who got and killed Michael Brown to go to trial. And they found out the grand jury made a decision right here on cnn. Now that Michael Browns family has been notified, the fate of their sons killer will be announced today, what are they saying . Hows the family reacting . Well talk with one of the brown familys lawyers. Plus, police stockpiling rubber bullets and teargas grenades as protesters anticipating justice not to be served, get ready to descend upon the streets of ferguson. Welcome to the lead. Im jake tapper. You are looking live at the courthouse in clayton, missouri, the st. Louis county seat where a grand jury could be moments away from revealing to the world if the Police Officer who shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown after what was by all accounts a rough confrontation will be put on trial. We now know that the grand jury here has reached a decision. U. S. And local Law Enforcement officials told cnn earlier today that the panel has made up its mind about whether to indict Darren Wilson and that the st. Louis county prosecutor will announce its finding. That revelation could come at any moment. New polls breaking right here on the lead show a majority of americans, 57 , believe wilson should be charged with a crime, be it murder or manslaughter. Officials have been warning for weeks, for months to expect protests if the grand jury does not indict wilson. 63 of the public says if the grand jury decides to let him walk, peaceful protests would be justified. That number polls across racial lines, the same number of whites and nonwhites agree that, yes, peaceful protests would be warranted should wilson not be sent to trial. But peaceful, of course, the keyword there. After browns killing touched off weeks of violent confrontations between police and protesters and arrests have ticked up as the grand jury has flirted with decision day, the announcement of a pending announcement has given Law Enforcement a few hours lead time to prepare themselves for the next potential wave of violence. Cnn is situated across st. Louis county to cover the case. Evan perez, sara sidner and Jason Carroll are all standing by. Evan, youve been camped out here for weeks awaiting the decision that we could learn any moment now. What can you tell us about the decision . We know that theres a plan in place now. We know that at 4 00, were going to get an especially announcement from the Prosecutors Office. Were also expecting to hear from state and local officials who are going to put the word out that they want to make sure this is central time. They want to make sure that everyone is aware that they want calm on the streets. They want to make sure that people know that Law Enforcement is prepared, that the state has made all the preparations necessary to protect peoples property, protect peoples safety. Thats the message they want to send out. They were ready for this to come out this weekend. So this is just really a short delay. Evan, the grand jury has heard more than 700 hours of testimony but still the grand jury asked for a few more hours on friday to deliberate. Have you heard anything more on what their decision might be, what charges Darren Wilson could be possibly indicted on . Well, at this point, were basically reading the tea leaves. By this time, if there was an indictment, we would expect that Darren Wilson would have been told that he is to surrender because he would be arrested and he would be processed to face those charges. So by now, were certainly checking to make sure we hear what theyre saying. But we expect that the official announcement will come much later this evening from the Prosecutors Office themselves. Evan perez, thank you so much. With the st. Louis county prosecutor set to make an announcement any moment, police here in ferguson and the surrounding area of st. Louis county continue to prepare to confront what they saw on the streets a few months ago, streams of protesters marching, shutting down the main arteries of the city, turning this town into a battleground because of some looters and some violent protesters. They are a minority but they still were there. Cnns sara sidner is live outside the Ferguson Police station. Sara, have you seen any movement there in terms of protesters, in terms of Law Enforcement . Reporter yes, we have. I want to give you a little bit of the theme. These gentlemen were not out here a few months ago. They now are out here. This young lady weve seen throughout the two months ive been here. Shes painted her truck and constantly reminding people by honking that they are with the family of Michael Brown. But what you have really been seeing to be clear about this in the two months ive r been in town and coming back and forth here, really, the majority of the protests have been peaceful. The early protests in august where you saw unrest, violence, destruction and looting, that has really changed. The relationship between the protesters and the police seems to have changed. Where the protesters are now policing themselves, theyve been doing so for many weeks now, yes, there are some issues, there have been more arrest, those arrests mostly because people will stand in the middle of this street, this very street, we are right in front of the Police Department where people have been every single night for more than 100 days. There have been protesters here every night, rain, shine or snow. We can tell you the blocking of traffic is what usually ends up the police come out and then they take people in. So youre seeing a bit of that. But nobodys really been injured or no Police Officers have faced any injuries themselves over these last few weeks. The protesters who have been here every day and are from ferguson are saying if youre going to be violent, youre not with us. We want to