i'm a black woman in america. i'm here to fight for our injustice. our peace >> i'm not a fan of rioting and looting but i understand it. >> we need to have our voice heard. we've done the peaceful. the peaceful hasn't worked for

us. >> there are people who are trying to effect change. >> i need to really use my privilege and my voice to be supportive and come out. >> i'm truly grateful at all of the turnout we have different colors in here. it is literally tear jerking. >> it's time for change. it's time for justice. i'm here to fight for those things. >> and that was just a small sampling of what protesters across the country are saying about why they are out demonstrating. welcome to monday. it's "meet the press daily." i'm katy tur in for chuck todd. right now you're looking at live pictures from an america in crisis as millions of americans have hit a breaking point. as millions of americans will be under a curfew tonight. in minneapolis, philadelphia, new york, and the unrest is

playing out against the backdrop of a deadly pandemic that has ravaged the nation's economy and is disproportionately affecting african-americans. you're looking right now at the white house and the streets of washington on a day when the president berated the nation's governors calling most of them weak and urging them to aggressively crack down on demonstrators. nbc news has obtained audio of the president's call with governors today. >> what you heard from the president was a remarkable contrast with the message today from george floyd's brother who spoke at a prayer vigil in minneapolis with a message of

deescalation. >> please do this peacefully. my brother moved here from houston and i used to talk to him on the phone. he loved it here. he started driving truck. he was going to -- i know he would not want y'all to be doing this. and i'm not saying that -- relax. [ applause ] >> before i go, i just want to hear this again. what's his name? george floyd. >> what's his name? >> george floyd. >> what's his name?

>> george floyd. >> what's his name? >> george floyd. >> george. >> floyd. >> george. >> floyd. >> george. >> floyd. >> george. >> floyd. >> that message comes a of the a weekend of peaceful protest and demonstrations in virtually every major city in america as people demanded social change along with justice for george floyd and many others. that message, though, at times it was overtaken by these images of violence and fire, looting and chaos with collar scenes playing out in major cities across the country. the president and the attorney general are blaming elements for the far left for some of the images you're seeing on the screen. there's concern from organizers and other local officials that elements on the far right are responsible. but not to be lost amid the confrontations over police brutality were images these like

of police and protesters uniting, in some cases, and marching together. it is a moment of unrest, violence, tension, of mourning, of death, of frustration, of division, of injustice, of unfairness, and uncertainty that this nation is struggling to get past. chuck is in minneapolis. eamon is in philadelphia. garrett is near the white house in washington. and cal perry is in louisville. shack, i want to start with you because you are where this all began. you're with george floyd's brother came to the vigil today. what is the mood there? what are the expectations for this evening? >> exactly one week after george

floyd died and at the aen where he died is a sense of community here and it's a sense of community that started earlier today when thea brother of geoe floyd, terrence floyd, made an appearance here. came to this vigil. just look around a little bit. you see the actual vigil that one of thee three in this n intersection, but you keep going around, there's another one blocking off the entire intersection and you see people around. earlier today before the brother came, there was a prayer circle. people got on their knees for nine minutes. symbolizing the amount of time the officer had his knee on the neck of mr. floyd. this is all coming as you heard terrence floyd and the message he had. yes, it was a call for peace, but it was also a call to t rechannel that activism. rechannel the anger and grief that people have.eo you heard the message from the family. the chants from the crowd. they said one down, three to go. that's because they want the other three officers involved to be arrested.

we did hear some news in that regard earlier today from the family. the family hired their own attorney and through the family's attorney, they did their own autopsy and t they implicated the otherey officersn that autopsy saying that no, mr. floyd did not die because of some unknown preexisting condition and said he died because of theid actions of tho officers. listen to the family attorney earlier today. >> the officers killed him based on a knee to his neck for almost nine minutes and two knees on his back compressing his lungs. the ambulance was his hearse. >> i'll tell you i've been talking to people here all day and this is definitely a lighter moment. the clashes you've seen in minneapolis days and days ago did not happen d here. this is not the area. this is an area that's been more

