ally do you want the ferguson police department disbanded? >> absolutely. with that we also want the resignation of the mayor in ferguson and we need to look at what happened in august and september with the national guard coming into the city and citizens with tear gas and being shot at and people who made those decisions to be held accountable. >> thank you so much. that's it for "the lead." i'm jake tapper live from ferguson missouri. i hand it over to wolf blitzer in "the situation room." happening now, manhunt. police frantically searching for the shooter who wounded two police officers overnight in ferguson. was the long range ambush carried out by a pro? losing the street as tensions rise in ferguson will fresh protests erupt tonight? can police still control the situation? plus drunk service? two senior secret service agents suspected of being intoxicated crash into a white house barrier. it's the latest in a series of scandals. can the secret service still manage to protect the president and his family?

i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." we're following two breaking stories right now. an urgent hunt is under way for whoever shot two police officers outside the police station last night. watch this. [ gun shots ] the shots rang out as a protest against the troubled department was winding down. two officers were wounded. police and witnesses say the shots came from long range. the attorney general of the united states eric holder is calling it a disgusting and cowardly ambush. as tensions rise county officers and state troopers are about to take over the security situation, the security duties from ferguson police. meantime stunning new details emerging in the latest scandal to hit the u.s. secret

service. two top ranking officials plowed their government car into a white house security barrier after a night of partying and reportedly disrupted a bomb investigation that was under way. president obama is disappointed. lawmakers are furious. our correspondents and analysts are standing by with full coverage. let's begin with ferguson right now. the latest information, our national correspondent jason carroll is on the scene for us. jason? >> reporter: well, one of the people brought in for questioning lived in the house behind me. her grandmother simply cannot understand why her granddaughter is being questioned. she says her granddaughter had nothing to do with the shooting. early this morning, a s.w.a.t. team swarms this home in ferguson as part of their search for suspects after two police officers were shot outside the ferguson police department. st. louis county police questioned two young men and a 23-year-old woman taken from the home. the woman's grandmother, iris

turner tells me her granddaughter called overnight to say she was at the protest and heard the shots. >> it's just crazy. it's so crazy, these kids up there protesting and doing this. they need to be at home. that's where they need to be. >> reporter: turner says police followed her granddaughter from the protest last night, but she does not know why police raided the home and brought in her granddaughter for questioning. st. louis county police chief john belmar says finding the people responsible for shooting the officers is the number one priority. >> this is really an ambush is what it is. >> reporter: this amateur video captures the tense moments after the shots rang out as the crowd was starting to wind down around midnight. police say the shots were fired from a hill about 120 yards away from where the demonstrators and police were gathering. >> they were about, i want to say about 30 to 50 protesters still left. the police got their guns out,

their rifles out of their cars and kind of took cover and made all the media duck down. >> reporter: a 14 year veteran of the st. louis county police department was shot in the shoulder and a seven year veteran of the nearby webster groves police department shot in the face. >> i would have to imagine that these protesters were among the shooters that shot at the police officers. >> reporter: the officers were released from the hospital thursday morning. >> we're lucky by god's grace we didn't lose two officers last night. >> reporter: the officers were standing next to each other in front of the ferguson police department when they were hit. the gunfire erupted just hours after the announcement that ferguson police chief thomas jackson resigned. >> this was a mutual decision both by the chief of police and the city's administration. >> reporter: protests have been a regular occurrence since ferguson police officer darren wilson shot and killed michael brown, who was unarmed, on august 9th. >> last night was the 219th day of protest. we have been peaceful and

non-violent for the duration of the protests. i can't imagine that on the day of the resignation of the police chief of a department that has been proven to be racist that a protester would engage in behavior like this. >> reporter: a damning u.s. justice department report released just last week cited widespread and systematic discrimination against blacks by the ferguson police department and the court system. some demonstrators are calling for the disbanding of the entire police department and the resignation of ferguson's mayor, james knowles. right now you are looking at a live picture of where police tried to break into the roof of the home here so they could conduct part of their search. turner's grandmother is like so many people here in ferguson many people in this neighborhood who thought once chief jackson resigned everything would be over and this community would return to being peaceful once again, but again, people out here are still waiting for peace to return. wolf? >> thanks very much jason carroll, on the scene.

we will get back to you. the attorney general of the united states eric holder is reacting very angrily to the latest violence in ferguson. he is calling the attack on the two police officers disgusting and cowardly. let's go to our senior washington correspondent joe johns. he's got more on the reaction. the reaction very angry. >> reporter: right. despite that doj report from just days ago, that blasted the city of ferguson and its police department accusing them of widespread racial discrimination with a profit motive today attorney general eric holder and the department of justice were offering to come to the aid of ferguson pledging federal assistance in the investigation to help catch the shooter. as a matter of fact atf agents are already said to be working the case. holder unleashed a torrent of angry words for the crime and whoever did it. >> i want to be very clear here. i un heequivocalunequivocally condemn these repugnant attacks. what happened last night was a

newer pure ambush. this was not someone trying to bring healing to ferguson. this was a damn punk punk who was trying to sow discord in an area that is trying to get its act together and trying to bring together a community that has been fractured for too long. >> reporter: and the president of the united states also weighed in on the ferguson shootings on twitter. mr. obama wrote violence against police is unacceptable. our prayers are with the officers in missouri. path to justice is one all of us must travel together. that tweet was accompanied by the president's initials which means he authored it himself. >> i'm sure he's very very angry as is the attorney general of the united states. joe, thanks very much. the shooting of those two police officers is adding to the tension that already has been quite extreme in ferguson over these many months. joining us now is jeff rohrda with the st. louis police

officers association. jeff thanks very much for joining us. i know one of those police officers is an old friend of yours. tell us what you can about his condition. >> well i visited with him at his home earlier this afternoon, wolf. he was handling it remarkably well. he's a tough guy. his main concern was that his family see him acting as normally as possible so he was sort of soldiering through a lot of pain so that his family would feel better about the situation. but it's going to be a long road to recovery for both him and particularly the officer that was shot in the face. >> so your friend was the one who was shot in the shoulder and the other officer was shot in the face. have you been able to get an update on how he's doing? >> i have not. what we do all the time we came immediately to the aid, the financial aid of the two officers and their families

delivered some checks today to help them defray expenses and told them that their law enforcement family's here for them whatever needs they have. >> we know their ages we know how long they served as police officers. correct me if i'm wrong, they haven't released their names yet, right? >> they haven't. wolf, i really hope they don't. everyone that's been associated with the disharmony here in ferguson when their names become public they become subject to death threats. i certainly have been the subject of death threats. and i don't want their names public because i worry about their safety. >> what do you anticipate is going to happen in the next few hours? we know that in less than two hours, missouri state highway patrol officers st. louis county police officers they will actually take over security if there are new protests if there's any more violence. explain what's going on there.

