amy: ben crump, thank you so much for being with us.y wells, our deepest condolences.

we will fight with attorney ben crump. we will fight with this family. we will fight with push and we will fight with all those who are seeking justice for tyre. we want to thank pastor turner for opening up this church up again. thank pastor thomas. give him a hand. [ applause ] >> thank you. >> we want to thank all of these here fighting for justice for tyre. i was at the candlelight vigil last night and it was such a beautiful look. all of memphis came together. folks you wouldn't think could come together came together in support of this family. and that's what we're going to do. we're going to stand united and peacefully protest but we're going to protest. we're going to make sure that policy is put forth and implemented correctly and we're going to make sure that tyre nichols did not die in vain. >> amen. >> we want to make sure he did not die in vain. we'll keep fighting for him and keep fighting for this family. y'all pray for this family. y'all pray for our city. tonight will be one of the toughest nights that we've ever experienced in this city

i know both reverend sharpton and ben crump. both of them have put other things on hold in their lives, including personal gain to give voice to the voiceless. to show up when folks are at sign's of crisis. it has not just been for african-americans, but for various other folks. this is not, but want to be on the record there. bill: let's hear from david in englewood, new jersey, republican. >> i have two questions. first i want to know what your organization with regards to the crisis in terms of black root -- kids reading levels. across the board, black kids are wave low grade level. no one ever talks about this situation. all this emphasis on this book is not going to be in this library it -- and is being banned, even if the books were there, the kids are not on grade level in terms of reading. my second question has to do with all these black politicians in office for decades, and we do not see the economic impact of this. for years, the joint the senate was called the joint center for political studies. and economic. in ter

those words from ben crump.ring in our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas, for his thoughts on what you've seen pierre play out here in memphis tonight. david i've had the opportunity to be out with police on numerous law enforcement actions. it's clear that this is not police work. this is brutal, and law enforcement officials today in charging these men with second degree murder and also kidnapping. think about that kidnapping, essentially saying they took this man against his own will and to see him punched and beaten. and taste repeatedly again. this does not resemble anything that is legitimate law enforcement work, and i can tell you tonight law enforcement across this country in cities, major cities across this country are hoping that the pain that the people in memphis are feeling and in cities across this country that they can use it constructively to peacefully protest for change in many cities. police unfortunately, are viewed as the occupying force. this will only reinforce that david i spoke

ben crump, the lawyer for nichols' family, called for passage of the george floyd justice in policing act -- which remains stalled in the senate after the house approved it in 2021. the congressional black caucus is pressing to meet with president biden this week, who also voiced support for enacting the legislation. many activists continue to call for a greater institutional overhaul, arguing the inherently racist police system in the united states is beyond reform. we will have more on this tory later in the broadcast. ukraine says russian strikes on the southern city of kherson have killed three people and injured six others. those attacks followed a russian air raid on an apartment complex in the northeastern city of kharkiv where at least one person was killed and three others injured. separately, russia said a ukrainian strike in the russian-occupied luhansk region hit a hospital on saturday, killing at least 14 people and injuring two dozen. russia's foreign ministry blamed u.s.-made himars rockets for the deaths and accused the united states of direct involvement in the confli

charles, to hear the family attorney there, ben crump, who has now seen this footsage. he compares it to the rodney king video 37 the rodney king beating lasted 1 minute and 19 seconds. this beating lasts much longer that that. your reaction in anticipation of a video that's going to be provided publicly, an hour's worth of video of different angles and body cams and the like that america is going to see for the first time this evening. >> my reaction is that we're dealing with a plethora of misplaced concern. what i mean by that is there's been an overwhelming sense of the need for calm, the need for peace, the need for protest that does not violence. while that's understandable, what they went about the entire conversation is that the attention to detail that's necessary around policing in america only comes after these sorts of tragedies have taken place. if we had just a fraction of the same vigor and intention and concern about community, about policing a community and about truly addressing police violence both at the community, administrative and the policy level

