MSNBC "The Ed Show"- Transcript: Baltimore Policing and Freddie Gray

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Congressman Chris Van Hollen of Maryland joins me tonight.

Congressman, the White House making a big effort talking to high profile
athletes, to talk to kids in communities across the country, is this a big
step forward? How do you see this? This is your state.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, (D) MARYLAND: Well, that`s right. And first, I
want to commend State`s Attorney Marilyn Mosby for acting quickly and
deliberately to seek justice in this case. For Freddie Gray and his
family, but as you said, really for all Marylanders.

And now, we also need to begin a conversation and more importantly urgent
action to begin to address some of the underlying systemic issues that led
to the tragedy in Baltimore and tragedies we`ve seen around the country. I
think the president has begun to speak about that important conversation
need for action.

I just got off a conference call with the head of the Congressional Black
Caucus as well as Barbara Lee who serves with me on the Budget Committee.
To talk about how we really need now to roll up our sleeves and attack this
issue of poverty, rather than this failed war on drugs, which has led to so
many people being locked up for nonviolent drug offenses.

SCHULTZ: Some of the systemic problems you`re talking about, is it police
culture? I mean, I think one of the biggest pieces of information today is
Marilyn Mosby saying he should have never been stopped, should have never
been arrested, should have never been, you know, put in custody. I mean,
doesn`t that speak to the police operations, that they`re heavy handed and
how do you reel that in from your perspective?

HOLLEN: Well, look, there`s no doubt that you need a restructuring of the
relationship between police in many places around the country and the
communities that they`re sworn to serve there.

Even before this awful situation with Freddie Gray, there`s been an ongoing
U.S. Justice Department investigation into brutal police tactics in
Baltimore City. So absolutely, we need the body cameras, we need to make
sure we have the truth in this case and in these cases, and other reforms.
But I`m speaking about deeper changes that we need to be made in terms of
attacking poverty and ending this failed war on drugs.

SCHULTZ: Well, this town is tight with the dollar unless you`re talking
about the defense budget.

HOLLEN: Yeah.

SCHULTZ: I mean, we`re talking in an era where there`s not a whole lot of
money or anything, OK, especially when it comes to rebuilding inner cities.
This is an inner city issue, an inner city problem that has not gotten the
proper resources in funding. Isn`t that the congressional discussion?

HOLLEN: That is exactly right. And we just wrapped up debate on the
Republican budget conference report yesterday. And making the point that
we need to put resources into creating more job opportunities in these
areas of chronic unemployment, providing for more opportunity, beginning an
early education.

You`ve got a budget that are colleagues put forward, that actually makes it
harder for working people. They scaled back the child tax credit, at the
same time that they`re providing the tax break on the states, over $10
million, something you`ve talked about.

So it`s exactly backwards in terms of the budget being proposed here. We
need to attack this with a real urgency.

SCHULTZ: OK. I want to ask you on a federal level, all right? Richard
Shipley, the step dad, came out previously in this hour in a press
conference and said that the family is happy with the charges, but he put a
big emphasis on nonviolence. But then he went so far as to say this is
what we need and he named a couple things. One of them body cameras and
that was the attorney Billy Murphy who said that.

What`s going to push this discussion forward on a federal level when it
comes to body cameras, or do you view that as a state issue and a community
issue? And how would -- is that something that you would fund?

HOLLEN: Yes. And I`d see this as a city issue, a state issue, and a
federal issue.

SCHULTZ: So the decision should be made in a building you work in about
whether we`re going to do body cameras?

HOLLEN: What we proposed and there`s legislation that I support to do this
is that, the federal government will provide resources to these communities
as an incentive for them to move forward. In other words, we want to say
yes, you should be moving forward with these body cameras so that we always
get the truth, and we will provide resources available to you.

In the city of Baltimore, they passed legislation to create a pilot
program. I think that they should expand that very quickly in the city of
Baltimore. But absolutely, this is one piece of the reforms that need to
take place in terms of the criminal justice system.

Beyond that, again, we got to get away from this policy of locking people
up for nonviolent drug offenses, rather than treating it as a health issue.
As you know, on college campuses, when kids get busted for drugs, they
don`t end up in jail. They usually end up getting help in terms of the
health care, mental health, substance abuse.

SCHULTZ: Not the case in the inner city.

HOLLEN: ... whereas in places like Baltimore, it`s the opposite. You get
locked up.

SCHULTZ: OK. Congressman Chris Van Hollen, good to have you with us on
the Ed Show tonight.

HOLLEN: Good to be with you.

SCHULTZ: Thank you so much.

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