speak our minds and we want to be able to be out here. And we want to tell the nation how we feel about whats happening. What we do not want is to see our community destroyed. Youve seen this as well, jake. There are dozens of businesses who have decided to board up. I want to show you one of the notes that was left on one of the businesses thats just up here. Saying, we need your prayers. I spoke to the two people inside are both from pakistan. They have been here for a very long time. They said, we all bleed the same blood. We hope that this community can heal. Jake . Sara sidner outside the Police Station in ferguson, missouri, thanks. Jason carroll now is live at the command center. This is a staging area for police and other Law Enforcement personnel preparing to fend off what could be some very angry and passionate protesters as well as some other individuals from the st. Louis county area at large or even from out of town who are looking to create real trouble. Jason, youve been talking to people there. Youre starting to get word from those in the community. What happens now after the indictment is announced or the lack of indictment is announced, the decision . Reporter well, first off, just within the past few hours or so, i ran into one of Michael Browns relatives. A woman who identified herself as one of his cousins. When we talked about the grand jury, i think she expressed the way some people really feel here. She said, frankly, im not optimistic, i just dont even want to talk about. A lack of optimism is what some people in this area are feeling. You see the boardedup stores that you heard sara sidner talk about. You have a great overwhelming sense of people who just want this to be over. As you know, ferguson, overwhelmingly black, where you are in clayton, overwhelmingly white. Ive spoken to people on both sides of the issues. And the one common denominator you get from all this, whether you support Darren Wilson or you support Michael Brown, many people on the ground here just want this to be over. There is some relief in that the grand jury has finally reached a decision. Now people just are waiting to see what the Community Reaction will be. Jason carroll, sara sidner, evan perez, thank you all so much. Really appreciate it. Missouri governor jay nixon declared a state of emergency a week ago. Since the august protests, st. Louis county police have purchased nearly 175,000 worth of riot gear, including 25,000 alone on teargas and smoke grenades, according to the guardian newspaper. But for normal residents, the ones not on the streets protesting, careful fear cuts their every move. A city on edge, cliche, but it seems almost too quiet here. Boardedup shop windows line the streets of ferguson, missouri, and in nearby clayton, missouri, much the same, as if a hurricane is headed here. Here a grand jury decision is about to be announced determining the fate of officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of unarmed black teenager mike brown. Sporadic protests have continued here since august. Even last night, protesters bloodied an outoftown reporter. There are those worried about whether justice will be served and those worried their livelihoods will be destroyed. Jim and his dad own this Convenience Store not far from the protest site in august. Their store was looted twice this summer. Over the summer, they showed us this Surveillance Footage of looters kicking and shooting out windows, breaking in p stealing things, then trying to set the store on fire. You were thinking, were going to shut it down . Yeah, we had will have conversations back and forth, my dad and i. We wanted to stay open because weve been here for so long. Reporter the mriwood is now back up on the windows even though that means business drops off, up to 40 . Like everyone here, theyre waiting to see what will happen. As soon as we know whats going to happen, ill close down the store and hope for the authorities to take care of whatever is going to happen outside. Reporter at the canfield apartments where mike brown was shot and killed, a memorial to him has grown. The dolls are by now wet and dishevel disheveled. Here his neighbors are waiting and hopeful there wont be a repeat of what they saw this summer. Difficult of getting in here when all that took place. But im prepared for it as if i cant get into where i live. Were keeping a positive thought on everything. Reporter just blocks away, the businesses that the residents of the canfield apartments frequent, theyre on edge. Many of these people are on the breaking point from the last time. Reporter this is a lawyer representing many of the businesses here that were targeted last time. Owners are reluctant to talk to the media today for fear they will become targets for looters and vandals. The people here, the true residents know that when this is all over with, when its said and done, they have to come back here and live here. They dont want it destroyed. Its some of the outside folks that have come and said, they dont care, theyre going to go home and leave this behind once theyve had their 15 minutes of fame. Reporter back at the canfield apartments, one resident tidied up Michael Browns threemonthold makeshift memorial, concealing his face with a mask for fear of being targeted by police or supporters of officer wilson. The local commercial drag, he said, might be in danger. We do know that Michael Browns family was notified that the grand jury has made a decision. What have they been told, how are they reacting, what is their request to the community . Well talk to their attorney next. And our big idaho potato truck is still missing. So my buddy here is going to help me find it. Here we go. Woo who, woah, woah, woah. Its out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart associations go red for women campaign. If you see it i hope youll let us know. Always look for the grown in idaho seal. Sea captain theres a narratorstorm cominhe storm narrator that whipped through the turbine which poured. Surplus energy into the plant which generously lowered its price and tipped off the house which used all that energy to stay warm through the storm. Chipmunk theres a bad storm comin narrator the internet of everything is changing how energy works. Is your Network Ready . cheering yeah touchdown whos ready for half time . Ok im going to draw something up new. Who ate the quarterback . Share what you love with who you love. Kelloggs frosted flakes. Theyre grrreat welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. You are looking at the courthouse in the county seat of st. Louis county, missouri, clayton, missouri, where the grand jury met and deliberated and now were told it has made a decision. We are waiting to hear that decision whether Police Officer Darren Wilson will be indicted for shooting unarmed 18yearold Michael Brown. Weve just learned that Michael Browns father is now asking for a 4 1 2minute moment of silence before any protests begin this evening, 4 1 2 minutes of silence to symbolize the 4 1 2 hours that Michael Brown jr. s body was lying in the streets following the shooting. Im joined now by brown family attorney, darryl parks. Mr. Parks, thanks for joining us, as always. Whats the state of mind for the brown family right now . How are they doing . Well, jake, its always been anticipating this moment when they would finally hear the decision of this grand jury. Its with hope still that they can get justice. As of now, we dont know what the decision is. But they remain very prayerful that the killer of their son will still be held to justice in this case. Where will they be when the decision is announced and made public . Right no right now, theyre at home. Think about it, all they got was a phone call through our counsels office in st. Louis telling them an announcement would be made later on that day. Obviously they deserve more than just a headsup phone call that were going to make an announcement concerning the killer of your son. But thats all they have. But certainly as the victims in this case, they deserve a lot more than just a headsup phone call. Theyve always said they deserve to be treated better than theyve been treated in this case by the Prosecutors Office. But they remain in hopeful that the end of the day, this man will be responsible for killing Michael Brown jr. In this case. You noted the family had heard from the d. A. But the family, as i understand it, learned that the grand jury had reached a decision from cnn. Have you gotten any explanation about why the family wasnt contacted more quickly . No explanation whatsoever. In fact, around the same time that ben had the conversation with sunny there in st. Louis, i had gotten an indication from some other people that we know in st. Louis about the time of the press conference, that the governor had already set his press conference and the prosecutor already had set a time for his press conference as well. So obviously they had shared information with others but not with this family as they made their planning on their decisions. So that type of treatment by the Prosecutors Office certainly leaves a lot more to be desired by this family. Gives them strong concerns about how theyll be handled Going Forward in this case as well. Mr. Parks, do you think the family will learn of the decision before the public does . Well, thats the proper way to do things. I dont think that they should be treated like the general public in this case, jake. They should be treated like a victim in this case. As customary in america, there are always victims advocates who let the victim know whats about to transpire even if its not the ultimate final outcome. But they should at least be briefed and prepped to know whats about to take place before the general public or other outsiders would know. They deserve that. I can tell you, this family has very strong sentiments about how theyve been treated early on, ever since when Michael Brown was laying on the ground in canfield, how they were not allowed to tend to him as this case has been prosecuted. They have not been treated as the victims in this case. The officer has been treated as the victim. So they continue to cry out that they should be treated like victims and should be treated not like the general public in this case and not like the media. Daryl parks, attorney for the brown family, thank you so much for your time. We appreciate it as always. Thank you. Coming up, how exactly did the grand jury reach its decision from witnesses to evidence . Was this grand jury process different from most . Our legal experts will explain next. Big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. They take us to worlds full of heroes and titans. For respawn, building the best Interactive Entertainment begins with the cloud. This is titanfall, the first multiplayer game built and run on microsoft azure. Empowering gamers around the world to interact in ways they never thought possible. This cloud turns data into excitement. This is the microsoft cloud. A secure retirement. A new home. Earning your diploma. Providing for your family. Real associates, using walmarts benefits to build better lives for their families. Opportunity. Thats the real walmart. Welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. Were live in st. Louis county, missouri. Any minute now, we are expecting to hear the grand jurys decision into the shooting death of Michael Brown. The big question, of course, will officer Darren Wilson be probably there would be a conversation between the prosecution and the defense. Theyve probably already had