>> well it's a very tense situation, as you can well imagine. in my communications as a union official with police commanders i have been assured that tactics will be different tonight. i assume that means not only more officers but a wider perimeter, coverage perhaps of these blind spots from which the shots were fired last night. the layout at city hall is very desirable for cowardly gunman that wants to ambush police officers. >> even though the three people have been taken in for questioning, they haven't been arrested. that's my understanding. and the working assumption is the shooter or shooters for that matter, still at large. is that right? >> well as you can imagine, any time you have a police shooting like this you know with so many witnesses around, there are a lot of leads to follow.

some of them are hot leads, some of them are dead end leads. but law enforcement is out in full force following up on every lead pursuing justice in this case and trying to get this armed gunman off the street. >> i know that you have accused the attorney general of the united states eric holder in your words, of pouring kerosene on the fire in ferguson. why do you do that? because he is outraged his brother is a police officer. tell us why you are accusing eric holder of doing this and potentially creating this climate that you are now blaming for what happened to these two police officers. >> i think attorney general holder is in a unique position to say things and do things that can bring some peace and some healing here to ferguson. i don't think he took advantage of that much over the last several months. i was very glad to hear him say the things he did today and i hope we hear more of that from him.

>> i just want to be precise on this matter, though. you are upset with the attorney general of the united states going into what happened you were obviously throwing when you say he was pouring kerosene on fire that's a pretty strong indictment. >> it is. the attorney general had a great opportunity when the doj reports came out to dispel this myth of hands up don't shoot once and for all, and to more publicly clear darren wilson's name than he did. instead he pivoted to this probe into the police department where there was criticisms of some very bad practices. these e-mails are reprehensible. the court profiteering is very troubling. but there is really no direct line drawn in that report between those bad practices and a pattern of discrimination and for him to concentrate so much

on that report instead of the real meat of the findings which was that darren wilson was exonerated by the department of justice, just as he had been by a grand jury of his peers, i think was a missed opportunity. >> i will have you stand by. we have more to discuss. we are getting other reaction. we are following the breaking news. a shooter still apparently on the loose right now. much more coming up. bring us your baffling. bring us your audacious. we want your sticky notes, sketchbooks, and scribbles. let's pin 'em to the wall. kick 'em around. kick 'em around, see what happens. because we're in the how-do-i-get-this-startup- off-the-ground business. the taking-your-business- global-business. we're in the problem-solving business. 400,000 people - ready to help you solve problems while they're still called opportunities. from figuring it out to getting it done we're here to help.

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but with tensions high the troubled ferguson police department is giving up some of its duties. let's go to brian todd. he is looking into this story for us. what are the latest developments you're picking up? >> reporter: a dramatic shift in police leadership on the streets of ferguson. officials say the st. louis county police and missouri state highway patrol are going to handle security for any street protests taking that responsibility away from the ferguson police. that means added pressure on those agencies to demonstrate that law enforcement still has control and won't overreact. the police call it an ambush. two officers shot almost killed. it followed a night of street fights between protesters following the resignation of ferguson's police chief. from an exasperated st. louis county police chief, a window into how tough it's been to maintain control. >> i want everybody here to understand how difficult this is to do it the exact perfect way. >> reporter: last summer there

were many complaints that police were overly militarized, showing too much force during protests. then they were criticized for not doing enough allowing looting and other violence. have the police lost the streets of ferguson? >> the police are trying to find their way. they are trying to find their footing. they are going to be criticized harshly one way or the other. >> reporter: a ferguson police official tells cnn they have not lost control of the streets. but some law enforcement experts say their loss of credibility is what got us to this moment. >> a failure to engage with the community has cost them the trust that is needed to be productive. >> reporter: that may have come back to haunt the police in the moments after the officers were shot. an official with the st. louis county police tells us at least initially, many potential witnesses were reluctant to give information to investigators. ron hosko is a former fbi assistant director who has worked with several police departments. he says the mindset for an average police officer on the streets of ferguson from this moment on is one of survival.

>> how nervous are they and what are they thinking going in? >> policemen are human beings first. so the first thing you are thinking about is how do i come out of this situation tonight intact. you are thinking about the person, the police officers next to you. >> reporter: is there a strong trusted figure among police who could bring calm? captain ron johnson of the missouri highway patrol was a visible presence in ferguson last summer walking the streets trying to tamp down tensions. will he be called upon again? tonight officials across the state are silent on that. the challenge for police going forward if there are protests just how are they going to keep the peace. some protesters have said in ferguson and elsewhere police with kevlar vests and helmets with shields have been too provocative, they have come on too strong but ron hosko says now more than ever the officers are going to have to protect themselves. the visuals tonight, what we see in the streets will be key. >> you are getting some pushback from ferguson police all the pressure that's on them now to

effectively disband. >> that's right. i heard flat out that the police there should not exist, they should be eliminated. one ferguson police official told us they don't support that idea. they have not heard anything among their ranks or anything close to them to support that idea. he said they are committed to improving the situation there. he said they have an opportunity to set the standard for situations like this. it's unclear if they will ever get that opportunity from now on. >> tense situation remains. thanks very much for that. jeff roorda of the st. louis police officers association is still with us. also joining us is antonio french st. louis alderman. thanks for joining us. what do you make of the decision we just got the press release a little while ago, that st. louis county police missouri highway patrol officers they are going to effectively take charge of ferguson tonight, not the local police department. what's your reaction to that? >> i think that's a good move. i think both the st. louis

county police department and especially the state highway patrol have more resources and a little more expertise in crowd control than the ferguson police department does. i also think perhaps some of the methods of the ferguson police department sometimes escalate the situation when in fact we need to deescalate it. >> what do you anticipate is going to happen tonight? i know there's a lot of tension. there's fear of more protests. i'm sure those police officers whether they come from the highway patrol whether they come from st. louis county, they are all pretty scared. >> yeah there's a lot of feelings strong feelings on both sides. a lot of fear a lot of anxiety, frustration. it's these emotional situations where we worry about bad things happening. but i think everybody acknowledges that last night was a tragedy. our hearts and prayers go out to the families of those two officers who were shot last night. no one wants to see a repeat of that. >> you tweeted earlier today after the shooting you said there are those that will

exploit our city's division in order to perpetrate violence. the longer we are divided, the longer we are vulnerable. explain who you suspect was responsible for this shooting. >> well one thing is that we often lump everybody out there into the same group. people on one side protesters against police somehow. what you see is that actually you have a lot of different people with a lot of different agendas, a lot of different opinions. and there are some people that come to these things and we have seen this in august and in november, intent on escalating the situation. what we saw last night was as the protest was dying down many of the peaceful protesters leaving, that someone somewhere got violent. now, who they were and what group they are affiliated with we don't know. hopefully the police will track them down very soon and we will get those answers. but in no way are they representative of the thousands

