Transcripts For CNNW The Situation Room 20150409

From climbing fences to cars on the runway a disturbing new investigation reveals how many times people have made it past security and into sensitive areas of u. S. Airports. Im wolf blitzer. Youre in the situation room. Were following breaking news. A new witness account to that Shocking Police shooting in South Carolina. A woman who saw the moments leading up to it now speaking out for the first time revealing what happened exclusively to cnn. And state authorities have Just Announced they are releasing dash cam video that recorded key moments of the confrontation between walter scott and former Police Officer Michael Slager. We are expecting it in the situation room any time now. We will show it to you as soon as we get it. Stand by for that. We are covering all angles of the breaking news this angle with our correspondents and our guests including the president of the National Urban league marc morial. Brian todd joins us from South Carolina. Whats the latest youre learning over there . Reporter tonight we just got word from authorities here in South Carolina that the dash cam video from officer Michael Slagers squad car is being released it is being brought to us. We should have it very shortly. Jason carroll has been told by officials of the South Carolina Law Enforcement division that the video shows basically the entire traffic stop including the moment when walter scott exited his vehicle and it ends with walter scott running away. That is an account we have gotten from officials at the South Carolina Law Enforcement division. We hope to get more details later. Also tonight, we have an exclusive new account from another witness who saw part of this confrontation. As the investigation into why officer Michael Slager shot at walter scott eight times continues, witnesses who saw the confrontation are now coming forward. I dont know if it was a fight but it was a tussle. When i came to the corner of the advance auto parking lot and saw them it was a tussle. Reporter this woman tells cnn in an exclusive interview she saw scott and officer slager shortly after scott was stopped in this parking lot for a broken taillight. The one thing that i didnt hear is mr. Slager saying stop or halt. Reporter she says she didnt see the actual shooting but heard the shots that were fired after the men turned this corner. Officer slager seen here being debriefed moments after the incident told Police Dispatchers scott grabbed for his taser. He grabbed my taser. Reporter but feidin santana, who filmed the shooting with his cell phone, says he did not. He never grabbed the taser off the police. Reporter that is one of several discrepancies between the Police Report account and what eyewitnesses say they saw and the video shows. Community leaders are saying what happened to scott highlights a broader pattern. In the past five years, 209 Police Officers in our state have fired at suspects but only a handful have been accused of doing so illegally and none have been convicted. Its time for a change. Reporter officer Michael Slager has himself been the subject of a prior complaint over his use of a taser in 2013. He was exonerated but mario givens who filed the complaint, now plans to file a lawsuit. It hurts. My arm got messed up. I had a couple bruises. Reporter again, we expect the dash cam video from officer Michael Slagers vehicle to be to arrive here very shortly. The details on it we are told from South Carolina Law Enforcement officials that it shows the entire traffic stop it shows walter scott exiting his vehicle and at some point it may show him running away at least briefly there. There was also a passenger in Walter Scotts car, according to police records. We have not yet heard his account. Wolf . Brian, stand by. As soon as you get that video, the dash cam video, we are going to want to show it to our videos here in United States and indeed around the world. Brian todd reporting for us. Good work. Federal investigators are on the ground in North Charleston as well. Lets bring in our justice reporter, evan perez. What are you hearing about a federal probe . The fbi getting involved now in what happened there. Well now the fbi is now on the ground and has begun doing its work. It will want to look at going to want to talk to witnesses, witnesses like the woman there who says she hasnt talked to local police. Thats exactly why the fbi and Justice Department say they are doing a separate independent investigation, because its important for them to check to see that everything is done properly not because they dont trust the local authorities, but just to give reassurance to the local community that everything is being done properly. Because the local authorities have basically punted and given the investigation to the state authorities, the South Carolina state Law Enforcement division or what they call s. L. E. D. Now theres a federal investigation under way, a separate one. Correct. One of the things that you can see is developing here is this the pattern at least of complaints from local Community Officials that theres a series of incidents that have happened in this community. In just a few hours of searching we found really disturbing incidents. In 2011 an Army Sergeant was stopped by local police was tased three times. He was on his way to go see his daughter. According to him, he did nothing to resist and yet he suffered three tases by a Police Officer down there in this community. So it looks like something that the Justice Department and the fbi are going to want to get to know more about, which is is there a bigger problem with this Police Department like we saw in ferguson that could lead to a more deep investigation. Brian todd reported the woman who is an eyewitness says she hasnt even been questioned by local authorities, police as far as what she saw on that critical day. Right. Thats shocking frankly, because if this officer is already facing murder charges, you would think they would have talked to as many witnesses as they could find. Perhaps she just hasnt come forward and again, thats someone the fbi will want to talk to. Thanks very much evan perez. Appreciate it very much. Joining us now to discuss all of this and more the president of the National Urban league marc morial. Thanks very much for joining us. You just heard evan perez report that the department of justice now weighing whether to open a real serious formal investigation into whats going on in North Charleston. Do you think their federal involvement right now would be appropriate . It could underscore maybe they dont have total confidence in local or state authorities. Well i think its important that the department of justice do its job and enforce the nations civil rights laws. I think in ferguson in new york they need to be there at the very beginning. Its the best way to ensure that all evidence is preserved, that they have an opportunity to review evidence at its inception and conduct a thorough investigation. I would also hope that the department of justice, and would encourage them to look at whether or not this incident is an isolated incident or maybe part of a pattern. Theres a lot of information out there about a large number of federal lawsuits a lot of information out there about prior excessive use of force complaints, maybe, for which there was not a prosecution or any action taken against the officer. I think the federal government has to do this. Whats at stake is peoples confidence in Law Enforcement because we yet see another incident. Also i would make this point. There needs to be a close examination of the actions of the other officers who in fact responded and wrote reports. I looked at these reports and they seem to deviate from the truth, where these officers state in a Police Report that somehow quote, they saw one of the officers administering aid to the fallen person. Certainly the video demonstrates that there was no first aid administered to mr. The gentleman who unfortunately lost his life. So what you have again is not only one, but a very very heinous crime thats taken place, but this seeming systematic coverup. Stand by marc, because we have more breaking news. We have now received the dash cam video from this incident. This is what happened leading up to the killing of walter scott. Lets watch it. License and insurance card . Whats that . [ inaudible ]. Lets start with your license. Your brake lights out. [ inaudible ]. Okay. [ inaudible ]. You have insurance on the car . No i dont have insurance. You dont have insurance, you got to have insurance. [ inaudible ] my cars down. You dont have any paperwork in the glove box . No registration no insurance . No. Youre buying the car . Yes. Did you already buy it . No. You told me you already bought it. Sorry about that. [ inaudible ]. All right. Be right back with you. First time. Thats the raw dash cam video from the Police Officers vehicle, Michael Slager. You saw him stop walter scott, asked for his license, registration. They discussed. The music you were hearing was coming from the Police Officers vehicle. He went back to his vehicle, the Police Officer, Michael Slager and you saw walter scott get out of that vehicle, out of that mercedes and simply start running. The dash cam video only showing the car. The other video then later picking up we are showing you the beginning of this dash cam video. Marc morial is with us, the president of the National Urban league. Tom fuentes is with us Law Enforcement analyst, former assistant director of the fbi. Tom, your analysis first of what we just saw. Because we didnt see this before the other video that was shot by that private citizen. What we see here wolf is officer slager was completely professional. He walks up to the car, he courteously asks for the paperwork for the car, drivers license, hes having a discussion with scott about who owns the car and is he buying the car and trying to get information about it. He then goes back to the police car and you would think at that point he is running a record check on mr. Scott, checking if hes got a valid drivers license, information about whether there are outstanding warrants for him. At a certain point, scott just decides hes not going to wait around for slager to return to that car. He just takes off on his own. So at no time do you see slager trying to provoke him or threaten him or act unprofessionally toward him. Everything up til this point is a completely professional traffic stop. Let me get marc morial to react. We do know walter scott was apparently wanted because of Child Support payments he hadnt made some Child Support, i dont