and you have people looking at guns pointed at them, not for a minute, but for day after day and today, and tear gas. this has traumatized the community. i know the folks that have been here for years. their voice gets higher and higher and that's a sign of trauma and that's a sign of counseling that needs to be done. >> i'm jake tapper and now we go to "the situation room." i'll be back in one hour. brianna? >> happening now, a "situation room" special report. >> the united states of america will continue to do what we must do to protect our people. we will be vigilant and we will be relentless. >> the president lashes out with fury vowing justice for an american murdered by isis terrorists. direct threat with isis now targeting americans. the u.s. launches a fresh round of air strikes and considers sending more troops to iraq and visit to ferguson, attorney

general eric holder meets with all sides and gets a firsthand look by a city shattered by violence and protests. wolf blitzer is off. i'm brianna keilar. you are in "the situation room." -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com we're following two breaking stories this hour. america's top law enforcement official is now in ferguson, missouri. attorney general eric holder has meetings with police and the family of slain teen michael brown and he's getting a briefing on the federal investigation into the fatal shooting and president obama vowing to seek justice for an american brutally beheaded by isis terrorists as the u.s. carries a fresh round of air strikes and insurgent targets in iraq and risk sending in more troops. our guests are standing by with full coverage and we begin with cnn pentagon correspondent, barbara starr. give us the latest. >> brianna, a fresh round of u.s. airstrikes against isis positions in iraq. the state department asking for 300 more military troops on the

ground in baghdad for security and the u.s. considering exactly now what threat isis does pose to americans? u.s. and british intelligence experts are scouring every frame of the gruesome video showing the murder of james foley for clues about who killed him. president obama offering condolences and tough words as commander in chief. >> when people harm americans anywhere, we do what's necessary to see that justice is done. before any next steps, intelligence experts have work to do. first, washington and london are analyzing the british accent in the voice of the killer. >> we're very concerned by the apparent fact that the murderer in question is british and we are urgently investigating agencies on both sides of the atlantic and then to see if we can identify the individual in question. >> reporter: does the accent

indicate where he might have come from? are there cell phone intercepts matching the voice? could he once have been held at guantanamo bay? >> experts are looking at the terrain in the video to to see if it matches satellite imagery from iraq or syria? until now, isis has not made attacking the west a major priority and now a direct threat. the killing of james foley said to be retaliation of u.s. airstrikes. the executioner saying in part, any attempt by you, obama, to deny the muslims their right of living in safety under the islamic caliphate will result in the bloodshed of your people. >> the intelligence community worried about what will happen next. >> it's not clear whether the leadership will now pivot towards attacking the west. there are certainly a lot of concern that they could. they have the capability to. >> reporter: the administration

for now not likely to expand military action in iraq and air strikes against isis inside syria are unlikely given syrian air defenses and the lack of intelligence about where isis operatives are precisely located. >> i do think the administration is not likely to change their strategy as a result of this. they're going to be very careful not to have the mission creep so much that we get fully entangled in iraq again. >> u.s. officials readily acknowledge they are studying isis top to bottom. what motivates them, and how prepares they are for their next round of attacks and what their next plans will be, brianna? >> barbara starr at pentagon. isis may have miscalculated. president obama reacted today with barely controlled anger and disgust and he vowed to seek justice. michelle kosinski was in the room when the president spoke.

this was -- you could feel the president even just watching on tv, michelle, emoting here being very heated in his response. >> reporter: absolutely. the words tone were remarkable. yesterday isis sent this ugly message to the u.s. this was the president's response. a strong, condemnation of isis' killing of james foley, of its actions prior, its bankrupt ideology as he put it, calling isis a cancer that needs to be stopped before it it can spread and along those lines making it clear that the u.s. is not letting up in its intense pressure. listen. >> no just god would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. isil has no ideology of any value to human beings. we will be vigilant and we will be relntless and we will continue to confront this hateful terrorism and replace it with a sense of hope.

>> so how clear is it that the u.s. is not backing down as secretary of state john kerry also said today those 14 air strikes just today again in the area of mosul dam, brianna. >> gem foley's parents, what did they say today? >> that was interesting because the president clearly did not want to mention steven sotloff, the time journalist also in isis' hands whose life hangs in the balance and not wanting to answer the demands in this way that could possibly make this situation any worse than it is, but the foley family did mention him by name asking his captors for compassion to spare his life and the lives of others in captivity and they spoke to james foley's character. >> we just pray that jim's death can bring our country together in a stronger way and with the

values that jim held dear. jim would never want us to hate or be bitter and we cannot --? shut that thing off. >> and we are just very proud of jimmy. >> reporter: they've been trying for two years, working with their state senators to rye to get anyone's help to secure james' release. we just heard from the national security council saying that they had used every tool at their disposal to try to find foley, bring him back, that they also tried to gather any information they could, but they didn't want to get into what they called intelligence matters about what threats the administration might have known about or when, brianna. >> michelle, after the president gave his statement today which i think many people felt the tone he struck was real ly right whee it should be, but after doing

that he went golfing. he is on vacation, after all, but is the white house concerned about an optics problem here? >> reporter: so far no word from them directly, but i will say it surprised us also. when president obama left the room, after those powerful words it seemed like the whole room was kind of in that pall, the seriousness of the situation, to the point when president obama leaves and doesn't take any questions and pretty much every journalist yells out a question and everyone had one ready and we talked about this afterward, but no one said a word. it was like his tone put a damper. it didn't seem right to yell anything out and when we heard that he had immediately gone golfing it was just kind of surprising, not that it means anything in the tone or the reaction, but just a surprise especially since what happened early on in the iraq crisis. when i think it was senator john mccain who said that obama was golfing while iraq burned. brianna? >> michelle kosinski there on martha's vineyard.

