legal analyst and criminal attorney joey jackson is here in new york city and cnn legal analyst mark o'mara joins me from orlando. mark, it's easy to get lost, i think, in the many interesting but frankly irrelevant details in this case. what is the narrow issue that is now being confronted by the grand jury? >> whether or not this officer was in reasonable fear of great bodily injury when he decided to use deadly force against michael brown. that sentence is the only thing that is really relevant in this case. >> and what does reasonable mean in that circumstance? reasonable to us? reasonable to him? >> well, it's sort of a reasonable person standard. it's objectively reasonable standard, but it is not what's looked at in the light of day. it's not what's looked at when we look at a videotape and crush it up every second. it's look at what the officer was going through, what any person was going through at the moment they decide to use that force. you have to look at that it happened in a second. literally, this whole event took several seconds. his decision processing took much shorter th

mark o'mara, mccullough has held this job for decades. is there a case for him to step aside? >> i waivered early on thinking because of all the social and political pressures that maybe having somebody completely independent would help ease the concerns, but i've got to say i've sort of gotten to the point where he's done it for 24 years. i think it's a dangerous precedent to say solely due to the external pressures that he somehow is incapable of doing the internal work that he's done for 24 years should only happen with a black victim, with a white shooter or the opposite or any racial disparity. i think unless he says by following his statutes and the ethical code that he has a conflict, then the rule says he doesn't. >> joey, do you agree with that? i know one of the criticisms is his close relationship with police, but we had another legal analyst say all prosecutors have a close relationship here. would an independent prosecutor make a difference? >> i think it would. it's not only external concerns. there are concerns for the comm

inappropriate and it just leads to more emotions and less fact gathering. >> and mark geragos, to echo mark o'mara'snt, sides are drawn on this. people automatically go to their respective corners, they view it through a particular lens. and as mark said, we don't know the forensic evidence, there have been a few eyewitnesss who have come forward, but there will be other witnesses who will testify to the grand jury. and obviously officer wilson has supporters. does it surprise you, though, that he hasn't spoken or that other people around him haven't spoken, other than this alleged friend who called into the radio show? or is that a wise thing right now to lay low? >> i don't think it's unwise. i'm a little surprised more people haven't spoken on his behalf. and i think there's some reticence to do that because of the situation there and because there's so much -- or there was so much violence, no one really wanted to incite any more of that. but i think he's got a constituency and he's got support and he's got -- depending on where and if this case is brought, he's got -- if it is brought, i think

also, mark o'mara, who represented george zimmerman. don, for the first time we have this audio, which we'll tee up. first, give us context. who was the person who called into the radio station? . >> reporter: it is a friend of the officer. and brooke, i want to be very specific here. and i want to follow direct guidance, okay? because i think it's important to get everything straight here and to give knowledge of who this person is and how this information was obtained. so i'm going to read verbatim here. it says a source with detailed knowledge of the investigation into the ferguson, missouri, shooting of michael brown, says that the account of a caller to st. louis radio station, ktfk, matches the account of officer darren wilson as to what happened at the time of the shooting. the caller to the radio station identified only as josi told listeners she knew officer wilson's side of the story and in detail laid out wilson's account. here it is, in its entirety. listen. >> he rolled his window down and said, come on, guys, get out of th

also cnn legal analyst mark o'mara, anel powell, the author of "the truth heals." and also joining us is cnn's nischelle turner with the look at why your attitudes about the shooting of michael brown may have a lot to do with whether you are black or white. nischelle, what did you find out? >> you know, don, this has been a really interesting ten days for me. on one hand, i've been look agent this story like a journalist. but on the other hand, i have family who live in that community in ferguson. so i've been look at these images play out with angst every night, praying that the people i love will be safe in their homes. i think all of this playing out on television has definitely forced americans to take a good look at ourselves. and there is a brand-new poll out tonight that has some very telling numbers about how blacks and whites look at race in america. for the past ten day, america's eyes have been transfixed on these images. many questions and few answers about the death of michael brown. but opinions are taking shape, and the contrast between black and whi

you heard mark o'mara talk about 20 feet can be advanced in one second.aw enforcement trainer is going to join me to talk about protocol. and what evidence could tell investigators about what really happened. can an officer fire when someone's about 20 feet away because within a second he or she fears for his life? hi. i'm henry winkler. and i'm here to tell homeowners that are 62 and older about a great way to live a better retirement. it's called a reverse mortgage. [ male announcer ] call right now to receive your free dvd and booklet with no obligation. it answers questions like how a reverse mortgage works, how much you qualify for, the ways to receive your money, and more. plus, when you call now, you'll get this magnifier with l.e.d. light absolutely free. when you call the experts at one reverse mortgage today, you'll learn the benefits of a government-insured reverse mortgage. it will eliminate your monthly mortgage payments and give you tax-free cash from the equity in your home. and here's the best part -- you still own your home. take control

