seen -- i get information, people call in here and it's like the police officers have talked to us -- >> and i can say being a current shift commander, i work in high-crime areas. and the majority of the people they speak to you, they talk to you. kids speak to you. so it's not everyone in that high-crime area where it's just constant tension like that. >> i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." we're monitoring a news conference out of baltimore where an african-american man died in police custody. the president of the police union, the lawyer for the officers involved, they're speaking out right now. let's continue to listen. >> most of the tension that we have is with the criminal element. and that's just going to be because we're the police and they're the criminal element. but there are women who have come out there, hi, lieutenant are you how? >> what efforts are being made to train these officers in

instances that may occur? >> things have been put in place to improve community interaction. i don't know all the things he's going to implement. but he's trying to get the officers to -- >> i think the cameras will help rebuild that trust but it won't be the end-all, be-all. it's just one tool in our toolbox. i think that will make the community feel somewhat more comfortable. so they can see the officers are doing the right thing. i'm all for the cameras because i think a lot of these false complaints the officers will be exonerated. >> are all these officers from baltimore or from different -- >> as far as where they reside or -- >> growing up and stuff? >> that i don't know. >> i don't have that answer either. >> their background? >> no, sir. >> if that's it -- >> any other questions? >> thank you for your time. >> thank you very much.

happening now, taking to the streets, angry residents get ready for a new round of protesters as officials try to learn how and why a baltimore man died of a broken neck in police custody. new video of the arrest of freddie gray. an attorney for the officer says something happened in that van that took freddie gray away adding, we just don't know what. u.s. warships and thousands of u.s. military personnel are ready to block any iranian attempts to arm rebels in yemen. but could it turn into a showdown with iran's navy? and drone scare. a drone carrying radioactive material is found on the roof of japan's equivalent of the white house. could it happen here? i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room"."

let's begin with the breaking news. angry baltimore residents get ready for a new protest over the death of freddie gray. his fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody has released pent-up rage in the city. a police union lawyer for the arresting officers says something happened in that van, we just don't know what. new video has emerged appearing to showing gray being shackled. five of the six officers suspended after the incident have given statements to investigators. but there are many unanswered questions and the justice department here in washington is looking to see if there were civil rights violations in gray's arrest. i'll speak live this hour with congressman elijah cummings. and our correspondents analysts and guests are standing by for complete coverage. let's begin with brian todd in baltimore. he has the very latest. brian? >> reporter: we're at the corner of presbury and north mount

streets in baltimore. a small group of protesters is forming behind me. this is the very spot where freddie gray was arrested, right down there by that stone wall. makeshift memorials set up here all along this place. the protests when they begin are expected to go down north mount street toward the police precinct. so much palpable anger on the streets in the last couple of days so much emotion, a lot of it not only over freddie gray's death itself but the fact that we've not four investigations going on in this case and so few answers. a neighborhood on edge and just plain angry in the wake of freddie gray's death, members of his community are in a mood to vent. a big part of their frustration? comments from city officials that they'll share everything about the investigations. >> we're pushing out as much information as we have. as soon as we're able to confirm it. >> we've promised to be open and

transparent. >> reporter: but representatives for gray's family say they're still in the dark on key questions. they're not saying if they believe baltimore police know what caused gray's spinal cord injuries. >> the police should be made to answer questions as to exactly what happened to mr. gray once mr. gray came into their custody. >> reporter: baltimore's mayor says authorities are concerned that giving out too much information might compromise the investigation. here's one video after the arrest was made. police say they stopped to restrain him because he was being combative. >> the police saying, we arrest him and we don't have the details on why is unacceptable. >> reporter: police said they arrested gray because they believed he was committing a crime. the tonight, new information on the background of one of the officers under suspension in the gray case.

court documents show lieutenant brian rice faced allegations of domestic violence in 2008 and 2013. in the second case he was ordered not to contact, go to the home or workplace of the person who filed the complaint. but in both cases, protective orders were not authorized by the courts. neither rice's attorney nor the baltimore police responded to requests for comment. the head of the baltimore police union who knows rice said this -- >> i can't really comment on what happened in his past. what happened in his home life shouldn't play nor factor into what happened on the job. >> reporter: now, the head of that police union, gene ryan told us that police throughout this city are very concerned about possible retaliation for freddie gray's death. he says they are all thinking about the murders of those two new york city police officers following the ferguson and staten island cases, wolf? >> there's also new information about the suspended officers' meeting with investigators, right?

>> reporter: that's right. baltimore police have just said that five of the six suspended officers in this case gave statements to investigators the very day that freddie gray was arrested. that was on april 12th. but they gave statements to them, not giving a lot of details about these statements. the second person who was with freddie gray in the police van in those crucial moments is a witness in a criminal investigation. his name isn't being released. >> brian, we'll get back to you. we'll see what happens on the streets of baltimore tonight. let's get more on the justice department investigation into the death of this young man. justice reporter evan perez has been looking into this part of the story. what are they going to be looking for specifically fbi, justice department officials? >> it's very unusual for them to get involved so quickly. but that gives you an -- that's one sign of how they're looking at this case. it looks a lot more like ferguson what they want to make sure that everything is being

done very, very according to plan there. one of the things they're looking for is to see whether or not -- whether these six officers violated his civil rights whether they were intentionally looking to violate his civil rights. and that always is a tough thing for them to prove. >> the barter for prosecution in the civil rights allegation charges, very very high? >> it is. and as we saw with officer darren wilson in ferguson hundreds of witnesses were saying all kinds of things they could not reach it to the level to prosecute this officer. his statements won the day. we'll see if these five officers -- >> the civil rights division i take it at the justice department they're in charge, is that right? >> right. the civil rights division. and they have lawyers in the

baltimore u.s. attorney's office who handle these types of cases. >> that's going to take a long time. >> that's exactly right. >> thanks very much, evan perez, for that. joining us now is mark morial, thank you for joining us. the police union, we had live coverage they're making the case these six police officers who were apparently involved five of them are cooperating, giving statements to the police, one has not, which of course is that individual's right under the u.s. constitution. your reaction to what we just heard? >> here's the thing. there's a context behind all of this. and that is one, just last thursday the department of justice held a meeting at coppin state university in baltimore at which over 300 people showed up to voice complaints against the baltimore police department. number two, "the baltimore sun"

documented in a 2014 article numerous cases of police misconduct police violations and the like. thirdly, the maryland state legislature just rejected an effort by baltimore mayor stephanie rawlings blake, just recently to amend the law enforcement officers bill of rights to give the baltimore police department stronger disciplinary enforcement authority. there's a history, there's a context. and this incident may simply be the tip of the iceberg on a police department with numerous problems of a longstanding nature. so the protests like we saw in ferguson is not just about this incident but seems to have to do with longstanding feelings that have existed in that city for a long time. i think all the viewers should understand the context behind this is certainly -- this tragic incident but it goes beyond that.

