44 hours ago i told you how organized and creasing levi lent incity ga instigators were inserting themselves and i asked that you come out and protest before the sun went down so they would not serve as shields for the law breakers in the night. tonight we saw a different dynamic. i believe there was a turning point made, and i think that turning point was made by the clergy, the activists, the volunteers and the men and women of law enforcement who partnered together to make a difference. we're making steps. they're not big giant steps, they're small steps. but those small steps will turn into giant steps and those giant

steps are going to be great strides for this community. after a night of relative calm, the debate over the police shooting death of michael brown moves off the streets and into the court system. today a grand jury will hear preliminary evidence in the case. today attorney general eric holder will be meeting with investigators on the ground. good morning from ferguson, missouri, once again. it's wednesday, august 20th, 2014, and this is "the daily rundown." i'm craig melvin in for chuck todd today. and today could be a turning point for ferguson, missouri. after more than a week of those sometimes violent clashes, police officers did not use smoke bombs, they did not use tear gas on the crowds last night. 47 people were arrested, most of them for failing to disperse. once again, the protests started before sundown but got more intense as the night wore on.

>> hands up, don't shoot, hands up, don't shoot. >> please keep on moving. >> please stop throwing objects and disperse immediately. >> back off! >> get back. >> everybody back up! >> all members of media need to get back to the designated area. >> this has been a hot area the last few nights. we've had shots fired in this area. i can't ensure your safety. >> we shall overcome. we will be all right. >> it's been a beautiful night. give yourself a round of applause. i can't hear you. let the world hear you. >> today a st. louis county grand jury will begin hearing evidence in the brown shooting, according to the county prosecutor's office. officer darren wilson has been interviewed by investigators and will be given the opportunity to testify. again, given the opportunity. at this point no indication on

whether he will actually testify. calls are growing in the african-american community especially for the prosecutor to be replaced by a special prosecutor, but a spokesman said mccullouch has no intention of stepping aside. last night missouri governor jay nixon made it clear he will not be removing him saying it's mccullouch's responsibility to recuse himself if he believes he is should. it seems as if like mccullouch and nixon are both now pointing fingers at each other saying, listen, if you want me to go, you're going to have to make me go. if you want to go, you're going to have to step aside. meanwhile you're got senator claire mccaskill that's come out and defended mccullouch. does this mean that mccullouch

is likely to remain in charge? >> i think he is likely to remain in charge but i think we're also likely to continue seeing calls from the black community for him to step aside because they really believe he can't be impartial in this sglegs w investigation. >> why is that? give us some back story here. >> it goes back in part to a case from 2000 where two black men were shot dead by two white police officers as they sat in the car park at a jack in the box. mccullouch brought evidence to a grand jury which did not indict the men and mccullouch said he supported that decision. that caused a lot of anger in the black community. even since we've had this unrest in ferguson, he sort of came out and said he did not like the decision to appoint ron johnson to police the effort and that sort of made things worse, i think. >> a lot of folks wondered after that why would he even chime in. like why would that be something that mccullouch would feel the need to even talk about.

talk to me a little bit about grand jury proceedings here in missouri, this part of missouri. how long could it take? what kind of evidence are they likely to get? >> this is important because for the first time they really gave some information about the timeline. and they said they will present very preliminary evidence today. the grand jury's term expires at the end of -- early september and at that point they'll convene a special grand jury, they said, the same 12 jurors that will hear evidence now, but they said it could take weeks or even months to present that evidence. and as we've seen, you know, residents here don't feel like they're willing to wait that long, you get that sense, so that's going to be a difficult thing to negotiate and to communicate to people, that the wheels of justice need to move in a procedural kind of manner. >> all right, always good to have you. thank you. the neighboring town, the neighboring town of delwood, missouri, hoping that the peace lasts here in ferguson. the upheaval in ferguson has

already spread to dellwood, missouri. that's just northeast of where we are here in ferguson. spillover protesters looted six businesses in dellwood sunday night. looters shot the locks off the doo doors. two sundays ago 16 other dellwood businesses were also looted. i'm joined by dellwood mayor reggie jones to talk about the problems over in dellwood. how do things stand right now? >> right now it's a little quiet over there. the last week or so we've experienced the push when the police officers were pushing them north,we're about two blocks from the ground zero site so all that traffic came into our area and we had the looting, individuals going through neighborhoods, so i had a lot of residents that were really concerned about the tactics the police are using to make sure to keep them outside of dellwood. >> those businesses that we just mentioned, have they since reopened?