an agreement in place saying they will call them up and let them know its time to come in. Theyll get him in to keep him safe. Jeffrey, obviously we do not know everything that the grand jury heard. And that is an important thing for all of us to remember, especially as we talk about the polling that suggests what the public wants. This grand jury knows the evidence far more than we do. But i do want to play some accounts from witnesses. These are people who say they saw the shooting back in august. Take a listen. The kid bodyjerked as if he was hit from behind. He turned around and he puts his hands up like this. And the cop continued to fire until he just dropped down to the ground. When they were running, they werent even reaching for anything. It was like he was running for his life. Turned around. Still didnt try to reach for anything. Putting his hands in the air being compliant, he still got shot down. His weapon was drawn, and he said, ill shoot you or im going to shoot, and in the same moment, the first shot went off. We looked at him, he was shot and there was blood coming from him. And we took off running. So as he was running, the officer was trying to get out of the car and once he got out of the car, he pursued my friend but his weapon was drawn. He didnt see any weapon drawn at him or anything like that, us going for no weapon, his weapon was drawn when he got of the car. My friend put his hands in the air and he started to get down but the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and he fired several more shots. Jeff, the American People have heard many examples of eyewitness testimony like the ones we just played. Probably one of the reasons why the majority of people polled feel like wilson should be indicted or should be a trial. What else is the grand jury taking into account beyond these witnesses that weve heard from . Certainly, i dont want to minimize the importance of the eyewitnesses. Those are critical witnesses in this or any other case, so certainly they will have been heard by the grand jury. But theres also a lot of Scientific Evidence that could be enormously important here. First of all, relating to the gunshots, where was Michael Brown hit . Weve seen some of the autopsy evidence but not all of it. Also, how far away was Michael Brown when he was hit . Thats a critical, critical issue. And there are ways that that could be identified through scientific tests. We dont know that. Where were their bloodstains, if there were any on the ground . Did it indicate where and when Michael Brown was shot . Also the nature of the confrontation at the car between Michael Brown and officer wilson where apparently one or two shots were fired from his Service Revolver before he left the car. Is there any evidence about Michael Browns dna on the gun, for example . Thats something that you will want to know if youre doing an investigation here. The one thing i know for sure is that the grand jury knows a great deal more about this case than i do or any outsider does at this point. And were going to learn more about what the evidence was in this case. Mark, what about the way both sides, the brown family and the representatives for officer wilson, what about the way they were notified . Can we read anything into wilsons attorneys learning that a decision has been made before the brown familys attorneys were notified . We dont even know if the wilson attorneys have been notified of anything in particular. The thought is they may have been notified if he has to surrender himself. For all we know, they have been notified and he has to surrender himself. I know there was consternation or concern about the way the brown family was notified. My understanding of the agreement from the prosecutor was that they would find out ahead of the general announcement of the indictment or lack of indictment, that they would let the brown family as the victims family of the shooting, that they would let them know. I dont know that thats been breached at this point. I know there was some concern that they didnt get told that theres going to be an announcement that youre going to be told. But my understanding is they were going to be told about the event and the decision before the rest of us find out about it. And thats appropriate. Jeffrey, what about the fact that the evidence being kept secret so far in the grand jury proceedings, whether or not that evidence should come out for the public to see . What do you think the decision should be . This is a really complicated question because grand juries are usually secret. But the prosecutor, robert mcculluch, has said if theres no indictment, he wants it all released and he will ask a judge to release it. But its not a simple process to release grand jury testimony. The witnesses all testified with the understanding that their testimony would be secret. Do they have a right to be heard from the judge before that judge makes up his or her mind . Also remember, theres another investigation going on now. The federal government, the Justice Department is looking into this matter. Does the Justice Department want to say, look, dont release this before we complete our investigation . So it is not as simple as it might seem for a judge simply to snap his or her fingers and release all this testimony. You might want to hear from the witnesses and you might want to hear from the Additional Investigation going on whether all of them want the testimony public. Thank you both so much for joining me. We have to take a very quick break. Much more from missouri ahead. Were expecting to hear from governor jay nixon in the coming moments as residents and police here are planning for the release of the grand jury decision in the case involving officer Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. Plus, the