>> marc morial i want you to stand by. i also want in bring in democratic congressman elijah cummings whose district includes baltimore. i take it your district also includes the specific area where this arrest was made right? >> it's a five-minute drive from my house where i've lived for 33 years. >> you know this district. tell us what's going on congressman. >> i think what's happened over the years, a tremendous distrust between the police and the community has arisen. and there are probably a lot of systemic problems of abuse by police. as a matter of fact several months ago, we asked the d.o.j. to come in and take a look at our police department because we were concerned about systemic problems. and so this incident, i think, as marc morial just said is

probably the tip of the iceberg. that's why i was pleased to join with senator cardin and senator mccluskey to make sure that d.o.j. came in and took a look at this incident because i think it's symbolic of many others, sad sadly. >> have they shared the investigators, information with you that they haven't shared with the public? and i assume if they did, you don't want to release that information. i'm just wondering if they're keeping you, the congressman who represents this district up to speed in the investigation. >> yeah i talked to the commissioner of police today, a few hours ago. and they are keeping me abreast. they still are gathering information. there is i think, information that will be released soon. but i'm still not satisfied. and i don't think the commissioner is satisfied. when we look at what happened to

this young man who was basically in an area they claim was drug-infested but like so many areas in baltimore, we have drug infestation. and apparently they looked at the -- the policeman said he looked him in the eye and next thing you know, he started running. but they had no real cause to arrest this gentleman. so i'm very concerned about that. but then he ends up with a severed spinal cord. and the police are saying there was no force and they're saying that it was not an unusual arrest in any way. so the results that we have -- a young man who is now dead but the police are basically saying nothing happened. so it goes against just common

sense. so i can understand folks being very, very upset. but i've reiterated to the people in my neighborhood to maintain a sense of calm, make sure -- nothing wrong with protests. as a matter of fact, i think it's healthy. but we've got to make sure that we aim for trying to come up with some solutions. one of the things we haven't talked about, wolf if you've got a minute. >> i do. but i want to interrupt for one minute, congressman. i have to take a quick break. stay with us if you can. i want marc morial the president of the national urban league to stay with us. we have several for questions. we'll be right back.

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we're back with congressman elijah cummings whose district includes baltimore specifically the area where this incident occurred. he's the senior democrat on the oversight government reform committee. also joining us marc morial president and ceo of the national urban league. congressman cummings you wanted to make another point about this investigation. go ahead. >> one of the things that a lot of people don't realize about baltimore is we just elected a brilliant young african-american woman named marilyn mosby as our state's attorney. and she is conducting her investigation in conjunction with the police. by may 1st she should have in her hand the preliminary report

from the police and she'll combine that with the information she has to determine whether to file charges. folks in baltimore have a lot of confidence in her. she's a young lady, career prosecutor. and i have a lot of faith in her, too. but as marc morial was saying, there's a lot to be done. but first we have to figure out all of the problems. and we're looking for a ferguson-type review of our police department. and, wolf this is a transformative moment. if we don't get this right now, things will only get worse. >> let me ask marc morial about that. marc "the baltimore sun" reported the city has paid nearly $6 million since 2011 over lawsuits claiming police brutality. there's been federal involvement investigation. these issues they've been under way for a while, right?

>> there's no doubt there's a long history here. but i would note wolf in agreeing with congressman cummings the opportunity the transformative nature of this moment. the opportunity that is there for the baltimore police department for the community, for the mayor to aggressively, a assertively and without fear put into place a reform plan which fixing these longstanding problems and build working bridges between the police department and the community. there is an opportunity in a tragic crisis. and that opportunity is to build strong momentum for the kind of systematic change that's needed. this is a major american city a city with diverse community. it's a city with african-american elected officials. my hope is they're going to take up this charge to bring about the kind of reform and lead the

nation in demonstrating how you fix a broken police department because obviously with the history, it's broken. with the outrage, it's now spilled over. with the unfortunate death of this young man. but it's an opportunity for the community and the community must seize it. >> so you have confidence congressman cummings in the state attorney an african-american woman, you point out, the mayor of baltimore, another african-american woman, the police commissioner african-american -- do you have confidence in the leadership right now in your community that they can get to the bottom of this? >> yeah i have tremendous faith in the leadership. our police commissioner is fairly new. but all three of them, i know will get to the bottom of this particularly in cooperation with the justice department. the mayor herself and the police commissioner a few months ago asked for d.o.j. to come in and take a look at the police department.

they wanted to make sure things began to -- somebody began to look at the department and look at those problems so as they could then move to best practices. but marc morial is right. we can definitely do this. and i've often said to my citizens in baltimore, i want us to be a model for the nation of how policing is supposed to be done. and i have tremendous faith that we'll get there. >> congressman cummings i know you're hoping the protesters remain peaceful they don't get out of control. >> yes, that's right. >> that would be a horrible situation if we see violence or anything like that. >> and it would be distracting. >> certainly would. >> it would be distracting. but i'm sure they will be. >> let's hope. i know that sometimes we're all afraid of outside agitators, anarchists coming in. is that your fear you know your community? >> i am concerned about that. that's why i'll be spending as much time in the area as i possibly can while of course

doing my duty here in washington. but it's my community. i've been in that community for 33 years and i'm not leaving. i think we have to make sure that if we're going to protest, protest in a way where it does not distract from getting to solutions to the problem. >> congressman cummings, thanks very much for joining us. marc morial as usual, thanks to you as well. >> thank you. coming up, more on this story. the police union now says something happened in that van. we have a new step-by-step look from the time freddie gray was arrested until the time he died. and a radioactive drone found on the roof of japan's equivalent of the white house. given recent security breaches in washington how big is the threat right here in this country? stay with us. you're in "the situation room." all these networks keep making different claims. it gets confusing. fastest, the strongest the most in-your-face-est. it sounds like some weird multiple choice test. yea, but do i pick a, b, or c. for me it's all of the above. i pick, like the best of everything.