>> all reopened. all businesses that were hit, 16 the first night, six the second night there was looting and they're all open right now. >> what additional precautions are you taking? >> i have assigned my officers to patrol my neighborhoods. i've gotten tons of calls from residents skernds about their safety, so i have strictly told my officers not to leave and only patrol the areas of residential. ron johnson has taken control of the west floirresant area with his troops. >> do you get the sense we're at a turning point or do you think it's a little too early. >> i think last night was a plus. i know we had 47 arrests. no tear gas used last night. hopefully it's a turning point. we didn't have a lot of individuals that were traveling north so it may be a turning point. >> what was the difference last night? one of the things i noticed, it seemed as if the officers weren't -- you know, they

weren't shoulder to shoulder in the middle of the street, they were more spread out. they seemed to be more spread out among the protesters. >> i think that may have helped too, but as i was watching on tv, i saw some older individuals out here who are working very, very hard to talk to the young men to try to calm them down, to try and direct them so i think that was also a plus in last night's efforts. >> have you had a conversation, have you been in conversation with the mayor of ferguson? >> actually i've talked to the mayor of ferguson yesterday and we've talked twice since this incident about different things that we could do to try to make the situation better. >> what's his take on where things stand right now? >> he's just waiting for the process to begin. you know, he wants this to go to the grand jury, to be played out. he's not really talking in detail about the situation at this time. >> if the grand jury returns an indictment at some point against the officer, do you think that we see this end? >> i think we'll see it slow down. but i don't think this will end until there's a jury trial and

conviction. i think the grand jury indictment would help, but i think these individuals are really in it for the long haul. i don't think it's a short fix with this. anything short of a conviction, i don't think this will even stop. >> thank you so much. i do appreciate your time. up next on "the daily rundown," attorney general eric holder taking the lead in the government's response, the federal government's response to the tension here in ferguson. he is going to be on the ground in just a few hours. some anxiety ahead of his arrival here. we'll talk about that. also some new details ahead. but first, the brown family attorney, anthony gray, on what he thinks about the grand jury's investigation. >> i'm a little unique in that perspective because i see the world from the top down and not the bottom up, i'm an optimistic guy. the glass is half full with me. so i'm hopeful and optimistic that they're going to do the right thing. the proof will be in the pudding.

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do you think that there's been a rush to judgment here? >> i think there has definitely been a rush to judgment. i think it was irresponsible to call for vigorous prosecution. we are all for a vigorous investigation, but -- and when we talk about justice, we want justice for all concerned. i am concerned that darren wilson receive his due process. >> that was the president of the missouri police union representing officer darren wilson talking to our ronan farrow earlier this morning. as a grand jury begins to hear evidence locally at this hour, attorney general eric holder is departing d.c. for ferguson to meet with fbi investigators and

federal prosecutors who have been conducting a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting. holder was briefed yesterday afternoon on preliminary findings of the federal autopsy on michael brown, the third autopsy on the 18-year-old in an open letter published late tuesday on the "st. louis post dispatch's" website. holder write this is my pledge to the people of ferguson, our investigation into this matter will be full, it will be fair and it will be independent. according to "the new york times," holder and justice department officials are weighing whether to open a broader civil rights investigation of ferguson's police practices after news reports of a 2009 case in which a 52-year-old man named henry davis said that four ferguson police officers beat him, then charged him with damaging government property because his blood had gotten on the officers' uniforms.