solemn. people have taken it more serious as people are playing music,pl praying, dropping off people. you see tears in people's eyes and you see conversations happening. you see people who don't know each other. i met someone who came up from dallas, texas to peacefully protest. having ay conversation with someone he's never met explaining the problems in the african-american community, the tension that exists between people and officers. that's what's happening here. at the scene where one week ago you saw george floyd lost his life. >> again, the family autopsy saying homicide caused by asphyxia. now u to philadelphia and eamon, who is with a crowd of people. what's going on there? >> so let me just preface this by an early apology in case we lose signal. we are walking with the

protestors. what we've been doing, because this is a peaceful protest that started outside the philadelphia police headquarters but just in the last minute right here on this main thorough way that goes into the center of the city outside of city hall, we had a bit of a scary incident here. it was vehicle of sorts, an suv, that just plowed through the crowd of marng marchers walking here. it was a scary moment. m there was a tense stand off even earlier outside the convention center. the pennsylvania convention center, where a lot of the protestors here were taking a knee, demanding the police take a knee with them in solidarity with their demands. now speaking of their demands, this has been a peaceful protest. multiracial, multigenerational. we've been walking with them now for a better part of the hour trohroughout thety. it sarted outside of the philadelphia police city headquarters. people were demanding accountability and justice for the killing of many unarmed black men including george

floyd. as they have walked, they've beeners courted by the police. there have been been these momentsn of intense stand off. a little animosity toward the chants of the crowd and the police. but none the less, the crowd in the protest continuing to march now for a better part of the hour. all kintd of demands here. black lives mat rer movement us. you've got you know young folks. you've got i've seen parents here with their kids. and a lot of this to express solidarity with what has happened in thisty country. they have been trying to stay together. the police has beento around th. there have been hospitelicopter flying above, but for the most part bar thatth single incidente just witnessed, it has been a safe and peaceful march so far. >>rc very scary indeed. keep yourself safe out there. now to washington, d.c. and garrett. last night, it got pretty hairy in front of the white house.

you and i were on the air when you got hit by something fired by police officers. what is it like there right now and what can you tell us about the expectations there for tonig tonight? >> well it's been a much calmer scene here today. we've had protests like this one at lafayette park each of the last three prdays. today's probably has the smallest total number of people and the level of tension has been lower. al though while the protestors here have been the same, we are seeing an increased federal law enforcement response around the city and i think that's part of the tension here that is maybe unique ton washington, d.c. these protestors feel like they've been having almost entirely one way conversation. they're shouting at park police and secret service and federals national guard andnd really the white house behind them. and they're not hearing anything back. they're not hearing sub santive ly from the president in any way that speaks to them and you're not seeing the same kind of s

solidarity we've seen many other police departments where other police officers and captains are kneeling and being a part of the community of protestors. here, you see the divide between the city of washington, d.c., a city that's almost majority blo black and a federal government and response ledbl by a preside who these protestors have spared absolutely no colorful language in describing their disdain for and their distan for the way he has handled this entire incident, katy. >> what you're seeing on the left hand side of your screen now, that is a camera on the capitol and we're seeing a line of cops there guarding the capitol building much as we're seeingl a line of officers outside of the white house guarding the white house. in the conversations you've been toing with people showing up protest, who are they? where are they from?

i think we lost communication with garrett, unfortunately. let's go now to cal perry. cal, you've been in the middle of some very tense situations as well. over the past few days. what's happening today? >> so four days of violence cull min nated in the death last night of a 53-year-old man on the west side of town. we just heard from the mayor who announced the police officers involved in that shooting were not wearing their body cameras. i want to take you back to mid march when brie area brianna taylor died. a no knock raid is way of saying they didn't o announce themselv, came in, got into a fire fight with her boyfriend, she was shot eight times. a 26-year-old emt. a vital worker in the age of this pandemic and we don't know what happened because those officers wereap not wearing bod

cameras so last friday, the mayor announced that body cameras would be required for all law enforcement operating in louisville.r last night after midnight, there's some kind of a fire fight, some unknown gunman. we understand two louisville police officers who are now on administrative leave returned fire as well as two national guards men, but they did not activate their body cameras. they tell you two things.o one, the national guard needs to leave thel city because they'r raising the tension and two, if it wasn't fortw cell phones, we really wouldn't see how law enforcement is operating in this country. time and time again, these issues happen andn, even a city like louisville that seems to have theirat policies straight,e have this incident again. last night, a 53-year-old man who according to the mayor, everyone in town knew. he served barbecue to police officers for free. a man of the community. his body lay in the street for