let's dig deeper now. joining us to talk about this cnn national security analyst peter bergen and former cia special agent in charge is now the senior vice president at the sufan group. to you first, peter. we just learned from the ceo of "global post qwest "which had employed jim foley that the family had been given an email, they'd gotten an email from his captors saying they may kill him and threatening to kill him and we learned from the ceo something that we certainly didn't know publicly before that he said the government had known for some time of foley's whereabouts. so if they knew where he was, assuming they know where steve sotloff is, as well, right? what -- what possibly could be done here in a reaction to this threat against his life? >> well, i think if you pause that statement a little bit they may have known for some period of time, the location of jim

foalet and other prisoners. the prisoners may well have moved, but clearly, once the u.s. government want to find these folks they may have a contingency plan to rescue them and at this moment when the life of the hostages, the three americans is in much graver danger than it was just a week ago the calculous must begin to shift which is do we know who the hostages are, who is holding this emand who is the opposition likely of those being imprisoned and is the operation remotely possible to be successful? these are the questions that must be -- that the white house must be considering right now. >> it's a very complicated situation. robert, one of the things we're looking today and it appears these air strikes come in reaction to what we saw yesterday, just the horrific images of the killing of mr. foley. is it a possibility that the

u.s. and this is a concern of many americans may be drawn into an open-ended conflict in iraq? >> i mean, it's always a possibility. the administration has been quite clear since it sent the advisers and the forces of isis and some of the allies of opportunity were getting too close to erbil where the u.s. consulate was. large numbers of u.s. personnel and civilians and advisers. when you have a situation, for example, like mosul dam which is so important for the infrastructure for iraq and so much of a threat, you can see why quite necessarily that the air campaign would expand to support the forces that take something like the mosul dam back. >> when you look at isis, one of the very scary things is that they have a lot of mono pep they have territory so they have safe haven and there are a number of

western fighters who have european passports, some who have american passports. what is the threat here to the west, to europe u.s.? how operational is isis in terms of being a threat to the west? robert, to you. >> i'm sorry. yes, it's just something that quite simply just cannot be ruled out. research that we've conducted and published within the last month, it is through put of number of foreign fighters in iraq and at least 12,000 and not that number there now, but still a high number, what they're motivated by and what they come home for is just something that's going to be a challenge for security services andal lays for some time to come. if you look at -- it's groups from isis and the inspiration comes from al qaeda, ism.

going back to beginning when al qaeda leaders spoke about what they and the organization said were going to do next, it was in the vacuum and i agree with the previous pivot depending on what the other leadership ofs ais says about where it's going next. ? robert and peter, thank for joining us. >> he gets a first hand look at meeting with community leaders and will holder make a difference? we'll be getting reaction from michael brown's family and the naacp and a top law enforcement official. did you know, your eyes can lose vital nutrients as you age?

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our breaking news amid ongoing protests, it is wheels of justice begin to turn in ferguson, missouri. behind closed doors a grand jury started hearing evidence in the death of 18-year-old michael brown shot by a police officer 11 days ago. missouri's governor is standing by the county prosecutor who is accused of critics, by critics of siding with police and previous cases and the federal government is stepping up its role. attorney general eric holder is in ferguson getting briefed on the justice department's investigation. let's begin with cnn national correspondent jason carroll. he is on the ground in ferguson. what's the latest, jason? >> reporter: brianna, you

mentioned the wheels of justice are turning, but not fast enough for some as demonstrators continue to clash with bless overnight. >> after 12 days of protests in ferguson, attorney general eric holder arrived here today. >> how are you doing, sir? >> you are the man. holder is overseeing a federal investigation into the death of michael brown. he has a team of 40 fbi agents working the case. in the meantime the state's own investigation continues. a grand jury convened today to begin hearing evidence police say officer darren wilson shot michael brown in self-defense after brown grabbed for the policeman's gun. new video has emerged where an eyewitness could be heard reacting to what he saw. >> the next thing i know he's missing, started running and kept coming towards police. >> brown did not rush toward police. >> he felt the bullet graze his arm and he turned around and was

shot multiple times. >> robert mccullough say he may be biassed in favor of law enforcement. mccullough's father was killed while working as a cop and his mother was a police clerk. he wanted to be a police officer himself, but lost one of his legs due to cancer. mccullough is holding firm. >> i have no intention from walking away from the responsibilities, the duties that have been entrusted to me by the people of this entire community, and i understand that there are some that they don't think i'm suited for this case. what i'm trying to convey to them is i've got that responsibility. i'm not walking away from it. >> police and protesters continue to clash, nearly 50 people arrested overnight. though the demonstrations were mostly peaceful. captain ron johnson says a turninging point has been reached. >> i think our community is turning against the criminals that are trying to project this community in a bad light.