of people both here in the st. louis region and even beyond across the country who have been protesting the last few months. >> are you among those who suspect outside agitators, some professional hit man, in effect with an expert marksman coming in and shooting these police officers? >> i don't know. i wouldn't try to guess. i will leave it up to the police to do their work and hopefully they will apprehend this person very soon. >> fair enough. let me bring back jeff roorda for a moment. we are just getting this tweet from the st. louis county police associate president, gabe crocker, who is expressing fear that yes, the two officers are out of the hospital one of them a good friend of yours but there will be fallout, he fears, from the injuries. they may never work again. how concerned should we be these two police officers they may be done being police officers given the nature of the injuries? >> well not only the physical part of the injuries but just being mentally prepared to

return to work after an experience like this. there's a lot of officers that just can't do it and even if they want to that are too concerned about their family' concerns to go back to work. this isn't like tv where the guy gets a flesh wound and gets up and dusts himself off and engages in some acrobatics. these are debilitating injuries that have a long road to recovery. >> jeff thanks very much for joining us. antonio, thanks to you as well. we will get back to ferguson in a moment with the latest. don lemon is on the scene. he will be joining us. our experts also are getting ready to weigh in on whether it's time to make good on the attorney general eric holder's threat to dismantle the ferguson police department once and for all. the real question that needs to be asked is "what is it that we can do that is impactful?" what the cloud enables is computing to empower cancer researchers.

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call 1800 xfinity or visit comcast.com/xfinityhome. let's get back to our top story. a manhunt is under way for whoever shot and wounded two police officers outside the ferguson police headquarters. it happened during a protest. there were tensions already very high. the beleaguered ferguson police department is surrendering some of its duties. county police and state troopers will take over security for the protest tonight. let's bring in our law enforcement analyst tom fuentes, former fbi assistant director. cnn's don lemon is on the ground for us in ferguson. cnn senior legal analyst jeffrey toobin and our legal analyst sonny hostin. thanks to all of you for joining us. don, you are there talking to folks on the ground. what are they saying to you about the shooting of these two police officers? >> reporter: it's interesting. it depends on who you talk to. if you talk to the protesters

the protesters are obviously still upset. they still think that the lives of the people who were killed by police officers people who were unarmed, they think that's very important. they don't want that to be overshadowed by what happened here. if you talk to the people who live in the neighborhood, they want their neighborhood back. they think this is accomplishing nothing, that it's actually setting back what the protesters originally wanted which was to have police officers not target them for traffic stops. so there is a disconnect here. i spoke to a couple different residents. one said i was just trying to go to the library with my little nephew and i can't even get past because of police tape. this is accomplishing nothing. we have been here for almost a year. then another one said -- go ahead. sorry. >> no, no. it wasn't us. it was just some voiceover from the b-roll. >> reporter: okay. sorry, wolf. then another one said she was just trying to go to the supermarket and she had been trying just to do that and can't

get there as well. then if you talk to the police officers here they feel that no one is paying attention to what's important to them. that's the lives of police officers. they said that two of their own could have very easily lost their lives last night. one of them may not have use of one of his appendages one of his arms. one could still have a bullet lodged in his head. we did speak to a young woman. she didn't want her face on camera but she was very adamant about her feelings. >> we don't have that sound, don. stand by for a moment. i want to bring tom fuentes into this. the police local police at that news conference earlier in the day, they assumed the shooter was using a hand gun from 125 yards, that's what they said that's more than a football field, to do that and hit two police officers one in the shoulder one in the cheek, from 125 yards with a hand gun,

you've got to be an excellent marksman to even think about doing that, right? >> that's true. as a former firearm instructor and s.w.a.t. team member that is an amazing shot if that's what they were aiming at. we have four shots fired hitting two officers standing next to each other. it looks like that that's the intention was to shoot those officers or just the police line in general. that's incredible marksmanship. >> some people have been saying it's almost impossible for one individual with a hand gun to do that to be so precise, it must have been a rifle with some sort of sophisticated capability. >> if it was a rifle, the officer that was shot in the face would be dead. the speed of a rifle, a rifle bullet travels over 2,000 feet per second. a hand gun, about 700 feet per second. the energy and the size of the bullet itself going from a rifle, it would surely be a fatal round if you got shot right below your eye at the high point of your cheek. >> sunny, what should we be afraid of right now? this shooter is still on the

loose. i assume people are going to be going out tonight. a lot of state troopers are coming in to protect ferguson to protect this area. county police are coming in. there's a potential here for a lot of trouble. >> no question about it. and when i was in ferguson it was really clear that the residents there felt like they were living in a police state. they wanted their voices to be heard and to be sure, this is a tragedy. when you have law enforcement officers being targeted ambushed and shot. we can all agree that that is something that is heinous. i think what's upsetting is that i thought i saw real progress being made in ferguson with all of the high level resignations that we have seen, but i will say this. you know jeff roorda was just on our air saying that the department of justice report while troubling in terms of policing for profit didn't really show a pattern of

discrimination. he is a representative of the ferguson police department. that is what the problem is with the ferguson police department even with being shown by the justice department that yes, there is a pattern of discrimination yes, ferguson has become a powder keg because of the way these citizens were policed, to then say that there really is no problem, i think goes to show me quite frankly that the ferguson police department shouldn't exist anymore and also let's talk about what we saw with the protesters. it seems to me that the ferguson police department and even the st. louis county police department don't know how to police. how many protests didn't we have here in new york city that were peaceful much larger protests. the type of police presence that we saw yesterday, that sort of aggressive police presence with shields, doesn't help the situation.

so i think at this point with this crisis with the crisis in confidence of the police department you know this is a real problem. >> stand by. i want to bring in jeffrey toobin. with the state troopers now coming in to take charge of the security in ferguson tonight, st. louis county police taking charge, is this just the beginning of the end of the ferguson police department? >> not necessarily. given the magnitude of the events of last night, of this shooting it makes all the sense in the world to bring in an extra police force just because of how high tensions are there. the issue of ferguson's future as a police force i think is a very separate question and it's probably a very good idea not to address that today or tomorrow in the immediate aftermath of this horrible shooting of these two officers. >> i want all of you to stand by. we will have much more on the breaking news we are following. there's another story we are following, an important one.

two u.s. secret service agents not only suspected of driving drunk, we are now learning they reportedly drove their car into an active bomb investigation. stay with us.