12 hours while they investigated the scene then at the end of the day, lo and behold, those body cameras were not active. the police chief has been relieved of his chaommand. he was going to retire this month any way, but certain ly a tense scene and again, this all started on thursday night here in louisville when seven people were shot in a lprotest. two days ago, five police officers were targeted by gunfire then last night,y shoot. the national guardy will be he again. there will be thatrd dusk to da curfew. >> hate to state the obvious, but if you're wearing a pod di camera and don't turn it on, it's useless. thank you very much. and we're going to be watching developments in all those places throughout the hour. we'll bring you news as it comes. ahead at this moment of crisis, president trump is dismissing calls to tone down his rhetoric and he's urging governors to ramp up their law enforcement

response. plus, is the violence and destruction we're seeing at protests being stoked by outside agitators and organized extremists? a look at what we know and what we don't. but first, a plea for unity and resolve from a famous rapper and son of atlanta.an >> i'm duty bound to be here to simply say that it is your duty not to burn your own house down for anger with the enemy. it is your duty to fortify your own house so that you may be a house of refuge in times of organization and now is the time to plot, plan, strategize, organize and mobilize.

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now i'm not asking my attorney general perhaps he'll stop me from saying that, but i would think. you're very tough, strong powerful people are allowed to fight back against that guy. >> welcome back. that was president trump addressing the nation's governors in a call earlier today and that audio was obtained by nbc news and after urging governors to quote dominate the treats to contain the protests, the president went on to push governors to increase their use of national guard resources. >> not using the greatest resource you can use and they're training for this stuff and they're incredible. but you're not calling them up. i don't know. you're making a mistake because you're making yourself look like fools. >> joining me now from the white house is my nbc news colleague, shannon. also with us is jonathan and

cornell, an msnbc political analyst. shannon, let's start with you. walk us through that phone call. how long did it last and what was the reaction from the governors on that call? >> it went on for almost an hour and the attorney general and the defense secretary were also on the call. one said the president was losing it, others described it as a rant and the general message they got from it was that the president was trying to berate governors into increasing the amount of law enforcement tactics they use against these protesto protestors. he said most are weak. he said the governors are fools if they don't step up their police presence. he suggested that people who throw bricks and rocks at police should be put in jail for ten

years and this fits with the big broader theme i've been hearing from my sources at the white house that the president sees the solution to this unrest being increases law enforcement. not addressing these underlying issues that the protestors are concerned about. police brutality, systemic racism, addressing those isn't the solution. it's increased law enforcement. send ng the national guard. >> onthan, you know this because y covered the campaign alongside me. the president would often campaign on being the law and order president. that he would be tougher on anyone, everyone, than anyone else would be. that was his whole position. these, this unrest that's happening across the country is happening under his watch. you could say. is he now looking for somebody to blame? >> he always has talked tough and he's liked the idea of

deploy iing the military. he's been loathe to involve himself in overseas conflict but here at home, he's talked about using the national guard dmad de guard xhesically. he's suggesting it's going to be a referendum of him. we've seen this before with the coronavirus pandemic that just of course just a matter of weeks ago, the president was trying to shift the focus and responsible responsibility ft. governors, the mayors and hooe doing that again here. he's been calling out some mayors by name, particularly the one this minneapolis. he's been critical of number of governors on call. today he got pushback from the governor of illinois, also jay insly, who said this is a president whose political career was born on the backs of birtheri srsm and racism. i'm paraphrasing but those are his words. he's shying away from a moment

of leadership here. certainly the law and order playbook is one the other candidates have used before. most famously, nixon in 1968. but the key difference, knicnixf course wasn't the incumbent. donald trump likes to fancy himself as the outsider. he's pretty good at portraying himself as that. but here of course he is the president. this is on his watch. >> talk about some of the language the president has been using when they loot will shoot, vicious dogs. today talk iing about dominatin the protestors. what does that signal to you? >> it signals more of his base. this is quintessential trump. you know grievance politics. heightened tribalism. division. that's his predicate. it has been from the very beginning and i have to understood line that point about this is a playbook, this is