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we're following the breaking news out of baltimore which is bracing for more protests after a young african-american man died while in police custody. only moments ago, an attorney for the officers involved and the head of the police union spoke out. cnn's jason carroll is joining us from baltimore right now. update our viewers, jason, what were the main points they were making? >> reporter: a few main points that they were making at the press conference that wrapped up just about ten minutes or so ago. as you heard earlier, they did confirm that five of the six officers did, in fact they said on the same day that freddie gray was taken into custody that five of the six officers did voluntarily give statements in terms of what happened. one of the officers chose not to. they did not identify which

officer that was. one of the other points that was made when asked if they thought any of the officers had committed a criminal act, michael davey, the attorney for the fraternal order of police said based on the information that he has received so far, he believes that none of the officers committed a criminal act. they also released a statement before the press conference got under way. and that caused a bit of tension in the room because when you read through the statement that gene ryan the president of the fraternal order of police released he referred to the protesters as a lynch mob, an unfortunate choice of words given the history in this country of lynching african-americans. when he was asked about that the use of that particular term, he responded this way. >> they've already tried and convicted the officers. and that's just unfair. they still get their day in court. they did not give up their

constitutional rights when they became a law enforcement officer. that's what i was getting at today. some of the protesters and some of the stuff i've been watching on the news, they want him put in prison. they haven't been charged. >> reporter: later on when repeatedly pressed on the use of that particular term wolf he did back down and said perhaps he should have used a different term. but he also made one other point, wolf. he said that he wants the investigative process to play itself out. he wants everyone here in the community to wait for the results of that investigation. wolf? >> jason, we'll get back to you. stand by. i want to dig deeper with our law enforcement analyst, tom fuentes, former fbi assistant director and our legal analyst, sunny hostin, former federal prosecutor. the department of justice is investigating, the state is investigating, local community police the mayor, a lot of people are investigating. we still don't really know what happened or why this guy was arrested to begin with right?

>> some statements have been made about what his thought was, reasonable suspicion to go ahead and chase after him when he ran. but i think the essence of this case that's missing is what was the actually physical cause of the injuries that he received that proved fatal? and we don't have a video of him being shot struck or in any way brutalized that way during the arrest process. they're carrying him basically to the paddy wagon. but that's common. many people don't want to cooperate. so they make you carry them to the transport. and you see him what appears to be him standing on his own two feet. and you say, how could your voicebox be crushed if you're able to do that? so it appears that whatever happened to him happened after

he got in that van. there's no camera that we know of that recorded that. >> it's a mystery indeed. freddie gray asked for an inhaler saying he couldn't breathe before he was even dragged into the van. police stopped the van at 8:46 a.m. to put leg irons on gray. then the van picked up another prisoner at 8:59 a.m. it wasn't until 9:24 a.m. that the ambulance was called for gray. that's a lot of time that passed. why would the van have made so many stops before he got to central booking and why wouldn't they have called for an ambulance or some medics if he was in pain or whatever while they were driving? i ask you the question i want to point out, you've pointed it out yourself you're friendly with the mayor of baltimore. >> that's right. she's a close friend and i want in all candor to reveal that to our viewers. bottom line is i don't know the answer to those questions, wolf.

i don't think anyone other than the officers involved in this arrest know the answers to those very important questions as to the time line. how can someone sort of end up with a severed spine, a fatal injury and have that happen in a van that no one is in other than this man, mr. gray. and i have to disagree with tom fuentes. yes, certain times that are people that feign injury and that need to be dragged into a police van. but it is very clear in my mind when i look at this video that this is a man who is screaming in pain this is a man who is clearly injured. this is a man that doesn't have any strength in his legs. he's acting -- he looks like a ragdoll. and the suggestion that somehow, oh, my goodness he was perfectly fine but something must have happened in the van when he was by himself is sort of the explanation. and i think that that is -- it's

just ridiculous and it looks to me as if the officers are using that as an excuse for what really happened here. it's a less-than-transparent investigation. >> i want both of you to stand by. we'll have much more coming up on this story. also coming up another major story breaking right now, thousands of americans aboard these ships are prepared to block an approaching iranian fleet that might be carrying weapons. are they nearing a major showdown? we have new information. and authorities are scrambling right now after a drone carrying radioactive material makes a mysterious landing. stand by for details. big day? ah, the usual. moved some new cars. hauled a bunch of steel. kept the supermarket shelves stocked. made sure everyone got their latest gadgets. what's up for the next shift?

ah, nothing much. just keeping the lights on. (laugh) nice. doing the big things that move an economy. see you tomorrow, mac. see you tomorrow, sam. just another day at norfolk southern.

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breaking news out of baltimore where crowds are marching to police headquarters to protest the death of freddie gray young african-american man who died in police custody. we'll monitor the growing protest there for you. stand by for that. there's another major story we're following. a fleet of iranian vessels heading closer and closer to nine u.s. warships off the coast of yemen with thousands of american sailors and marines on board. and we're getting new details tonight about iran's warships in the convoy. our chief national security correspondent jim sciutto is tracking this tense situation for us. what's the latest? >> new details. first of all, we learned in this iranian convoy it's not just cargo ships. there are small iranian warships in there. the other detail it is moving closer to the yemeni coast. still in international waters but now here just southwest of the yemeni/oman border.

the u.s. and allied ships are distributed between the southern red sea, along the strait and into the gulf of aden. we know today the distance between the u.s. and the iranian ships, within visual distance now. no plans to get any closer. certainly no plan to board or blockade those ships. but in this area it is the u.s. that is the dominant power. inside the iranian convoy lurking off the coast of yemen are small iranian warships. raising the stakes in an already tense standoff as nine u.s. warships keep watch nearby by sea and from the air with u.s. fa-18 hornets flying reconnaissance missions. the convoy though still in international waters is now moving deeper into the gulf of aden. >> this is purely messaging the u.s. navy messaging to the iranian navy we are here bigger than you are, more

cainable thancain capable than you are. >> reporter: in public, u.s. officials insist the naval show of force is merely about protecting commerce. >> i want to be very clear. they are not there to intercept iranian ships, to do issues like that. the purpose of moving them is only to ensure the shipping lanes remain open and safe. >> reporter: in private, military officials tell cnn that monitoring the iranian convoy is certainly part of the mission, something the president appeared to acknowledge in an interview with msnbc. >> ultimately when it comes to the seas we are obviously the dominant force and we're coordinating closely with all of our allies in the region sending a message that rather than another conflict in the region we need to settle this down. >> reporter: under u.s. pressure saudi arabia abruptly announced the end of its air campaign in yemen, only to restart air strikes today. saudi ambassador to the u.s.