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breaking now, embarrassing new details in the investigation of two top u.s. secret service agents suspected of drunken driving. according to the "the washington post" the agents disrupted an active bomb investigation on the white house grounds and may have run over the suspicious package. let's go to our white house correspondent michelle kosinski

for the latest. very disturbing stuff. >> reporter: of course more and more details keep leaking out of this investigation. just like we have seen in prior cases, prior embarrassments for the secret service, but the secret service at this point is saying nothing about what happened that night. who is talking, though congress wondering how there could possibly be another embarrassment in this agency. the new director was just appointed to try to clean up problems there. the secret service director joe clancy has lots of explaining to do. agent mark connolly is second in command protecting the president here in tucson and ireland a few years ago. another top agent, george ogilvie is a supervisor. both now reassigned. their responsibility was to safeguard the president and first family. they are accused of returning to the white house grounds in a vehicle after allegedly drinking

at a retirement party for a secret service spokesman about two miles away. law enforcement officials say the two came up on a barricade, an active investigation by the secret service just outside the white house about a suspicious package. with their lights flashing showing their badges officials say, they drove right through security tape then crashed into some temporary barriers. yet there's more. officials say that while officers there wanted to test the agents and see if they were drunk, possibly even arrest them a supervisor on duty prevented that from happening, ordered that the two top agents be allowed to go home. it took a week for this story to come to light. congress has plenty of questions. >> crashing a crime scene while an investigation is going on that's problem enough but then a supervisor on the scene that said to the rank and file protective agents look don't give them a sobriety test let

them go home that's just as bad. >> reporter: it was a long ugly string of embarrassments in the secret service. the cartajena prostitution scandal. officers drunk and sent home, one passed out in a hotel hallway in amsterdam. the fence jumper that got inside the white house in september that lost the director her job. long time secret service agent joe clancy was just named permanently to that position less than a month ago but it raised questions as to why an outsider wasn't brought in especially since one of the deep-rooted problems identified within the service was that officers didn't trust and respect their supervisors. today the white house is saying that the president is yes, disappointed about this but that he still has confidence in the new secret service director. an administration official told me that even the white house doesn't fully know what all happened that night. they want to find out what happened as this investigation is handled by the department of homeland security. >> what an embarrassment this one is. michelle, thanks very much.

joining us now in "the situation room" the chairman of the house oversight and government reform committee, the utah republican representative jason chaffetz. we have lots to discuss, how this still could happen. i want you to stand by if you don't mind. we will take a quick break. much more right after this. your eyes depend on a unique set of nutrients. that's why there's ocuvite. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique formula that's just not found in any leading multivitamin. help protect your eye health with ocuvite. ♪ at mfs, we believe in the power of active management. every day, our teams collaborate around the world to actively uncover, discuss and debate investment opportunities. which leads to better decisions for our clients. it's a uniquely collaborative approach you won't find anywhere else. put our global active management expertise to work for you. mfs. there is no expertise without collaboration.

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what's that thing? i moved our old security system out here to see if it could monitor the front yard. why don't you switch to xfinity home? i get live video monitoring and 24/7 professional monitoring that i can arm and disarm from anywhere. hear ye! the awkward teenage one has arrived!!!! don't be old fashioned. xfinity customers add xfinity home for $29.95 a month for 12 months. plus for a limited time, get a free security camera call 1800 xfinity or visit comcast.com/xfinityhome. we're back with utah representative jason chaffetz the chairman of the house oversight reform committee. the latest scandal around the secret service this is awful what's going on. how did this happen?

>> well evidently, not this past wednesday but the wednesday before that 10:30 at night, you have a woman who throws something threw or over the white house fence claiming it was a bomb. there's an active investigation going on. some reporting -- good reporting, evidently this person gets in her car and leaves. it was a long time before they were able to apprehend this person. during this active investigation, all of a sudden you have two agents who come up go through evidently from what i have heard -- going through the tape and actually bumping into a barricade there when the officers there, the secret service uniform division approaches these people they evidently smell alcohol on their breath. they call a supervisor. supervisor decides to unilaterally let them go. don't hold them back get in your car and just drive off and move on. it begs a lot of questions. >> that apparently goes against

regulations, if you are suspected driving drunk by uniform secret service officers you should do a sobriety test and shouldn't let those agents continue driving if they are drunk. >> it's one of the big questions that elijah cummings and i have. we're united in this and frustrated these people were allowed to go. if it's true the officers had suspected that these people had alcohol on their breath they were driving, that they impeded and got in the way of an active investigation, a potential bomb on the white house grounds, and the supervisor decides to let them go this is what is so terribly frustrating. then it begs the question wolf about what is the new secret service director doing about it? i think we're worried that he's not necessarily doing enough. >> that supervisor who let the two agencies continue on one of them by the way the number two agent on the president's personal security detail the other one a supervisor himself, the supervisor who said get out

of here go home is that guy still supervising? >> he is. and i talked to the secret service director clancy last night. i asked him specifically about that. the two people who were involved in the car, potentially, you know had alcohol on their breath they have been moved to a different job temporarily. but the supervisor who made this decision nothing has happened to that person. he is still in his same position. that beggings as a lot of questions. if the new secret service director does not fundamentally transform the secret service, where he going to continue to have these problems. they can never happen and yet they keep happening. >> you heard michelle kosinski in a report from the white house. she went through point after point after point. here is the question a lot of us are worried about the safety of the president of the united states and his family. should we be? >> i think we should. the more i have learned about it the more concerned i have

become. look we're very united republicans and democrats, in saying the safety of the first family is paramount. we're putting this person in jeopardy and his family in jeopardy. these are very very senior secret service agents. and for them to participate in it if it's true they need to finish the investigation, there have got to be severe consequences to this wolf. there haven't in the past. we're going to find out a lot what director clancy is willing to do. >> you are not ready to recommend, at least until the investigation is complete some sort of thorough overhaul of the u.s. secret service? >> oh no. they should have been doing an overhaul a long time ago. we have known about these problems. it has been a good old boys club. arrogance and some -- we're above the law type of attitude. most of the people in the secret service, good, honest paid ot patriotic, they love the president and the white house. but you got some people that

have to go. culturally they keep making these mistakes in an agency that can never make these mistakes. >> that could be a disaster. you mentioned elijah cummings the democratic representative from maryland. he is the ranking member of your committee. you are the chairman. you are on the same page with him. what are the two of you and your colleagues going do about this? >> elijah cummings and i both independently spoke with director clancy. we spoke on the phone last night. we have a good game plan moving forward that starts with bringing the director in to brief us and other members of congress early next week. we're calling upon him to make sure that he deals with this problem right now. i think we both -- it's fair to say -- i don't want to put words in eelijah's mouth, we're concerned about the lack of the supervisor. the other part that i'm really concerned about is a woman comes and throws something over

and says it's a bomb and drives off. how does that happen without her being apprehended? >> i spoke to -- >> that's a smaller part of the story but it's huge. >> he is on the same page with you. good to see piebipartisan cooperation. thanks very much for joining us. >> thanks. more on the breaking news. live to ferguson missouri where county police and state troopers are about to take over security for protests after two police officers are shot and wounded in front of the ferguson police headquarters.