know if thats why he decided to flee to run away from that car in the midst of this stop by the Police Officer. But whats your analysis . Well nothing in this video demonstrates that the officers life or the life of another was threatened. The question here is whether the use of force was excessive and maybe this doesnt shed any light on the earlier video we saw, which certainly shows mr. Scott being shot in the back after a chase. Thats the point. The point is and the only question is whether there was an appropriate use of force. Force is appropriate only if the officer or another persons life is threatened. This video raises a question as to why mr. Scott may have run but that is not, i repeat not a justification to shoot a man in the back. You know what i want to do don lemon is joining us as well. Don, bear with me for a moment. What i would like to do is replay critical moments from this tape. Lets see if we can hear what the officer is saying directly to walter scott, who is still inside this vehicle. Remember he was pulled over because of a broken taillight. Obviously the Police Officer then wanted to see his license, registration. Watch this. License. Okay. Lets start with your license. The reason for the stop is your brake lights out. [ inaudible ]. Okay. I dont have [ inaudible ]. Uhhuh. [ inaudible ]. Do you have insurance on the car . No, i dont have insurance on the car. You dont have insurance, you got to have insurance. I havent bought it yet. Im saying im about to do that monday. My cars down. [ inaudible ]. You dont have any paperwork in the glove box . No registration in there, no insurance . He has all that. But youre buying this car . Yes, i am. Did you already buy it . No im about to buy it. A minute ago you told me you bought it. [ inaudible ]. All right. Be right back with you. All right. So there we heard some of the conversation. Clearly walter scott saying he has no drivers license with him, no registration. He says hes purchasing this car, hasnt purchased it yet, but wants to buy it. All of a sudden the Police Officer goes back to his vehicle and then as youll see momentarily, we cued it back up to the top, he then runs away from the vehicle. Don lemon, let me get your analysis of what we just saw. Well its interesting that the night after the officer was charged, i asked the brother and the attorney for the family whose car was it. They told me that it was mr. Scotts car. And so in the video with the officer, in this dash cam you hear him saying its not my car yet, im buying the car, im in the process, my car is gone, i dont have any paperwork, whathave you. Needless to say, he didnt have any of the paperwork but is that a reason to run . I dont think so. What this does it shows what happened before the first video we saw but it doesnt really tell the story of why he ran. I dont know why someone would run if they are in the process of buying a car unless the car is stolen who knows. According to the family the car is not stolen. He was in the process he says of buying the car. Still, is that a reason to run . I dont know. Definitely not a reason to lose your life because it doesnt show what happens in the interim after he leaves the car, between the car and what happens in that field, then when mr. Santanas video starts to roll. Thats the part that we dont know at this point. We could hear some of it. We could hear it. We see the officer come back to the car after the altercation but we dont really see it on videotape. So we have video of the initial stop then we have later the video from the private individual from his cell phone taking the video that all of us have been so so so horrified by but there is obviously a chunk there that we dont see what happened after he ran away. The Police Officer starts running after him. We dont know exactly what happened in between. Joey jackson is with us as well our hln legal analyst. Whats your analysis of what we have just learned . What you are looking for is you are trying to examine the state of mind. What led the officer from this point, you heard mr. Fuentes talk about the issue of it was professional at this point and thereafter it was something that was very unprofessional and then was criminal thereafter. What led to that . What was the state of mind of the officer that so altered it from this stop to the fact that there were eight shots fired . Now if you look initialinitially, its a stop. Everything is okay and he runs. Why did he run . Theres indication there was apparently Child Support warrants out for him and as a result of that he didnt want to go back to jail. But the issue then becomes this is not instructive on why there was the leading to eight shots that were fired thereafter. That is what the concern is. If you look at the interaction, theres not disrespect at least initially there, that we could see from mr. Scott where he talks back to the officer or lets the officer know that the officer should be fearful. Is he swearing at him, is he belligerent, is he in any way rude that would lead the officer to say you know what i must do something here theres something amiss. So the running in and of itself would certainly not justify shots that were fired and certainly wouldnt justify taking a life. That becomes problematic. Let me ask tom fuentes. The fact that he ran away the Police Officer says stay in your car, im going to go check some stuff, going to get on the radio and talk to some folks back at headquarters the fact he runs away what does that say to you . The fact that he runs away is not justification to go after him, wrestle with him and later shoot him in the back. I didnt say that at all. What i said was up to this point, we see no evidence of hostility in either direction. We dont see any disrespect on the part of mr. Scott. We dont see any disrespect on the part of the officer. Its a completely routine traffic stop. All the way up to the point where he jumps out of the car and runs. What does a cop do if you stop someone for whatever reason for violation of failed or broken taillight or speeding whatever you go back to your vehicle to check some information and all of a sudden the driver starts running away. What is the Police Officer in a situation like this supposed to do . What he hasnt verified ownership of the car yet and hasnt verified that warrants are outstanding for mr. Scott. So the first thing the officers going to do in that situation is run after him and try to find out why he ran. Did he steal that car . Are there other warrants . Did he just commit a bank robbery . You dont know those things when you make a traffic stop. So he wasnt gunned down because he ran. He wasnt gunned down for a taillight. But he ran away justified then for the cop to run after him and chase him, which ends up in the wrestling match and the tasing and later the shooting. None of that part i see as being justified in any way. Right. But at this point marc go ahead. To the question of what the officer should have done i would suggest what the officer should have done is gotten on his radio, given a description of mr. Scott and also he could have impounded the vehicle while the vehicles status was determined could have spent his time talking to the other gentleman who was in the car who seems to know something and no one is talking in other words, there were other appropriate steps to be taken. Not to go on a foot chase after a man who obviously had a block lead on you when you had no evidence right, that he had committed any offense. So the smart thing to do is always you have the option call for backup to indicate that a man has fled to offer a description of him, to state the man is not to the best of my knowledge armed, nor is he dangerous and i dont know why hes fled. So there are other steps that i think would have been appropriate other than to give a foot chase. Its not as though this officer witnessed this particular man committing an offense or was trying to execute an arrest warrant or had seen contraband in the vehicle or illegal narcotics or weapons or something of that sort. So judgment is the rule. Common sense is the rule. I think that i doubt if this was the best thing to do or the appropriate thing to do which was to give a foot chase based on the information. Let me have tom fuentes respond to that. I think it is acceptable. 100 of Police Officers if somebody runs away in that situation, are going to run after them. Why is he running from that car . There have been situations where officers later learned yeah the car was stolen could be a body in the trunk, cohave just committed a bank robbery. The person just doesnt jump out of a car and run away at full speed without reason. A Police Officer is going to want to know that reason and verify that hes not a threat. Hold on for a second. There you see him, i want to cue this up because at one point, walter scott opens the door after the Police Officer, Michael Slager goes back to his police vehicle. There you see hes opening the door. The Police Officer cries out get back in your car. He gets back in the car. The Police Officers doing what hes doing in his vehicle. The police vehicle. Then all of a sudden the door is going to open again and all of a sudden we will see walter scott start running away. Thats within a matter of seconds. There is another passenger in that mercedes with the broken taillight. There is another person inside there. You see him running away right there. Then Michael Slager the Police Officer gives chase, starts running right after him. We dont know what happened in between. Theres no video. But then of course we do have the video, the horrible video of the actual shooting. So thats that. Don lemon, go ahead. What do we know about the passenger in that vehicle . What do you know about him . We dont know much about him. What i want to say is i want to say this. It is important what happened or mindset as joey jackson said. But as we have learned in many different cases, in the garner case in the Trayvon Martin case whats important is what happens in the moments that the officer is in contact with the person what led to the death in those moments and in the moments that we see now, that we see from mr. Santanas video, thats whats important. We are going to analyze this overanalyze it everybody is going to talk about it. Who knows why he ran, maybe he had something in the car, i dont know. I dont know what happened. But from every Law Enforcement person that i am hearing from from tom fuentes, im sure tom will agree with this what is important here is what happened in the videotape in the moments that led to mr. Scotts death, in those very moments. Fair point. So this