an attorney for the nichols family ben crump joins me for an interview in minutes. and we'll get reaction from the district attorney there in memphis prosecuting the case against th beating. welcome to our viewers here in the united states and around the world, i'm wolf blitzer and you're in "the situation room." >>> we begin our coverage this hour with the expected release of the tyre nichols arrest video. cnn is on the ground in memphis covering this developing story from every angle. our don lemon has been speaking to local officials and family members including the chief of police there. but first, our senior national correspondent sara sidner is joining us with the very latest developments. what should we anticipate today, sarah? >> reporter: well, we know there is going to be a prayer vigil tonight. a gathering. beyond that, it is been prayerful and peace this whole time throughout these announcements from police, throughout the firing and charges that we now know five officers charged with second-degree murder among other very serious charges. but there is a

of course, ben crump and the family of tyre nichols wanted it. today the police chief granting them their request, their wishes. let me read the you what the police chief said in her decision. she said in the process of listening intently to the family of tyre nichols, community leaders and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the scorpion unit. the officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with the next step. now, some people in this community will probably take issue with her saying some there are doing quality work or that the unit as a whole has been doing quality work. people here in the community have been complaining about the work. you heard ben crump tell you that they have heard from people in this community who have raised issues. at least for now, the police chief granting the wishes of the community, of these family members in disbanding this unit. now, the scorpion unit was created to basically target violent areas of mem

joining me now is the attorney representing tyre nichols' family, ben crump. thanks for joining us this morning, mr. crump, and i want to start by asking you how tyre's family is doing. i know you spoke to them just moments ago. >> it's still very emotional. his mother is having problems sleeping, but she continues to pray with understanding as she believes in her heart tyre was sent here for an assignment and there's going to be greater good that comes from this tragedy. >> and speaking of trying to make changes, the scorpion unit as stephanie just mentioned has now been disbanded. do you think the officers being part of that unit contributed to this? >> we certainly do. we know that there were other members of the community that had been assaulted by this scorpion unit. one young man who said he was assaulted just four or five days before tyre was killed, simply going to get pizza, martha. he said they attacked him, pulled him out the car, yelled profanity at him and put a gun to his head, and he tried to report them twice to the memphis police department. hi

if you look for example at what the attorneys for the families are saying, ben crump's think this isold andard of how he wants to see these investigations conducted. the family said they are very happy with the charges in the way things have been handled, and ben crump said whether it is a white police officer or black police officer moving forward who commits crimes, they want to see action taken by authorities is the way it has been done in memphis just as quickly as it has been done. michelle: i know this video will be upsetting to many. thank you for following that. seven people shot dead tonight in a synagogue in east jerusalem. a 14-year-old boy is among those killed in a number of other people were wounded. the attacker was killed by the security forces as he fled the scene. tensions have been high since nine palestinians, militants and civilians, were killed in a raid in the occupied west bank thursday. the u.s. because condemned today shooting. our middle east correspondent is in east jerusalem. corrpondent: they came to pray as the jewish sabbath got underway. tonight, poli

we need not only the law that ben crump talked about there in tennessee. we need federal law. and this lays at the seat of the congress and the senate. and now i will be talking about that at the eulogy. we cannot keep going from one scene to the next, some outrage, and then we move on like it did not happen. tr>> joy, i want to follow up on something that the reverend just said there. because it's the most insidious and surreal part of that video. again, tyre nichols was 145 pounds. slight, he's described, by the police himself themselves -- slight, slender. and you are watching them beat him and yelling at him in ways that could contradict what is on video. and antonia hylton mentioned this before -- show us your hands, lay on the ground. he's lying on the ground. -- there is something very sick about that. and to the reverence point about there in a moment of creating a plausible defense or cover story, and when you look at the police statement afterwards, it is both the violence and the deception about it even as it is taking place, that is so upsetting about this video. >

