Why Ferguson Police Won't Release Name of Officer in Michael Brown Shooting
BANFIELD: For the first time since a Missouri police officer shot and killed an unarmed teenager, we're hearing the officer's side, or at least a very small part of it coming out, little pieces of puzzle, but a critical one nonetheless. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson told our affiliate, KMOV, the officer involved was injured in an alleged altercation between him and Michael Brown, the 18-year-old who was killed. The police chief says the officer was hit and that the side of his face was swollen, but who he is is still a mystery to the public. The officer is apparently getting death threats against not only him but his family as well. And because of that, the police department says it won't release his name right now, a decision that lawyers representing the family have blasted. Many people in Ferguson are furious over the actions of the police department after the shooting. And they're of course furious about the shooting itself. To give you a sense of the tension between the police and the community, this picture perhaps sums it up very well. Look closely at the riot squad passing a mailbox. One man has his hands in the air, and then we zoom in past the group of armed officers in riot gear, on the right-hand side of your screen, the message on the mailbox, "F the police." In a town that is 63 percent black, the police force does not represent the community in terms of demographics. Ferguson has 53 officers, including the command staff, but only three of the officers are black. I want to bring in Cedric Alexander. He is the executive director of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement. Mr. Alexander, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. I want to ask you, first and foremost, the news that came out this morning from the police chief that the officer who was involved in this shooting himself suffered a facial injury, that his face is swollen, does that change the dynamic of this conversation at all in your opinion?</s>CEDRIC ALEXANDER, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT: I believe it begins to open up some, beginning to show some transparency in this case. But there's a lot more discussion that is going to have to take place. One thing that is clearly important, becoming more evident to me every day, I certainly do understand the chief's and his department's position in terms of wanting to protect that police officer who have had threats made against himself and his family. That is very serious, and we must respect that as well too. But at some point, in order to reveal what is going on in this case, the police department is going to have to make a decision to reveal that officer and tell the community and this country who he is. But I think that we all can be sensitive to the fact that for our law enforcement personnel, we certainly don't want any harm to come to them or their family. So any information right now that the chief is able to give to the public and share with people across this country I think it opens up an opportunity for discussion, particularly there in Ferguson. So it becomes very important for him in that community to share as much as they can without compromising that investigation.</s>BANFIELD: So I know you're also the chief of police for DeKalb County in Georgia, and clearly I know that you walk a sensitive line when talking about another police chief and his department, and of course they're not even the ones doing the investigation. They've turned it over to the county of St. Louis. But what is the protocol in your assessment? Or at least do you know what the range of protocol would be when a weapon is discharged? Is it protocol to immediately release the name of an officer? Because this police chief is saying he hasn't been charged. And nowhere in anyone's legal protocol do you release the name of someone's name who hasn't been charged. But is it different for police who haven't discharged weapons?</s>ALEXANDER: Let me back up and let me say something and be very, very clear about this. There is -- it is very important for me as the president of NOBLE to be fair and unbiased in this process, but at the same time, in regards to that chief's decision, I have to respect that. Now, I have never throughout my career and my experiences, and I've been involved in a number of police shootings involving my officers, where the name of that officer has been immediately released. But this is a -- I don't -- I'm not there on the ground in Ferguson. I don't know their circumstances. But typically, this -- what makes this very unusual -- but here again, let me be clear about something, when the community, which in this case is pretty evident to me, doesn't have a good working relationship with the police department, and you have a situation like this to occur, it will reach a tipping point, which clearly it already has, because there are a lot of mistrust and distrust between the community and the police. So I would hope here very, very soon that that department is able to release the name of that officer and give as much information about that case here again without compromising that investigation. And that is very, very important too.</s>BANFIELD: Can you just clarify? I'm not sure I understood. You have never in your history -- you're a police chief as well -- you've never seen the name of an officer released right away or not released?</s>ALEXANDER: No, no, generally, the officer's name is released following a police involved shooting.</s>BANFIELD: Immediately?</s>ALEXANDER: Immediately.</s>BANFIELD: OK.</s>ALEXANDER: So this is very different. That has been my experience as a chief and an executive in doing this job for the last 30 years.</s>BANFIELD: You recognize the circumstances in this one, very different than so many others.</s>ALEXANDER: But -- and they very well may be different in all fairness to them there in Ferguson.</s>BANFIELD: OK. Mr. Alexander, I could speak to you for hours about this and I think -- I dare say that we will likely be speaking again because this is only just the beginning.</s>ALEXANDER: Right.</s>BANFIELD: Thank you, sir. Appreciate your time.</s>ALEXANDER: Thank you for having me. OK.</s>BANFIELD: Cedric Alexander joining us live this morning. What exactly happened in the moments before Michael Brown was shot and killed by that police officer in Ferguson? Michael Brown's friend was there and he has spoken to CNN and he has given his account. In fact, he's given it a few times. It's pretty darn consistent too. You're going to hear it coming up.