is all very interesting and to find out exactly as to mindset but the important part is what we saw on videotape. Let me let joey jackson weigh n go ahead. I absolutely agree with that. For the following reason. Obviously we want to know what happened from start to finish. So you want to assess the state of mind initially. But then when you get to the actual incident to which don lemon is referring, which is absolutely right you are looking at three things. You are looking at number one was there an imminent fear the officer had at the time before he shot and killed him. If you look at that portion, the videotape here we are looking at but the other tape we have seen before it appears as though the threat alleged threat mr. Scott is running away. So wheres the imminence of that threat . Number two, the second thing youre looking for is how proportionate is your response to that threat. Are you going to fire eight shots because youre in danger . Again, if you have someone, mr. Scott running away, 10 15 20 feet then the proportionality of the threat to your shots, it seems grossly disproportionate. The final thing is the reasonableness of the overall conduct. If its unreasonable then you have a problem. So therefore, we can in fact look at this video and analyze it to assess what happened initially and what was the officers state of mind based upon him running. But what is critical absolutely as don lemon refers to is what happened why were those shots discharged and by all indications, when you look at that video, those three elements imminence of the threat the disproportionality of eight shots fired and the unreasonableness of the conduct, is where this case is going to ultimately be prosecuted on for murder. Marc morial the fact that the Police Officer, Michael Slager decided to pull over walter scott to begin with because of a broken taillight, if you will thats appropriate, right . You have any problem with that . You have probable cause in those instances to do that. But i think based on this conversation from all of us this tape this dashboard cam, does not shed any light on the question as to whether or not force was excessive or appropriate and whether mr. Scott should have been shot in the back. I still believe very strongly that this was an inappropriate shooting a criminal act, an unnecessary and excessive use of force under the circumstances and perhaps all this tells us is that mr. Scott ran. It also tells us that maybe he didnt have appropriate papers in the car. But none of that is a justification for what in fact happened. So this may not be a piece of evidence that has a Large Bearing or a lot of weight. I also want to hear the enhanced microphone the recording from this dashboard camera. I think that would make a difference if you could enhance the audio, if we could hear it better what happened from the time we see him running and then pick up from where mr. Santana shot his video. And that other witness. We need someones got to speak to the other gentleman who is in the car. Right. Thats one of the mysteries, tom fuentes, right now. Who is the passenger, what did the passenger see, what did the passenger know. Presumably the police have questioned that passenger. We would think so. If that person didnt run away before the backup officers got there, we dont know. But two other things. Yes, we are talking on the other videos about the shooting and whether its justified. No one has said none of my Police Colleagues have said the shooting appeared to be justified. But if you want this particular stop in this video analyzed thats what were analyzing. Dont say it doesnt matter. If it doesnt matter dont show it and talk about it. Secondly i disagree where we constantly bring up Trayvon Martin. He was not shot by a Police Officer. Why dont we stop bringing him up into these police conversations. The reason i brought it up is not because everyone knows he wasnt shot by a Police Officer. Thats common sense. I dont know that everyone knows that, don. I think [ speaking simultaneously ] hold on. One at a time. The reason i brought it up is because in the trial that i covered a lot from the very beginning, the entire story, is that it didnt matter what happened before the confrontation. The crux of the case and mark omara can tell you this, the crux of the case it boiled down to what happened in those moments before Trayvon Martin was killed that we did not see. So im just using that comparison to this. What this will boil down to as joey has said are the moments of the confrontation and just before this man is shot to death. The Community Activist is here with me in washington. You have had a chance to take a look at what led up to the incident. This is the dash cam video for viewers who may just be tuning in for the first time dash cam video of the Police Officers vehicle, walter scott. He pulls over excuse me Michael Slager pulls over walter scott for a broken taillight. Apparently there were three broken taillights in that vehicle. He questions him, theres no drivers license, no registration. He goes back to the vehicle, the third light was out as we hear him say. He goes back to his vehicle, then all of a sudden walter scott, who is now dead of course gets out of the vehicle. The Police Officer screams out get back in the vehicle. He gets back in the vehicle but a few seconds later, gets out and starts running away and the Police Officer Michael Slager starts running after him. Thats what led up to the horrible videotape that all of us have seen now taken by that private citizen. Right. Heres what is greatly concerning to me when i saw the video. Which video . Saw the dash camera footage. The video we are showing now . Yes, what you are showing right now. Whats greatly concerning to me deals with the greater issue of africanamericans, especially africanamerican males, in fear for their lives whenever they are around Law Enforcement. Because the statistics of what it is we see within our communities, oftentimes when africanamericans get pulled over i have been pulled over there have been a number of times where i have feared for my life because to be quite honest with you, you dont know what is going to happen. In this particular case what we heard from the Police Officer was totally appropriate. Pulls over looks like the taillights are broken asks for the drivers license, asks for the registration he goes back to his vehicle. Its not as if he was threatening, saying anything using bad words or anything like that. Right. Yes. He did run and that was probably not the best action to take. The Police Officer stops you, you dont run away. Exactly. You stay in your car. The cop says stay in your vehicle, you stay in the vehicle. Exactly. But heres my issue. The fact he was shot in the back main times when hes fleeing. Thats outrageous. Even if the guy did run away even if he wasnt paying Child Support, even if he didnt have a drivers license, even if he didnt have his car registration thats no justification for being dead for someone, a Police Officer shooting and killing you. Right, tom . Right. But another issue here dont forget theres a civil rights investigation going on. Its important whether this officer from the beginning of the incident is showing racial hostility towards mr. Scott. You see no evidence of that. No. If he did, it would matter. But what im saying is up to this point he has been completely professional. Yes, he guns him down later and we are all in agreement that it does not appear to be a justified shooting. No kidding. But at this point let me ask marc morial do you see any evidence of racial profiling or anything untoward that the Police Officer did to walter scott, at least in the initial decision to pull him over . I dont immediately see anything, wolf. I think the issue really is and this is the question right . I dont know if we can see on the dash cam whether the taillight quote is out. Right . There is still an issue as to whether if the taillight was out, the stop is appropriate. If the taillight was not out, then it could be a pattern of profiling. I would like to know more about the North Charleston Police Department and its history and its record on stops, on arrests on all of the issues here. If we are going to have a discussion i would say based on what i see, i dont see it but i want to know more. I think the public deserves to know more. I think thats a fair point. I also think its important, the conversation they were having about running, listen no one wants to blame this gentleman for this man for his death. But i think you are both right. You dont run. Im saying this just so peoples lives can be saved. It never works out when you run from a Police Officer. It never works out when you run from a Police Officer. Again, i feel horrible for this family but this should be an example to everyone out there, white, black, chartreuse yellow pink no matter the race if a Police Officer stops you, you should probably comply even if you dont like it even if you think you were falsely stopped or stopped for unnecessary reasons. But again, that doesnt justify what happened to this man but i think that conversation that you and john gaskin were having a moment ago, i think that is a very important conversation to have. In the current climate. Let me ask joey jackson, based on what we have seen and heard now from the dash cam video, assuming that the taillight was broken and that was the excuse the reason the cop gave for pulling over Walter Scotts vehicle, do you see anything wrong with the way the Police Officer behaved at least according to this dash cam video before walter scott got out and as you see him right there running away . Not based upon what were seeing. Obviously Police Officers have a job to do. If there are taillights out or brake lights out, if youre not in compliance with the vehicle and traffic law, that certainly gives the officer a basis to stop and pull over. So therefore you know what based upon that you could say the officers doing their job. I think its important to point out that the federal government investigating this they are going to do two things. Number one, they are going to investigate the specifics of Walter Scotts death. Was there in their investigation, they are going to look to determine, was there a willful deprivation of a civil right here. Was it intentional, was it malicious. Now, this doesnt show the video we are evaluating does not show that but certainly you can make the argument the video we are not seeing that we have talked about plenty of times, does. The second thing the federal government is going to look to is the issue of pattern and practice. They are