the family lawyer, ben crump, says shame on all of us if nothing comes out of the death of tyre nichols tried to pass the george floyd justice and policing act in 2021, and it passed the democratic-controlled house but stalled in the senate. ben crump is now pointing at we haven't had federal legislation on police reform in decades,ut the problem as you say, the prospects are lower this time around because in the senate, democrats have a slim majority, in the house, republicans also have a slim majority. it makes it unlikely those dynacs in play that we will see more progress on federal legislation. anchor: thank you. at least 59 people have died in the pakistani city of peshawar after an attack on a mosque inside a police security compound. the bomb apparently targeted police been praying in the mosque. peshawar is close to the border with afghanistan and has been the scene of some of the country's worst terror attacks in recent years good there are conflicting -- recent years. there are conflicting reports about who carried out the act. reporter: a violent act that destroyed a place o

dana's guests include ilhan omar as well as the tyre ninlgs' family attorney, ben crump.nday morning with us. have a g great day. inkle repair® smooths the look of fine lineses in 1-week, deep wrinkleles in 4. so you can kiss wrinkles goodbye! neutrogenana® new dove body wash with microbiome nutrient serum transfor the driest skin in 1 shower. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up ♪ ♪ i've got symptom relief ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements at 4 weeks. skyrizi is the first and only il-23 inhibitor for crohn's that can deliver both clinical remission and endoscopic improvement. the majority of people on skyrizi achieved long lasting remission at 1 year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms, had a vaccine or plan to. liver problems may occur in croh

. >> reporter: civil rights attorney ben crump announcing his plan to sue republican governor ron desantis and the state after desantis blocked a pilot ap african american studies course in florida. >> no to censorship. >> no to censorship. >> yes to community. >> reporter: desantis says the state already teaches african american history and is opposed to specific lessons in the curriculum. >> we believe in teaching kids facts and how to think, but we don't believe they should have an agenda imposed on them. when you try to use black history to shoehorn in queer theory, you are clearly trying to use that for political purposes >> what message do you feel this ban may have communicated to your student? >> i think it communicates very clearly that african american history is not as important as other history. >> reporter: developed by the college board, the pilot course is currently in 60 schools nationwide the organization says it does not require students to adopt a particular ideology, and after a feedback period, it will make appropriate revisions to the preliminary pilot course framewor

meanwhile, back with attorney ben crump, he says that clearly this is just the beginning. work, more work, needs to be done, including reform at the federal level. listen. >> shame on us if we don't use his tragic death to finally get the george floyd justice and policing act passed. we told president biden that when he talked to us because, you know, he should marshal the united states senate with senator booker, senator schumer, and they should try to get the house to reengage. >> and pam, back in memphis, the official gofundme for the tyre nichols family, his mother and father, has crossed the $1 million mark. those donations are going to mental health services and time off from their jobs for tyre's mom and dad. they're also hoping to build a memorial skate park, which he so loved. >> he sure did. thank you so much. >>> now the question, how can the federal government play a role in reforming police departments across the country? or should it be involved? one idea, get congress to pass the george floyd justice in policing act. >> senator booker, chairman of the crime

attorney ben crump says he will only file a lawsuit if desantis does not change his stance. >> zinhle essamuah, thank you. >>> up next the dangerous confrontation as a man shines a laser at a police helicopter then fires at them. >>> and new details about that snowplow accident that critically injured actor jeremy renner. who he was trying to help. in real trouble. 'cause i have asthma. and i have depression. i have diabetes. and i struggle with my weight. for us, covid is a whole different ballgame. ♪ in fact, you could be one of almost 200 million americans with a high risk factor that makes covid even riskier. which is why you need to be ready, and have a plan. other risk factors including heart disease or being inactive even being over 50 or being a smoker can put you at serious risk. could that be you? find out. go to knowplango.com and know your risk factors. then, make a plan. because if you get covid on top of asthma, like i did the last thing you want to do is wait and see. be ready. have a plan. and ask your doctor about treatment options that may help. i'd like to thank our