>> local residents are hoping to an end to the violence. deborah jones lives about a block from the demonstrations and she sits in fear as each night approaches. >> we're right in the middle, you know? people just to know, cease this. >> how long do you think you can can continue to live like this? >> i hope they get everything resolved soon. you can't -- they need the person to justice so people can start to heal and this can can calm down because this neighborhood is really suffering. >> reporter: those here in the community know that last night there were no shootings, no molotov cocktails being thrown and no tear gas being used and that was the first time in at least the past several days that that has happened. captain johnson basically saying he felt as though brianna, it was a different dynamic out here and he's hoping that tonight makes a difference, as well. >> brianna? >> relative calm.

jason carroll, thank you so much in ferguson for us. attorney general holder has been meeting with all sides there in ferguson. naacp board member was among a group of community leaders who spoke with holder and he's joining me right now. john, thanks for being with us and take us inside of this meeting that you were in. what was your message for the attorney general and what did he tell you? >> first of all, thank you for having me. his message to us, i think, was quite effective. it it -- it really shows that the protesters that have been protesting peacefully have gotten the attention of national and federal officials and him being here makes a strong statement. he had several members of his field team here on the ground with us along with several people that work for the fbi and from what i gathered there was a lot of good energy in the room. a lot of questions, but he made a very bold statement and he reflected on the civil rights movement and how we have an obligation to protect civil

rights here in america and how it should be an american issue and it should be on the american agenda. >> you said there were questions and are those questions he was asking you or were those questions that you and others posed to him? >> there were questions that others posed to him. for example, where do we go from here? how long will this take? some of the answers to those questions were that we must be patient moving forward. that they want to do a very thorough, transparent job. they don't want to do a rush job, but they want to move as expeditiously as possible and that's something that we can certainly understand. one of the things that he stress side communication in looking at a long-term plan how we can move the community forward and how this can be used as an example for community policing and how to deal with police departments and law enforcement in a proper way in which it can be used as a

national example, and i thought that was great. >> certainly, what's going on in ferguson in terms of distrust and police needing to make inroads is something that needs to go on in other communities, as well. john gaskin, thanks so much for giving us a sense of what happened in that meeting. >> thank you. >> st. louis county police say they've relieved the officer of duty and they're suspending him indefinitely after he threaten prod testers last night and pointed a semiautomatic assault rifle at them. don lemon is in ferguson with the latest. it's surprising at this point that this would happen, isn't it? >> reporter: yeah. it is surprising and what's even more surprising that you're going to see the video right now of that confrontation, and i want to warn our viewers, there are some very strong language in this video. we've done our best to bleep it to cover that language, but it is very graphic and you will get an idea of what it is, so again, a warning and then i will

explain exactly when this occurred and what happened afterwards. take a listen. >> my hands are -- my hands are up. >> hands up. hands up! [ bleep ]. get back! get back. >> you're going to kill him. >> he's trying to kill me? >> get back! >> so in that video the officer says -- the peaceful protesters, and this is according to the unified force here that says look, this guy has his gunpointed at people and the officer says get back or i'm going to f-ing kill you and then they asked the officer his name. and he said my name is officer go "f" yourself and it continues on afterward. this happened tuesday shortly before midnight when the incident occurred and that is

the saint ann municipality police officer and according to the unified forces here they said that this does not represent any of the officerses in the area. they do not condone this. this officer has been suspended indefinitely and has been removed from his duties here, and even before that, the man who is in charge of this operation, captain ron johnson told us that he wasn't having any of this. his officer is done and he has nothing to do with these operations anymore. you see the video and you hear the very graphic language and the officer pointing a semiautomatic loaded weapon at a peaceful protester telling him he was going to f-ing kill him. >> you hear some of the protesters and they are goating him in some ways, but at the same time, that's part of it. that's what a police officer has to be prepared to deal with and not in a way that they escalate the situation. >> reporter: absolutely. at almost any public event you

go to whether will be some rowdiness, whether it is a parade or celebration or a protest in downtown perring son. police officers are often taunted, but it is not a police officer's position to point a loaded semiautomatic weapon at someone and threat tone kill them and when asked the name saying my name is officer go "f" yourself and it is not conduct becoming of any officer and he's been relieved of his duties and suspended indefinitely and the people in charge say he has nothing to do with this. he is done. >> is part of this, don, the issue that there are so many jurisdictions and perhaps they're getting different kinds of guidance and dos and don'ts about how to hand them kind of situation? >> reporter: listen that could be a problem, but not with that. that is a problem in itself. no officer should be doing that. that has nothing to do with guidance, if you have any sort of training as a police officer, even as a civilian and lay

person. i know that, anyone would know that, that is not proper procedure. >> it seems like a pretty basic idea. >> don lemon in ferguson, thank you. we'll have more coverage of the breaking news in ferguson. we are looking at the police tactics as those fresh allegations surface of that officer threatening protesters with a rifle. you're driving along,