i'm joined now by professor lawrence, mark o'mara. stick with me, everyone here, as we look at these pictures. mark, you have been here with me and we've been watching this unfold. you were in the crowd. what happened? >> 30 or 40 minutes ago, something was thrown in the air. two bottles about five minutes apart. there was water bottles. it appears to be nothing but a fluid but some were worried that it was a molotov cocktail or something might catch fire. it was really just water. and it happened by two people in there trying to antagonize. people in the crowd saw and it pushed them out and said we don't wasn't causing problems anymore. >> you called them anarchists. >> one person was. the other person, i was told by people in the crowd that they're from a revolutionary communist group in illinois. both were in the crowd. both white. two people said go back to your neighborhood with that instead of coming in here and messing with us. they didn't want to be lumped in with these two people. >> do you think that's what started this off?

charged case that is now a national event, we should do it right and not do it by speculation. >> mark o'mara, mark geragos, sunny hostin, thanks very much. >>> coming up tonight, another young american has died in syria fighting for isis, the same terrorist group that beheaded american journalist, james foley. this is the young man, the latest on who he was and how he ended up on the battlefield in syria, next. shopping online is as easy as it gets. wouldn't it be great if hiring plumbers, carpenters and even piano tuners were just as simple? thanks to angie's list, now it is. start shopping online from a list of top-rated providers. visit angieslist.com today. you know it can't last forever. but that's okay. because a fresh start awaits. with exciting worlds to explore, and challenges yet unmet, new friendships to forge, and old ones to renew. it's more than a job. and they're more than just our students. so welcome back, to the students, and to the educators. ready to teach. and ready to learn. ♪ [music] jackie's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today her doctor has her on a bayer

. >> joining me now, mark o'mara.ertainly know a thing or two about prosecutors, having represented george zimmerman. i'd love your two cents on that. please remind everyone, when we're talking about a grand yesterday. how do you, if and when this goes to trial, do you select as attorneys for either side select which witness testifies? which is most credible? >> that's one of the decisions. you look at the credibility and how they will help your case. you look at what they said and how they said it and if it's in a way that you can present to a jury to make them believe it and realize there are going to be some warts on every witness that we have. >> mark o'mara, thank you very much. >>> who, if anyone, is he had looking the protests in ferguson? will someone stand up and lead these people? is there a new leader they can turn to? and not everyone sees this through the lens of race. for some people it is about the police shooting of a young man, it's about authority, it's about too much authority in some cases. we talk

hln legal analyst joey jackson is here in new york city and criminal defense attorney mark o'mara joinse from florida. it is interesting, but frankly irrelevant details in the case. what is the narrow issue that is confronted by the grand jury? >> whether or not this officer was in reasonable fear of great bodily injury when he decided to use deadly force against michael brown. that sentence is the only thing that is really relevant in this case. >> what does reasonable mean in that circumstance? reason to us? reasonable to him? >> it is sort of a reasonable person's standard. it is an objective standard. it is not what is looked at in the light of day or looked at a videotape and crush it by every second. it is what the officer is going through or any person going through at the moment they decide to use that force. you have to look at that it happens in literally a second. his decision processing was shorter than that. if you want to look at what he was considering, if there was a violent event at the car, that is relevant. when someone takes off and they are supposed to be apprehende

so joining me now, mark o'mara, cnn legal analyst and criminal defense attorney. mark, we've touched on this before. but since we have run through, specific combinations examples of these different accounts, and no one knows the real version of events, and we actually may never know of these accounts, which seems most credible to you? >> it's so difficult, because if you look at them all individually, they all have a commonality, which is that there was a difference of a distance between the officer and mike brown. so that's going to be significant, according to how far away he was when the shooting occurred. they do have mike brown turning around. that is significant, because either it's to surrender or it's to attack. that's a big point. this most recent witness, if he had a videotape showing what he just said he saw, that would be devastating to the officer. because if, in fact, mike brown was almost crunched over, maybe in reaction to the first shot or second shot, and was going down and he continued to shoot, then that's not appropriate. an officer is allowed