nixon's playbook. this is a reboot of the nixon playbook but in a different time. it has to be that if i can scare suburban white voters who i'm strugging with right now, if i can scare them and have it us against them mentality, that certainly helps him politically. the problem is it's not, the problem is you know, we're not at that point in america anymore and when you look at those protests, those are just african-americans. they are younger kids, latino kids. they look like a changing face of america who are frustrated with the injustice they continue to see. i pray, i pray that he's not able to tribalize and divide this country in order to hold on to political power because i think that would be a death nail for our democracy because these little protests, they're not going to stop unless this injustice is in fact acted on

and we need leadership who's going to act on it and bring us together, not divide us. >> jonathan, dominating the protestors, using force, isn't that exactly or it is exactly what the protestors are protesting about law enforcement. how does the president feel or how does he at one, in one breath say he understands the flight of george floyd's family and he doesn't have sympathy for empathy for them and finds his death was senseless and then in the other side of his mouth call for law enforcement to use overwhelming force? >> it's a hard balancing act and i'm not sure one he's doing that well. to be sure, he did talk b about mr. floyd's family on saturday, his last public appearance mind you, in florida. ahead of just after that rocket launch. but since then, that has not been his focus at all. his focus has been on the protestors and use iing this ve

bellicose rhetoric, war like rhetoric at times. and i think there's a great unease that this is going to lead to further clashes. we know we have curfews across the nation tonight including for the first time in new york city. there's going to be an overwhelming number of police officers and in certain cities, national guards men and women on the ground and i think there's a sense that this ushlging from the president, the rhetoric he's using, could lead to further clashes that's going to incite more violence. that's a concern around some of the people around the president but at the same time, there is a political calculation. again to evoke 1968. there's a sense here that if there's a great unrest and this is this worries with the events of the last few days have worried perhaps suburban women voters or senior voters who we know the president has struggled with as of late because of the pandemic, if they're rattled by this, they might be inclined to drift back towards the so-called law and order candidate. that's what trump is banging on. >> you make an interesting point

there and i was having a conversation with a former white house official today about politically what this does for the president. after all, we're in an election year and he uses the things like this as a political cud yul. they said it's going to be a wash. people who don't want the president, still don't like him. people who like him still do like him. the one concession this person made was what jonathan just alluded to, white suburban women. >> i think it's problematic and this is why. is that when you talk to white suburban women in focus groups, we spent a lot of time talking about 2018 was a health care election. it was bigger than that for a lot of these women who broke democratic, especially white college women. what they talked about is division and what they understood is that for their children and for this next generation, we can't continue

along the divided path. and the division to them was just as concerning as their pocketbook concerns or any of their kitchen counter concerns. and i don't see this sort of driving more of this division and making the country you know, more divided and more hostile to each other. i don't see that as persuading college educated white women in the suburbs that this is a direction we should go in the country that's fruitful for their children in the future. there's a moral peace to the white house and to the office that i think he's failing at and i think that is really problematic and you see it in some of the polling numbers now. joe biden has been sort of absent from the television ways for a couple of weeks now but "washington post" poll joe biden's lead over donald trump is growing as more voters see him as not having the temperment and personality as to not hold

office in the white house. >> shannon, i have a quick question to you because the president has his defense secretary op the call with governors and he's threatened to get the military involved. what is on the table now? what is being discussed? senator cotton today said something along the lines of having the 101st airborne show up to some of these protests. >> my colleagues courtney and kara lee have some fresh reporting on this tonight about this 200 something-year-old law called the insurrection act that allows the president to use active duty military personnel within the country so the national guards, governors can deploy them in a law enforcement capacity. but this would allow the president to use other active duty military. that's something that's being considered and appears to be very much on the table at this point. >> wow, shannon with that new line of reporting. and up ahead, a closer look at

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. in every case of police brutality, the same thing has been happening. the protests, destroy stuff. and if they don't move, you know why they don't move?