going to look at this Police Department as a whole. Who do they stop. Why do they stop them. Whats the basis. How many tickets have been issued. Who are those tickets being issued to. So that will factor into their analysis. Finally, they are going to look at mr. Slager in particular. Who is he stopping why is he stopping them who is he summoning, how many summons has he issued in the past and who are they going to. All that will form the basis of the information we need to assess further what his state of mind was, because this video in and of itself does not show that. Tom fuentes, you used to be a street cop. Go ahead. Rewind this videotape. You will see as scott applies the brakes a bright white light on the left rear taillight which would indicate that the red lens is cracked or out. That white light should only be on, you should only see white when a car is backing up in reverse. So the fact that here watch this here. When he stops, you will see a bright white light, right there. See that light . The left taillight . That means that lens is cracked and out. Thats a violation. Is that normally enough cause for a Police Officer to stop a vehicle, because their rear taillight is broken . Maybe not now. But hes saying on both sides hes got problems. Tell you what i made hundreds of these stops when i was a cop as a courtesy to tell the person you may not know this you know when your headlights arent working right because you cant see in the dark but you may not know it sir, but your taillight is out, you should get it fixed as a courtesy. Nowadays you shouldnt be doing courtesy stops anymore because they might turn ugly. The other reason sometimes we have heard this in other communities, i dont know about North Charleston but we heard that sometimes the police are under orders they need the revenue for the community and they do these kinds of incidents to give somebody a ticket a fine to collect additional revenue. Thats why its critical that the d. O. J. Take a look into their patterns and practices. Because this reminds me so much of so many everyday citizens right in the city of ferguson take are stopped for little petty things. Taillights out, seat belts, et cetera and it turns into an opportunity to harass people within the community and take things to an entire new level. Marc, go ahead and react to all of that. Look i think what im curious about at this point is the status of the vehicle. Certainly who owned the vehicle, what the status of the vehicle was at the time. And also who that additional person was in the vehicle. I think that this ought to be a complete effort to get all of the facts and all of the circumstances and to continue to look for witnesses. Because look in the last 24 hours, another woman has come forward and indicated she saw part of what occurred, not all of what occurred so we can still piece this together. But none of this bears on the essence of what happened when mr. Scott was shot. Weve got to keep that in mind. But im always torn do the officers have a right to stop when a tail light is out . Certainly. But as your other guests indicated, a lot of times its a pretext for writing tickets, for meeting quotas for harassing people about other things. Youve got to keep that in mind that theres a quote, what you can do and theres quote, what really happens when it gets done. Tom fuentes . Thats true. It could be a pretext. You could have that. Its going to be important to see what officer slagers record is in terms of that what the departments record. I agree with all of that. But in this case all i have said is up until this point we dont see hostility, particularly racial hostility on the part of the officer. That comes later, he guns down mr. Scott. We know that. But im just saying up until now we dont see the evidence of that. You agree, john gaskin Community Activist you have watched these situations unfold that it was inappropriate for him to simply start running away the cop says stay in your car, he should have stayed in the car. I agree. As we learned with ferguson we have so many people within the community that have not been taught how to interact with Law Enforcement, especially when you are in black and brown communities. There is an entire new level of scrutiny that you take on when you are of color. But yes, there does need to be more education within our communities on how you interact with Law Enforcement. What is common what is practical when you are pulled over on the side of the street what you should be doing. Clearly he didnt have the registration for the vehicle i dont know if he had insurance for the vehicle, i dont know if he even had a drivers license at that point. But let me bring in don lemon into this conversation. Its really i dont know what adjective to put it but these two men here at the center of all of this i know you are familiar with this walter scott, the 50yearold individual who was shot and killed by Michael Slager the 33yearold cop, they are both veterans of the United States coast guard. We have pictures of both of them when they served in the United States coast guard. They are living there in a small area, North Charleston, South Carolina. I dont know if they knew each other. I dont know if they had any coast guard conversations. Doesnt sound like that based on the conversation they have when Michael Slager the cop, pulls him over but you know its ironic or maybe just purely coincidental that both of these men served in the u. S. Coast guard. Yeah. Both of them are american heroes when it comes to that respect, serving this country. But this is two worlds colliding. Its people who may have come from the same town but they live in totally separate worlds. That is the issue, one of the main issues that we are dealing with. It has often been said that the third rail of politics of political discussion is race. I think the third rail of American Culture is race. I think that it electrifies our society. I think that many people go to their own corners, they go to work every single day, they hang out with the people who look like them the people who come from their own community, and they never get to know any other people. And every single day, i see those worlds colliding here in new york city on the subway which is a great equalizer. You dont have that throughout American Culture. I think thats what youre seeing playing out partially in this entire story. John gaskin i applaud for what youre saying. Many people of color and in certain communities dont know how to interact with police arent taught how to interact with police. Yes, there is a way to interact with police. Someone like john gaskin or someone like me or whoever is on this panel, you can be called a sellout or a whatever because if a Police Officer stops you, if you have done nothing wrong, if you have done everything wrong, dont fight back. Dont run away. There are things that you need to do in this particular climate to stay alive. It doesnt mean that doesnt guarantee your chances 100 that you will stay alive but your chances are better to fight it on the other side instead of fighting it right there with someone who is armed with a gun and has all the power in the world. Once again, lets remember this is a veteran of the United States coast guard so he dealt with people who are in authority, he had to obey orders. Hes got an experience there serving for several years in the u. S. Coast guard. It wasnt just some young kid who has never dealt with police never dealt with authority. This is a guy who actually served in the coast guard. Let me ask marc morial to weigh in on that last point don lemon just made. Stay in the car, dont run away. Go ahead. You are a former mayor of new orleans. You ran a Police Department in new orleans. The things that we used to see, street law classes in high schools, efforts to help young people understand not only their rights but their responsibilities in terms of interaction with Law Enforcement, building Law Enforcement building relationships with communities so that ones fear doesnt arise when they have an interaction with an officer. Some people report to me that the minute they see the police, they hyperventilate they get nervous and selfconscious. That is a reality also. So this is a larger issue and i think youre right why he ran, he should not obviously have run. But lets find out from this other witness what was going on what may have happened what were there any other circumstances that we need to be absolutely sure of before we make final judgments on that point. A lot of viewers are just tuning in right now. I want everyone to stand by. I want to queue up the video. This is the dash cam video released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement division s. L. E. D. As its called. This is the dash cam video from the Police Officers vehicle, Michael Slager as he pulled over walter scott, ostensibly for a broken taillight. You will hear the conversation between these two individuals. Then you will see walter scott run away. At the very end, listen closely because all of a sudden theres additional sound we will hear from scanner audio. I want to listen carefully to what is being said at the end of this dash cam video. Lets play it from the top. You have your license, registration and insurance card . [ inaudible ]. Whats that . [ inaudible ]. Okay. Lets start with your license. The reason for the stop is your brakelights out. [ inaudible ]. Okay. [ inaudible ]. Uhhuh. [ inaudible ]. You have insurance on the car . No i dont have insurance. You dont have insurance and you bought it you have to have insurance. I havent bought it yet. I thought you bought it. My cars down. [ inaudible ]. You dont have any paperwork in the glove box . No registration in there, no insurance . He has all that. Okay. But youre buying this car . Yes. Did you already buy it . Not yet. A minute ago you told me that you bought it. Im sorry about that. [ inaudible ] all right. Be right back with you. Carolina Law Enforcement division the dash cam video from Michael Slagers vehicle as he pulled over walter scott for a broken taillight there. Went over and started asking for his drivers license, registration insurance. They went through that exchange. Then he eventually runs away from the vehicle and the Police Officer, Michael Slager, runs after him. We heard him say, put your hands up stop running. The entire time the passenger remains in the front seat and doesnt move during the course of the entire dash cam video. We dont think so. We cant quite see. I would see the head moving throughout the video. All right. So hes not going anywhere. But once mr. Scott runs and the officer