said his country remains committed to defeating the houthi rebels. >> the houthis should be under no illusion that we will continue to use force them to stop them from taking yemen over by aggressive actions. >> reporter: on the ground pro-government forces in southern yemen vowed to keep fighting. we learned today two u.s. drone strikes in southern yemen killed six suspected aqap militants. strikes on monday killed another six, crucial because though the u.s. has pulled out from the embassy here taken special forces off the ground, still demonstrating a capability to carry out counterterrorism strikes inside yemen. that's essential. but u.s. counterterrorism and intelligence officials told me repeatedly the u.s. ability, counterterror pressure there on aqap is less because of that pullout. but still demonstrating they can

pull off some of these strikes, maintaining and having that u.s. carrier off there provides that intelligence. >> let's dig deeper right now. joining us the obama administration's pointman on this war with isis the deputy special presidential envoy for the global coalition to counter isis, the deputy assistant secretary of state for iran and iraq, brett mcguirk. do you understand what iran is trying to achieve in yemen? >> they've been supplying arms to the houthis for some time. we're supporting the saudis in this operation. we're encouraged by the announcement yesterday that they'll shift to a more humanitarian phase in the operation. but right now, any supply to the houthis is in violation of a u.n. security council resolution. our presence in the gulf is about maintaining that critical international commerce way. >> what happens -- there are nine u.s. warships including an

aircraft carrier there and there are a whole bunch of iranian ships, cargo ships, warships as well. if the u.s. suspects one of those ships has entered yemeni territorial waters and is carrying weapons to the houthis, what's the u.s. going to do? >> i'd refer to the pentagon on that. but our presence in the gulf is a substantial one. that will continue. >> you have no doubt the iranians are lying when they say they're not providing weapons, shipping arms to the houthis? >> we know they have. the u.n. security council has spoken to that. >> in iraq right now, do you almost what iran and their shiite hfr backed militias are doing to help fight the military against isis are they plaguing a destabilized iran? >> the situation of -- there are pillars that have a different conception.

when the prime minister was here last week he spoke firmly about any act by the iranis to control a proxy act. it's a position of iraq that they'll have a relationship with iran. but there are certain lines they don't want the iranians to cross. >> there's been a lot of people who have pointed out in iraq the u.s. and iran are on the same side fighting isis, not coordinating directly but on the same side. in yemen, they're on very different sides. >> that's a pretty simplistic way to analyze the situation. if you look at iraq, the situation in tikrit has stabilized. isis moved into the oil refinery and tried to move into ramadi. we have about 100,000 sunnis flee from anbar towards baghdad. the entire country time to the. the grand ayatollah said we have

to talk with the abadi government. the head of operations has occurred. the sunnis of anbar have been fighting isis for 16 months in ramadi. and they're determined to hold their city. >> who controls ramadi right now? >> iraqi security forces control the center of the city. we've done about 33 air strikes over the last few days. >> they won't drop their arms and run away? >> we're working with them. we'll help them hold that city. we've been very clear. this is going to be a long-term campaign and will take years. we saw in beji they organized a counterattack that's ongoing now. >> thanks very much for coming in. coming up, baltimore bracing for another round of protests. we'll take you there live as

crowds gather in anger over the death of freddie gray. and listen to this. a drone with radioactive material lands on the roof of a major u.s. ally's leader in tokyo, on the residence. their version of the white house. who's behind the threat? and what potentially are the risks at the white house here in washington? meet the world's newest energy superpower. surprised? in fact, america is now the world's number one natural gas producer... and we could soon become number one in oil.

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authorities are now scrambling for answers after a drone carrying radio active material landed on the roof of japan's prime minister's office. raising new fears about the use of drones as weapons just months after a drone actually crashed

on the white house lawn right here in washington. cnn's will ripply is joining us live from tokyo ewith the latest developments. will, this is pretty disturbing information. what do we know? >> we know that investigators are very alarmed about this bizarre discovery, wolf that somebody they believe deliberately put radio active material into a drone and able to fly it within feet of where the prime minister and his staff members work in the prime minister's residence. the primary office is raising very serious concerns here in tokyo and around the world about terrorist activities in these small, unmanned aircraft. a drone carrying trace amounts of a radio active material found on the roof of japan's prime minister's residence. the equivalent of the united states white house. one of aba's staffers first spotted the drone. within minutes a swarm of police were on scene. investigators say the 20-inch four-propeller device was carrying a camera four flares

and a bottle containing cesium. though nobody is claiming responsibility at this hour, it may draw clun cluees. this incident comes on the same day a japanese court ruled on the restarting of two nuclear reactors. a move seen as controversial by many japanese still reeling from the aftermath of the fuchu fukushima disaster. drones for weapons has japanese officials on alert. >> translator: there may be terrorism attempts in the future for olympic and g-7 summits using drones. so we would like to examine and review continuously the way small, unmanned vehicles like these drones should be operated. >> reporter: u.s. officials are taking note as well. following a pair of similar

incidents. in january, a drone crashed on the grounds of the white house. in that case the operator lost control of the device and self-reported the area. and just last week a florida man landed his gyro copter on the the lawn. right now the motest for this latest drone incident remains a mystery. the prime minister was out of the country in indonesia and he'll return later today and take a close look at the laws in japan right now that do not restrict drones from flying dangerously close to not only the prime minister residence but sensitive government buildings, as well. >> ramifications not only in japan, but around the world. will ripply thank you very much. coming up, mowre on our breaking news in the united states as baltimore braces for the fresh protest. an attorney for the police officers now say something

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happening anger in the streets over the death of a suspect in police custody. tonight, a lawyer for the police officer says the case turns on what happened inside the police van. brutal image, baltimore police have a notorious reputation and tv drama. city records reveal it may be even worse in real life.

and imminent attack. just months after the terror in paris, authorities now say they foiled a new plot targeting churches where isis or al qaeda terrorists calling the shots. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer, you're in "the situation room." this is cnn prakingbreaking news. >> monitoring a new protest getting under way in the police custody death case in baltimore. there's also new video showing an angle of the controversial arrest of the suspect freddie gray as he was put in a police van. just a little while ago a police union lawyer suggested something happened to gray when he was inside that van and that may explain why he died a week after his arrest. we have a team of correspondents in baltimore along with our reporters and our analysts all covering the news that's breaking right now. first, let's go to our national correspondent suzanne malveaux she's on the streets of baltimore with the very latest. suzanne?

>> well wolf just in the last 30 minutes or so we saw a little bit more than 100 protesters who gathered here outside of the western district police station. it has since dwindled down a bit. a very small group here. some standing on the barricade outside of the police station. they are very angry and you can hear them shouting in the background ask demanding justice for the family of freddie gray. in the meantime the police are bracing for another potential emotional night. tonight, new cell phone video obtained by baltimore station wjz showing freddie gray just moments after his dramatic arrest. police taking him out of the van and placing him in leg irons after they say he requested an inhaler and became irate. 30 minutes later, gray was no longer breathing. the autopsy says gray died from a severe spinal cord injury. his family said his voice box was crushed and neck snapped before he slipped into a coma

and later died. freddie gray's mother and step father overwhelmed with emotion. surrounded by hundreds of supporters protesting. tense-filled hours as the group retracing the path where the 25-year-old was first picked up. caught on tape being dragged by police wailing in pain. the gray family's legal team says it could take up to 90 days to get the official autopsy results and there is still no explanation as to why gray fled from police or why they chased after him. >> this kid was ultimately stopped for running while black. as some of us have put it in criminal law veterans, we call it felony running. and it's never been probable cause for an arrest. >> reporter: why so many unanswered questions? according to a law enforcement officer's bill of rights a supervisor is prohibited from