big day in washington, was he fired . Secretary of defense chuck hagel resigning after fewer than two years on the job. Was it because of a disagreement with the president . The Holiday Season is here, which means its time for the volkswagen signthendrive event. For practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a germanengineered volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta. And the 2015 motor trend car of the year allnew golf. If youre wishing for a new volkswagen this season. Just about all you need is a finely tuned. Pen. Hurry in and get zero due at signing, zero down, zero deposit, and zero first months payment on select new volkswagen models. Save your coffee from the artificial stuff. Switch to truvia. Great tasting, zerocalorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. I can. Order safety goggles. Play music for seedlings. Post science fair projects. Schedule guinea pig feedings. Video chemical reactions. Take pics of mr. Bones. Time the next launch. Calm down principal jones. I can do all that with my android from tracfone. 90day plans start as low as 20. Unbeatable nationwide coverage. No contract. The Samsung Galaxy centura android smartphone. Tracfone. Do everything for less. About what happens when you turn sixtyfive. But, really, its what you do before that counts. See, medicare doesnt cover everything. Only about eighty percent of part b medical costs. The rest is on you. [ male announcer ] consider an aarp Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. Like all standardized Medicare Supplement Insurance Plans, it could really save you in outofpocket medical costs. So, call now and request this free decision guide. Discover how an aarp Medicare Supplement plan could go long™ for you. Do you want to choose your doctors . Avoid networks . What about referrals . [ male announcer ] all plans like these let you visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients, with no networks and virtually no referrals needed. So, call now, request your free guide, and explore the range of aarp Medicare Supplement plans. Sixtyfive may get all the attention, but now is a good time to start thinking about how you want things to be. [ male announcer ] go long™. Welcome back to the lead. Im jake tapper. Here in st. Louis county, missouri, where the grand jury has reached a decision on whether or not to charge officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18yearold Michael Brown. More on that in just a moment. But it has been a busy newsday. We want to cover another important story in our politics lead. Secretary of defense chuck hagel has resigned, were told, after fewer than two years on the job. The white house described the decision as mutual. But sources tell cnn that hagel was essentially pushed out over ongoing disagreements and frustration he had with the exceeding level of micromanagement by white house officials, specifically the National Security council when it came to the military strategy in syria and iraq. Republican senator john mccain who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee Told a Radio Station today that hagel was cut out of the white house inner circle. Theyre going to say, well, it was time for a change and all that. But ki tei can tell you, he wasy office last week very frustrated. Already the white house people are leaking, well, he wasnt up to the job. Believe me, he was up to the job. Rear admiral john kirby is the pentagon spokesman. Admiral kirby, was secretary hagel pushed out . Was he fired . No, he was not, jake. This was a mutual agreement that he and the president came to after a series of discussions that began as far back as late october about the future here for the administration, the last two years of the president s term. And both men agreed that a change in leadership at the pentagon was probably appropriate right now. I have to say if my boss, jeffrey zucker, called me into his office and said, its time for a change of leadership on the lead, at the end of the day, it would seem like a firing. Well, but its not if both men agree that this is the right course of action. And the secretary said it clearly today, he not only supports it but hes the one who initiated the conversation with the president. The secretary was brought in to do a couple of things. But the main thing was to help the military transition after 13 years of war, get it on a firmer footing Going Forward, at least as firm as it can be. And hes done that. Hes helped to effect tangible changes to the rebalance in the asiapacific, brought together a coalition of middle eastern nations to combat isil inside iraq and syria and he instituted about a dozen reforms in the pentagon nuclear enterprise, sexual assault, the medical health system. Hes effected a lot of change here. I think the president said as much today at the white house. Its time now for a new leader to take those changes and move that transition forward. What do you say to those allies of the president who say the president s Foreign Policy seems to be somewhat in shambles, maybe hagels leaving because somebody has to go and its not going to be secretary kerry or dr. Susan rice, shes a close friend of the president. Hagels just the next guy on the list and there but for the grace of god . No, i dont think thats the case. Again, i think this was a series of discussions that the secretary had with the president. They both agreed this was the right way forward for the defense department. And, again, the secretary fully supports this. This isnt really about how were going to finish the last two years of this term, the second half of this particular term and the leadership focus that is required to take that forward. Again, theres been a lot of changes here at the pentagon that secretary hagel has not only