runs after him, from that point on we dont know whether he did leave at that point or just waited in that car for other Police Officers to arrive and just thought, i dont want to get in trouble, im not going anywhere. That part we dont know once the foot chase started. Mark it sounded at the end when walter scott was running, Michael Slager was running after him, the Police Officer. We heard him Say Something like taser, taser. Obviously, the stun gun, if you will. Taser, did you make that out . I couldnt make it out. It seemed as though there were some other statements being made but i could not make out we need to get this video enhanced get the audio enhanced slow it down so that we can better hear the entire colloquy and the entire conversation. One thing i notice though it looks like he may have given the officer his license, number one. And the first time i saw the video, i didnt catch that. The second thing is its the taillight being out or is it the brake light not working . This is daytime. There would have never been headlights or taillights on. The only time the brake light would come on is if you press the brake or turn on the turn indicator. I make that out since were discussing nuances in terms of whether the stop was appropriate. There is remaining questions. If you have that lens out and when the driver applies brakes and it show a white light, a car following will think the car is in reverse. If one thing if it doesnt on. Its another thing to have a white light because you dont have the red cover. Its dangerous. A car is what you are saying is the Police Officer is justified . He is justified. Quickly. I want to take a quick break. Anything in the dash cam video that could help a Legal Defense case for the Police Officer . As you know he is being charged with murder. The simple answer is no. What im concerned about are the limitations of this video. Going towards the end of the video, i was listening closely to hear if i heard the shots. And i did not hear any shots go off or any popping in that video. So thats a limitation i was looking for in terms of the proximity to the shooting to when he was actually stopped. That was important. The second thing is i was looking for any physical interaction. We dont see, absent the interaction in terms your license, registration insurance, whether there was any scuffle. Didnt see it here. Potentially it happened. Maybe other video will surface. The command that you were talking about, that was taser, taser, now there would seem to be some indication of some command then. But i was curious its curious because there was no indication in the other video before he was shot in terms of stop stop dont go anywhere. That was of concern, too. Nothing in this video as of now that i see as a defense attorney that i would say, oh boy, this is what we need. This assists us. Its not there. Everyone stand by. I want to take a commercial break. We will resume our special coverage right after this. Hey, girl. Is it crazy that your soccer trophy is talking to you right now . It kinda is. Its as crazy as you not rolling over your old 401k. Cue the horns. Just harness the confidence it took you to win me and call td ameritrades rollover consultants. Theyll help with the hassle by guiding you through the whole process step by step. And theyll even call your old provider. Its easy. Even she could do it. Whatever, janet. For all the confidence you need td ameritrade. You got this. [ laughing ] want to play hide and seek . Yeah 1. 2. 6. 10 [ female announcer ] pina colada yoplait. It is so good when you need a little escape. [ mom ] still counting. Happening now, breaking news. Dash cam evidence. Just released video shows the traffic stop that led to a deadly shooting by a Police Officer in South Carolina. Why did the suspect run from his car . I will ask the lawyers for his family. I will get their take on this just released video. They are standing by to join us live. Witness speaks out. Stand by for our new interview with a woman who says she saw a tussle unfold before the fatal shots were fired. We want to welcome our viewers in the United States and around the world. Im wolf blitzer. You are in the situation room. The breaking news tonight, new video released from the lead up to a deadly shooting by a Police Officer. It shows the initial traffic stop when the driver fled. So what happened next . We have an exclusive interview with a witness who says she saw a tussle unfold before the fatal shots were fired. This hour were breaking down all the evidence in the case that is stirring outrage across the nation around the world. We are getting first reaction to the dash cam video from the lawyers for the victims family. They are standing by live along with our correspondents and analysts. First lets go to Jason Carroll joining us from North Charleston with more on the breaking story. First, i want our viewers who may be tuning in to watch the dash cam video play out in real time. Watch this. E ] the reason store the stop is your brake light is out. Okay. I dont have [ inaudible ] do you have insurance on the car . No. If you dont have insurance since you bought it i havent bought it yet. Im about to do it monday. Oh okay. My car is down. Okay. Fine. Let me have your drivers license. You dont have any paperwork in the glove box . No registration no insurance. He has all that. Okay. You are buying this car . Yes, sir. Did you already buy it . Not yet. A minute ago you told me you bought it. Im sorry about that. Okay. All right. Ill be right back with you. Ideo that has been released a little while ago by the South Carolina Law Enforcement division which is in charge now of of this investigation after local authorities in North Charleston South Carolina the police and mayor decided the investigation would be better handled by the state. Jason carroll is with us. You can hear the words, taser, taser, taser, at the very end of that video thats just been released. For our viewers not familiar with the background tell us the Decision Making why this video was released a little while ago, why they made this public. Reporter full disclosure. Thats the basic answer to that one, wolf. The investigators wanted to make sure they were putting all of the evidence that they had in terms of video out there for the public to see, given the important nature of the case and given how sensitive the community is to what happened here. That was part of the Decision Making process. In terms of why it took this long when i spoke to one of the investigators a little earlier, basically they have six dash cam tapes. They were basically deciding do we release all of them do we release the ones most important . Officers racing through the streets and doesnt show anything pertinent to what happened here. The decision was made to release three. One that you see here from officer slagers car. Another one from officer habershams dash cam. You remember him. He was the first backup officer that arrived athe scene and also a third officer. Clearly, the most important dash cam video comes from officer slager. You can see there what happens there in the tape when he pulls scott over and what investigators are going to be keying in on is not only what happened in the few minutes after the stop but what happened in the moments right after he was stopped. I want you to listen to once again the exchange that the two of them had at the car there. The reason for the stop is your brake light is out. [ inaudible ] okay. I dont have i just got the car from my neighbor. Do you have insurance on the car . No i dont have insurance. If you dont have insurance on your car since you bought i havent bought it yet. Im about do that monday. You told me you bought it. Oh, okay. Shortly thereafter you see on the dash cam tape that it the officer, officer slager gets back inside his car. And you see scott try to get out of his car. He is instructed to get back inside his car. Scott does get back inside his car. And then at a certain point, he makes a run for it. Again, six dash cam videos that investigators have in their possession. None of them show the shooting. None of them show the altercation that scott and slager had before the shooting. Investigators still believe that this is a key piece of evidence the slager dash cam video, because it does show what happened in the moments immediately after scott was shot. A final thought here wolf that has to do with questions being asked about the investigation. Some asking why scott decided to run. Thats not what scotts family and those who support him are asking. They say its not a question of why scott decided to run. The question is why slager decided to shoot. Wolf . Jason, i want you to stand by. We have a lot more on this dash cam video thats just been release released. We will go through it frame by frame. Theres other critically Important Information were learning today. A new witness account to the Shocking Police shooting that video that was released the other day by a private individual. A woman who saw the moments leading up is now speaking out for first time and revealing what happened. Shes revealing it exclusively to cnn. She spoke to our ounwn brian todd. Tell our viewers what you learned. Reporter this is an exclusive new account from a witness who is just now coming forward. She says she has not yet spoken to police. This woman says she witnessed part of this confrontation. The video of Walter Scotts shooting not only shows the end of his life it shows the end of a confrontation that began hundreds of yards away. We heard the police siren. Reporter in an exclusive interview, this woman tells she saw thousand began. She was in the neighborhood when she heard the police cars. Curious, she followed them to the parking lot where officer Michael Slager pulled walter scott over. At that point, she says there was chaos. She didnt want to get any closer. She says she saw the two men at the entrance to a vacant lot less than a block away. I didnt hear mr. Slager saying stop or halt. Reporter she says thats when she saw a physical confrontation. Before what you saw on the video, there was a little tussle over there like at the end of that gate down there. Reporter were they on the ground . No, it wasnt on the ground. It was like a tussle type of thing. You know like what do you want or what did i do type of thing. Reporter she has yet to speak with police. Tonight, despite the Video Evidence experts say some key questions still remain unanswered. Among them why would walter scott have exited his vehicle during a routine traffic stop . Its not unusual to get oust vehicle, to get their wallet out, to get their