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missouri, meeting with all sides there and telling them that the eyes of the nation is upon them. let's go in depth now on the situation in ferguson with cnn legal analyst jeffrey toobin and robert driscoll, he is former deputy attorney general who worked in the civil rights division. you have personal expertise when it comes to what's on the ground there, but there is a very high bar for a civil rights investigation like this? >> oh, certainly, for a case like the brown case the government would have to prove that not only that the officer used excessive force, but that he intended to deny brown his civil rights. >> it's different than a case like this, rid? >> if you look at the cases that have been brought successfully by the department over the years, a lot of them have been prison cases where a prisoner has been beaten or cases where there is a flat-out assassination or when the

officer is acting intentionally to harm somebody. these type of cases in split-second decision in this fracas the bar will be very high and of course, there are still facts that are investigated and people's heads shouldn't get out ahead of this case. >> the attorney general going to ferguson, is he raising expectations that the federal government will hand down some type of charge here? >> i don't think so. eric holder, as well as the president have been very clear that what they are doing or trying to do is conduct a very fair, extensive, transparent investigation, but they haven't promised any indictment. the irony here is that i think there is a great deal of trust for eric holder and the justice department, but the easier case to make would be through the state of missouri where essentially just excessive force could be the basis for a prosecution, but the

african-american community at least many prominent people there don't trust the state prosecutor, mr. mcculloch who has the power to bring that case. so that is something that is just a very awkward setting if for this particular investigation. >> and we are expecting the attorney general to meet with michael brown's family shortly. i want to mention that. jeffrey, if the federal government doesn't bring charges against the officer here, darren wilson in relation to the civil rights investigation, what are other options are there? >> then the state could bring charges. >> there's no other federal option or -- >> no. there's just -- the u.s. department of justice covers the waterfront as far as federal charges are concerned and the state of missouri through the prosecuting attorney is the representative at least for now unless he gets recused and those

are really the only two options for criminal cases. there will certainly be a multitude of civil cases for money damages flowing out of this case, but in terms of whether darren wilson goes to prison, the only options are the united states department of justice and the state of missouri. >> what, in terms of the federal government, bob, are there other options in terms of looking at not just this incident, but perhaps the culture of the ferguson police department? >> yes, attorney general holder has the the option to have the special litigation section do a so-called pattern and practice investigation of the entire ferguson department. >> is that what you would do if you were in this position? >> it's certainly something i would look at, particularly when the community appears to be complaining about broader issues and where the community wants an outcome, the community has problems with policing in general will in that area and i think they're probably looking at ready at st. louis county and at ferguson and other law

enforcement agencies to see if there are a pattern and practice case that could deal more with policing reforms generally and not have anything to do with this specific case of michael brown. >> they can force police in those areas to change? >> yes. they would enter a consent decree which would be enforceable by court which would change the practices of the police department and put different restraints on officer conduct, and that was in since natty and los angeles, for example. >> bob, thank you so much. >> to be clear. >> sorry, jeffrey, go on. >> the pattern and practice cases are civil. they are not criminal cases. so darren wilson or anyone else could not go to prison if what the justice department does is a pattern and practice case. >> looking more hopefully toward systemic change in a way. bob, thank you so much, jeff, really appreciate your perspective on this. coming up, heavy handed tactics or an appropriate response? we're taking a closer look at

the police's use of force on the ground in ferguson and over 100 rocket attacks already as peace talks collapse. the situation in the middle east is unraveling again. we're trying our best annto be role models.rmodels.

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enforcement analyst tom fuentes. commissioner, you are in the unique position of giving advice to st. louis authorities who are dealing with law enforcement here. what are you telling them? >> i don't know if i would go so far as giving them advice. i did have a conversation last friday that was arrainged by director ron davis who asked if i would participate in a conference call with officials in ferguson, missouri. i have not had a conversation with them since then --? what did you tell them, commissioner. >> pardon me for interrupting you, but what did you tell them? i'm curious. >> we talked about communication and we talked about the need to deescalate the situation. these are very difficult situations to handle, and if you do have a flare-up because of looting or anything that's taking place as soon as you can, you have to try to de-escalate. de-escalation has to take place

on both sides. no one benefits from this thing just constantly spiraling out of control so you do need to have very tight command and control with a very sincere effort to try to de-escalate, but also strong communication with both the public as well as the media. and we've seen some of that lacking on both fronts. tom, when you look at last night, it was relatively, there were still many arrests, but there was relative calm compared to the nights before that. >> what do you a tribute that to? is that policing or is this just a one off? >> it might be a one off. we'll find out tonight, but at the time i attribute it to many of the protesters went home earlier and allowed the police then to deal directly with the hooligans that showed up to cause trouble and what i've been saying is that i think some of these hooligans have used the good people of ferguson and the good protesters have used them as human shields intermingled with them so that when the police have to deal with the bad