with some civil rights leaders criticizing the president for not intervening more aggressively in ferguson, nbc news has learned that attorney general holder, and valerie jarrett briefed more than 1,000 civil rights community and faith leaders this week in two private conference calls. those calls were aimed at enl t enlisting the group's help to keep the situation here on the ground, to keep it calm. in a letter, more than a dozen groups say it's time not just for an independent and comprehensive justice department investigation but for a federal review of all police killings and immediate action to address the unjustified use of lethal and excessive force by police officers. joining me now, former deputy assistant attorney general william yeomans out of american university's washington college of law, barbara arnwine, president and executive director of the lawyers community for civil rights.

always good to see both of you. first of all, what are you looking for from the justice department rand what are you looking for specifically from mr. holder when he arrives here in ferguson in a few hours? >> i am really looking to the justice department to the a vigorous and thorough investigation independently and i'm looking for them to do what's necessary to make sure that the facts of this case are clear and that the proper charges are brought, if possible, under the civil rights statutes if warranted. i also want to make sure that the justice department looks beyond this case. that this, unfortunately, michael browns are happening all over our country. there has been the gardner situation in new york, there's been the edsall ford situation in los angeles, there's been numerous other unreported shootings, including not only

the shooting in st. louis yesterday but also we have been getting calls at our office just burning up our lines from people who have had their children shot all over this nation. so it is very serious and it requires a really serious response. our 12 organizations are saying to the department of justice, let's do all the systemic changes. let's make sure that if you're giving people money, if you're giving these police forces money, make sure that they're using body-worn cameras, make sure that there are dash cams on every police vehicle. make sure that you're not all allowing these police departments to overmilitaryize. make sure that they're doing training so they're not using excessive force shooting african-americans unarmed, men and women, to death. >> william, what are some of the options open to the justice department here? and how high is the bar? >> well, the first option, of

course, is the criminal investigation, which is now under way. and that is an investigation into whether or not there was a civil rights violation. so the prosecution would be under a post civil war statute that requires the government to show that the officer acted with a specific intent to use more force than was reasonably necessary under the circumstances. that's a high bar. it's not an impossible bar, but it's a high bar. the federal investigation is under way now. the fbi is interviewing witnesses. there's been a federal autopsy ordered. so it's clear that the federal government is taking that investigation very seriously and the attorney general's trip to ferguson today is an indication of how serious the federal government is about the investigation. but once we get beyond the immediate criminal investigation, there are other options. and one is one you referred to earlier which is that the

justice department has authority to pursue a civil pattern or practice case against the ferguson police department if it concludes that they have engaged in a pattern or practice of unconstitutional activities. that kind of lawsuit can result in a decree with broad reforms across the police department. >> william, how far back could the justice department go to demonstrate that pattern that you mentioned? >> well, it could look back a reasonable period. certainly, you know, a decade or so of things that are relevant. the other thing that i think it needs to look at is the department's hiring practices. of course it's been widely reported that the police department is virtually all white and it's policing a majority of african-american jurisdiction. there needs to be an examination of the hiring practices that are producing that racial disparity. and the department can do that

under title vii of the 1964 civil rights act. >> barbara, word late yesterday that the special prosecutor is not going to step down -- excuse me, word that the prosecutor is not going to step down in this case. no special prosecutor is going to be appointed. is there anything that the ferguson police department can do to change your perception of how they have handled the case? >> well, one of the things they need to do is be transparent. it is absolutely inexcusable that we are talking here two weeks after this shooting and the police department has not released the incident report. no one has read the words of officer wilson regarding what happened that day. that report is a public record. it is required to be released and made public to the people of this country. and it's tragic that they refuse to release that basic document. so they have become very, very

transparent and need to reach out and show as mr. yeomans just said that they're going to reintegrate their police force and change this harassment. even after the incident when people were calling the hotline, dialing into the police department, they were being called monkeys, animals, by the dispatchers and by the receptionist. so that department needs a 100% overhaul immediately. including a new police chief. >> william, let's go back really quickly here to the holder visit this afternoon. because here's an attorney general who has spent a fair amount of his time talking about civil rights issues. he declared early on that the united states, his words, a nation of cowards for not addressing race. his approach to civil rights