because it's not your stuff. it's our stuff so they want us to destroy our stuff. they not going to move. let's do this another way. let's do this another way. let dees this another way. let's stop thinking that our police don't matter. and move. >> welcome back. powerful words from george floyd's brother this afternoon as he visited the site of his brother's death calling for peace and a stop to violence and looting. floyd echoed a concern that's been voiced by many. the destruction of black communities caught in the cross fire of these protests, protests that some black activists feel are being escalated by white groups taking advantage of the situation. joining us now is tremayne lee and nbc news correspondent, tom winter. so tom, first on what law enforcement is telling you about who they believe are the main

agitators, the main people that are start iing the violence and committing the looting across the country. >> well, unsurprisingly it's the people that are, unsurprisingly, it's not the people that are out protesting and trying to get answers. trying to seek change. those protests by and large certainly in new york city according to nypd officials and in many other cities across the country, have been very peaceful, productive, well organized and something that here in new york city, they often work with groups that there's been issues between a certain communities and the nypd for a long period of time so they're used to working with groups that protest. listening to the commissioner yesterday as well as john miller, those protests have gone relatively violence free and certainly no destruction of property.

what's happening is they say that anarchist groups are working their way into these protests or are involved in violence and destruction of property when those protests come to a conclusion. so where it's really gotten ugly in the commissioner's words, last night was when things got dark, when the sun went down. things here in new york city really picked up. we've seen that elsewhere with a real specific targeting of high-end retail, wealthier neighborhoods, chain type stores. they're well coordinated according to commissioner miller. they've got bicycle scouts. they're radioing each other. they're using encrypted apps to say where police are and where they're not. they're destroying property, police vehicles. approaching 60, probably higher than that that have been destroyed. it's being seen across the country and i think it's important for folks to realize

there are people here that are in pain. there are people here that have grievances that are protesting quite peacefully then there are some others that are coming into this with very different agendas. >> so tremayne, terrence floyd today raised what is a strong point that it's often the black communities that get hit hardest while protesting and black protestors while black protestors feel the police crackdown on social media over the weekend, what you could see was a number of black protestors urging white not protestors, white agitators to stop. there was one in particular of a black woman stopping two white women from tagging a starbucks. >> yeah you know what, there's annage old troep of outside agitators stirring up trouble and been used to delegitimize

actual push for justice. they say there's grounding this time, that there are infiltrate ers. i'll quote one, white an artists and communists have infiltrated the protest movement so while they're pushing for justice for george floyd and other black people who have been killed be i the police, this these interlopers have come in and taken advantage. especially these white protestors or white agitators go back to their communities, they can kind of blend back in. but u when the black folks come out to the street, the police who are going to crack into their heads. when they burn down stores in their community, the black folks are the ones who have to deal with it and as you can see from the white house, ramp up, law enforcement, get out there and kick some behinds essentially. i heard a politician say basically white skate borders. that's unfair in some ways because we know that the coalitions calling for justice are wide and large at this point but still, the fact that it will be the black mass that will deal

with the brunt of whatever force that comes down is concerning. so the activists i spoke with say we have vigilant, but make sure we keep our eyes and ears open. on social media, there are a number of videos of black protestors urging these white folks to stop it. there's one i won't forget. a black woman tell iing a white man to stop being so provocative with the police. he was throwing things and she said they're going to kill us. they're killing black people. the white man said they're doing that already and continue. it's not a game. for others it's real life. >> absolutely. thank you very much. and tom, thank you as well. and joining me now on the phone is new york governor andrew cuomo. governor, thank you for being here. we're look iing at on the left hand side of the screen are big protests, big group of

protestors that has gathered in new york city and there will be a curfew for the first time during this unrest here in new york starting at 11:00 p.m. tonight. do you think it's going to help? >> we hope so, but look, the conversation you're having is the right conversation. there is a righteous protest that is going on in this nation and it should frankly. what we've seen with that mr. floyd killing is just disgusting and it's one in a series and everybody knows it and it has sparked a true cry for reform and change and progress. now that righteous protest movement has been infiltrate. has been exploited and used by anarchist groups, by just criminals who say this is a great opportunity the loot. and it's actually disapating the impact of the protest and the righteous protests and you see

the federal president trump is using that because they want to talk about looting because they don't want to talk about the floyd killing. so separate iing the two is ver important. the legitimate protest is right and they should be outraged and we should use it as a moment of reform in this nation finally to deal with the racism and discrimination and injustice and inequality, but we have to protect against the looters and those extreme groups who want to use this moment. >> so how do you fix the problem and let's focus specifically on law enforcement because there are a lot of problems but let's try to narrow it down right here. how do you fix this stance that law enforcement has toward black americans? >> well, katy, i think that's the right question and i'd like to' this movement actually