happening now, breaking news. ambush outside law enforcement about to take over security in ferguson missouri after two city police officers are shot. a frantic hunt is under way for whoever did it. will new violence break out tonight? call for calm. the family of michael brown whose death sparked the crisis pleading with protesters to reject violence. i will talk to their attorney this hour. who is in charge? awave of firings and resignations leave top leadership positions empty as the u.s. justice department and local police engage in finger pointing. who is ensuring the citizens of ferguson are safe? we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you are in "the situation room." we're following the breaking news. in less than one hour st. louis county police and missouri highway patrol officers they bill take over security for the protests in ferguson amid

growing fear for the safety of the city's officers. two of them were shot at the end of what had been a peaceful demonstration. you are looking at video of the scene. you can hear the gunshots and see the chaos that followed. some people scattering while others rushed to help the wounded officers. both men lucky to be alive according to officials. and now an intense search for the person who fired on them is unfolding. we have just learned three people taken in for questioning have been released without charges. we're covering all angles with our correspondents and guests including the head of the naacp cornell william brooks and mark moriel the president of the national urban league. let's begin with jake tapper in ferguson. what is the latest? >> reporter: wolf as you mentioned, the ferguson police force are about to cede to the

st. louis county police in about an hour. we're expecting that shift to take place. it has been a day of tension and confusion with a manhunt and people wondering what might happen next. police are frantically searching for clues on who may have been responsible for the shooting of two police officers in ferguson. late last night bloodied riot gear marked violence on streets which have witnessed so much unrest. >> this is an ambush is what it is. >> reporter: both officers have been released from the hospital. they are lucky to be alive after sustaining serious wounds at a protest rally aimed at ferguson's police department. >> officers tell me when they heard the shots, when they heard the bullet going past that they saw muzzle flashes. >> reporter: it happened around midnight as a demonstration was winding down. the bullets hit a 41-year-old veteran of st. louis county's police force in the shoulder and a 32-year-old from a nearby

department in the face. >> right here with the high point of your cheek under the right eye and the bullet lodges right behind his ear. >> reporter: both were standing guard in front of headquarters. police took two men and a woman away from this building for questioning but have yet to name any suspects. the st. louis county police chief admitted he is surprised this is the first time this has happened during these ferguson protests. >> i think it's a miracle that we haven't had any instances similar to this over the summer and fall. >> reporter: police have been facing off with protesters here for months. starting of course after the death of michael brown last august. and then after the grand jury failed to return an indictment against officer darren wilson last november. and now, in the wake of the justice department finding ferguson's law enforcement rife with racially biased abuses.

the police chief announced his resignation. for some this is all too little too late. the shooting last night, another setback for a community torn apart. and, of course, there are two issues right now. one is that manhunt. there is a cop shooter out there, somebody who is wanted and presumed dangerous. the second point, what's going to happen tonight? we have seen police put concrete barriers in front of the force and the stores here are starting to shut down. >> i know you will be on the scene all night. jake, we will get back to you. just getting new information in about the three people who were taken into custody and questioned by police in connection with this shooting. our national correspondent is on the scene in ferguson. tell us what you are learning, jason. >> reporter: they were questioned for several hours, maybe up to ten hours of

questioning by police. three of these people i spoke to all three of them just a few minutes ago. they live about a half mile from where we are right now from the ferguson police department. all three came out here last night. they went to the protest. they said everything was going fine. all of a sudden they heard shots. they jumped in their car and they left. they went home. they thought it was over. at about 3:00 a.m., they are woken out of bed. they hear police ordering them out of the house. they were stunned. they went outside the house. their hands were up in the air. she said i begged for police not to shoot me as i got down on my knees. they were taken into custody. they were questioned for several hours. i said what were they asking what were they questions you about? they asked them -- they said did you have anything do with the shooting? they told me no repeatedly. they asked them if they knew

anyone involved with the shooting. they told them no. third, they asked if they saw anyone who did any of the shooting. again, they told them no they only heard the gunshots. you can imagine how terrifying it was for these three people to be brought into custody and accused in some way of such a terrible terrible crime. >> i can only imagine what an awful situation. thanks very much for that jason. president obama is condemning the shooting of the two police officers writing in a tweet baring his initials, violence against police is unacceptable. sharp reaction from the attorney general of the united states eric holder. joe johns has more on this part of the story. what is holder saying? >> reporter: it has been days after the doj report blasted ferguson and its police department. now, eric holder issuing a harsh condemnation of the shootings, calling this a heinous and

cowardly attack saying it turned his stomach. the shootings of two police officers in ferguson drawing angry reaction today from attorney general eric holder calling the incident repugnant. >> what happened last night was a pure ambush. this was not someone trying to bring healing to ferguson. this was -- >> reporter: the officers shot one week after the doj issued a report on the ferguson police department citing discrimination against african-americans by officers and the court system there. the report found ferguson police targeted black people in vehicle stops, citations and arrests. every instance in which a police k-9 bit someone it was an african-american. racist e-mails between police and court officials were uncovered, including one depicting president obama as a chimpanzee. >> the justice department was really laying out a case of how

bad this department is. they did that to tell the department you need to come to the table and reform. >> reporter: six top ferguson officials have resigned in the wake of the damning report including the police chief and the city manager. but that has not been enough to quiet the powder keg atmosphere in ferguson. >> seeing this attack last night kind of turns my stomach, because i thought we had begun to see really important signs of progress. >> reporter: holder said last friday the federal government will dismantle the ferguson police department if necessary. >> we are prepared to use all the power we have to ensure that the situation changes there. that means everything from working with them to coming up with an entirely new structure. >> reporter: an administration official is dismissing some of the assertions coming out of ferguson tonight suggesting the doj report may have added fuel to the climate of tension there. the official told cnn's pamela

brown that doj took steps to roll out the report carefully and that ferguson has been broken for months and it's unfair to jump to any conclusion until the shooting suspects are brought to justice. >> joe, thanks very much. joe johns reporting. let's go to ferguson right now. don lemon, he is back on the ground in ferguson for us. spent a lot of time there over the past several months. you are talking to folks on the ground. what are they telling you? >> reporter: depends who you talk to. i want to show you -- we have gotten ourselves in a position to show you what possibly could have happened. we talked about the shots coming from atop of the hill 125 yards away from the police department. i want to show you, this is where we were last time when we were tear gassed back in november. a lot of the media was parked over here. if you look this hill comes all the way up from the front of this building where there's a parking lot. if you go to the back of the building you can see here the hill comes up high enough where you can get on top of the

building. they have had this fenced off. for you in "the situation room," wolf i want to show you, 125 yards away if it did come from this direction, if you look here the hill comes up on this side as well. we will walk down here from -- to the police department. it intersects here to the police department in front of us. if you look at the parking lot, this is where many people were stationed out last night, where many of the protesters camp out as well. you can see people here who are coming. this is where they grab their food. they come over here and, again, a lot of the media over here. 125 yards away which is about the size of a football field plus a quarter, that would have to be as you have been talking to people it would have to be a professional person someone who knows what they are doing to get this far, especially with what they said the chief saying it would take someone, you know who knew what they were doing to get a shot off this far.