please, put your hands together for ben crump. [cheers and applause] how are you?n. >> d.l.: out of all of the time, usually, you call me, i think it's tuesday. when i hear from you, i know it's bad news. you never call me when you win the lotto or had a baby shower. you told me about it because my driver happened to be tyre's stepfather and he told me about it previously. and so it struck me differently because i know rodney and i remember when he moved to memphis, and i knew that you were on the case, so i was certain that something positive would happen. do you think that the fact that the officers were arrested so swiftly is an indicator of things getting better or just, we got five black people so we will arrest them real fast? >> the police chief davis said it was important that they take swift action, that they move swiftly to justice, d.l. she said that, because this video was so clear, that the community needed to see that. and so i said to myself, they got fired, arrested, and charged in less than 20 days. so this is the blueprint going forward, d.l. hugh

. >> reporter: family attorney ben crump saying the real issue in the case is police culture, since all five of the officers involved in the beating are black. >> it doesn't matter if the officer is a black officer, a hispanic officer, or a white officer. it is the culture that allows them to think they can do this. >> as this video will show you, it doesn't matter who is wearing the uniform. >> reporter: nichols' mother says the violence against her son is so horrific, she worries about the reaction the public may have when it's released. >> any of you who have children, please don't let them see it. >> reporter: and, wolf, this afternoon the president, president joe biden, calling the family, both the mother and the stepfather, to offer his condolences and support. and as you say, this community now awaits the release of this video, wolf. >> thank you very much. shimon will be back with us in a few moments. >>> i also want to bring in cnn chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, john miller, civil rights attorney martin, and the former president of the naacp, cornell william br

ben crump announces he plans to sue the state if the ban isn't reversed.lawsuit and how the governor's office is responding. >> lindsey, we actually visited this ap african american studies course run by the college board back in october, months later it is the center of controversy right here in florida where students, teachers and lawyers gathered to express their intent to sue and protest. >> black history is american history. >> reporter: protest and pushback in florida with a new potential legal battle over race education. >> i can't believe that this is 2023 and america is talking about sensors education. >> reporter: ben crump announcing his plan to sue republican governor ron desantis and the state as desantis blocked an african american studies course in florida. >> no to censorship. yes to community. >> reporter: desantis says the state already teaches african american history and is opposed to specific lessons in the curriculum. >> we believe in teaching kids and facts and how to think, but we don't believe they should have an agenda imposed on

the family's attorney, ben crump, he has made clear that he believes, the family believes that progressn only come through new federal laws. let me play something from ben crump for you. >> i believe this video is a watershed moment for america. the only question that remains is how much progress have we made from 1992 with rodney king video to 2023 with tyre nichols' tragic video, and what are our national leaders going to do? >> and of course, he is looking towards congress and washington, and putting the current political realities aside which come complicates everything, but do you believe that federal legislation is where change and progress needs to happen now? >> i would agree with mr. crump on that. we have to be consistent in what we are doing, and that starts at the federal level. so i think that it is going to take that, and you know, we have a small departments and large departments and everybody needs to be doing the same thing, because we are impacting the same people in the same communities, and so i would totally agree with that. >> mark, i have been wanting to ask you t

they expect murder charges, ben crump said he expects murder charges. there may be other charges. when that will happen, that's the question. two things right now we're waiting for, is whether or not the district attorney is going to charge these officers and the release of this video. and like you said, this could come at any point. some of this could happen today and tomorrow. we're getting inindicatings from officials that they want this done by the end of the week. >>> we have the five officers' pictures on the screen. five officers have been fired and two members of the fire department. >> right. we should note that by the police department, moving so quickly to fire these officers, that is remarkable they did move so quickly and that is something we should certainly take note of because of how serious and how horrendous the actions of these officers were. >> we'll be here in many memphis for you, shimon prokupecz has been following the story. a lot to consider and the city and, of course, the country bracing for what is in that video, what they're going to see once it is rel