people they have to go into the crowd and they have to run a vehicle into there and that just antagonizes everybody and creates violence. i think that in a way, you want the protesters to be able to safely express themselves, but, you know, in a way you also want them to get out of the way. >> so the hooligans can be revealed to the police. i want to get your perspective on this youtube clip that we've been playing. last night a protester shot video of a mron directly threatening him. listen to this. >> the gun pointed. >> my hands are up, bro. my hands are up. >> hands up! raised and pointed. >> hands up. [ bleep ]. >> get back! get back! you're going to kill him. >> is he trying to kill me? get back. what's your name, sir? [ bleep ]. >> the officer not only cursing at some of the protest it eitero

is goating him and he's pointing his weapon at them and not behaving as he should and he was relieved of duty. the unified command strongly feel these actions are inappropriate and not indicative of the officers who have worked daily to keep the peace. commissioner, to you, is that last part true? is this a one off or is this indicative of some of the officers who are there suppose lead to keep the peace? >> it's not indicative of the officers that are there. the chief did absolutely the right thing and relieved him very, very quickly. i think that's why you have to really pay close attention to your personnel when you have situations like this that go on over a period of time. nerves get frayed and so forth. i don't know this officer, know nothing about him at all, but that kind of behavior is absolutely inappropriate,

uncalled for and severe discipline ought to be taken. >> are you seeing, tom, a systemic cultural problem in the policing in the area some. >> i wouldn't call it systemic. i think there's been disagreements over whether they brought out too much military equipment that should have been held in a staging area and the officers on top of the trucks pointing rifles into the crowd, that's inappropriate any time. there are other optical devices to be looking into a crowd that aren't attached to a rifle and that wasn't a good thing to see that and when they backed off and were kinder and gentler we ended up with looting and the accusations that the police did not do anything to stop the looting when the store owners were begging for help and that could be long-term damage to ferguson. >> yeah. >> if those businesses aren't protected and they leave. what happens to the commune sthit the people that don't have cars and want to walk to the corner store. >> does it become an economic

desert? and we'll talk more about that. tom, thank you so much. commissioner, i appreciate you being with us, as well. >> we have the latest on two major break news stories and stand by for the latest on the situation in ferguson and the threat from isis. >> first, breaking news from the middle east where new rocket fire is raining down from israel and gaza. we have details.

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cnn is on the ground in gaza city. what are you seeing from your vantage point there? >> reporter: there was a lot of rocket fire from gaza towards israel. more than 200 rockets were fired towards this territory. es. personally in the evening hours, there were just barrages going out. it wasn't just a lot of rockets flying. it was very heavy rockets. there were some that apparently flew all the way to the tel aviv area. and also a lot of israeli air strikes in retaliation for that. it seems the war planes were trying to suppress a lot of the rocket firing positions. but certainly it was a day bh there was a a lot of fibering going on. a lot of action on the battlefield. it doesn't seem a cease-fire is eminent. >> why did it fall apart? >> reporter: that's a good question.

in the ends israel's security concerns versus concerns of the palestinians. they want border crossings to be opened. israelis have concerns with that. and then what happened is you had this escalation when rockets flew over towards israel. israeli war planes struck those positions. there was one incident where they tried to target the head of hamas's military wing. and because they say they failed to do that, but they killed his wife and his son and since then the barrages have just gotten a lot worse. tonight they announced as of tomorrow 6:00 a.m. they want to shut down the airport with their rockets. they have warned all international airlines from flying in there. another big threat as well even though israelis say the iron dome system say they should be able to keep rockets away. there was a speech by benjamin netanyahu where he warned israelis and prepared them this could be a long campaign.

we know israel's army is still at the border and recalled reservists that were being let off to come back on duty. >> carriers as well as other nations that support the carriers will be taking a look at. thank you. coming up, we're going live back to ferguson as the small town braces for potential new protests tonight. and president obama promises justice against isis as the u.s. unleashing new airstrikes on the unleashing new airstrikes on the terrorist group. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com

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situation room" special report. eric holder promises the people of ferguson that they will see change after days of violence as local authorities begin a secret grand jury investigation. and police are on alert for any new unrest after late night clashes with protesters just as the situation seemed to be settling down. plus new u.s. attacks on isis terrorists after they beheaded an american and threatened to kill another. president obama is furious and he's considering even more military action. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm brianna keilar. you're in "the situation room." >> this is cnn breaking news. >> we're following two breaking stories. the u.s. military unleashing new airstrikes against isis fighters in northern iraq and considering

a new deployment of ground troops. this after the terrorist group beheaded an american journalist and threatened to kill another american held hostage. president obama responded with an angry vow of justice. >> no just god would stand for what they did yesterday and what they do every single day. there has to be a common effort to extract this cancer so that it does not spread. >> also this hour, we're monitoring the situation in ferguson, missouri, and whether attorney general eric holder's visit has made a difference after street clashes overnight. we're told holder is planning to meet with the family of michael brown. the investigation into the shooting death of the 18-year-old is intensifying right now and secret testimony before a grand jury began today. we have correspondents and news makers standing by to bring you new information on these breaking stories. first to jake tapper in ferguson. he'll be joining me throughout the hour. jake?