license. Sometimes they do it for safety reasons. Person gets out of the car. You see they dont have a firearm. You see theyre not threatening. Reporter why would scott have run . The man who recorded the video told nbc of one possibility. Before the video i saw that he was trying to get away from the taser. His reaction was just, you know to get away of the taser. Reporter the confrontation ended up a long way from where it started more than two football fields. It appears san ss santana was the only bystander in the area. This is a spot where santana started filming. Had he not done that we might never have found out what happened. This woman says her son had a runin with the police after a routine traffic stop. She says she was overwhelmed when she heard the gunshots that killed walter scott. I started to cry. Sorry. I started to cry because i thought about the altercation with my son, and it could have been my son. It could have been any one of these young black young men around here. Reporter she believes there are still a lot of gf Police Officers in North Charleston but she says she thinks its time for them to do more community policing. We have to say, wolf tonight also there is another important witness in this entire thing. A passenger who was in Walter Scotts car, according to the Police Report. We have not heard his account. Have they identified him . Do we know his name . Reporter i dont believe we do know his name. He was in the car. He was left there when scott took off. He was left behind when officer slager took off after him. But we do not know his name. We have not heard anything from him. I believe he was taken into custody at least at one point. You Better Believe he is a focal point of the investigation. He is the one witness left who really could probably tell us why walter scott took off running. Took off running from the vehicle, then later took off running as we all saw in the other video. Brian todd good reporting. Thanks very much. Lets bring in the lawyers for the family of the shooting victim. They are joining us from North Charleston. First of all, i want to get your thoughts on how the family is doing. Earlier today we know one member of the family just as this person was about to go on television and talk about what was going on fell ill. What do we know about that . I will ask you, chris, first. Yes. That was one of the brothers. Its just the stress of all of this and talking about their brother is affecting them dealing with all of the stress of the media and just the outside world, just is getting to the family. Is he okay the brother . He is okay. He is okay. This is a very Strong Family a very Strong Family. Well thats good to know. Lets talk a little bit about this video, the dash cam video that has just been released. I assume you have seen it now, right . I have not been able to sit down and watch it as closely as i would like to for the first time. But i am aware of whats in the video. Do you know why walter scott would, you know he get out of the vehicle and run away . The Police Officer says stay in the car and he started to run away. Do you have any idea why he would do that . I go back to what i still originally think in that is with regard to the Child Support and a fear of maybe going back to prison after the stop. But one thing that i want to stress that i think is very important is that this dash cam footage does not change the fact that at the moment the officer shot and killed mr. Scott, that shooting was completely unjustified. And that is the key point of both the criminal investigation and the civil lawsuit that will be filed later. Who was the only passenger inside that vehicle, inside that mercedes with the broken taillight . It was a coworker who was a direct friend of walters. The family didnt know him. Were searching for him. We have people looking for him. A lot of people are looking for him. I can be honest. Thats not even really the most important thing. Who was in the car doesnt really have impact on what happened later. We actually want to know why wasnt cpr performed by any of the officers more than who was in the car. Those are excellent questions, obviously. Were trying to understand a little bit a little more about walter scott. When you say he served time in prison what did he serve time for . I said prison jail. I believe it may have been with regards to child custody. Im not 100 sure with regards to that. But i know that it had anything to do with anything violent. He was not a dangerous person. Do you know any of the answers to that Chris Stewart . We cant hear you. I said do you know the answer what he was serving time for, why he was in jail . He had previously been arrested for outstanding Child Support warrants issued by the court. He had one incident i believe in 87 an arrest. For the past 20 years, it has just been Child Support issues. Le servehe had served in the coast guard, right . He was honorably discharged from the coast guard. I want to make one thing clear, even looking at the dash cam video who we have recently just looked at. We have been meeting with the family. They met with the witness for the first time. He met the mother today for the very first time. We looked at the video. Wolf just looking at it he even looked like an older man getting out of the car and running away. That even further pushes the fact that that cop shouldnt have run after him and shoot at him. Walter scott was 50 years old. Michael slager the Police Officer, 33 years old. Mr. Bamberg, the family they are distraught. Have they seen this dash cam video . Not to my knowledge, sir, they have not. Because i assume it would be very painful to see walter scott in those final few moments before he eventually runs away and he is shot and killed by Michael Slager. Do you know if the family has actually watched this dash cam video that has been released by the South Carolina Law Enforcement division . We literally were meeting with the witness who just met the mom and the dad in person for the first time hugged them and talked for a while at the same time that this was released. We took a quick look at it before talking to you. But nobody in the family has seen it because theyre all inside meeting with the witness in person. When you say the witness, you mean the individual who shot the video that is so awful, the individual that we actually see the Police Officer shooting mr. Scott several times in the back as he is fleeing . Yes. He met the mother for first time in person just now. Were you inside when that happened . Yes. Give us a little sense of how that went down. I will ask you, mr. Stewart. It was beautiful. I mean beautiful. They just hugged. And prayed. It was just beautiful. Mr. Bamberg, remind us what happened. This occurred on saturday right . Yes, sir, on saturday. And obviously, you heard that walter scott was dead he was shot. What did they tell you at the time . What did who tell me . The Law Enforcement, the police. At which point in time . When you first learned i dont know when you were brought into this case. But when he obviously was shot and killed on saturday. At some point somebody had to notify the family the scott family that walter scott is dead. I was wondering what the police said how he died. Yes, sir. I was not there at the time. So i do not i cannot answer that question. Mr. Stewart, do you know . Yeah. The incident happened saturday. I was brought in sunday. So they had already informed the family. Actually the family was informed from i think a friend who was in the area that said something had happened and thats where they found out about the incident. I want both of you, the scott family attorneys, i would like you to stand by. We have just received an extended version, a longer version of this dash cam video that the South Carolina Law Enforcement division has just released. Theres more information in this new video. 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And natural gas is a big part of that commitment. Welcome back. Were following breaking news out of North Charleston South Carolina the South Carolina Law Enforcement division has just released more dash cam video showing the lead up to what that ugly situation that occurred when a Police Officer, Michael Slager shot and killed walter scott as he was running away. Were going to show you more of this video in a moment. Weve got an extensive panel of experts ready to react, including the attorneys for Walter Scotts family. They are standing by. Theyre going to watch the new video as well. I want to bring in the president of the South Carolina naacp. Have you seen the South Carolina Law Enforcement division video, the dash cam video that has been released . We have more we are about to show our viewers. I want your reaction to what we saw when we saw walter scott actually get out of the vehicle, the Police Officer ordered him to stay inside get out and then he starts running away. I want to get your thoughts on what we saw from the dash cam video. I saw the first part of the video that was aired on your program just moments ago. Go ahead. Okay. I saw the first part of the video that was aired on your program, and that is the only one of the videos released by sled that i have witnessed. I heard your commentary on the other video. I hope to view those so that i can make have a conversation about all of it piecing it all together putting it all together to better understand what happened. I think thats fair enough. Were going to show more video momentarily. The president of the National Urban league is with us as well. Marc you had an opportunity to digest what we have seen the new video, the dash cam video. We have a lot of viewers out there who are anxious to get your thoughts. Go ahead. I think the dash cam video is Important Information. What we know is it appears as though the officer had probable cause to stop the vehicle. We also see the officer approaching in an appropriate way. We see mr. Scott giving the officer his license but saying he did not have the other papers because he was in the process of purchasing the car. We see the officer returning to his own vehicle. And then mr. Scott looks like he wants to get out of the car once but then gets back into the car. And then gets out of the car and begins to run. So this is important in terms of piecing everything together. But nothing in this video bears on the question as to whether or not Excessive Force was used and whether there was justification to shoot mr. Scott in his back. So as to that question i would say to you, this video does not shed any new light. I think the testimony or if you will the other witness who came forward