nichols he' family attorney, ben crump, will join me in moments. political vengeance, house speaker kevin mccarthy boots two democrats off one committee as the house prepares to vote as soon as this week on removing a third. >> this is not anything political. >> democratic representatives adam schiff, ilhan omar, and eric swalwell join me exclusively to respond. plus, campaign kickoff. former president donald trump makes his first campaign stops with some signs his party is leaving him behind. when will potential gop rivals make it official? republican governor chris sununu joins me exclusively. >> hello, i'm dana bash in washington where the state of our union is sickened and heartbroken. americans are grieving today and they are demanding change with protesters taking to the streets in cities across the u.s., spurred by the sight of five police officers mercilessly beating tyre nichols while he calls for his mother and begs to go home. on saturday, the memphis police department disbanded the so-called scorpion unit, whose officers ironically he f

on "after words" armstrong williams and civil rights attorney ben crump co-authors of crisis in the classroom share the concerns about the education system in america. they are interviewed by "politico" education editor. watch booktv every sunday on c-span2 and find a full schedule under program guide or watch online anytime at booktv.org.

i know the attorney, ben crump, said that this should be a blueprint for things going forward. but i would say, any time it is so obvious and so egregious, as we all understand this video will be, that though action should be swift, absolutely swift, and accountability should be moved forward very quickly. and hopefully, moving forward, that will happen. when it comes to reforms, a lot of reforms are out there, these units, these stand alone units that are there to be in some times in plain colleagues and to help alie any additional crime, there has to be scrutiny. what's the unit. how many complaints. what is the use of force. what is the training that we're doing. what is the supervision. how much supervision. what kind of review of any incidents that are occurring. because personally, i feel like there's a place for some plain clothes enforcement at times, but it has to be heavily monitored, and the fact of the matter is, you can have all of the policies in the world in place, but you have to address the cultural issues, because we all know the culture eats policy for breakf

this week talkshow host artrong williams and civil rights attorney ben crump co-authors of crisis in the classroom share their concerns about the education system in america. they are interviewed by political education editor. watch "after words" every friday at 8 p.m. eastern on c-span. >> c-span that is a free mobile app featuring the unfiltered view of what's happening in washington live and on-demand. keep up with today's biggest events with live streams of floor proceedings entering some the the u.s. congress, white house events, the courts, campaigns and more from the world of politics all at your fingertips. you can also stay current with the latest episodes of "washington journal" and find schedule information for c-span's tv networks and c-span radio plus a variety of compelling podcast. c-span now is available at the apple store in google play. download it for free today. c-span now, your front wussy washington anytime anywhere. >> middle and high school students it's time to get out your phone and start recording for your chance to win $100,000 in total cash prizes for the

in listening to ben crump talk and family talk, they certainly expect charges. ith the d.a. a few days ago, so all of this points to some significant action perhaps here from the d.a. in the coming days. >> we'll be watching that. shimon, nick, areva, thank you all. >>> the fulton county d.a. in georgia says decisions are imminent in the possibility charges in president trump's efforts to overturn the election in that state. what could be on the table? we'll take a look. nothing. nothing. absolutely, nothing. it really is sething. as an pedia member, you can save up to 30% when you add a hotel to your flight. so you can have a bit more money, to do even less. because you've got a whole lot of nothing to do and absolutely nowhere to be. dry skin is sensitive skin, too. and it's natural. treat it that way with aveeno® daily moisture. formulated with nourishing, prebiotic oat. it's clinically proven to moisturize dry skin for 24 hours. aveeno® ya know, if you were cashbacking you could earn on everything with just one card. chase freedom unlimited. so, if you're off

crump, i asked you, do teachers unions help excel or hold students back? ben: as i said, that me and armstrong don't agree on everything. i think he is an excellent businessman, great entrepreneur, but i do think that he comes from a different perspective and we do need everybody's perspective at the table, it doesn't mean we have to agree with all of them. i think teachers unions and unions in general do a very important job to make sure that the marginalized people in america have a voice to be heard by the powers that be. i think teachers unions, in particular, must challenge in many regards, for the public schools who often have ties with marginalize --i think that charter schools are not the solution. i think the majority of people in america, especially people of color, are going to be educated in public schools. we have to understand that the resources we take from the public schools make it more challenging to educate black and brown children. these teachers unions are -- you can't just take the resources from the public schools. teachers are already t