you can see officers were lined up in front of the police department just standing in a line cordoned off in front of the police department protesters in front of them. the police officers behind them. then once the shots did ring out, officers took protection took cover behind the barricades behind the brick walls here. 125 yards away that's pretty far for someone who doesn't really know what they are doing to get off that many shots and hit two police officers, one in the shoulder and one in the head. >> it would be an amazing shot indeed. they are saying it was done don, with a handgun or pistol not a rifle. right? >> reporter: right now, it's very early on in the investigation. let's see if we can get across here again, we will try to cross into traffic here. there we go. he is saying that it was done with a handgun, because they found casings from bullets that are -- that go along with a handgun. i want to make sure my

photographer gets across. that's the barricades. if you go back turn to the right, that's where the media is. you go up the hill. that's quite a distance wolf for a handgun. it would have to be someone who knows what they are doing or pretty lucky if it did come from any of the direction, any of the places behind these buildings over here. this is the only hill in the area. so it would -- we would assume that it came from this area. but, again, man, would you really have to know what you were doing if you were targeting someone from that distance. >> certainly would. don, stand by. we will get back to you shortly. let's bring in two leaders of the two preeminent civil rights organizations in the united states. joining us the national urban league president and the president and ceo of the naacp. thanks to both of you for joining us. how much of a setback is this to what we were hoping we would be able to move on? clearly, this is a major problem. >> certainly, this is a tragedy.

but i cannot believe that one thuggish thuggish opportunist can set back a movement. we are concerned about these officers who have been shot while protecting a community, not their own. not as a part of their police department or force. >> both of the officers shot were from other community police departments, not from ferguson. >> that's exactly it. they were going the extra mile if you will to protect these protesters and the ferguson community. i cannot believe that one thug one criminal opportunist can set back all of these young people who have been standing for social justice, standing for community policing i can't believe that. >> we have no idea mark who the shooter is. i know there's a massive manhunt under way right now. presumably this person is very very dangerous out there. we have no idea who it is. although a lot of people are speculating some sort of outside

agitators may have been responsible. give me your thoughts. >> wolf here is what i would say. i want to express prayers and hopes for the full recovery of those two officers who were injured in this ambush last evening. secondly we do not know who conducted this criminal act, who carried out this criminal act yesterday. and certainly, there is an investigation which has to continue. we should not jump to judgment on it. i think thirdly, the underlying issue is that the ferguson leadership still remains in denial refuses to accept the idea that this department needs to be changed. that's why i think disbanding it and starting over or disbanding it and finding another law enforcement agency is indeed what is necessary. these protests are going to continue because the leadership of ferguson notwithstanding these small steps with the city

manager, the police chief and others in fact stepping aside, remains in denial. they have not accepted they have not offered their hand to work with the department of justice to fix the problem, to heal the community and to otherwise get beyond this period. >> cornell, i assume you are pleased that less than an hour from now, ferguson police department is not in charge of security in ferguson. the state highway patrol is coming in the st. louis county police they are coming in. they are taking charge. i assume you welcome that? >> we welcome that. let's be clear about this. after these officers were shot the central issue in ferguson remains the same. namely the safety of our citizens. and that means whether the citizens are black or brown or they wear uniforms that are blue we can concerned about the safety of our citizens. so the fact that you have the highway patrol coming in the county police coming in to ensure the safety of protesters

and police officers. we need to be clear about this. these police officers go home at the end of the day to their families. they are members of the community. that's the central issue. the department of justice report was all about fair community oriented policing. that's what it has been about. that's what it remains about. >> i want you to both of you stand by. we will take a quick break. more to discuss. breaking news out of ferguson less than an hour or so the ferguson police department won't be in charge. yacht side outside police officers, they are coming in.

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back with the national urban league president and the president and ceo of the naacp. we're getting new information from our national correspondent jason carroll. he is on the ground in ferguson. what are you learning? >> reporter: wolf, we told you about the three people brought in for questioning with regards to the shooting out here and released. we told you that i had an opportunity to speak with the three of them. one of them tells me that she was woken up in the middle of the night, ordered oust eded out of bed, out of the house, and found herself begging police not to shoot. i want you to listen to just a brief clip of the interview we conducted with her. >> i opened the door. the door is open it's open it's open. i opened the door. i look at my -- i have my hands up start crying done shoot me. i surrendered, don't shoot me. he said come out. i said are you going to shoot me? i said, no. i stood there crying. i said, he's going to shoot me. he walked in front of me.

my son walks in front of him. >> how old? >> he is six years old. he is the reason that i live every day. he got more sense than i have. that little boy walked in front of him and me. he had on my son as well. they said come out with your hands. we had to do 360. they had us walk backwards and get on our knees. >> reporter: they were questioned for several hours. they were asked specifically if they knew anything at all about the shooting. they told police repeatedly that they did not know anything about the shooting did not see the shooters as well. terrifying moments for that family now at home. >> why did they even pick them up? what was their suspicion? we saw the cops on the roof going in through the roof into this house. it must have been terrifying for the people who live there. what was the original reason for

picking up these three individuals? >> reporter: it's a good question. what they theorize is when she was out here with the other two last night, she immediately called her grandmother after she heard the gunfire. her grandmother, said get out of here as soon as you can. they all piled into the car and sped away. when someone speeds away from a shooting sometimes that raises suspicions. so they theorize perhaps that's why police targeted them. their car, which, of course led to their house. that's what they theorize. once again, they said not only did they not have anything do with the shooting they didn't even see who did the shooting. all they saw and heard was the gunfire and then they saw the officers fall. >> it's terrifying, i'm sure for these three individuals. don't go too far away. cornell brooks you are a lawyer. what's your reaction when you hear that? >> it's extraordinary -- very frightening set of circumstances. the police have a responsibility

to look for suspects. to question them. and they did what they had to do. i'm glad that this family is safe. we need to be clear. we have someone who appears to have some degree of training who is able to get a shot off at 120 yards, wound two police officers. here is reality. if you attack a police officer, you pose a threat to the community at large. i mean that's reality. one, every 58 days in this country, a police officer loses his or her life in the line of duty. this is a dangerous line of work. the fact is anybody who would target who would ambush a police officer needs to be apprehended. we need to take any lawful means to do so. >> good point. mark earlier i spoke with one of the supporters of the ferguson police department who accused the attorney general of the united states eric holder in his words of pouring kerosene

on the fire in the way they released the justice department report. i want your reaction. you are the president of the national urban league. >> so i think that's just another indication of people in ferguson being in denial. the attorney general and the justice department have a sworn oath to uphold the law and the constitution. under the '94 crime bill they have a right and obligation to investigate where there's a suggestion of a pattern and practice of constitutional and civil rights violation. they did their job. when they do their job, they are not pouring kerosene on anything. it's the denial it's the on few skags, the obstinance of the ferguson police to make this difficult. the right thing to do is indicate publically and very

clearly that we are going to work with the department on those corrective action measures necessary to fix our police department to fix this local law enforcement agency. and i have not seen anyone from ferguson anyone in an official capacity make that kind of statement to acknowledge the problems and make a commitment. this is denial at its worst. as long as that denial continues, the community cannot heal. the community cannot come together in the way and in the fashion that i think we all hope it will. so my hope is is that the leadership of ferguson and the mayor, who should lead that community, would in fact accept that this report is real that this report was carefully done and that this report points an important direction with its recommendation on how the ferguson police department can be fixed. >> you want to make one final point? >> yes.