shepherded but led, changes that will need to now come into effect and be executed. I think both men agreed a new leader here is probably the right answer to get those changes fully implemented and the pentagon Going Forward. Hagels two predecessors, the secretary of defense, leon panetta and bob gates have both in open in criticizing the white house for micromanaging, for having a very insular circle of advisers at the white house that dont let the secretary of defense in. Is it possible that secretary hagel just experienced the same problem that those two did . The secretary has a close relationship with the president and he considers himself a real partner and team member on the National Security team. Hes present at all the meetings. He affects and influences all the decisions. He has a voice and that voice gets heard at the white house and the inner agency. This isnt about policy disagreements or disputes. Its not about who had what seat in the room. Again, both the president and the secretary believe that this is simply the right time for him to go and its the appropriate decision to make for the pentagon. Rear admiral kirby, we always appreciate your coming on to answer our questions. Thanks, jake. Coming up, live from missouri, issues of race and justice magnified in the community after the death of Michael Brown. What is being done to fix this racial divide . Thats next. Plus, police are bracing for the possible violence to come. So what exactly are protesters planning to keep the peace once the decision is made public . Ill ask one activist coming up. Hello. Im an idaho potato farmer and our big idaho potato truck is still missing. So my buddy here is going to help me find it. Here we go. Woo who, woah, woah, woah. Its out there somewhere spreading the word about americas favorite potatoes heart healthy idaho potatoes and the american heart associations go red for women campaign. If you see it i hope youll let us know. Always look for the grown in idaho seal. vo rescued. Ed. Protected. Given new hope. During the subaru share the love event, subaru owners feel it, too. Because when you take home a new subaru, we donate 250 dollars to helping those in need. Well have given 50 Million Dollars over seven years. Love. Its what makes a subaru, a subaru. Toasty or frosty . Exactly the way you want it. Until boom, its bedtime your mattress is a battleground of thwarted desire. Enter the sleep number bed. Dont miss the ultimate sleep number week going on now. Hes the softy. His sleep number setting is 35. Youre the rock, at 60. Silent night not so silent . Elk bellow sleep numbers even got an adjustment for that. Give the gift of amazing sleep only at a sleep number store. This week only, save 50 on the ultimate limited edition bed. Know better sleep with sleep number. Toothbrush. Sweater. Extra sweater. Headphones, sleeping mask. Oh, and this is the xfinity tv app. He can watch his dvrd shows from where ever he wants. Hey. Have fun, make some friends. Alright. Did i mention his neck pillow . sniffs pillow watch your personal dvr library where ever you go. With the x1 entertainment operating system. Continuing with our national lead, we are live from outside the Justice Center in st. Louis county, missouri, the county seat of clayton. Any moment, we could learn the grand jurys decision on whether or not to indict Police Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of 18yearold Michael Brown. There are some, of course, very real fears here that if officer wilson is not indicted, that the tensions that have been simmering for months and months are bound to boil over. Joining me now, cnn political commentators Mark Lamont Hill and van jones. Mark, theres been a big push to keep things peaceful, no matter what. Michael browns father putting out a Public Service announcement. What do you think the reaction will be if theres not an indictment . My sense is that there will be peaceful protests. There will be a response. People say, will there be peace . Peace is a reasonable expectation. But i think that unrest and resistance is also a reasonable expectation. Ive been talking to protesters for the last few days. Theyre saying theyre organized, much more disciplined than they were in august. Theyre not expecting much. But there wont be any violence. Van, i want to ask you about some of the new polling we have in cnn that shows a significant disparity along racial lines on whether officer wilson should be charged, specifically with murder. There are other numbers for manslaughter. But on murder, 23 of white americans say he should be charged with murder. 54 of nonwhites. What do you make of that, van . Well, i think that people have very different experiences with the police. If your daily experience with police is theyre basically respectful, they dont give you a hard time and treat you with respect, you would assume that maybe if somebody gets in trouble with the cops, maybe they had it coming. Africanamericans, latinos and others unfortunately have a different experience all too often with the police. Why does this matter . Because you have a grand jury in this case that is majority white. You could wind up with a situation where out of the 12, you have a 93 split and the three africanamericans went one way and the whites went the other way. If that gets leaked out, that will be difficult explaining to the American People. And the grand jury itself, if the prosecutor does not prosecute, it is very hard to get an indictment, period. So this entire process really should not be the Africanamerican Community on trial. The Justice System in this case should be on trial in the mind of any objective viewer. Why was the grand jury not given any direction . Does this prosecutor want firstdegree murder, manslaughter . Nobody seems to know. Ive never seen a grand jury handled this way. Every step that was made to make the system look more bizarre means that when the final outcome comes, it is not a vindication of the system. It could be an indictment of the system and youre going to have a whole generation of young africanamericans and their allies who are bitterly disappointed. And thats a longerterm threat and problem than whatever happens tonight. Mark, i want to get your reaction to a statement made by former new york city mayor Rudy Guiliani on meet the press over the weekend. He was talking about ferguson and the disproportionate number of white Police Officers on the force in a predominantly black community. 