. >> and we're hearing tonight from attorney ben crump. crump has represented the families of trayvon martin, michael brown. george george floyd and now the family of nichols. he talked about the case with kron four's justin campbell. that report coming up tonight at 9 o'clock. >> another big story we're following tonight. a disturbing new video that's been released of the october attack on paul pelosi at his home in the city. the video shows the chilling moments leading up to the suspect, david de pap attacking the 82 year-old with a hammer out following a judge's order. authorities did release body camera video from the officers who responded to the 9-1-1. call at the house of >> former house speaker nancy pelosi and her husband, paul. we are going to play that video, but we want to know that some viewers may find it disturbing. >> doing what's going on there? >> all of this happened back on october. 28, you can see when the door opens pelosi and dip at both seem to have a handle on the hammer. kind of tangled arm in arm when officers co

joining me now is someone who has seen it for himself, ben crump, an attorney for the family of tyre nichols. ben, i always appreciate your time and seeing you even though it is in these horrible circumstances. can we talk about this video? you called it deplorable, appalling, and heinous. can you describe the specifics of what we're going to see tomorrow and give us some detail of what we need to brace for? >> alisyn, it is going to be heart breaking. you see the escalation from the very beginning when they encounter tyre and they are shouting all kind of profanities at him and i mean grabbing him and he says, what did i do? i mean, get to see his humanity during the whole brutal attack. he's asking them, do y'all really have to do all of this? they just keep escalating and it is so difficult to watch. because at one point he says, i just want to go home. and maybe that may explain the kidnapping charges. i don't know. the prosecutor can explain his thinking there. but you wanted just somebody, anybody there to say, hey. this isn't the criminal thug we thought it was. everybody calm

. >> i want to go to ben crump, the attorney for the family of tyre nichols. tonight. first, this news we're just learning. the memphis fire department firing three employees after they released a statement showing nichols was not transported to the hospital until 27 minutes after the first paramedics arrived. the video shows what we have all had to watch and excruciatingly wait while they stand around waiting for the ambulance to arrive for much of that time. do you know, ben, anything about why? why this took 27 minutes? why they were standing around? >> that's the questions that were raised initially when we saw the video because it was just heart wrenching when you see tyre in handcuffs against a car. he falls to one side of the car and a minute later, they tell him to get up. he doesn't get up. they sit him back up then he falls to the opposite side and repeats like two or three times then he's just on the ground, erin. obviously in distress. and nobody is offering him any, rendering any aid and not anybody's offering him any ounce of humanity. >> do you t

now, obviously there's due process, we all should be big on due process as ben crump noted when he was asked a question concerning bail and certainly these officers will have their day in court. however to the extent they've all been charged with something similar what that means to me there is a theory that you are acting in concert, that each of you had some role which was significant as it related to the final outcome here and so i think as we wait for this video, abby, we'll be looking to dissect it to understand what was the immediate threat, if any, were their actions proportionate to whatever threat was posed and did they act reasonably, all indications that they did not. >> and i want to wrap up here where you began, joey, i mean, this is a family that's in profound pain right now but what we've seen all day and all week as this has transpired is incredible grace and determination. chief ramsey and joey jackson, please stand by for us. we'll get back to the nichols investigation in a moment and take a quick break. how do you become america's #1? start by taking care of families