investigations has been, fair to say, more aggressive than many of his predecessors. what does he bring to ferguson today? in terms of his perspective, william? >> yeah. i think he brings that commitment. he has demonstrated that he is very committed to pursuing civil rights violations across the board, so the civil rights division of the department of justice has been totally reinvigorated in almost every area of enforcement has picked up the pace. so i think the attorney general brings enormous credibility to ferguson. given the way he has conducted himself in officer and given his long standing commitment to civil rights. and i think that his visit should really reassure the community that there is going to be a serious federal investigation and that it will be thorough and impartial and fair. >> barbara, i know at one point you indicated that there are going to be lawsuits out the

wazoo, i think that was your language there. any update on legal action that's been taken here in missouri yet on behalf of your organization? >> well, we spoke with the governor on saturday and talked to him about his curfew at that point and talked to him about the lawful -- you know, the problems with the constitutionality of that overly broad and vague curfew. i'm glad he listened. >> here's the thing. here's the thing with the curfew. it's lifted now. there were a lot of folks on the ground here who said it really didn't make sense anyway to have a curfew that was in effect from 12:00 until 5:00. >> right. it was ridiculous. >> the sun goes down at 7:30, 8:00. >> it was ridiculous, and we pointed out that to him and we also pointed out that this whole system of mass arrests didn't make sense. i thought he was receptive the next day when his people called

us back and let us know what he said to his ground commanders about doing that. however, i continue to see really, really bad policing practices. this zero tolerance, if somebody throws one bottle at us, we're going to charge the crowd. that is not the way you handle this kind of situation. it is very clear that people need to go in there and help them. >> barbara, william, thank you both. do appreciate your time this morning. up next, some children are heading back to school far from the return of normalcy here in ferguson, missouri. first missouri senator claire mccaskill on throwing her support behind leadership in her home state. >> you have a governor who can look at this situation and decide if the perceptions of some in the community which i'm not sure are grounded or fair, if they present such an emergency, then he is the only person, the governor, who can remove the prosecutor.

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♪ all the looting and michael brown getting shot is terrible. and now we have to wait an extra week just to go to school. >> school is normally a safe place for you? >> mm-hmm. >> but you are afraid it might not be a safe place? >> yes. yes. it seems like no matter how much security we have, people won't stop. they keep coming and doing all these things and apparently they don't care. >> i'm mad because i want to get my education and they keep disturbing ferguson, so i can't go to school. >> this is a part of the story that has gotten lost here in ferguson. there are a lot of children who have not been in school for a number of days now. school did reopen on monday, normandy high school where michael brown graduated. not the case, though, in the district where brown was killed.

nearly 12,000 students in the ferguson florissant district will remain out of school for the rest of the week. amanda is here from msnbc.com and she joins me now. first of all, how many kids are we talking about in this area? >> you know, there are multiple districts in this area. >> do you know? >> i don't at the moment, no. i attended normandy high school on the first day of school and the kids there were highly aware of the protests going on. it's really only three miles down the street from here and they really keyed into the social underpinnings and the racial tensions here. the teachers said that they were hoping to take this aggression or any type of strong feelings and turn it into an educational experience for these kids, hopefully writing exercises. they brought in counselors in case kids suffered any trauma, needing to talk to someone. but ironically there were state educators, alumni there cheering on the kids as they entered the school but it coincidentally had nothing to do with the protests

and had everything to do with budget failures. my colleague, trymaine lee, happened to be here last fall to cover how black and latino students are being affected by budget constraints and told to go out of their school districts and now they're returning to where they should be going to school. >> what do we know about what some of these children are doing during the day when they're not in school? >> that has been a main concern. i spoke to several parents who said they don't know what to do. they didn't plan on this. they have to go to work. they anticipated that their children would be -- >> and we should note, we're in an area where a lot of parents can't really afford to take time off from work to stay at home with their kids. >> exactly. it's a huge issue that's having many different ripple effects on the community and families around. >> what about the teachers, what are they doing? >> the teachers are preparing and they're wanting to give a safe environment and make sure that the kids feel that they're able to speak out, to take this and harness it in a way where they know how to protest in a

