MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Eric Garner

Interview

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

SCHULTZ: Welcome back to the Ed Show.

We continue to follow the breaking news. A grand jury here in New York has found no reasonable cause to indict NYPD Officer Daniel Pantaleo and the death of Eric Garner.

The grand jury was made of up 23 members with 12 votes needed for a decision. Sources familiar with the say that of the 23 members, 14 are white, 9 are non-white, and at least 5 members were black Americans.

Now, for more, I am joined tonight by Congressman Al Green of Texas also with us Joy Reid, Host of the "Reid Report" here on the MSNBC 2:00 Eastern Time.

Congressman, your reaction to this and is there a different reaction to this on Capitol Hill than maybe other new stories that we`ve seen that have dealt with police incidence.

REP. AL GREEN, (D) TEXAS: Well, we are stunned, we are shocked but we also believe that there is a remedy for this.

I am about the opinion that we must first, let people know that what has occurred today is something that is unacceptable. We also have to say to people that, if we don`t change this, what we`ve said to people most specifically the police officers is that this is OK. We`re saying you can do this. We cannot allow the perception to exist that you can do this.

I would also add that we live in a world where it`s enough for things to be right, they must also look right. It doesn`t look right for you to go behind closed doors and get a no bill in a case like this.

These cases don`t have to go grand juries. They can be taken to probable cause hearings before a judge. And a judge can make a decision with the eyes of the world viewing. And once we get that kind of transparency, I believe we can get different results.

But I would also add one more thing Ed if I may. We have a duty to bring this kind of behavior to an end. We cannot allow people in the world to see us, continue to go through these kinds of deliberations and end up with no results that people can understand.

Because we`re not talking about a conviction, we`re merely talking about an arrest, an arrest, a person being arrested. I don`t know whether there will be a finding of guilt by a jury but I do know that there`s a probable cause to arrest. That`s what we are talking about.

SCHULTZ: Police procedures on the street Congressman. Every department seems to be different. Some chokeholds are good in some places. Chokeholds are not good in New York City.

Is there a federal move here on how people on the street should be approached? And if the, you know, an officer goes through training. What about the training? How could all of those officers involved in this videotape be trained to do what they did to this man and then defend it?

GREEN: Well they shouldn`t have been trained to do what occurred. There should be some additional review of training. We believe that what the President is proposing is inline of what we need and that is additional training for police officers. I think that`s a good thing.

And let me also say that not all officers should be condemned. This is not a broad-brush that we`re painting with. We`re talking about this incident now. And we want to make sure that this type of thing doesn`t happen again. But I do concur with you, there needs to be more training and I do also believe that if we do not, if we do not take the time to talk to each other about these things rather than yell at each other.

We`re not going to make the progress that we need to get behind -- get us beyond this debate. Too often we`re yelling at each other now. People have gotten to the point that they don`t want people to protest. Peaceful protest is a means by which people can express can themselves.

There is a move in this country to prevent people who legitimately want to stand and protest peacefully from doing so. People who commit crimes ought to be prosecuted. But we got to allow people to protest this kind of behavior.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

REID: And the federal government, they come in here and needs to say that if there`s deadly use of force against citizen, then it will not be the local prosecutor, it`s your guy that`s going to apply the law and they`re not going to be able to hide behind the grand jury.

The federal government has a role to play, President Obama, the Justice Department. It`s time for the federal government to weight in.

SCHULTZ: Congressman Green, your response to that, to get...

GREEN: Well, I absolutely agree. I absolutely agree. We do have to weight in...

SCHULTZ: Do you think Republicans would go along with that on a federal level?

GREEN: Well, I don`t know whether they will but I know that the right thing to do is to ask and to try to get it done.

We can`t continue to do what`s being done. We cannot allow the perception to be that is all right.

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

GREEN: It`s OK to do what you`ve done because that`s what we are saying when we don`t get an indictment, we don`t get an arrest.

And I also would add that Ed, this kind of circumstance is something that we can change. We have to have the will. If a good prosecutor could have gotten a true bill in this case, a good prosecutor could do it. So...

SCHULTZ: OK.

GREEN: ... if you have a dog that wont hunt, Ed you got to get a new dog. We got to get prosecutors who are willing to fight for the rights of victims and not for the rights of people who are charged with the offense. The best defense attorney, these victims, these...

SCHULTZ: Got it run Congressman.

GREEN: ... these police officer have as a prosecutor...

SCHULTZ: Got it run. We`re going to take now live -- you`re looking at Staten Island, New York and of course the Mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source