questioning police accused of misconduct until ten days after the alleged incident. today, that window expires. >> so until now we have not heard anything from the officers. we've heard testimony from the witnesses. we've all seen the video. and now we get into what were the officers thinking? what was their experience and then we can begin to fill in the gaps of the information there. >> reporter: but the attorney for the fraternal order of police said the police have been talking. >> five of the six officers voluntarily waived their constitutional rights and gave voluntary statements to the investigators in this matter. >> reporter: and police department says that those statements will be given to the state's attorney office on deadline next friday as promised by the police department. wolf should also let you know too, that we have learned that medical examiner's office has cleared for the family the gray family to take the body. they are now currently working

on deciding a funeral home to do just that. they're in the process of that. that is one of the things that they were very very upset about yesterday. that has since been resolved wolf. >> suzanne malveaux, thanks very much. let's stay on the streets of baltimore. the protests getting under way. brian todd on the scene. brian, where are you and what is going on? >> we're in west baltimore, wolf near the police precinct. a very passionate crowd has built here and has really grown to at least a few hundred people. very moving scene. just a second ago the leader of the protest gathered some very young people to march at the front of this procession. young children from this neighborhood teenagers, have been recruited to march at the front of this procession. now with pastor wesley west he is the leader of this march. pastor what are your demands tonight? >> we want justs for the and justice for the community.

no justice and no peace here and we're tired of it. >> how long are you going to protest tonight? >> we're going to protest as long as we have the energy. we're going to keep going. >> they have a lot of energy wolf. steady crowd building behind us. i would say at least a few hundred people. i'm not sure quite where we're marching but we're going to stay with them. >> brian, i want to get back to you. stand by over there. brian todd on the streets of baltimore. well before the death of freddie gray. they had a reputation for brutality. reportedly paying out millions of dollars in settlements to alleged victims. let's get some more on what is going on. anchor jake tapper is on the streets of baltimore right now. what have you learned, jake? >> good evening, wolf. we've seen a lot of protesters here this evening. really angry. very passionate. yelling. chanting. because as you note, these tensions between the community here in baltimore and the police department they've been going

on for decades. >> tell the truth! >> reporter: it has been dubbed originally without irony, charm city. baltimore, maryland has long held a reputation for being one of the most dangerous cities to police in the nation with a history of brutality on both sides of the badge. it's a reputation that freddie gray's death has brought to light, once again. gray was young, african-american had a slew of previous drug-related arrests and he spent time in the housing projects here. in short, gray represented one of baltimore's most watched populations. watched by police on foot patrol and watched by an audience of millions in television depictions. baltimore has served as the go-to example of urban tension and shows like "the wire."

or "homicide life on the streets." shows based on neighborhoods dotted with death. this map compiled by the "baltimore sun" shows 211 homicides in the city last year. so far, 2015 has seen 63. these numbers are vastly better than in previous decades when crime was notoriously high. more than 350 homicides in 1993 alone. at the time police recruitment videos used the slogan and you thought your job was tough. >> how would you like it if we quit? >> reporter: it is a dangerous job tado that is difficult to do without criticism. the baltimore police department is working hard to posting photos of outreach efforts. it's an effort of which the mayor is proud. >> i think baltimore has had a very challenging history when it comes to the black community and the police department. we've done a lot of work and made a lot of progress. >> reporter: but for many in the

citydolittle in the wake of videos such as these showing officer brutality. residents say it's all too common. >> freddie gray is not the only one they beat up. >> reporter: quality more sun" reported that the city had paid more than $5.7 million in judgments and settlements for alleged police misconduct since 2011. this includes six-figure settlements for slamming a pregnant woman to the ground killing an unarmed marine veteran and for beating a church deacon with no previous record. >> i heard the complaints. i heard the distrust and it is clear there's still work to be done. >> reporter: baltimore police called for a government investigation now less than a year later the department of justice will investigate the force, once again. >> we need stronger enforcement and more tools to hold officers accused of wrong doing accountable. >> reporter: in a city as hard to police as this one, the

biggest challenge may be a department trying to police itself. and, wolf i have been talking to some of the community leaders here and one of the things that they are expressing some hope for amidst this tragic event is the idea that perhaps the death of freddie gray can prompt a discussion and some serious change when it comes to the kinds of policing techniques used here in baltimore. wolf? >> you've been there in baltimore, jake all day. what is your sense on how the community is basically dealing with all of this? >> well people are very angry, wolf. and upset, and you know it's been ten days and there still is no satisfying explanation as to how or why freddie gray was killed. and i have to say, hearing the fraternal order of police president use the term lynch mob when describing the largely african-american protests here

he said that it was as if it was a lynch mob against the police. i think that that use, that turn of phrase was one that did not go over well with protesters and could perhaps even antagonize things further. so far the protests have been peaceful. so far things have gone well when it comes to the police and comes to protesters. but that kind of rhetoric could be problematic, wolf. >> certainly could be given the history of that phrase lynch mob. thanks very much jake tapper on the scene for us. we'll get back to you as news warrants. i want to bring in our national correspondent jason carroll. he's also there in baltimore. did the representative of the police union, he walked that phrase lynch mob back a little bit, right? >> he did. actually that phrase was used in a statement that was handed out by fraternal order of police jean ryan the president of the fraternal order of police was asked repeatedly about the use

of that particular phrase. and later on during the press conference wolf he did eventually back down and say perhaps he should have used a different choice of words. some of the key points that also came out during the press conference the paternal order of police confirmed that five of the six officers the day of the arrest of freddie gray did voluntarily give statements about what happened. one of the officers chose not to. that officer not being specifically identified. but because one officer did not choose to do that that certainly is going to raise some red flags with some members of the community here. also wolf the representatives here were questioned about whether or not they believed any of the officers committed a criminal act. >> what makes you say -- >> based on the information that i know, no. >> and i think it's important to understand that the union is

100% completely behind the officers, also. you know they still have their constitutional right to have their day in court. and i wish everybody would just slow down a little and let the investigation take its course. >> again, by the end of the press conference you had both michael davy and jean ryan both praising the peaceful protesters who have been out here in baltimore, again, calling for the investigative process to play itself out. wolf? >> all right, jason, thank you. jason carroll reporting. we'll get back to you, as well. let's bring in tom fuentes and joey jackson and our cnn anchor don lemon. joey will the department of justice investigation, the civil rights allegations that they may have been violated do you believe that will be effective? >> well it is effective because it's always nice to have the federal government as an additional measure of oversight. now, keeping in mind of course if the state charges could proceed, if any. if there's bound to be any

criminality because we know the local prosecutors are investigating. however, wolf you have to look at the elements of a civil rights charge. of course you know there's going to be the claim. rightful as it should be. that there was a deprivation of the civil rights. you know that's something that you could say was established and that there was unlawful course used here. the second element, of course that they were law enforce officials. they were acting. the third thing is the death. where a big hang up comes in civil rights cases is the willful deprivation of a right. you have to establish it was intentional. it was purposeful and it was malicious. if they could establish that, then as the federal government then you have a viable civil rights prosecution that remains to be seen in terms of what the intent of the officers were when he got hurt. >> let me bring in tom fuentes because, tom, as you well know these six police officers who have now been suspended, five of the six did make statements to the police. one of them didn't.