way that's peaceful and also in a way that doesn't harm this -- what they're trying to do. >> and one of the things that's been striking for a few days here right before we begin our broadcast at 9:00 as we see these images as well, a lot of the teachers, a lot of administrators who cannot go into their classrooms, they have been walking up and down florissant picking up trash. >> you've been seeing kids that are just walking up and down the street. they have yellow vests and they're cleaning up the streets, early in the morning, and keeping calm and also kind of helping out the local businesses. they have signs everywhere saying we're open. they might have shuttered doors but they're still open. >> always good to see you. >> thank you. >> we should note as well just a few moments ago in addition to seeing those teachers pick up the trash, we also saw a number of law enforcement officers as well helping out. not just law enforcement, working to keep the peace here in ferguson, missouri, not just

law enforcement, also a number of clergy as well. keeping the peace here, community leaders, outside organizations on the ground trying to make a difference. that difference last night could be the turning point on the ground that people have been hoping for. first, what a few college student protesters are trying to accomplish here in ferguson. >> the short term would be mike brown and the police officer be held accountable for his actions. but the overall long term goal is for everyone to have the same citizenship rights and no matter how much money they have, gender, whatever race, to be held accountable and to have the same rights and to not be privileged in any sort of way because of a certain position and for us to all remember why we're here and that we're supposed to work together and be a team and we shouldn't be enemies. n... a soluable fiber n... from whole grain oat foods like cheerios can help lower cholesterol.

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and the clergy came out in large numbers. they walked, they talked with people. they urged order, calm and peace. that had a calming influence on the young people. >> one of the clergy members who was helping to keep the peace in ferguson has been making national news with his approach. this "washington post" photograph shows the reverend willis johnson praying with the young men during one of the protests last week, laying hands on him. the reverend said that the young man was clearly angry and the pastor wanted to affirm that anger, wanted to affirm the anger but keep the teenager out of trouble. i'm joined now by reverend willis johnson, pastor here in ferguson, missouri. first of all, why affirm the anger of these protests? why was that so important to you? >> i think that's one of the

challenges with these young people and all of us are frustrated by is that a lot of times we don't acknowledge what is before us. we have to acknowledge that there's a reason to be angry or to have emotion in this situation and we have to -- we need to start there. i mean i think when you denounce that or deny that, that disempowers, that does not speak to the value and the significance of that person. this whole exercise in a lot of ways has been about, for many, a sense of feeling devalued, insignificant, that our lives, meaning african-americans, are not as important because of how the young man was left in the street or what we deal with or not just us, but people deal with every day. >> one of the things that struck me about last night's protests was it seemed like, i don't have any hard data to back this up, but it sure did seem like there were a lot more clergy on the ground in the mix, talking -- i talked to two pastors who had

flown in from sacramento just to spend time talking to young people. was there some sort of concerted effort made to do that? was captain johnson on the phone calling pastors in the area saying, hey, i need you to come down? >> well, i think there's a cry and a calling across the board from a number of groups. there are a number of clergy circles, coalitions who are trying to work to do what we know best to do, which is hopefully invoke and imply our faith and our practice. it is not unusual, you understand, that across the movement in our community, our faith and our faith traditions and our faith leaders play a significant role. people are waiting and wanting leadership. and so i'm glad that any and all clerj ear finding their way. they haven't been -- they have not been silent. they have not been absent. not all of us run with collars. some of us wear our js and nikes and do the polo thing.