sharpen. there's no doubt when you look back in history, big change came from moments when people demanded change. where there was the triangle fire, the storm koing environmental movement. we passed in new york gun control after sandy hook. there's a reform agenda for criminal justice. how do you have local district attorneys investigating police abuse of the police departments that they worked with every day in why do you not release the disciplinary record of a police officer who's being investigated for abuse? why you still allow choke holds to be legal in this country? i mean there are obvious reform measures that should have been passed a long time ago. the police are very strong politically in this nation. i understand that. but these reforms are way

overdue. >> should there be, should local officials, the mayor, look into the budget for the n wrwpd or should mayors look into the budgets for law enforcement and maybe redirect some of that money toward communities that need it? >> well the number of police we need is a city by city, locality by locality decision. i think it's a legitimate question, point. are we overpolicing. just in terms of personnel. i don't think there's any doubt but that there are abuses within within our system that are not independently investigated. i'm a former prosecutor. when you have the local prosecutor doing the investigation of police abuse, that is a conflict of interest in my opinion.

a conflict of interest can be an apparent conflict. how could people believe the local prosecutor is going to be independent and uninfluenced? it defies common sense so there are basic reforms. in my state, we use the attorney general to investigate any killing of an unarmed person by a police officer but even in new york, i can't get that law passed. i did it by executive order. in new york. >> what about, what about optics? we're seeing the militarization of law enforcement across the country including here in new york and i will give you that new york is in a unique position because we are a terror target. because we have been the victim of terrorism in this city. but does law enforcement need to look like they are the military?

what message does that send? >> well, that's complicated, katy, because look, the police department in new york is also an antiterrorism department. right. and this was 9/11 and you have to remember in normal times, what keeps me up at night is a terrorist attack. but we are not using army personnel in new york city. we don't have national guard. i just saw the pictures of military personnel in washington, d.c., by the federal government. we're not doing that in new york. >> new york governor andrew cuomo, thank you very much for calling in. we appreciate your time. >> thank you, katy, pleasure. >> and joining me now for more on the protests and the president's response is

secretary johnson. thank you very much for joining me today. first off, as a prominent african-american, prominent black leader in this country, what is your take on what needs to be done to start to fix the problem? >> katy, where do i begin? first, protest is a frm of language. it's a form of speech. by those who feel as though their voices are not heard. and so on the national level, the state level, the local level, leaders have to as a starting point, acknowledge the grievance. it's real. it's valid. african-americans and a whole lot of other americans have been say iing now for years, black lives matter and when we see a representative of our nation's law enforcement snuff out a life as if he were an animal and the police officer was the hunter, you can hear collectively a will

the lot of americans saying to the rest of america, see what we've been saying for the last six years. and so hearing the grievance and acknowledging the validity of it was a starting point. if you're a student of history and i'm sure you are, you know that in 1965, president johnson went to a joint session of congress and embraced the wording of the civil rights movement. we shall overcome. it was an acknowledgment from our national leader that he hears the message and acknowledges the valid ity of i. unfortunately, our national leadership is uncapable of unwilling to do that. i noted garrett on the ground there in washington said this is a one way conversation and that is so telling. no one at the national level is acknowledging what protestors in a peaceful manner are saying. >> is there anything that the president could say that would

help the situation? i mean the people who might need to hear it would they take the president's words at face value? would they believe the words that came out of his mouth? >> with protests this widespread across our entire country in reaction to minneapolis, what is required at the national level is a bold statement. i have many mind black lives matter and coming from this president, that would be significant. whether he is capable of that, whether he is willing to do that is the bigger question, but i believe a statement along those lines is warranted, not a statement about militarizing our country. not a tastatement about a threa of the invocation of the insurvinsu

insurvey of 1807 but of the actions that brought us to this place. >> let me ask you about the act. my colleagues are reporting that that is seriously on the table,. my colleagues have been reporting that is seriously under consideration for the president. what would it mean if he invoked it? >> katy, as you know, before i was secretary of homeland security, i was general down counsel for the department of defense. the active duty military is prohibited to engage in domestic police action. the insurrection act of 1807 is an act of last resort essentially, when a local government, the national government, is so overwhelmed on a -- in a domestic situation, that the u.s. military has to be deployed, where basically the government can no longer