to cnn may have offered more pertinent information, because she suggested there was a tussle or a struggle between mr. Scott and the officer at some point or an argument at some point before in fact the chase that we saw and the shooting took place. But even that even that i would suggest, wolf doesnt suggest that there was any reason for mr. Scott to be shot in his back. After all, this began as a traffic stop. The other thing i would say this is an important question. That is whether the officer exercised the best judgement in chasing mr. Scott. After all, by chasing mr. Scott, he allowed this car with another person to remain there unattended. What would have occurred if that person would have just slipped into the drivers seat and drove that car away . So i wonder i dont wonder. I question whether the appropriate and best Police Response was to chase mr. Scott on foot or whether the response would have been to call for backup radio a description of mr. Scott, indicate that he was in flight and see if he could get reinforcements to assist you with this situation. Lots of questions. I think its important discussion about police tactics. Its not, quote, whether the officer, quote, had a right to chase mr. Scott. Its whether chasing mr. Scott was the appropriate thing to do because his car was there. There was another person in the car. Obviously, the officer must have had a question as to the status of the car given the fact that mr. Scott did not produce a registration or a license. So interesting information, but the essential fact here the essential case as to whether there was justification for the shooting this video may not bear on that. Let me ask tom fuentes i will show more video we have received from the South Carolina Law Enforcement division. React to what we heard. Did the Police Officer in this case the 33yearold Michael Slager did he do the right thing by chasing walter scott as he was running away from that vehicle . I think under his discretion it would have been the right thing. The fact there was a passenger the passenger hadnt done anything wrong. When scott take ofz running, he is doing something wrong. To say he automatically should never have done it and then go and hold in custody someone who wasnt driving the car and wasnt posing at that point any kind of a threat or any resistance thats a judgement call on the officer. I will agree it doesnt show any reason for what later happens in terms of the shooting. We heard from Chris Stewart and justin bamberg, they are looking for the passenger. They would like to talk to the passenger. They cant find the passenger to get a apparently it was a friend. Here is more of the dash cam video as the Police Officer is following now this is on the road there in North Charleston. The Police Officer, Michael Slager this is his dash kachl video, following the car of walter scott. You see he has the blinker. Lets watch this video. N before. Tom fuentes, the video from the road, you see the dash cam following that mercedes, turning the blinker on. The Police Officer decides to pull him over. Was the Police Officer justified in pulling over Walter Scotts vehicle . You see scott brake coming to the intersection. You see two bright white lights on both sides of the rear of the vehicle come on meaning two red lens are gone. The reason its dangerous is a car following this by the way, what were showing, this is more of the video. But this is after walter scott had run away. This is the passenger from the vehicle who came out and in the meantime another Police Officer shows up and takes that passenger out and frisks that passenger. You can see. Lets coup that back up again and lets watch it from the top. This is the passenger who has now emerged from the vehicle. A second Police Officer is there who is questioning the passenger. Lets get that and we will see it from the top. Away from that vehicle. The Police Officer the second Police Officer showed up and did some questioning. We dont know what happened to that passenger afterwards. The attorneys for the scott family tell us they are looking for that passenger as well. Must have been a friend of Walter Scotts from work were told. Tom fuentes, your thoughts on what we saw there . Well it gives reason why maybe the officer chased after scott, because he would have been aware we dont hear the radio dispatch. But he would have been aware how close backup is. If he knew a squad was coming quickly and he goes and pursuing scott on foot he would have been aware that the passenger is going to be covered by another Police Officer shortly. The lawyers for the scott family are back with us Chris Stewart and justin bamberg. I know you had a chance to watch the video. Let me start with you, Chris Stewart. Whats your reaction . Nothing. You know it looked like a potentially proper stop. If so thats fine. You know he did get out of the vehicle and run. As we said he did run because he had outstanding Child Support, which he would have went to jail. And he didnt want to. He ran down the theres an alleyway down that street where this new alleged witness saw what she described as them not on ground whatsoever. She described it as a tussle could have reached for his arm. And then the witness who saw everything picked it up from there and filmed it. Justin bamberg, so you have no doubt the reason walter scott ran away from the vehicle was because he didnt want to go back to jail because of the Child Support issue . He was wanted for failure to pay Child Support, is that right . Yes, sir. Thats why he do you know how long he had served in jail originally for failure to pay Child Support . No, sir, i do not. You just you were watching this with the family is that right, inside the home . Is that right, justin . Yes, sir. I watched it in the home. Can you give us a sense i dont want to interfere in the familys privacy. This must be so painful for them to see the brother, their son dealing with this kind of a situation, the dash cam video, if you will. What can you share with us . I will ask both of you. Chris stewart, you first. You know they actually werent even watching that channel. I hate that i just had to do that to the family. They were watching something funny. And i had to walk in and take the remote and turn the tv to cnn so that they could see it. And it happened to be his mom and dad sitting right there. And they had no clue what we were turning it to. They had to watch that clip of their son running away which in their eyes in my eyes, in this nations eyes, further stren strengthens, why would you shoot an older man that you know you can catch, you know you can tackle you know you can just let get away. Its not even like its a violent crime. But instead, you take eight shots at him. Its sickening. I will add this. It may be painful to watch that. But i can think of absolutely nothing more painful than watching your son, your father or your brother running, posing no risk of serious body harm or death to an officer or anyone else and he is shot at eight times, he is struck four times in the back once in the ear and watching him die on video. Nothing is more painful than that. Tell us Chris Stewart, did you know walter scott before you were you started representing the family in recent days . No. A cousin who lives in atlanta who had seen some of my cases before the east point taser case where a young man was killed by the police with a taser and a couple other cases thought that i needed to speak to the family. She introduced me to them. I drove straight up from atlanta as soon as they called and let me know. What did the parents say, the family when they saw this video on cnn just a few minutes ago when they saw their son running away from that vehicle . Nobody said anything. We had to run back outside to finish talking to you. You dont understand how strong this family is. The catch,no one understands the strength that this family is showing right now. We could show them however many video and tapes we want. They know their brother, son, father. They have seen the tape which val validates everything. We dont care what new witnesses are found, what new transgression happened before the video started. If its not on that video, this family could care less. Justin bamberg, do you have confidence in the way the Law Enforcement division is handling this case . I will say this. Throughout this entire process, sled has kept an open line of communication with us. I think that with a murder charge being brought and the officer being arrested within four days of him gunning down mr. Scott, i believe that is evidence of the work they are doing. And i am hopeful and prayerful that they will continue in their efforts to ensure that justice is done in this case. Chris stewart where does the Legal Process from your perspective go from now on . You need to make sure that you dont make any public statements or let your witness make any public statements until you have all of the facts. Because as you can see, even that goes for a Police Station. Before this video surfaced the Police Station spoke first and made statements that supported the alleged taking of the taser. The cop made statements that his taser was taken. The attorney made the statements. You need to make sure from now on that look at both sides. Dont just take the word of the officer without checking the facts first. Justin bamberg, i assume the family is filing a lawsuit. Right . Oh definitely, yes, sir. Tell us about that. Essentially, we are going to bring suit against the city of North Charleston Police Department against the officer and against every other agent and or agency that contributes to or caused this incident to occur and cause the death of mr. Scott. We anticipate filing a wrongful death action a surviveal action as well as a 1983 claim against the parties that are responsible. A 1983 claim, what does that mean . Its a for violation of his civil rights and liberties. Chris stewart, you want to elaborate, anything else what you are planning on doing . You know this entire process, like i said you know when we found out about the charges being brought against the officer and the family was there and they hugged and there was a prayer said i was happy that the family was happy. But thats just step one. He has to be found guilty. That may have to go to trial. For them to get justice in that area. The civil suit hasnt even been filed. They will have to get justice in that area. That may end up with a jury. The one thing im confident in are the people of South Carolina the people of this city that either of those situations will end up in front of. Because citizens decide cases. Thats where