presumably citing his or her constitutional right not to go ahead and testify at something that could be incriminating. but, the union is now saying they don't believe the police officers did anything wrong. how do they know that? >> i think they've gotten some indication you know that attorney is representing them he may know something that we do not know and is not going to ebe public yet. already misinformation going out in this case that often happens in a high-profile case. we have reporting say that none of the officers spoke. they were all exercising their rights. turns out that five did the very day of the incident. so, you know there are many facts that aren't out yet that we know of. many more to be learned as the investigation progresses. >> don, what about the fact that baltimore, as we as jake just pointed out paid $5.7 million to victims of police brutality between the years 2011 2014 including an 87-year-old grandmother who was thrown to the floor by a white police officer when she tried to come to the aid of her grandson who

had just been shot. she was one of more than 100 victims that the city had to settle with. are you surprised by this? >> no i'm not considering there is a reason that they're going to baltimore for these police shows and it's because of what happens in that city. i'm not surprised at all. $5.7 million since 2011. that's a lot of money. and it seems that there is an issue, obviously, with the police department in baltimore when it comes to these issues. now, do we know what happened with this particular issue? we know from what we seen the videotape, we don't know what the beginning, what happened at the take down and we don't know what happened inside of the ambulance and that this is going to be one that the city will have to settle. but i think that the city is going to have to pay some money because, because the mayor has admitted in some sense that there was some culpability with the police department because they did not call for an ambulance immediately when freddie gray was arrested. so i'm not surprised at all

that they paid that much money. they've got an issue and they need to deal with it. >> we don't know what happened in that police van after he was taken and put inside that police van. it was at least half an hour if not a lot longer before an ap apblance showed up to take him to the hospital. much more to report. you're looking at live pictures there from baltimore. demonstrators gearing up for another night of protests. we'll have the latest, when we come back.

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in fact why we get an update on the justice department's investigation of the case pamela brown is joining us. what are you learning pamela? >> wolf the justice department's move to launch the civil rights investigation this early on is an indication of a more aggressive approach by the department. federal officials will try to establish whether the officers willfully violated freddie gray's rights to be free from unreasonable seizure under the fourth amendment. to answer that officials we have been speaking with investigators will have to reconstruct the sequence of events step by step first to determine whether the injuries was thereinflicted after the takedown of gray. he was already in handcuffs and then force was used to cause the injury that could be considered excessive because he was already restrained. according to police the officers say force was not used against gray. now, another aspect investigators will look at is whether the police were reckless in not giving immediate medical assistance to gray. officials will have to establish that they intentionally ignored

gray's medical needs and, as we saw in that video, dragged him tathe van knowing that it could increase his injuries. a big puzzle a piece of the puzzle here is that medical forensics, which could tell us whether the dragging made a difference. the type of blow that could happen and that kind of thing. the answer to those questions, wolf are not readily available right now. and we know the department could order a separate federal autopsy like it did in the ferguson case. we don't know if that happened, but it's a possibility. still a lot of unanswered questions, wolf. >> they certainly are. they are going to be investigated at multiple levels. pamela brown, thanks very much. let's bring in jeffrey toobin right now, our senior legal analyst. jeffrey, as we take a look at this. the effectiveness of a justice department investigation. do you think it will be real? because this could go on and on and on. >> remember there are three investigations now going on or planned. you have the police investigation, which is going to make its report to the prosecuting attorney next week. you have an independent investigation that has been

promised by the mayor and now you have the justice department investigation. i do think that in light of all those investigations we will learn a great deal more than we know now. but i think it is important to recognize how little we know now about why freddie gray was arrested. was were the circumstances of his arrest and, most importantly, how did he sustain these terrible injuries? none of those answers are clear. but i do think that with those three investigations we will know the answers. >> hopefully we will. stand by i want to bring don lemon in. don, i want it step away from what is going on in baltimore. as you know you're in new york. the latest nypd training encourages not telling racist jokes, even if you think this is a direct quote. even if you think they are not offensive. is this part of the problem after the department of justice had to go into ferguson. city employees were fired for sending e-mails and police are

still reminding not to be racist even in their jokes. >> i think it is part of the problem and i'm here speaking with you because just no more than 45 minutes ago i was down at one police plaza here interviewing the police commissioner bill bratton, and he talked to me about these specifics tactics and he said listen there is always room for more training. and some people were one of the newspapers here was very cynical about this. this new training procedures yesterday. and he didn't he didn't find that funny. he said listen people need to be reminded sometimes. some of the things that do not imitate the speech patterns of others tell a person why he or she is being stopped. that person is going to resent you. those may be simple things, but people need to be reminded of things all the time. the commissioner says. and he also said that for him the issue is that it is a mutual issue of more than one party. not just the police. the people in the community and he also said it is the media, as

well. we have to start seeing each other and, as he said not hyping tensions. seeing each other, especially the police officers and the people in the community as human beings. this is all part of their new training that they are going to offer the new recruits as they come out of the academy in june and then they can, you know they can redo them for future classes, if they feel that they have to. so all of this starting in june. some of it he says already in practice now. >> i know you'll have a big interview with him later tonight. 10:00 p.m. eastern. cnn tonight. we'll stand by for that. don, what do you think about this? what is your reaction? >> i agree with all of that. also, though, we haven't paid much attention to police selection, deselecting officers with bad character and identifying it up front. i think if departments did more of that we might see less officers on the street. who can't be trained. i don't think you can't train a pit bull to become a french poodle. you need to hire good cops in the first place and not try to take it out of them during training. but even when they're hired, you

need the training. you need discipline. you need the enforcement of the training throughout their career to make sure that officers continue to behave well and not break bad and do these things. >> you're absolutely right. joey let's talk about together story that we're watching. the talk about robert bates pleaded not guilty in connection with eric harris. bates was then given permission by the judge to go to the bahamas for a family vacation for a month. have you ever heard of anything like that. >> you know wolf i really haven't. it is certainly the message that it sends. we have to be mindful and as a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor i will remind us that of course it is innocent until proven guilty. however, that being said you're facing a very serious crime. now, this crime that he's facing is not predicated upon any intentional act, but it's predicated upon a concept that we call negligence. what you so negligent and what does that mean in layman's

terms? did your standard of care so deviate from what a reasonable person would do under those circumstances that it constitutes a crime. in this case as we know, there is some indication that he grabbed the taser from his chest area and, you know he wanted or should have grabbed or meant to grab is the indication a taser that was on his chest area and, instead, grabbed his pistol and shot. so that's a concern. but after you granted bail to go on vacations and jungts i haven't as a prosecutor nor as a defense attorney ever seen this before. i think it doesn't send the proper and appropriate message under these circumstances. >> let me just get quickly from jeffrey toobin. someone charged with second degree manslaughter. 73-year-old man allowed to go spepd spend a month on vacation in the bahamas with his family because they already purchased the tickets? >> it is a total disgrace and a slap in the face to everyone in the criminal justice system. and i think it's indicative.