function it is so overwhelmed by violence in the streets. i believe we are -- though the violence is serious, it's devastating, it's disheartening, i believe we are a long way of declaring there is an insurrection in this country. i believe local law enforcement, with the help of the national guard, under state control, is adequate to deal with this situation, as long as law enforcement keeps their heads. and as long as the protestors stay focused on the purpose peacefully of their original message, what brought them to the streets in the first place. >> if you were heading up a lauftd agelaw enforcement agency right now, say in washington, d.c., what would you say to them? what position should they take between them and the the protesters? >> i would remind those that are there to serve and to protect,

that part of your job is to protect the people who are demonstrating peacefully. what we need to re-emphasize with nation's law enforcement, or at least parts of them, are tactics in deescalation. when things are becoming tense, when things are getting out of control, it is up to the law enforcement officer, the superior agent in that circumstance, to bring down tensions, not add to them, not escalate them. and so we need to remind law enforcement officers, public safety officers, peace officers, that part of what they're there for is to deescalate situations. and on a longer term basis, take a look at recruitment. what kind of people are we recruiting to our state and local law enforcement, would be so depraved that they would engage in something like we saw in minneapolis. >> recruitment and training. secretary jeh johnson, thank you very much for joining us today.

coming up next, moments of unity between police officers and protesters. you're watching msnbc. so as you head back out on the road, we'll be doing what we do best. providing some calm amidst the chaos. with virtual, real-time tours of our vehicles as well as remote purchasing. for a little help, on and off the road. now when you buy or lease a new lincoln, we'll make up to 3 payments on your behalf.

welcome back. we've seen tensions flare between police and protesters at times, but we're also see moments of unity. take a look at this moment of the santa cruz mayor and the santa cruz police kneeling during a peaceful protest. chief mills said it's time to acknowledge abuse at the hands of officers and substantial change will take a concerted effort of integrity, humility, and a genuine sense of justice. chief mills joins me now. chief, thank you very much for joining us. what needs to -- what can change? can anything change in the immediate future to make it so

that another black man or black woman cannot unnecessarily killed at the hands of officers? >> well, i appreciate the sentiments from your station to think about what we can do right now. i think there's several things that we can focus on, one of which is immediately nationwide. we should be looking at the escalation in training our officers not only verbal deescalation but tactical deescalation and now we can slow things down and to help people get out of the situations that they found themselves in. either an officer or a community member. the second thing is, we need a dose of humility in policing, that we don't have all the answers, that we have been abusive in the past in many ways, and that we can come out of this through recognizing we can do much better and begin

making those steps forward in an aggressive manner. >> let me ask you this, there have been horrible scenarios where white boys, white men have massacred many people and have been taken into police custody without incident, thankfully. and then there have been black men who have been killed for a potential forgery on a $20 bill or maybe selling single cigarettes on staten island. where do police officers or why do at least some police officers see black men as inherently more of a threat than even white men who have just murdered multiple people? >> well, each of those situations are a little bit different. but i think the reality is it's not just the police, but we all bring our prejudices into this profession. i think it's nationally. people calling the police, using

911 to tell us to go check on a black man to check on selling cds in downtown santa cruz because it didn't "look right." so we sent two police officers to that. the reality is that we all bring these prejudices and we have to figure out as a nation how to get past this historically systemic racism that we find ourselves in. and i'm committed to doing that. i know many other chiefs in our nation are, as well. >> do you think it will happen in your lifetime? >> i've been doing this for 42 years, and i certainly hope so, or else what we have done has been in vain. what we have to do, and the reason that people like me and many others are speaking out is because we know this has to take place for us to have any legitimacy as protectors of society. >> chief mills of santa cruz, thank you very much for joining

us. we appreciate all of your honesty tonight with some very tough questions. stay safe out there. >> thank you so much. that will do it for me. chuck will be tomorrow with more "meet the press daily" and be with me from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. in the meantime, "the beat with ari melber" starts right now. hi there, ari. >> hi. thank you very much and welcome to "the beat." i'm ari melber. we have a very busy show. this is actually one week after police killed george floyd. today, part of an extraordinary message from his own family, as well as many disturbing things coming out of washington. right now at this very hour, i want to show you what we know. you can see these protestors gathering for a seventh straight night in cities around the country. some of the crowds that you see here quite large. swelling in size. and we're nonfmonitoring this a over the country, including marchers on the right side, crowds on