but men and women, white and black, and across the spectrum have been out here because we understand the importance of giving each other hope. i mean this is -- this can have you feeling hopeless. this can have you feeling desperate. it's not just about the brothers and sisters and the people that are out here standing and speaking their concerns, but we're out here ministering. i'm out here with you guys. >> i've seen you. thank you. and happy one-month anniversary as well. a lot of folks don't know, reverend johnson got married one month ago, went on his honeymoon and came back to this. so thank you. thank you very much. some young children, in some cases very young children have reportedly been caught in the crossfire during the worst confrontations since michael brown was shot and killed by police last saturday. on sunday night the huffington post amanda terkel said that she saw an 8-year-old boy hit by

tear gas during one clash with police. captain ron johnson says that things were better last night. >> tonight we saw a different dynamic. protest crowds were a bit smaller and they were out earlier. we had to respond to fewer incidents than the night before. there were no molotov cocktails tonight. there were no shootings. when a vehicle did approach the command center and threats were made to kill a police officer. >> huffington post amanda terkel joins me live now. i've been struck by the number of children, in some cases very young children i've seen not during the day but when the sun goes down. have you had an opportunity to talk to any of the parents of those kids? >> yeah, in many ways it's been a very family friendly event. obviously as the night goes on and tear gas is thrown it's a little less family friendly. but many parents told me they brought their kids because they

thought with the missouri highway patrol in charge it would be more safe. they wanted their children to come out, see these acts of civil disobedience and these rallies. and so many children are out here standing with signs. but i did talk to a mother whose son was tear gassed, 8 years old. she didn't want to talk too much, she was really upset but the community rallied around him and was giving him water and milk to try to make him feel better. >> what time was that? >> i don't remember the time but it was at night after the sun went down. >> why was an 8-year-old out at night? >> when i put this picture on twitter, a lot of people were pretty judgmental but i talked to several parents whose children were out at night and they said they thought it was going to be safer. once it got a little hairy, they regretted bringing them out. in many ways i've been impressed with the protesters who have been self policing and going around to children and some of the younger members to try to keep them safe. >> you've been here since almost the beginning. how would you characterize the mood, the tenor last night versus previous nights? >> well, in many ways we were

hoping it would be a peaceful night and it was much later than usual. people were marching back and forth. the crowd was really focused on answers, justice, michael brown's killing. there was still that tension in the air where no one really knew what was going to happen and later on that broke. for a long time people were hopeful that it might be a night without incidents and at least there was no tear gas last night. >> 47 arrests but no tear gas, no shots fired, no molotov cocktails thrown. amanda, always good to have you. thank you. up next, the head of the dream defenders was supposed to join me live here. he's going to talk to me on the phone about what appears to be a turning point here in ferguson. something happened last night. we're going to talk about that. images of arrests and protesting have painted a picture of aggression and restlessness that we are not used to seeing here in the united states. we'll talk about that as well. in new york state, we're changing the way we do business, with startup ny.

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people want to know that our justice system is fair and honest in its application of justice. if charges were brought tomorrow, our peaceful people would still -- i believe they would be out here because they have been peaceful. it's not their issue. i cannot think like the criminal mind, but the criminal element is going to be out here as long as they know that they can create havoc and cause issues. they're going to be here. they're going to be here. >> that was missouri highway patrol captain ron johnson explaining to me that he sees both peaceful and a criminal element among the protesting crowds, as we've been telling you throughout the morning. at least 47 arrests were made overnight as police pushed the remaining pockets of protesters off the streets. among those arrested, a friend

of mine -- a friend of my next guest, i should say. executive director of the dream defenders, philip agnew joins me on the phone. i was talking to you about a block away last night. it was you and a guy named torre that you introduced me to. torre got arrested? >> yes, he did. we found that out just this morning. you know, to the captain's statements, the elements that i saw yesterday were people determined to get justice. the army-like tactics of the police force creating little triangle regiments and charging into the crowd with no provocation and pulling a person back out of the crowd, that's what was creating the chaos, that's what was creating people running away. i witnessed that firsthand. and so i don't know what the captain is referring to. i think he's got to remain objective whenever he is