. >>> a short time ago, i spoke with frank piazza, audio forensic expert and mark o'mara who representedeorge zimmerman and attorney areva martin. mark, if it's confirmed that this is the audio of the shooting of michael brown, do you see it bolstering either side, the prosecution or the defense or do we simply not -- i mean obviously we don't know any of the forensic evidence. is it simply too early to tell? >> well, a couple of things. i do think it's going to be authenticated. it seems to be relevant in time, place and the way it happened, so i think it's going thoent katd, which means it's going to show up in a courtroom. what's interesting it does, it sort of sets the audio stage for what happened. i agree with don, it seems as though it's missing that first shot that was testified to by dorian, but the other ones i think are fairly significant. now, whether or not they help the state or defense according to what side you want me to take, anderson, you and i have both talked about not speculating. but one thing that's interesting about that is the family's autopsy suggested that mik

national security analyst, mark o'ma o'mara. let's talk about this. ed, you are a former police commissioner in boston. you are critical of how this was hand from the very beginning. why so? >> we tried to imagine a scenario where it could have been handled any worse. from the time the body was left to lie in the street and not be covered to the lack of arrival at the home of the victim's family. the outreach, the compassion that needs to be shown was not shown here. that being. this whole incident was on the shoulders of one man, the police chief who is a small town police chief who doesn't have a law office, who doesn't have a public relations office. i think that the lack of leadership beyond the police chief was really shocking in this case. >> a woman claiming to be a friend of officer darren wilson's, she backs up the account of a struggle before the fatal shooting. if this is indeed true, does that make a difference in this case? >> well, there are two different cases. one is the death of michael brown. and i'm not sure i would believe her stor

pile with their free money and there they're free bullets of their free guns that's exactly what mark o'mara is and the here is alluding spring same thing with janet yellen same thing in the same thing around the world the result is massive looting. well going back to what the voter does what the schmuck on the street and that includes ninety nine point nine nine percent of the population. they're the ones that vote for this they're the ones that are happy with house prices rising because they tune into the mainstream media the mainstream media tells them that's ok the mainstream media does not connect for them the fact that how we price is the education crisis the health care costs all of those things are rising let's talk about those schmucks let's talk about this people all this building behind us going on we're not going to stop rolling we're going to keep on tape and through this because this is a lie financial war reporting that construction behind us is for a mockery apartment it's not for schmucks on the street it's not for the bottom ninety nine point nine percent but the bottom nin

not at all. >> mawuli davis, mark o'mara, ron davis, thanks very much. more on breaking news coming up. the man now in charge of ferguson. ferguson reveals how he defused a very retense situation. the state trooper, captain ron johnson, talks to cnn's jake tapper. jake is tanding by to join us live. so i can reach ally bank 24/7, but there are no branches? 24/7 it's just i'm a little reluctant to try new things. what's wrong with trying new things? feel that in your muscles? yeah... i do... try a new way to bank, where no branches equals great rates. how can i ease this pain? (man) when i can't go, it's like rocks piling up. i wish i could find some relief. (announcer) ask your doctor about linzess-- a once-daily capsule for adults with ibs with constipation or chronic idiopathic constipation. linzess is thought to help calm pain-sensing nerves and accelerate bowel movements. it helps you proactively manage your symptoms. do not give linzess to children under 6, and it should not be given to children 6 to 17. it may harm them. don't take linzess if you h

we're joined by julia, cnn national security analyst and mark o'mara and then gazdon county florida sheriffi want to start with you, sheriff. who is ultimately responsible when an unarmed person gets killed? >> well, you've got to understand that that officer is responsible. he's in control of that situation and he's got to make sure and he needs to understand -- that officer understands that the use of force is -- you can't make that decision too quick. and you've got to make sure that you have control of that situation. >> so mark, i want to ask you about that. let's look at the situation that happened in st. louis yesterday with the guy wielding the knife? who is ultimately responsible? was it an appropriate use of force? >> it's interesting because the chief said something that we have to be aware of. there are a lot of rules that cops are trained by. what he said was the 21-foot rule. they said if it's an edged weapon, 21 feet is an area of danger and you're allowed to use deadly force in response. to me it looked like that, that less than eight or nine shots could have been fired, one

louis police officer's association and mark o'mara and successfully defended george zimmerman in theilling of trayvon martin. the struggle in the vehicle which all eyewitnesss say there was some sort of a struggle, how important is that to determine who initiated that and established that? >> it's important. if you use deadly force, the standard is you can use it in response if you reasonably believe you're in danger of serious physical harm or death. so again, what happens in the car -- >> you or others. >> or others. >> so in this instance if the officer feels like he's threatened personally, if it's serious physical harm or death he can use deadly force. any struggle in the car is important to the narrative. >> and mark, the reports about officer wilson's injuries, george zimmerman's injuring certainly played a role in the public perception of the case and certainly in the trial, the images of his bloody head, nose weren't initially released to the public. when they were, they came out and changed the narrative of the case, didn't they? >> they absolutely did because they showed f