i couldn't agree with mark more. the fact of the matter is, the mayor had an opportunity the other day to accept responsibility. there are cities across the country which had received these kinds of recommendations and begun to act on them. what he gave was a statement that represented an apology by implication. that is to say, we acknowledge this report that the officials who are leaving as a consequence of that report and that we hope things get better. the fact of the matter is he could have stepped up and said we have a problem here a problem that needs to be addressed and these recommendations need to be implemented. he did not do that. >> cornell brooks, thanks for joining us. appreciate it very much. joining us is the attorney for michael brown, whose death last year sparked current crisis in ferguson. anthony, thanks very much for joining us. when the family heard about the shooting of these two police

officers today, what was their reaction? >> i could put it like this. nobody was jumping for joy. nobody was happy about it. keep in mind wolf we got into this campaign back in august to fight against what we thought was an injustice that took place then. we are all about fighting for justice. what happened the other day was an injustice to those officers. our hearts and our prayers go out to these officers. we wish them a speedy recovery. it was wrong. and this family along with the representatives such as myself we don't support wrong. so it's not about whose side you are on in this particular case. it's about what side you are on. we're on the side of fighting for what is right. no matter who the individuals are. i hope that the police do a thorough investigation, locate this lone shooter, or if the person is with a group, locate them all. i agree with the president of the naacp, this lone actor

should not make everybody out there an enemy combatant. the police shouldn't treat everyone that's out there as an enemy hostile because you had one person who acted apparently out of some type of motivation last night that was not right. >> speaking for the michael brown family, what's your message to the protesters? we don't know if they will show up tonight or not. we know the police are getting ready from the highway patrol and from the state and county they are coming in to take charge. what's your message to the protesters who might be assembling as we speak? >> yes, sir. our message is the same as it has been wolf, since august. to remain peaceful to remain calm. those are the kind of things that we have been saying from day one. in every setting at every opportunity. the message remains the same. those that commit acts of violence like this do not support the family of mike brown, junior are not a part of

the campaign for justice for mike brown, junior. they are on their own agenda. they have nothing do with us. those that support this family and the movement that we started back in august for justice, we ask them to remain peaceful to remain calm and to remain non-violent tomorrow and beyond. today, tomorrow and beyond. >> has the mayor reached out to the family in recent days or ever for that matter? >> no. not that i'm aware of. there may have been different channels of communication and i don't want to speak to those. but from my knowledge as i sit here and speak to you today, i'm unaware of any direct attempts by the mayor to speak with family members of -- the mother or father of mike brown, junior. >> should the mayor resign? >> i think that i will leave that up to the mayor ultimately. but, yeah a change in leadership is required.

if you ask me my opinion about that, i think i'm pretty bold in what i've said before in the past and i will stand on that today. i think that there should be a from top to bottom reform of the whole police department that will include major individuals in leadership. and i think it's in the best interest of ferguson for that to happen. if the mayor doesn't think it's in the best interest of ferguson then he has the con sti enter -- constituents to deal with. >> thanks for joining us. back to breaking news. back live to the streets of ferguson where state and county are poised to take over security amid fears for the safety of city police and civilians. at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like shopping hungry equals overshopping.

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the breaking news we have learned that the missouri governor traveled to st. louis county today, which includes of course, the city of ferguson where the two police officers were shot last night. according to a news release, she was briefed on the situation by law enforcement officials, he is calling for calm down. don lemon is on the ground in ferguson. also with don, i know you had a chance a little while ago to speak with a resident. let me play a little bit of that interview. >> it's ridiculous what's going on. i mean last night was horrible.

of course we all just want to raise our kids, go to work, be safe and be peaceful. i mean come on now, we got to -- it has to end somewhere. the protest is fine. justice is fine. how are we going to get justice and we're shooting and killing police? you know? it's just -- it's not going to work. it's not going to work. >> don -- >> that was kiesha. she didn't want her face on camera. >> i was going to say, give us background. >> she didn't want her face on camera because she said i don't want that much publicity. i want to tell you what's going on. she was walking with her -- i think a 1-year-old. they were trying to get to the supermarket. the police was cordoned off. i understand the protesters are upset. i understand why people are upset. but there are changes that are happening incrementally and we should be a little more patient.

we want our neighborhood back. the people who are out protesting many don't live in the neighborhood. the ones who do, they are protesting peacefully. they don't want to block traffic. that's the disconnect you have between some of the protesters and some of the residents here. i have new information -- two pieces of information. while i'm standing here in front of the police department have i been told through sources that they added an extra detail that that detail will -- there will be a shift change soon. that detail will be spoken to by members of either the missouri highway patrol or the st. louis county police department as to what they want. they want them to go home obviously, at the end of the night. they will tell them to be safe, careful. that will happen here or right here right next door at the fire station. again, i want to give you a perspective. standing in front of the police department you see the barricades. basically where we have traffic now, there was no traffic happening last night.

police officers lined up in front of the police station. they stand here to core done. the protesters are in the middle of the street, maybe on the other side. if you look up the hill here from this area not exactly sure where, that is that 125 yard area where they believe the bullets came from that hit the two police officers. if you look at the homes here -- i have been speaking to my pro -- my producer has been speaking to some of the people who live in those homes, asked them if they heard or saw anything. they said we heard something. we saw something. any of the information that we heard or saw we gave to the fbi. we know the fbi has been here investigating and speaking to the p emwhoeople who live in the neighborhood. shift change about to happen. they will be spoken to by the higher ups who have now taken over the protection of the citizens here in ferguson. >> don, the two police officers

who were shot last night, one in the face one in the shoulder they were effectively standing right near where you are standing right now, is that right? >> yeah. i spoke to some of the protesters who were out here and spoke to police sources who say they were standing right out in front here. some of the people were standing right -- there's a sign -- the sign that says city of ferguson police department they were standing on the walkway there. they said as they were standing in front, if you go this way, right here where the traffic is that's where the police officers usually stand. as they were standing in front, one woman told me she was a protester, she lives here she says i hunt deer i know i heard the shot -- the heard the bang. the shots whiz over my head. i saw one police officers bleez ss bleeding from the jaw. and then there was chaos. officers started -- they got on their knees, crouched behind barricades behind the brick wall over here with guns drawn. and then those who were here who