its going to end up. Everybody across this country, across this world knows that this was wrong. Abc news just aired this little clip. I will play it for both of you. Both of you are attorneys. You are representing the scott family. This is from karen sharp. Shes the mother of the Police Officer who has been arrested charged with murdering walter scott. This is karen sharp, the mother speaking out for the first time. Listen to this. I cant imagine him he loved being a Police Officer. I cant imagine him doing something that its just not like him. Thats not his character. But i just have to i just i just have to let it be and hope god takes care of everybody involved involved. Not only my family but the scott family. Because i know they are grieving just like im graving. Chris stewart, your reaction. I mean its honesty. You know this situation isnt just the scott family. This is a tragedy for everybody involved. Its a tragedy for this officer. Its just sad. Its sad all around. Whenever Something Like this happens, its a ripple affect. Of course the immediate family is upset and devastated. But the transgressor the person who caused it they have a family. They are devastated. Its a sad situation whenever things like this happen. I could tell you the scott family is going to be praying for his family and his mother that just spoke, because thats the kind of people they are. You heard them in the interview. They are not holding any grudges. Who says they are not Holding Grudges after seeing that tape that family . Nobody is happy about this. Nopbody is happy. Sad all around. Lets not forget the Police Officer who has been arrested and charged with murdering walter scott his wife eight months pregnant as well. You heard the mayor saying that they were going to provide Health Insurance at least through delivery of that baby even though he has been terminated from the Police Department. He is in jail right now. Your heart, im sure goes out to his family for what is going on. Right . Yes, sir. My heart goes out to each and every person involved whether it be immediately or by a stretch. As chris stated mr. Scotts family was not the only family affected by this. The officers family was affected by this as well as the Law Enforcement family in whole is affected by this. I will continue to pray for the officers family as i have been from day one. This is a very unfortunate incident. This is an incident that could have and should have been avoid avoided. But unfortunately, we deal with the facts at hand. It happened. It must be dealt with. Certainly has. Its a tragedy all, all around. Were going to take another quick break. Were going to resume our special coverage right after this. I bring the gift of the name your price tool to help you find a price that fits your budget. Uhoh. The name your price tool. Shes not to be trusted. Kill her. 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Tell your doctor if youve been to areas where certain fungal infections are common, and if youve had tb hepatitis b, are prone to infections, or have flulike symptoms or sores. Dont start humira if you have an infection. Talk to your doctor and visit humira. Com this is humira at work 234 North Charleston. Youll see the vehicle, that mercedes make a left turn. The blinker goes on hes going to pull in and the Police Officer will get out, walk over to the vehicle, ask a few questions, drivers license, registration insurance, that kind of information. Youve seen this video by now at some point the Police Officer goes back to the police car, but unfortunately walter scott disobeys the Police Officers order to stay in the vehicle and he runs away and the Police Officer chases him. We all know what happens in the end with the other video we have all seen by now. We just heard the attorneys representing the scott family. Give me your reaction. Youre the president of the National Urban league. The painful words not only from the scott family but from the mother of the Police Officer who just spoke out as well. This is an awful tragedy all around. Its a human tragedy. Thats why as a nation we have to fix this problem. Weve got to confront that we have a problem when it comes to Police Community relations in this country. Weve got one family thats got a dead loved one and of course you got another family who is looking at a very long jail term. This is a tragedy. Once again, we see it being played out with video. We can make a judgment as to whats occurred. Wolf, we had a long discussion today about the new dash cam and a lot of discussions about what led up to the killing of mr. Scott. An important set of facts have come out. None of it bear on weather this was excessive use of force, which it was. This man was shot in cold blood. He should not have died. What we didnt discuss, which i think is important is the actions of the other officers in reporting on a Police Report that they witnessed the administration of aid to the dead walter scott and to the dying walter scott. We have got to have an additional discussion about whether not only was there a tragedy but the extent to cover it up. Both of these lawyers for the family certainly talked about the statements that were made by lawyers for the Police Officer by spokespersons for the Police Department prior to this tape coming out. That tape has sheds light. Its braugts the trut out into the open. Thats the most important fact. But for that wed be having another debate of a different course which is weight of opinion would have been to give the officer every discretion because the taser would have been found right at the persons body. All of the officer who is responded who have said there was an effort to administer first aid. None of that was true. Its a human tragedy of immense pro proportions. Its not only ha happens but its the official effort to cover it up. Deeply troubling. I think thats well said indeed. I want you to stand by. With us is loni randolph. We heard from the attorneys representing the scott family. You heard it as well that the reason he may have run away from that vehicle is because he had he was wanted for Child Support. We just received this information from South Carolina there was a bench warrant out for his arrest because walter scott, they say, he owed back Child Support for two children total 18,104 18,104. This according to the Charleston County court documents. He hasnt made payments since july 2012. There was a bench warrant issued against him for failure to pay at the time he was stopped by the Police Officer Michael Slager. The lawyers suggested he may have wanted to run away from the vehicle because he didnt want to go back to jail. Give me your reaction when you hear that kind of information. Well in this situation where a life is actually been taken, its 18,104. 43 worth mr. Walter scotts life . I dont think so. If it was 18 billion, his life should not have been taken as a result of that. This man being shot in the back i said earlier in one of the interviews that i did earlier beyond this there has to be a period of introspection and Law Enforcement not just in South Carolina but Law Enforcement across this country, we should evaluate Law Enforcement. To establish what their policies are, their personnel in every department, who they hire and, of course what is Law Enforcements true purpose. We have not seen or heard that discussion. Until we do so we will continue to have incidents of this nature where persons who may have had trouble with the law, but i cant imagine a person not being a threat being killed as a result of what we have the incident theyre using here. I still dont like the fact that were even having this discussion while were talking about the death of this young man. Let me bring don lemon into this discussion. You told us earlier it was a mistake for walter scott to run away from that vehicle. Yeah. Weve been doing a lot of lecturing to people about how to deal with Law Enforcement. We also need to look at how Law Enforcement deals with the community as well. A lot has been said about that considering whats happening across the country. Also having lived here in new york a long time what the gentleman said before me individually in certain cities we have looked at police we were dealing with that. Its time for reflection for everyone. This doesnt show everyone they need to come together and do something about it i dont know what will. I dont think youre right. Stand by for a moment. Theres another breaking story happening right now. We have a Severe Weather alert. Chad meyers is standing by. A tornado on the ground in iowa. What do we know . Eastern iowa moving over to fulton illinois. We know a tornado has been on the ground creating damage. We saw a tractor trailer rolled over. This is a populated area behind the river. Now were going to move into parts of illinois. There are more storms that could affect chicago late tonight and other big cities. Well keep watching it for you. Thanks very much. Hopefully theres a number of lessons to be learned. One of them has to be if a Police Officer has a legitimate reason to stop somebody and a legitimate reason to arrest somebody, they do need to comply. Im not saying he should not have been shot down. I agree with that. He shouldnt have run away in the first place whether he wants to go to jail or not. He has to comply. He has to be taken into custody. Based on these two separate video, it doesnt look like the Police Officer, this particular case Michael Slager was really in any danger. No. I said he shouldnt have shot him as he did. Im also saying its not up to the person to decide whether he will or will not be arrested. Nothing good comes from that if he decides the Police Officer is not going to take him into custody. You agree . I think the bigger issue is what we have discussed so many times this afternoon and on your show is the relationship with Law Enforcements and black and brown communities. Theres a level of distrust and this incident doesnt help that at all. Its an opportunity for the country to step back and learn from this. Naacp president and everyone else for helping us. Don lemon will be back later tonight, 10 00 p. M. Eastern. A special cnt nrkscnn tonight. Thanks very much for watching. Im wolf blitzer in the situation room. Erin Burnett Outfront starts right now. Tonight, breaking news officials release the crucial dash cam video from the deadly shooting in South Carolina. What caused walter scott to run from officer Michael Slager. The mother of officer slager breaks her silence speaking out moments ago in defense of her son. Breaking news on the iran nuclear deal. Is the deal dead . Lets go outfront