cnn contributor mark o'mara represented trayvon martin's killer, george zimmerman. >> without questionhave been sensitized because of the george zimmerman/trayvon martin incident. in our system, it should be. we should be looking at the cases very, very carefully. >> reporter: attorney benjamin crump represented trayvon martin's family. he was killed by a resident on neighborhood watch. brown's death is at the hands of law enforcement. >> trayvon was shot once but as we understand from these witnesses, this child was shot multiple times and left on the ground like a dog. >> reporter: that harsh image now drives angry demands and official promises of transparency. also reminisce september of the aftermath in the death of trayvon martin. david mattingly, cnn, ferguson, missouri. >> we'll track developments on that important story. still to come, some storms are soaking parts of the eastern u.s. >> yeah. we will have a look at the rising flood waters and see when the rain might end. >>> so summer storms in the u.s. have led to severe flooding in northeastern parts of the country. >> yeah.

. >> reporter: mark o'mara knows all too well about the importance of audio evidence.ented george zimmerman in the trayvon martin trial during which much was made of who screamed during a 911 call made during the fatal altercation between zimmerman and martin. >> do you think he is yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> reporter: in the end, fbi analysis of that 911 audio was inconclusive. who screamed for help, martin or zimmerman, still a debate. o'mara says maybe the audio from ferguson will be different. >> it could, for example, have mike brown saying something like i give up. it could have the officer saying freeze, stop, drop to the ground, whatever may have been said. so though we haven't heard it, there are some audio analysts out there who may be able to drag out some more information from that tape. >> reporter: experts say those answers could be a while in coming. the fbi will need all the electronic information about who recorded the video chat and who was on the other end. and any other clues that may be buried on the audio recording. jason carroll,

. >> mark o'mara, a case where you're defending the police officer, right? >> absolutely. and this has to be a justifiable use of deadly force defense, that's all he has. when he pulled that gun out, he has to be in imminent or reasonable fear of great bodily injury, and if he has that in his mind and the facts support it, he's not guilty because it's justified and if he doesn't, he has to explain why he put three or four what shots in somebody if he wasn't in immediate great bodily threat. that's the law and that will be the case. >> if he was in fear earlier, once michael brown puts his hands up in the air and gives up, there is no excuse, you can't shoot, you can't fire anymore bullets, right? >> each shot has to be justified by the reasonable fear of great bodily injury, and each -- literally, each shot, the frenzy of five shots, it doesn't matter. if he's shooting after he gets out of the car, that fear has to be reasonable by a reasonable person standard and it will be difficult when he's the only one with a gun. >> there are eyewitnesss, thanks very much. >>> just a

. >>> joining me now are frank piazza, an audio forensic expert and mark o'mara who represented george zimmerman and reva martin. mark, if it's confirmed that this is the audio of the shooting of michael brown, do you see it bolstering either side, the prosecution or the defense, or do we simply not -- i mean obviously we don't know any of the forensic evidence. is it simply too early to tell? >> well, a couple of things. i do think it's going to be authenticated. it seems to be relevant in time, place and the way it happened. so i think it's probably going to get authenticated which means it's going to showup in a courtroom. what's interesting, it sort of sets the audio stage for what happened. i agree with don, it seems as though it's missing that first shot that was testified to by dorian, but the other ones i think are fairly significant. whether or not they help the state or defense, according to what side you want me to take, we have talked about not speculating, but one thing that's interesting about that is the family's autopsy suggested that mike brown was hit six times in the

mark o'mara is a good friend of mip, the one that handled the zimmerman case.e were talking about the case and had exactly the same thoughts. that is proximity is something that you'll see the defense use, the closer you put officer wilson to a 6'4", 300-pound michael brown who appears to be moving forward with his arms extended, the better changs the defense has to sell reasonable use of force. reasonable mistake, panic. that removes the criminal intent. but there's so many other things that are so easily sold by a defense. hyperage tags -- >> mr. parks, i want to bring you back into this discussion. here's mike papantonio saying he has spoken with other attorneys and they are of mind alike that this case is winnable for the defense. and when you -- i want your reaction to that but doesn't that prevent the professional case for you to say you know what, we've got to get a different prosecutor in here? i want to give you time to address both of those things. >> well, first of all, any case is winnable as pap and i both know. i think that how you present the cas