i'm attorney ben crump. along with attorney tony ramanuci, attorney ernestine voice and attorney van turner, who is also the president of the memphis chapter of the naacp, we are proud to represent the family of tyre nichols. also present with us, of course, is bishop williamson who has been a steady faith leader for us in this ordeal as well as kareem ali, who is my investigator, but also is a person in the community who even before the video came out, the community activists were saying that something isn't right about this. i want to thank all those community activists and all those community people who stood up for justice even before we showed up, even before the cameras showed up. i think they deserve a big round of applause. [ applause ] we have the nclc president here as well. obviously, we have the people most affected by this tragedy who are showing such grace under these tragic circumstances. that is the stepfather of tyre nichols and the mother of tyre nichols. [ applause ] we can never applaud y

in just a moment, we'll speak to ben crump, the attorney for tyre nichols' family.himon prokupecz joins us. the five now former police officers are charged with second degree murder. just a short time ago we learned that special unit they belonged to is now permanently deactivated. the police chief is disbanding it. >> reporter: this is significant, pam, because this is something family members, community leaders have been calling for, this disbandment of this cscorpion unit that the fie former officers were part of. they drove around in unmarked cars and were used to fight crime in heavy crime areas. let me read the statement from the police chief. she writes that in the process of listening intently to the family of tyre nichols, community leaders and the uninvolved officers who have done quality work in their assignments, it is in the best interest of all to permanently deactivate the scorpion unit. the officers currently assigned to the unit agree unreservedly with the next step. interesting that she says the quality work. if you ask people in this community, th

we heard from ben crump.cular case, and they want to listen for this moment to what the stepfather had to say about tyree. and how he thinks he felt. >> i don't wish they had a good son. everybody son was good. but my son, he actually was good boy. our son ran because he was scared of his life. he did not run businesses trying to get into no drugs no guns, none of that. he ran because he was scared for his life. when you see the video, you see i was scared for his life. >> we have not seen this video. i do you see from the parents. understanding the narratives are often created around the person who was victimized on a person who, in this, case has passed. when it from your perspective, is hearing what the fact that you have five officers who were fired. before we even see this video. what goes through your mind? i >> first of all, the importance of the video. we have seen it's critical in this case. i we are starting to see more and more video of officers i -- that is why people are afraid. that's why mainly

coming up on cnn, dana bash talks to the attorney for tyre nichols' family, ben crump

for america turning >> you're listening to attorney ben crump for the family of ty. michael was talking about. fact, the family is applauding the district attorney's decision to charge those 5 officers with second degree murder and other charges for the brutal beating of mister nichols back on january, 7th, a beating this sent him to the hospital, the beating, eventually died of his injuries. and again, a beating that was captured on police body camera footage, which is expected to be released later today. and worry is that once it's made public, there may be uproar. and that's what not only memphis but other cities across the country are bracing for and with lawyers are speaking about now. we have to take a quick break. we'll be back with more coverage in we're back at 9.26. and a quick update about the oakland zoo. officials there say that they will be announcing next week when they plan to reopen this, of course, after a shutdown to fix a large sinkhole that occurred during last month's storms. this is video of some of that repair work being done. now. the zoo had

amy: beholding a news conference today with ben crump.alk about the lawsuit being filed and how you will deal with this as we move into black history month? >> absolely. we will just test we were planning on having a plain press conference but this has calls for students, high school students, college students, and florida state universities to join in. we have rebecca pringle who is coming down, the naacp will be present. this is a national outcry because i will say what you all just said, this is bigger than just a florida issue. this is a national issue. if you think people across the country are not watching what happens in florida because they believe if we can do it here, they can do it there. and that will be a problem. that is why you see the national outcry. the press conference today is to make it sure if you're going to start here, we are going to match your energy. we are going to start here also with our lawsuit to make sure it is clear that black people, marginalized people will not be the political punching bag. amy: florid