>> reporter: thanks. eric holder says he hopes his visit will have a calming effect after the death of michael brown. the violence on the streets and the history of tension between police and the african-american community here. >> keep up the good work. >> reporter: he came baring ainsurances from washington there will be a fair investigation. eric holder today meeting with students and community leaders and bringing a personal commitment to a community torn apart. >> we want to help. >> reporter: holder is overseeing the fbi's investigation into the police shooting and any potential civil rights violations. but as for criminal charges against the officer involved, that it will be up to local officials. a neighbor who knew michael brown says he does not have much faith in local leaders investigating. >> i'm glad the federal government decided to investigate this because if they wouldn't, he wouldn't get justice. >> reporter: the image of michael brown's body, which he

saw that day, still disturbs him. >> i see that young man in the street any time i go to sleep. >> reporter: the grand jury began hearing evidence in the shooting. protesters repeated calls to remove county prosecutor robert mccullough saying he's too close to the police. his father was an officer and killed while trying to arrest an african-american suspect. but mccullough vowed he will not walk away. >> what it did for me was made me, i think, a fierce advocate for victims of violence. i know the pain that the brown family is going through right now. >> reporter: in the meantime, the unrest here in ferguson contin continues. demonstrators were out again last night and police made 47 arrests and confiscated two guns. still it was calmer last night than the night before. officials hope tensions are easing. >> i think our community is

turning against the criminals. they are trying to project this community in a bad light. >> reporter: but at a nearby church, controversy came. police came this afternoon saying they were checking to see if protesters had been illegally sleeping there. members of the community accuse the police of intimidation and harassment. >> they have been intimidating us for the last couple nights. >> reporter: there were initial reports that police had been seizing supplies from the safe haven in that church. that turns out not to be the case. no supplies were seized, but members of the church, community leaders say police have been shining a light, one of those strong police lights on them, visits with semi automatic rifles in tow and they consider it intimidation and harassment. we have yet to get a response from the st. louis county police on that. >> jake, thank you so much. let's get more on attorney general eric holder's visit to ferguson. our justice reporter evan perez

is joining us live from missouri. evan? >> reporter: right, one of the first things that eric holder did when he got here to the st. louis area was meet with some young people who were at a community college. that was a pretty important part of the visit in meeting with community leaders as well. he was trying to bring the message that the first african-american attorney general he knows what it's like as far as the complaints they have here in this community. for example, he told the story of how he was going to a movie theater when he was a young prosecutor in washington, d.c., going to a movie in georgetown and he was stop ped by police ad questioned as to where he was going and how angry that made him feel. at the same time, he was asking for people to have patience and to basically give a chance to have a conversation about making things better here. >> and evan, when you look at the record of the justice department under eric holder, it's had increased scrutiny over police departments.

tell us how that sort of manifested itself. >> reporter: that's a key part of his message here. he's been on the ball. he's been putting additional scrutiny against police departments all over the country. he's launched about 20 investigations in the last five years against police departments all over the country. that's more than twice the number of those types of investigations in the previous five years. so he was trying to give them some credibility that what the justice department is doing with the civil rights investigation is to try to bring justice here. >> it's a big day today where you are. the local prosecutor began presenting evidence to the secret grand jury spp that going to affect the federal case at all? >> reporter: well, you know, it is on a separate track. the attorney general was trying to make a fine distinction between what the justice department is doing and what the local prosecutor is doing. the local prosecutor said it's going to be until october until he finishes presenting evidence.

that means that it's going to be awhile before the local prosecutor makes a decision and the justice department is probably going to wait even longer than that. so there's going to be a lot of patience demanded of the community here. >> i'm not so sure they want to wait that long. thank you. as officials scramble to seize tensions in foerg son, a police officer has been suspended for pointing an assault rifle at a peaceful protester and making threats. take a listen to that exchange caught on video yesterday shortly before midnight. >> my hands are up. >> hands up. >> you're going to kill him. >> what's your name, sir? >> [ bleep ]. >> jake, let's go to jake now in ferguson. jake, that's not how any police

officer should be behaving there. and that police officer is now gone, right? >> reporter: well, he's been suspended indefinitely. you did see in that video another police officer went over to him and escorted him away. so it's not as though other police weren't aware of that. we're joined now by missouri state senator who represents parts o of ferguson. i don't know if you saw that video last night when it first became viral, but the officer pointing his gun at individuals, i have seen that a lot of saying i'm going to f'ing kill you and then when asked your name, go f yourself. what's your response? >> i'm glad that this incident has come to light. this has happened several times. there was another officer who referred to one of my constituents as an animal and

treated as animals in the very first days that we started. i know last monday we had tear gas for three hours. there was a woman who is six months pregnant and she was forced face down to the ground while we were being sprayed with tear gas. so this is just reflective of some of the treatment that my constituents have experienced. >> obviously, there are rogue incidents like that. the general approach of the police has been different on different nights. last night it seemed like the police, i assume you were out there, the police were spread out. they were low key. there were times they were clearing areas, but it seemed to be a much more constructive approach than we had seen when they did the huge massive full show of force in one location very mill tar liez rooized. you want police there. >> absolutely. we want to maintain security for all protesters who are there in peace. i will tell you that police officers now have showed a great