. >> talking to mark o'mara, often the eye-witnesses are often traumatized by the series of events andey see aren't as pictu picture-perfect as one would think. >> true. but what the prosecution has the burden of proving to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt what happened, if your witnesses are traumatized, that's your problem as a prosecutor, not the defendant's. >> got it. àjeff toobin, jane velez-mitchell, thank you very much. >>> coming up next, he is a rapper, an entrepreneur, an activist. but he's also the son of a police officer. mike -- killer mike render joins me live on the chaos in ferguson. on spike lee's remarks that there is, quote, war on the black male. >> and we get blinded to think because we've got oprah, michael jordan, lebron, beyonce, jay-z, everything is okay. no. protection. identity theft protection. you have selected identity distribution. your identity will now be shared with everyone. thank you. no, no, no -- [ click, dial tone ] [ female announcer ] not all credit report sites are equal. [ male voice ] we're good in here, howie. yeah, have a good night, broth

. >> reporter: mark o'mara knows all too well about the importance of audio evidence.merman in the trayvon martin trial during which much was made of who screamed during a 911 call made during the fatal altercation between zimmerman and a martin. >> do you think he is yelling help? >> yes. >> what is your -- >> reporter: in the end, fbi analysis of that 911 audio was inconclusive. who screamed for help, martin or zimmerman still a debate. o'mara says maybe the audio from ferguson will be difficult. >> it could, for example, have mike brown saying something like i give up. it could have the officer saying freeze, stop, drop to the ground, whatever may have been said. so though we haven't heard it, there are some audio an a lists out there who may be able to drag out some more information from that tape. >> reporter: experts say those answers could be a while in coming. the fbi will need all the electronic information about who recorded the video chat and who was on the other end. and any other clues that may be buried on the audio recording. jason carroll, cnn, new york

mark o'mara says one thing about this investigation has him quite concerned.at is and why. also, as i mentioned, you will hear for the first time this audio of this woman calling into this radio station, telling the ferguson police officer's side of the story. that's next. you're watching cnn. so ally bank really has no hidden fees on savings accounts? that's right. it's just that i'm worried about you know "hidden things..." ok, why's that? no hidden fees, from the bank where no branches equals great rates. [ woman ] if you have moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis like me, and you're talking to your rheumatologist about a biologic... this is humira. this is humira helping to relieve my pain. this is humira helping me lay the groundwork. this is humira helping to protect my joints from further damage. doctors have been prescribing humira for ten years. humira works by targeting and helping to block a specific source of inflammation that contributes to r.a. symptoms. humira is proven to help relieve pain and stop further joint damage in many adults. [ male

i agree with mark o'mara. and he knows better than anybody, having defended george zimmerman, and having been at the center of that case that when you have auditory evidence like they had, don, in that case with the 911 calls, what you now have is you have a measuring stick against which the jury can weigh all of the witness testimony. and basically say, okay, this person said a, this person said b. but we've got this objective standard which is this recording. and i think the most important piece, don, is the pause. it's that moment of contemplation between the six shots in the beginning and the four shots after. something happened there. and it's going to be a question for the jury, don, as to what exactly happened in that moment. did michael brown lunge at the officer or did he turn around and put his hands up, don. >> here is the question mark. we only have 12 second of video. and then there is video on there, but the person on it did not want it shown. what we don't have apparently is the first shot, that

. >> joining me now, senior legal analyst, jeffrey toobin, and mark o'mara, george zimmerman's former attorney. jeff, obviously, this is just a horrific case all-around. i think probably, everybody at one point or another, if someone killed loved ones of mine, how would i act? do you think that kind of thing weighs on the mind of a jury? >> you can bet, they're human beings. and what the defense did in this case, which i think was very clever, they didn't exactly say, he had it coming, he deserved it, they gave the jury an opportunity to sit -- to acquit, but on the evidence that was before them. there was no eyewitness. there was never a gun recovered. there sure didn't seem like there were any other suspects, but the jury could say -- >> there's just not enough to say beyond a reasonable doubt. >> yes, even though you know that, you know, the human factor was very big in a case like this. >> mark, do you think it could have just come down to the fact that there was reasonable doubt, or that the police failed to produce a murder weapon, the residue on his hands, you know, turned out

sunny and mark o'mara, we'll have more on this case in the next hour of "360."ety of perspectives but up next though in this hour after losing a vital air base to isis, syria agrees to usair strikes targeting the islamic ex-timist group but with conditions, pretty significant ones and an american journalist freed by a different terror group in syria. you love this game. but does the game love you? ♪ who cares? look where you get to stay! booking.com booking.yeah! when folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america. this is charlie. his long day of doing it himself starts with back pain... and a choice. take 4 advil in a day or just 2 aleve for al