you know we are sometimes accused of obeing undooley cynical about the treatment between white victims, white defendants. i mean here you have the 73-year-old white guy and, you know what he's out on bail. take a vacation in oklahoma. lots of nice places in oklahoma. he shouldn't be allowed to go to the bahamas. it's just a disgrace. >> you agree, tom? >> i just don't think it's because he's white, he has the money to do what he wants. they don't consider him a flight risk. the minority defendant that is poor isn't taking a trip to the bahamas. >> if he has money, if he has money then he's more of a flight risk because he could afford to do many things. many people don't have options to get out of the country or go in hiding. if he has a lot of money and he wants to you know stay in the bahamas, he can figure it out. i'm not saying he is going to do that. i think that will make him more of the flight risk because he has the means to do it. >> there may be cases where

someone out on bail can leave the country and go to the bahamas on vacation and second degree manslaughter is a pretty serious charge. don, remember he will be back later tonight and more of the breaking news on his program. he'll be speaking with the new york city police commissioner bill bratton. 10:00 p.m. eastern. you'll want to see that. guys thanks very much. we'll take a quick break. more of the news right after this. automotive innovation starts... right here.

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we're following the breaking news out of baltimore. new protest against the police that is under way right now over the controversial death of a suspect in custody. let's check in with brian todd on the streets of baltimore. what is going on now, brian? >> wolf a very dramatic development right now at one of baltimore's major intersections. the corner of martin luther king jr. boulevard and pennsylvania avenue. they are joining hands and chanting and blocking traffic. show you the traffic disruption here and goes back for several blocks now and you've got the situation over here wolf. with the police cars. these protesters have been dodging the police cars for several minutes now. they'll make a turn just to get away from the police. when i asked the protest organizers just now why they want to block traffic at this major intersection he said to

show them what we can do. they're going to put up police barricades at the police precinct. put up barricades of our own right here wolf? >> the president of the national organization of black law enforcement executives. he is also a key member of president obama's task force on 21st century policing. what should the police you just saw brian say the protesters are blocking traffic on the streets of baltimore. what should they do about that? >> i think it's one of those situations where i'm going to hope that they're going to be patient with this crowd, but yet at the same time, they have the responsibility of maintaining a certain amount of peace so people can peacefully protest. but, sometimes you have to be a little lenient and allow people to do what they do to express themselves and it appears that that's what they're doing right now, wolf. >> the attorney working with the police officers who have been suspended. six of them have been suspended. that attorney told "baltimore sun" the city in his words, is

lucky that they got statements from five of the six officers involved in the arrest. does that sound like cooperation to you when you hear that kind of talk? >> well certainly not in the vain in which you expressed it. it certainly does not. the fact of the matter is it's been ten days. the community and certainly that mayor want to know what happened from the police officer's version. now, is not a time to be someone antagonistic. now as the time is really to try to get police officers that he represents in this union to begin to make some statements that would be important for the community tahear but at the same time not jeopardizing the integrity of this investigation. so i would hope that this union president, whoever he or she may be will certainly work to try to reconcile and work through some of those questions that so many people want answers to. >> speaking of the union president, listen to jean ryan of the baltimore police union and president what he had to say

about tensions right now between police and the community in baltimore. >> i think there has been some tension for a couple years. but, not on a wide scale because majority of our police officers are very professional. they're highly trained, self-motivated. and they do an excellent job for the most part. now, are there some bad amspples out there? we need to improve the relationship between the police department and the community. i think that needs to start with training. >> your reaction cedric? >> he's certainly choosing his words very carefully. i think it's important that he do so. but here's the key. he being the leader of that union certainly need to work with those police officers that are involved and the mayor along with the commissioner too. in terms of giving the community. the community right now is asking for it. tell us what's going on. the longer that these officers don't cooperate, it certainly makes it much tougher for the

leadership in that community to be able to tell people what's going on. everybody wants to know as much as we can. so i would hope that the union leadership there will work with the city officials and with the investigations that we know that there are at least four investigations that are going to be conducted, wolf into this whole piece. >> who knows how many more will be involved as well. >> absolutely. >> cedric thanks very much. president of the national organization of black law enforcement executives. we're going to have much more on the breaking news coming up. plus another breaking story happening. very tense standoff between american and iranian warships. we're learning new details about how close they're sailing to each other. stay with us. we all enter this world with a shout and we see no reason to stop. so cvs health is creating industry-leading programs and tools

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breaking news. saudi arabia has just hit rebels in yemen with a fresh round of air strikes targeting a weapons depot causing huge explosions. the strike comes amid an increasingly tense standoff at sea. both countries are masking warships lots of them with u.s. vessels on standby to possibly intercept iranian vessels that may be carrying weapons to those rebels in yemen. our national security correspondent jim sciutto is working the story for us. jim, it's pretty serious situation right now. >> no question. a lot of ships in close proxtimty. that's always tense. first of all the iranian convoy small ships in the convoy as well. also moving closer to the yemeni

coast and now southwest of the border between yemen and aman. that puts them within a few miles of u.s. warships with its ally ships along here. they are not making any plans and an extraordinary step to board those ships or block aid them but they're watching them and sending them a message that the u.s. is watching to hopefully pressure them back so they don't go ashore with what may be expected it be weapons onboard chose ships. other news saudi arabia announced yesterday it had suspended its air campaign in yemen. but today dropping more bombs on positions and the saudi ambassador to the u.s. making it very clear that they're going to keep up the pressure. here's what he had to say. >> this should be under no illusion that we will continue to use force. in order to stop them by taking actions. >> the u.s. continue to carry out drone strikes inside yemen. two drone strikes here down in the southeastern part of the