93 of blacks are killed by let me respond to that i would like to see the attention paid to that that you are paying to this. Hang on. Im going to stop it there. Whats your response to that . Weve heard that argument made by a few people it feels like a red herring and mischaracterizes the people of ferguson and around the country. People are upset with violence. But what makes ferguson uniquely problematic is people are being kill with impunity. Black people in chicago get arrested, go to trial and go to jail. When Law Enforcement does it, there is no legal response that is fair and just. For most people here, they want to deal with whats going on in ferguson and the other issues dealing with blackonblack crime. Van, your response. Africanamericans have responded. Prince, the rock star, did a big concert in chicago about the violence. People are concerned about violence on both sides. But we should be able to hold police to a higher standard than we hold gang members. Thats not happening too often in america. Van jones, Mark Lamont Hill, thank you both so much. Coming up next, weve seen violent protests in ferguson, missouri. We know police are planning for unrest. So now that the grand jury has made a decision, what will happen tonight . coffee being poured into a cup. save your coffee from the artificial stuff. Switch to truvia. Great tasting, zerocalorie sweetness from the stevia leaf. Big day . Ah, the usual. Moved some new cars. Hauled a bunch of steel. Kept the supermarket shelves stocked. Made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. Whats up for the next shift . Ah, nothing much. Just keeping the lights on. laugh nice. Doing the big things that move an economy. See you tomorrow, mac. See you tomorrow, sam. Just another day at norfolk southern. Im jake tapper live. Just a few miles away from ferguson, missouri, were in the county seat, clayton, where the grand jury was meeting and where they made their decision. We are waiting to hear what that decision is for our continuing coverage of the national lead. As i said, the grand jury has decided whether to indict or not indict Police Officer Darren Wilson who shot and killed an unarmed 18yearold, Michael Brown, in august. We could learn exactly what they decided any moment now. But for now, the community here is, again, preparing for protests. Ashley yates is an activist and a key voice that has emerged from the crowd of protesters. She joins me now live. Ashley, youre all waiting for this decision. How are you communicating . Do you have some sort of text message, meet at this place at this time . How are you going to decide how to protest, if it comes to that . Weve been planning for weeks. Weve known this is coming for 109 days now. And we started planning very early and its only progressed from there. Weve trained hundreds of people in nonviolent civil disobedience. So were ready and organized with an organized response whoever the outcome may be with this announcement. Earlier today, i was talking to a st. Louis county Police Officer who said the problem was not the people of ferguson, the problem is not even generally the people of st. Louis, although a few of them are problems, its people from outside the area, from other cities and states coming in, using the opportunity of these protests to cause violence, to vandalize, to loot. How are you going to stop those people or at least alert Law Enforcement to them so you can continue to protest peacefully . I did not sign up to be part of the police force for a reason. That is not my job. My job is not to stop people that are going to commit criminal activity if that happens. Thats the job of the Police Officers. And i dont think that outside people are the problem. We had one day in which there were instances and weve had 108 days of peaceful protesting. We definitely saw at least a month of very heavyhanded police presence. We saw a month of people being teargassed for exercising their rights. The police are clear that theyre mounting with weaponry against people who are only expecting to exercise their First Amendment rights. I challenge the notion that the problem is people are coming outside to stand with the community and say, no more, not one more person can you kill or not be held accountable for under the system you are supposed to be enforcing. The problem is the Police Forces that are mounting with this unnecessary show of violence against people who have been peaceful protesting and have proven ourselves to be peaceful. Ashley yates, best of luck if you do protest, i hope it is a peaceful one and meaningful one. Thats it for the lead. Im jake tapper. I turn you over to wolf blitzer who is in the situation room. Happening now, breaking news, the grand jury decides. The deliberations are over. Well now learn very shortly whether the officer, Darren Wilsons Fatal Shooting of Michael Brown will be treated as a crime. Ferguson on edge, Michael Browns family is notified of the decision and months after protests has a request for demonstrators. Businesses are boarded up. Authorities say theyre prepared for anything. Hagel resigns after less than two years on the job