Dash Cams Being Installed for Ferguson Police; Credibility of Dorian Johnson Questioned
BALDWIN: Just past the bottom of the hour on this Friday afternoon. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Progress to report in Ferguson, and not just on the streets, but also within the police force. The first dash cam has been installed inside a Ferguson police patrol unit.</s>BALDWIN: After a night where the message and not mayhem dominated the streets of Ferguson, Missouri, authorities report a handful of arrests, just seven. However, a key eyewitness who saw Officer Darren Wilson shoot and kill Michael Brown may be facing some credibility issues. Dorian Johnson was with Brown at the time of the shooting. He said he was also in the line of the officer's fire and that Brown had his hands up when he was shot and killed. Now CNN has obtained a 2011 police record from Jefferson City, Missouri, that shows Johnson was charged with theft and making a false report. He allegedly gave officers a fake name. So let me bring in CNN's legal analysts, Sunny Hostin and Danny Cevallos. Given this new information, previous run-in, arrest with the law, is it pertinent with regard to this case?</s>SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, I don't think it's pertinent. The bottom line is he -- you know, as a prosecutor, I can't begin to tell you how many people I put on the witness stand that have criminal histories. Oftentimes, people that are out late at night, unfortunately, witnessing crimes are usually people that, you know, may not have the best criminal history. That doesn't mean they didn't see what they saw. So I think what we are seeing now is the narrative trying to be changed. Michael Brown is now thug-a-fied. Dorian Johnson is now not credible. He too is thug-a-fied. And we see that happen in these kinds of cases. And I hate to say that race is coming into this, but I very much believe this is not a -- has not been a transparent investigation. And race does seem to be playing a part.</s>BALDWIN: Interesting the way you put it, thug-a-fied. I've had a number of commentators on the show saying it's the criminalization of a victim and this is just another example. Looking at your face, Danny Cevallos, do you disagree?</s>DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: There has been a lot of talk about whether Dorian Johnson's past is fair to talk about. That's an interesting philosophical question. Fortunately, for us, the Missouri rules of evidence couldn't be clearer, and the rule is this: If you have a prior conviction, that conviction can come in to impeach a witness and attack their credibility. However, a prior arrest is not necessarily a conviction. And arrests may not be used to impugn the credibility of a witness. So fortunately, we have a rule that we can fall back on. All the discussion about whether or not it's fair to hold someone's criminal past against them is an interesting discussion for the coffee house. But in the courthouse, the rules in Missouri couldn't be clearer.</s>BALDWIN: OK. What about the news today that the dash cams are finally being put in these patrol cars in Ferguson, Missouri, right?</s>HOSTIN: A little late.</s>BALDWIN: Wouldn't it have -- there are all these different accounts, and you know, being lawyers, everyone sort of tells a different story. But wouldn't it have made this -- I don't know if crystal clear would be accurate, but it would have changed the game. Pictures don't lie.</s>HOSTIN: It wouldn't have been crystal-clear, though, I think we can agree on that. Sometimes they don't have audit crow and sometimes the angle isn't, you know, appropriate and ideal. But I do believe, and I'm a huge supporter of dash cam recorders. I'm a huge supporter of police officers wearing body cams. I think it not only protects victims and witnesses, it also protects law enforcement. It protects officers, because it's not just their version of events. It's all on video.</s>BALDWIN: Go ahead.</s>CEVALLOS: Yeah, we can talk about shouldn't we have had dash cams before. Let me let everybody in on a little fact. Police departments are not like the Apple store. They're not -- some of them are still using typewriters, using computer systems that are old. They're not the most updated systems in police departments.</s>BALDWIN: There is a trend now.</s>CEVALLOS: It's a great -- listen, I'm a criminal defense attorney. I think the defense bar would say, overall, all these video cameras and mostly the benefit of the prosecution. But that being said, it certainly does lean more towards the truth when you have a video as opposed to someone's narrative.</s>BALDWIN: But it's not like it would ever replace an eyewitness account or a witness account.</s>CEVALLOS: I think it would do better.</s>BALDWIN: It would complement.</s>HOSTIN: I think it would complement. I don't think it would do better. We have been talking this past week a lot about witness creditability and how eye-witnesses aren't credible. I really, really think that's a very dangerous place to go. Because prosecutors put everyday people on the witness stand at their peril. Oftentimes, they are terrified to do that. And they do it and do it as a community service by getting on the witness stand. And so video is fine. But eyewitness testimony is crucial in our prosecutions today.</s>CEVALLOS: Criminal defense attorneys everywhere have been burned, buried by images, videos, pictures that clients put up on their Facebook page. Overall, video imaging is better quality evidence. People lie. Things do not lie.</s>BALDWIN: Too bad the dash cams weren't there 12 days ago.</s>HOSTIN: That's right.</s>BALDWIN: Sunny and Danny, thank you both very much. Next, we'll speak live with a St. Louis alderman about Monday's upcoming funeral for Michael Brown, and whether children will be going back to school in that community. Plus, a new witness is coming forward, speaking to CNN. Speaking of all these different accounts, does his version of events, does it contradict the others? Back after this.