speaking and has to balance the scales so it doesn't seem like police are just arresting people who are peaceably assembling. but that's not what i saw yesterday and not what torri was involved with at all. >> were you with him when he was arrested? obviously you weren't, were you? >> right. we got separated. so yesterday during the evening, everything was peaceful, it was quiet. the police were lined up on both sides of the street. and then out of nowhere, they started charging into the crowd. they ran into the crowd full force. obviously when you have fully armed people that look like they're in operation desert storm, you are going to run. people ran. i got separated from my entire group of the and so we found out torri got arrested this morning. torri has been out there every single day peacefully organizing, working with young folks, working with people to ensure that everything remains orderly. and so to find that out this morning is very, very

unfortunate. >> philip agnew, dream defenders. please keep us posted. up next, a calmer night leads to a more optimistic day here in ferguson, missouri, but pressure still mounting against the city's police chief. i'm going to talk about how much force is too much force when tensions are rising. live from ferguson, more right after this. vo: this is the summer. the summer of this. the summer that summers from here on will be compared to. where memories will be forged into the sand. and then hung on a wall for years to come. get out there, with over 50,000 hotels at $150 dollars or less. expedia. find yours. this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain...

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a number of civil rights groups are condemning what they're calling, quote, the senseless use of deadly force. explicit bias against people of color, and the militarization of law enforcement in ferguson. sed rick alexander is the president of the national organization of black law enforcement executives. he traveled to ferguson over the weekend to try and help ease tensions. he joins me live now.

as you know, sir, calls growing for the resignation of ferguson's police chief thomas jackson. i know, you met with chief jackson when you were here in ferguson. do you have confidence in him? >> well, i think it's not a matter if i have confidence in him as much as the community does. it's evident and clear, as you may well know, there has been a lot of strain between that police department and that community. i think there a number of missteps that took place early on in this investigation i think in many ways created a lot of scenarios in had which we see now. it's not my judgment to make. i think the judgment has to be made by the community who lives in there everyday, who knows that police department, and if they're willing to have a relationship with each other, then i think it become incumbent that chief, that community continue to talk to each other.

in one of the efforts i tried to make when i was there, and we did a pretty good job, we were able to bring some of the clergy and community members into a room with the chief and have some very open and direct dialogue about what needed to happen going forward so that community can begin to create a bridge of hope. because one thing has to happen. there's not going to be a community that is going to be safe unless it has good, safe -- unless it has great police officers that has a good relationship with the community. it has to happen. >> a lot of folks watching over the past nearly two weeks now. a lot of people around this country they've been struck by the dechl graphics of the police force. we have numbers on the screen now. what do you make of the number overwhelmingly? just three black police officers on the force here in ferguson?

>> first of all, it's shocking. particularly when you have a community that is 67% african-american. you have 55 officers and only 3 are african-american. you may have a couple of other cultural groups that are there but very limited. only three african-americans. that's a great concern. i believe that you and everyone else across the country would agree that we live in a world today where we are conscious of diversity, and whether you're in the corporate america, military, med media, government, it has to be addressed. it's a grave concern and need to be dealt with immediately in that city. >> all right. we're going to leave it there. that's going to do it for this edition of "the daily run down" coming up "jose diaz-balart" continues our ferguson coverage.

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♪ start a team. join a team. walk to end alzheimer's. visit alz.org/walk today. turning point captain ron johnson welcomes relative peace overnight in ferguson as the attorney general is expected on the ground and the grand jury investigating the shooting gets to work. isis terror. american journalist james foley is victim to an attack. we talk about an enemy that knows no extreme. and floods and fire out west. monsoon conditions leave parts of arizona underwater. in california wild fires as one dies down another flairs up.

on this wednesday the 20th of august. good morning. i'm jose kdiaz-balart. the chief law enforcement officer is on the way to ferguson this morning. attorney general eric holder will meeting with community leaders while at the same time a grand jury is meeting to hear evidence in the shooting death of michael brown. last night in fergusons things weren't quiet but they weren't out of control. captain ron johnson calls last night a turning point. >> i think that turning point was made by the clergy, the activists, the volunteers that men and women of law enforcement partnered together to make a difference. but also, those citizens took what we talked about last night.