amount of restraint, different from what we experienced last week. and last week it was totally ma military rised. last week i felt as though i was in real iraq when we were in war. and so having a district that looks like we are totally in war is quite surprising. i didn't expect to start passing out gas masks to my constituents. i never thought that would be my job. >> that was odd. i came back from the middle east and i brought the same kit with me. let's turn now to attorney general eric holder's trip here. do you think this is for show or is something being accomplished? >> i have to tell you, my constituents are very happy about this. they have been tempered. this is like a look over the governor's shoulder. eric holder understands the kind

of pressure and intimidation that my constituents have experienced. this is definitely a message to the people of ferguson and otherwise that the federal government is serious. quite honestly, our governor has let us down. for my constituents to experience tear gas with extraordinary force from police officers in st. louis county, it was quite upsetting, to say the least. he was at the state fair at a concert and just to have that experience, two state senators in his party have been tear gassed at this point. >> you have been very critical of the governor on twitter. you used some of the same language the police officer used or at least the same word starting with an "f." he's tried to be more active. he's appeared, talked more about it. he's subjected himself to two interviews by me. do you feel like he's getting it

a little more? >> let me tell you something. the governor didn't show up until six days later. he is george bush in katrina, but this is his katrina. here's the other deal. he's showed up and had meetings at churches, which is great. i applaud him for that. he showed up in normandy, another municipality, but he's never gone to our ground zero. we are at the police station and also at the qt. my constituents, we were out at like 6:30 this morning and the one thing they will tell you is why haven't our governor come to talk to us specifically? we have had claire mccaskill. i just heard the speaker of the house was here. i have had republican senators who have come to the ground and talked to people, why are you feeling such anger and intimidation? what is going on? and i think it's quite reflective of the governor's policies at this point. he's been totally disconnected

with what is going on at the ground level, and because of that, there are several mistakes that have spanned several days. that's why he's always adjusting. it's wonderful that this community has captain johnson because it's someone who is a native-born son. he understands the culture of the community, but governor nixon has never made an effort in his entire career to understand the complexity of the minority community here in missouri. >> all right, state senator, thank you so much. we appreciate it. we should note right now, the attorney general is meeting with the family of mike brown as we speak. we should also note that when the information comes out about that meeting, we will bring it to you. >> we'll be looking for that. still ahead, the grand jury expecting to hear conflicting stories about the shooting of michael brown. we're digging deeper into duelling police and witness account ks of what happened. and is president obama

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we're back now with the breaking news out of ferguson, missouri. police and protesters brace for another tense night, a secret grand jury investigation is underway looking into the death of michael brown. his shooting by a police officer sparked this unrest 11 days ago and our senior washington correspondent joe johns is joining us now. we're expecting the grand jury is going to be hearing very different stories. >> absolutely and it could take awhile. the st. louis county prosecutor's office was expected to start presenting the michael

brown case today that grand jury will be asked to sort through the various witness accounts in an attempt to try to find out what happened. so far it seems clear that brown was walking in the street with his friend when they were approached by officer darren wilson in his patrol car. that's where the stories differ dramatically. >> reporter: grand jurors will see this video. it appears to be the last image of michael brown alive seen confronting the owner after allegedly stealing cigars. moments later his friend who was with him tells cnn they were walking in the street when they were passed by ferguson police officer darren wilson in his patrol car. johnson says he put the car in reverse backing up and stopping next to them. >> we were so close, almost inches away, when he tried to open his door aggressively, the door ricochetted both off me and big mike's body and went back on

the officer. at that time, he reached out the win do with his left arm, grabbed my friend's throat and trying to pull him into the vehicle and my friend big mike very angrily is trying to pull away from the officer. >> reporter: nearby a woman says she saw the tussle. >> it looked like they were wrestling, i'm sorry, that the officer was trying to pull him into the vehicle. >> god bless his soul. >> reporter: crenshaw did not start recording the video until after the shooting. johnson, who was walking with the 18-year-old, says brown. never touched officer wilson's gun. >> at no point in time did they struggle over the weapon because the weapon was already drawn on us, so we were more trying to get out of the aim of the weapon besides going towards the weapon because it was drawn at us already. >> reporter: other witnesses tell a different story. listen to the conversation recorded on cell phone video between two by standers as

brown's body lay in the street after the shooting. cnn does not know their names and we have not interviewed them. for his part, wilson has not spoken publically, but a source with knowledge of the investigation says wilson's version matches a secondhand account told by his friend. when she called into a radio show with his side of the story. >> tried to get out and michael just shoves him back into his car. punches him in the face and then darren grabs for his gun and michael grabs the gun. the gun is turned against his hip and shoves it away and the gun goes off. >> reporter: witness accounts also vary about what happened next. johnson says he and brown started running away but stopped when wilson began shooting. >> i see the officer proceeding after my friend big mike with his gun drawn and he fired a second shot and that struck my friend big mike. at that time, he turned around

with his hands up beginning to tell the officer that he was unarmed and to tell him to stop shooting, but at that time, the officer was firing several more shots into my friend. >> reporter: wilson's friend says the officer has a different account. >> he stands up and yells freeze. mikal and his friend turn around and michael starts taunting him. what are you going to do about it? you're not going to shoot me. he said all of a sudden he started o to coming at him full speed so he started shooting. >> the one thing witnesses agree on is moments after the shooting began, brown was dead and wilson was holding the gun. now officer wilson is expected to be invited to testify before the grand jury, though most legal observers say that kind of thing is unlikely because grand jury are seen as tools of the prosecution regardless of his guilt or innocence he would be taking a tremendous legal risk. >> joe, stick around.