country killed six suspected mill tntsz. that's the second time in three days. you have u.s. intelligence and forces off the ground there in yemen. they're still maintaining the ability to carry out counterterror operations. wolf? >> a serious, serious development. sciutto. member of the foreign relations and intelligence committees. senator, thanks as usual, for joining us. how worried are you about a possible confrontation on the seas between the united states and iran? >> well you know right now both sides are using restraint. this is it's pretty obvious what's going on. you have these ships that have left iran. obviously, i can't sit here and confirm what's on them. >> deny that they include weapons. they say humanitarian supplies. >> i understand that. it will be interesting to see when they when they are unloaded what kind of supplies are on there. if they're boarded or if they're inspected when they land i suspect it's probably going to be by the saudis. they're the ones that have been

carrying out the operations there. i'm not so sure that the iranians will unload or allow boarding given their claim of what they say -- >> one thing if the iranian ships, there may be nine of them. cargo ships, war ships are international waters as opposed to when they actually go in yemeni territorial waters. >> no question about that. if they are humanitarian supplies no one is going to stop them. >> the rules of engagement for the u.s. military and there are thousands of u.s. sailors and marines aboard that aircraft carrier the "uss teddy roseosevelt roosevelt". >> i can't tell you what those rules of engagement are from direct knowledge. having said that i don't think it takes much imagination to understand that the rules of engagement will be such. that the u.s. is going to keep

order there. they sent the ships there and they got the "normdy" there and "teddy roosevelt" and both are there to see that order is kept. the work is going to be done i believe, by the saudis when it comes to actual ingajment, if that happens. >> let's talk about what happened in france today. the arrest of an individual suspected a terror suspect suspected of plotting tableau up churches. this comes on the heels of what happened a few weeks agoe. they found guns ammunition and bulletproof vests and handwritten documents. have you been briefed on what is going on over there? >> it's another one of the bizarre situations. it appears to be a loner, again. he killed a woman, apaurntly. some time ago. this incident actually happened on sunday. the report of it wasn't released until today. but they did find a lot of terrorist supplies when he apparently accidentally shot himself and asked for medical

help. the automobile was searched his home was searched and they found a number of things that would indicate another loaner rloner type of attack. >> loner inspired on the social media by what? is isis? who? >> the indications are that the directions came out of syria. no specific group was identified however, again, one would tell this common sense three years of common sense that it was at least isis. >> you still believe isis has aspirational goals to go after targets right here in the u.s. on land? >> i don't think there is any question about that. i think this is, again, continuing indication of it. these are the kind of things they're using and very difficult to guard against and actually very easy for them to pull off. you and i have talked before about the fact that they are people who have left the united states. u.s. citizens indeed who have left the united states. gone and fought in syria and

have come back. open source reporting saying that one of the reasons they send them back is tado just the same thing in the united states. so far we've been lucky to not lucky, but skilled in keeping those people from doing that. >> yeah so far. >> and lucky. skilled and lucky. >> all right, thanks very much for joining us. >> thank you. breaking news here in the situation room. the latest from baltimore. bracing for another night of ang ery protests over the death of freddie gray in police custody. this allergy season, will you be a sound sleeper, or a mouth breather. a mouth breather! well, put on a breathe right strip and shut your mouth. allergy medicines open your nose over time, but add a breathe right strip and pow!

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we're following the breaking news, new protests in baltimore. you're looking at pictures coming in from baltimore, the police custody death of freddie gray. a police lawyer is saying something happened while he was inside a police van that may explain the severe injury to his spinal cord. let's bring in gloria bornlger jeff zeleny and michael smir connish. gloria the president still hasn't weighed in directly on what's been going on in baltimore. any reason for that? >> i wouldn't expect him to this early, wolf. if you remember with ferguson it took the president a few days and some very visible large

demonstrations. then he weighed in a few days later. what he said at the time holds in this particular case which there are local, state, federal investigations going on. the doj, the justice department is investigating. and when the president did weigh in on ferguson he made it very clear, he said i've got to make sure that i don't look like i'm putting my thumb on the scales one way or another. so i think standing back at this point is the wise thing to do. >> michael, there's going to be a new attorney general in the coming days, loretta lynch, the u.s. attorney in new york likely to be confirmed this week. do you anticipate she'll have a different role in this investigation into baltimore as opposed to her predecessor, eric holder? >> i don't think there are going to be substantive differences, i think there will be style isic differences between the two. i don't think, wolf when her name was first put forth that we would have anticipated there

would be so much focus on these issues. that doesn't mean she's a newcomer to the subject matter. she handled large, complex cases. you'll remember the am due diallo case, the abner lou eem ma case t so-called broomstick case. she played pivotal roles in those. too much for some not enough for others. i think that's the kind of record you want going forward. >> jeff are you surprised martin o'malley who is running for the democratic presidential nomination even though he hasn't formally announced it former may you of baltimore former gov more nor of maryland he hasn't talked about it. >> he hasn't talked about it you're right. he did tell "the washington post" that he believes the city officials should be as transparent as they should be. he says it's troubling and he think this is is a local matter.

just like what gloria said with the president, i'm not surprised he hasn't weighed in. we don't know all the facts, hard to judge one way or another. he knows these police officials, the commissioner and others. i think if this goes on and if the demonstrations continue he will. >> if he's not the governor of the state anymore -- >> wants to be president of the united states though. history with baltimore and with maryland. gloria this new poll 87% believe isis is a serious threat to the united states. how is that going to play out in this political campaign season? >> well i think what you're going to see on the republican side is republicans being much more muscular on foreign policy. we've already heard it from scott walker jeb bush john kasich the talk of taking the fight after isis directly. john kasich talked about putting combat groups on the ground if you need to. this by the way, wolf, plays

into the republican primary audience because 60% of them also oppose any deal with iran on nuclear weapons. so you're going to see a lot more muscular republican party. the big question i have is where does rand paul go in this group. >> he's already become more muscular over the last year. with the threat of isis he'll have to be more so. >> what do you think, michael? >> i think glor yeah is right. you see 53% of americans would like there to be some kind of accommodation. when you look at the internals, 60% of republicans who are opposed to that deal t. more conservative the gop member the more they oppose the deal. what that tells me is there will be no change moving forward among the republican caucus on this issue or the 2016 candidates. as you know, wolf, passion drives the base. there's passionate in opposition to the iran deal.

>> smikal smerconish gloria bornlger jeff zelleny. you can always follow me on twitter. tweet the show @cnnsitroom. i'm wolf blitzer in "the situation room." erin burnett out front starts right now. frmths out front tonight, breaking news anger on the streets of baltimore. protesters demanding justice, the police union firing back saying the protesters resemble quote, a lynch mob. this as police double down saying they had every right to arrest freddie gray. iranian warships tonight on the move heading straight for u.s. destroyers in the arabian sea. let's go out front. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com out front to tight we begin with breaking news in baltimore. outrage for a second night. protesters taking to