weren't protecting the rest came out to offer assistance to the other police officers. everyone who is here is saying especially if they had knowledge about shooting a weapon that in order to get off a shot that far, wolf all the way up that hill 125 yards away, it would have to be someone who knows their way around a gun, a handgun, a shotgun, what have you. as you hear the police chief of st. louis county say, he believes it was a handgun. they found casings from bullets here in front of the police department. >> don, stand by. tom fuentes is our law enforcement analyst former assistance director of the fbi. 125 yards they say it was a handgun. a lot of skepticism out there that someone can shoot that precisely, hit a cop if the face another in the shoulder with a handgun from 125 yards. that's longer than a football field. you think it's possible. >> it's possible wolf having been a firearm instructor for the police and in the fbi and a

s.w.a.t. team member a skilled shooter, a military veteran might have the skill to do a shot like that or shoot four times and hit two police officers side by side. it's still a remarkable shot. >> the community there, give us a little flavor of what's going on what we should be bracing for. you're a community activist. a lot are concerned what could happen in the next few hours. >> well many activists that are my age and have been out and about that have been committed to this for the last 215 days are making it clear that the peaceful protesters are not a part of this. we are disassociating ourselves with any type of action that is violent or any type of outside agitators that may want to come in and upstage a situation. what we saw last night sets us back. we can't allow those type of blunders to take over what we worked so hard for.

there are changes that are coming. but it is my hope that tonight people will remain calm and cooler heads will prevail as people are smart about what it is they are doing and ensuring no one is injured tonight, hopefully. >> what's of deep concern is there's a shooter at large right now. obviously, well trained, a marksman who has a weapon. people are obviously concerned. jeffrey, you heard the attorney general the other day, eric holder say he is prepared to dismand mantle the police department. is that what needs to happen? >> you know ending a police department shutting it down is a very complicated process. it's not something that could be done overnight. it seems to me that what needs to be done now is to have everybody calm down and try to ratchet tensions down and then in an ordinarily way discuss what if any, is the future of the ferguson police department.

but it is simply a practical impros built that during this immediate crisis following this horrible shooting of these police officers that could you get a new police department in place. it just can't be done overnight. that's a multi-month process. >> stand by. everybody stand by. these are live pictures coming in from ferguson right now. county police coming in. this is going to be a shift change. county police missouri state highway patrol in the next 15 or so they will take over security responsibility in ferguson. not a lot of confidence in the cops in ferguson. stand by. we will get more on what's going on. we will take a quick break. we will be right back. hello. i am a fully automated investment advisory service. i can help you choose investments. monitor them. and rebalance your portfolio. i can do a lot of what humans can. except have a real conversation. if you'd like that, you can always

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the ferguson police are handing over security responsibilities to outside law enforcement agencies following the shooting of those two police officers. a man hunt is under way for the shooter who remains at large. don lemon, you're there near the place. a county police ferguson police will still do some routine

responsibilities but the big chore is with the other outside law enforcement authorities. >> reporter: right on wolf. we've been watching for the past 15 minutes or so. they've been going around the back of the police department. there you see them there getting ready for shift change. the members of the ferguson police department will be here for routine calls but as far as security and patrol and the big picture will be st. louis county and the missouri highway patrol. we're expecting some high ranking members to give them a pep talk before they go out. >> what worries me is there's a shooter at large who is a marksman got a weapon presumely lots of ammunition. i'm worried about that and i assume everyone else is as well. >> no question about it. you have two law enforcement

officers shot, ambushed and from such large distance. it does appear to be someone that knows how to shoot. someone that is trained in shooting. i also think that the right thing is being done by having the ferguson police department take a step back. i have to disagree with jeff. i think now is the time to have the ferguson police department disbanded. we're only talking about a very small police department only about 50 officers. with the crisis in confidence at this point and the fact this damming report came out that there's a sort of practice and pattern of discrimination they cannot police this community. i think it makes it dangerous for the residents and for the officers for that department to be continued. when you look at the 26 recommendations made by the department of justice those are

wholesale reforms of the department. they are very expensive to implement. now they cannot tax the residents for that work, that work can't be done. i suspects the right thing to do right now is to disband that police department. it would be safest for everyone. >> stand by. everyone stand by. that shift change is taking place outside law enforcement coming into ferguson. ferguson police department will assume secondary responsibilities. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back.

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breaking news in ferguson highway patrol officers are about to take over. protests after two officers were shot sparking a man hunt that continues now. don, set the scene for us for what's going on right now. >> reporter: starting about 30 minutes ago, members of the st. louis county and missouri highway patrol you can see some of them about to go in there. they have been making their way here. they're going to hold their meeting for this special task force inside the fire department. that's the fire department and they're all gathering inside of there. also i want to tell you that several high ranking members from the missouri highway patrol

and the st. louis county police department will give this special task force a pep talk. i can safely say it's going to be ron jackson and chief belmar. they will tell them to be smart, careful. at the end of this shift they want to go home to their families. don't get involved unless you have to and to use restraint and be smart. these barricades weren't always here in front of the police depts department and fire department. this is going to be a real test. it's almost sun down. you have a lot of people still angry. there's a lot of protesters that will gather. they have called for a prayer vigil. they believe it's going to be a big crowd. that will be a real test for this special task force that's inside a meeting right now. >> the police officers are about to take charge over there. they must be scared. there's a shooter at large who

armed and dangerous. >> sure. they're human. they'd be afraid that did last night's shooting is still out there. copy cats could jump in. white supremist groups from other parts of missouri could come in and cause trouble and mayhem and cause them to shoot at the crowd or create a bigger mob scene situation. there's all kinds of danger for the police officers and protesters who will try to maintain the peace tonight. >> very quickly, i want to get john. who's in charge for all practical purposes in ferguson john? >> in terms of activists or law enforcement? >> law enforcement. i assume it's the county and highway patrol right now? >> right. it would be st. louis county and the missouri highway patrol. >> stand by. we'll have a lot more throughout the night. it's still a dangerous situation in ferguson.

don't forget don will be back with a lot more throughout the evening and 10:00 p.m. eastern. you'll want to see his special report. that's it for me. thanks very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett outfront starts in and out. breaking news. ferguson police department told to stand aside relieved of command during protests as man hunt is on for the gunman who ambushed two officers last night. more breaking news. those secret service agents who drove their car into a white house barrier, were they drunk when they barged onto an active crime scene. capturing the moment that a carjacking victim escaped from the brothers and ruined their escape. let's go outfront.