i want you to jump in on this conversation i'm going to have with our senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and law enforcement analyst tom fuentes and mark lamont hill. to you first, jeff. when you're hearing these conflicts accounts so different of what happened, what does the grand jury and eventually a jury, what do they do with this? >> they get more information. remember, these are conflicting stories, but there's nothing extraordinary about two eyewitnesss having different recollections. it happens all the time. that's why it's going to be important to get the scientific evidence. the ballistics evidence, the other autopsy evidence, which will indicate presumably how far away mike brown was when he was shot. dna evidence potentially s mike brown's evidence on the gun. that would suggest he reached in to get it. all sorts of additional evidence

will be required before the investigators and then the grand jury can decide whether a crime was committed here. >> there's no dash cam, tom, which would really be able to tell us what happened. knowing that, what is the key evidence for the prosecution as they try to make their case? >> it's going to be the scientific evidence, as jeffrey mentioned, because really if it's the science, you know it's not going to be tainted by a recollection that's not quite accurate by one of the witnesses or the conflicting witnesses. and as jeffrey mentioned, the forensics in that car are critical. if brown was wrestling with the police officer, he could have his skin particles and dna and fibers on the the officer's uniform, on the car, on the floor board of the car and vice versa. in the videos you see of the final encounter on the street where officer wilson does shoot him, you don't see wilson touch him again.

so if wilson's dna is on the body, it came at the car. it didn't come after brown leaves and starts to flee the scene. >> could there be an issue with so many autopsies, do you think? >> possibly because everybody says the first autopsy is the biggest deal. that's where you get the most information. >> which was done by local authorities. >> there are others essentially because they want to make sure that this looks like an independent investigation. who knows what else the federal autopsy could get. the other thing about the witnesses, though, is trying to get the disinterested observer. we see the people that cnn reports have said certain things. are there other people who had different points of view that we don't know about who can come in and say i have no dog in this fight. this is what i saw. that's the type of witness that is going to have perhaps more credibility. >> and carries more weight. i want to talk about something, mark, that i have found very

important in a discussion about how the community is respond in to what happened and also to handling the protests and some of the violence that has broken out. the concept of community policing, before any of this ever happened that the police should have made end roads in the community so that members of the community when they are having an encounter with the police, their first one isn't a negative one. i want you to listen to something captain johnson said about this community policing. >> policing has to grow. it's obvious community policing needs to take place here and across this country. it's obvious that the community here does not feel that there's a connection with them and law enforcement. so that has to change. >> how important is this community policing? >> absolutely. in the term of community policing and research means lots of different things to lots of different people. but at the core, the idea the

community is seen as an asset and an ally to police work as opposed to an enemy is at the crux. it also means that police have to not look at themselves as an occupying force in neighborhoods, but instead people who partner with communities to solve problems, to address issues so that you know the local policeman's names, so people know the stake holders in the community. so people feel comfortable going forward. right now i spoke to several people, one woman in particular, who says she saw the shooting. i and she says i'm afraid to come forward because i don't want to get killed. i'm afraid of what the law enforcement agencies will do. i'm not afraid of the people out there, i'm afraid of law enforcement. the other night when we were there, the same thing. most people who were out there on the streets were not worried about antagonizers. they were afraid of police. we need to reimagine the model so before the crisis happens, we have good, healthy relationships. >> go ahead, jeff. >> let's put some numbers on

this. this is a community, ferguson, that is 70% african-american. the ferguson police force is around 90% white. that is a problem. you don't need precisely equal percentages, but you need to have some sense that the police department reflects the community and that is not the case in ferguson. and it's not just mike brown that this was a problem. the relations between this police force and the community have been bad for a long time and that's one of the reasons the justice department is investigating. >> this is a great divide, tom. and if it's a mainly white force and not representative of the city, in order to try to overcome that, i mean, having covered a local crime beat in the past myself in a small town, you even see police officers who were stationed in schools as the kids come in for maybe their breakfast before school.

they know them all by names. they know their brothers and sisters and they are a part of the community. >> this is not a new concept. when i was a little kid, my father was a juvenile officer for more than ten years. he went and chaperoned dances and athletic events. i remember tagging along with him. he was constantly interacting with the kids in the community. >> and they liked him i bet. >> this is not something brand new that just came out of the textbooks. it's been ongoing a long time. it needs to be expanded into all neighborhoods as has been said. i agree with that. >> i am so sorry, we actually have to move along. thank you so much to all of you for your perspectives on what's a complicated topic. just ahead, we'll be taking a closer look at what is really the gruesome message sent to president obama by isis terrorists with the beheading of an american and a horrifying video.

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