attorney ben crump says the deactivation of this unit, this is a positive step forward but the beating of tyre nichols, this goes beyond the individual officers and their color. take a listen. >> as responsible as those five officers were for killing tyre nichols and that rep henrehensi conduct we saw on that video, we feel this is the culture of the s.c.o.r.p.i.o.n. community and so we demand they disband it immediately before we see anything like this happen again. >> attorney ben crump and the other attorney personed an open letter saying the chorpion unit is not unique to memphis and calling for a nationwide reckoning of review in cities into these specialized units. they say without transparency and oversight, these units can morph into a mentality that enables aggressive encounters that they say tire rise minority communities. >> isabelle rosales, thank you for that reporting. >>> with prosecutors building their case against the five officers charged with murder, we're getting a closer look at exactly how this deadly encounter unfolded. cnn's boris sanchez has more on the timelin

family attorney ben crump relayed one account that a local man had also described to media outlets of his encounter with scorpion. >> there is a brother who said four or five days before this happened to tyre that same scorpion unit confronted him while he was in his car going to get pizza. and he said that they used all kind of profanity against him, they threw him on the ground, talking about where are the drugs and where are the weapons. >> reporter: and, crump said, the officers pointed a gun at the man's head. cnn has reached out to the memphis police for response to that account. we haven't heard back. one law enforcement veteran described issues that often crop up with specialized units in city police departments. >> generally speaking, when we have an enforced-driven unit, these units have a great proc er propensity to rack up based on force. i believe we had a failure in supervision and there was no appropriate oversight to ensure these officers were doing what they were supposed to do. >> reporter: the memphis police has not responded to specific allegations of previous use

the family's attorney, ben crump describing what happened on the tape that's going to be released after 7:00 p.m. eastern time today, comparing to what happened with rodney king. we'll talk about that but listen to what he said. >> it reminds you of rodney king in many regards, assaulted, battered, punched, kicked, tased, pepper sprayed. it is very troubling when you think about tyre only weighs, at most, 150 pounds, calling for his mother. he yells out to her three times and then you never hear tyre nichols say another word on that video. you see him up against the car, sitting down in handcuffs and you see his body fall to the right. >> you can see now i'm joined live now by the memphis police chief, cj davis thank you for joining us. i'm going to wear my glasses because i have specific things i want to ask you about. these five officers have been charged with second degree murder in the death of tyre nichols. what's your reaction to these very serious charges? >> well, i expected serious charges. i really did. actually, the charges that were placed -- at least the administrative char

davis, the way people have described her handling it, including attorney ben crump, they describe its a blueprint for how police departments should handle it in the future. immediately the officers were fired, they were soon after charged, and then the videos were made public in an effort for transparency. do you agree that this is a blueprint for the way that these officer-involved killings should be handled in the future? >> well, hopefully we don't have these in the future, boris, right? hopefully we take this moment and not sit here again in a few months or a few years and have a tragic incident like that. yes. chief davis got up front, her compassion, transparency, and holding officers accountable are critical. actually we saw the benefit of that. last night we saw mass protests around the country, but they were peaceful, right? it wasn't leading into civil unrest. why? because there was a measured tone coming from police commanders of empathy and compassion for this loss of life and a commitment to do better. and the memphis police department has done -- has taken steps in the

memphis are tyre's mother, rowvaughan wells, his stepfather, rodney wells, and the family's attorney, ben crumpank you all for being with us this morning. attorney crump, i want to start with you because this is what you do. you represent the families when they are in situations like this. describe what you make of the video. >> as i said, the video is going to remind a lot of people of rodney king, but as america watched this video, everybody has concluded it's much worse. it is appalling, deplorable, heinous, and you can go all the way through the alphabet, but you get to the end, and everybody concludes it is so unnecessary how tyre nichols was killed. he never should have been killed in this manner. >> and you say so much worse because, of course, he did die days later. mrs. wells, i want to bring you in and just express our condolences to you and your family. thank you for being with us. i know as of last night you said that you hadn't watched the video. how difficult was it to learn that your son was calling out for you? >> it was very difficult. as a mother, you want to always be there w