Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

As the Race Heats Up, Biden Returns to the Trail; CDC Projects up to 211,000 U.S. COVID-19 Deaths by end of Month; Mayor Suspends Rochester Police Officers Involved in Black Man's Death; Interview With Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI); Joe Biden Visits Wisconsin. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired September 03, 2020 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[18:00:02]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Biden also held a community meeting today, where he slammed President Trump's handling of racial injustice and accused him of legitimizing hatred.

And we're tracking new developments in the investigation into Blake's shooting. I'll speak with the governor of Wisconsin, Tony Evers, in just a moment.

Also breaking this hour, the CDC is now projecting between 200,00 and 211,000 coronavirus deaths in the United States by September 26. The U.S. death toll currently stands at more than 186,000, exceeding 1,000 Americans for the second straight day.

First to Kenosha, Wisconsin, for more on Joe Biden's visit there.

Our Sara Sidner is on the scene.

Sara, we're learning some new details about that call between Joe Biden and Jacob Blake. What can you tell us?

SARA SIDNER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right.

Joe Biden did get a chance to talk to the Blake family, several members of the Blake family, including Jacob Blake's mother, his father, his sisters. But he also talked to Jacob Blake as well. And he talks about that from a personal stance and what happened when he was able to talk to him on the phone, as Jacob Blake is still in the hospital.

But he also is trying to create this very stark difference between him and President Trump, talking about President Trump's what he sees as mishandling of race relations in this country, going all the way back to the deadly Unite the Right Rally in 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Had an opportunity to spend some time with Jacob on the phone. He's out of ICU. We spoke for about 15 minutes, his brother and two sisters, his dad

and his mom on the telephone. And I have spoke with them a lot before, but we spent time together my wife. And he talked about how nothing was going to defeat him, how, whether he walked again or not, he was not going to give up.

We talked about a Psalm that my -- our church father, based on the 23rd Psalm. May he raise you up with eagle's wings and bury you on the breath of dawn until we -- and help keep you, hold you in the palm of his hand until we meet again.

Well, I think, Alderman, what's been unleashed with a lot of people is they understand that fear doesn't solve problems. Only hope does.

What I came away with was the overwhelming sense of resilience and optimism that they have about the kind of response they're getting.

His mom talked about -- we asked -- my wife asked to say a prayer. And his mom said a prayer. She said: "I'm praying for Jacob, but I'm praying for the policemen as well. I'm praying that things change."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: People here, though, in the community meeting, especially a lifelong resident here of Kenosha named Porsche Bennett, is demanding change and demanding some answers from presidential candidate Joe Biden, basically saying she was handed a paper to talk about a certain thing, and she decided to speak her mind and speak from her heart.

And she talked to him about feeling that there should be no difference in the way police are treated in the justice system and the way black and brown people are treated in the justice system, that if a homicide is determined by a coroner, that they should both be treated the same.

So she spoke her mind to Joe Biden today. He left about half-an-hour to an hour ago -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, Sara Sidner, thank you very much for that.

Let's continue our coverage with CNN's Ryan Nobles. Ryan is live right now for us from a campaign event.

This campaign is clearly in full swing, Ryan.

RYAN NOBLES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's a good way to put it, Jim.

The president set to speak here in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, in a little more than an hour. And when he arrives, he's going to be greeted by a massive crowd, perhaps the biggest crowd that he's spoken in front of since that rally in Tulsa at the end of June.

It is very clear the president is putting a big focus now on his reelection bid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NOBLES (voice-over): Tonight, the campaign is heating up.

BIDEN: The words of a president matter.

NOBLES: Just two days after President Trump's visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, his opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden, is making the same trip.

BIDEN: I thought you could defeat hate. Hate only hides. It only hides. And when someone in authority breathes oxygen under that rock, it legitimizes those folks to come on out, come out from under the rocks.

NOBLES: The Biden visit strikingly different from Trump's, as the Democrat met with Jacob Blake's family, Blake Jr. himself joining the conversation from his hospital room, as well as local activists and community leaders of color, while Trump focused his visit on law enforcement.

[18:05:03]

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Reckless, far left politicians continue to push the destructive message that our nation and our law enforcement are oppressive or racist.

NOBLES: Meanwhile, Trump is threatening leaders of several Democratic cities that he will cut their federal funding if they refuse federal law enforcement assistance, and continue to -- quote -- "permit anarchy," leading to this angry response from New York's governor.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): Forget bodyguards. He better have an army if he thinks he's going to walk down the street in New York.

NOBLES: And, today, Trump is once again casting doubt on mail-in voting, even suggesting his supporters illegally vote twice.

TRUMP: You send them in, but you go to vote. And if they haven't counted it, you can vote.

NOBLES: The president encouraging supporters to vote for him both by mail-in and in-person to make sure their vote is counted, despite the fact that there is plenty of evidence voting by mail is reliable.

In a series of tweets this morning, the president telling supporters to take special precautions if they choose to vote by mail, even suggesting they go to their polling place to -- quote -- "see whether or not your mail-in vote has been tabulated."

QUESTION: Six hundred thousand people could vote by absentee in this state.

TRUMP: I don't like that.

QUESTION: Are you confident in that system?

TRUMP: Well, they will go out, and they will vote, and they're going to have to go and check their vote by going to the poll and voting that way, because if it tabulates, then they won't be able to do that.

NOBLES: Now the North Carolina Board of Elections warning voters that attempting to vote twice is a felony, and -- quote -- "strongly discourages people from showing up at the polls on Election Day to check whether their absentee ballot was counted."

JOSH STEIN (D), NORTH CAROLINA ATTORNEY GENERAL: When you mail in your absentee ballot, you can track it online, and it will show on the Web site that your ballot has been received. There is zero reason to go vote in person once you have mailed in your ballot.

NOBLES: Still, the Trump administration standing by their warnings,.

WILLIAM BARR, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: He's trying to make the point that the ability to monitor this system is not good. And if it was so good, if you tried to vote a second time, you would be caught, if you voted in person.

NOBLES: While at the same time claiming:

KAYLEIGH MCENANY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The president does not condone unlawful voting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NOBLES: And back here in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and I have to say, I have covered about a half-dozen of these airport rallies and with each passing event, the Trump campaign is taking fewer and fewer precautions as it relates to the coronavirus.

This event here behind me, as you can see, very little social distancing, not that many people wearing masks. They do have hand sanitizer on hand. They are checking temperatures.

But, Jim, in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, this goes against almost every precaution that is offered up by the Centers for Disease Control, which is, of course, a part of the Trump campaign -- or the Trump administration, I should say, and is a pretty stark thing to see, especially because there's nothing like this really happening anywhere else in the country -- Jim.

ACOSTA: That's right, Ryan.

We saw it last week in New Hampshire at the president's event there. We're seeing it tonight in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. Here we go again.

All right, Ryan Nobles, thank you very much for that.

Let's discuss all the latest developments with Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers.

Governor Evers, thank you for joining us.

Let's get back to Jacob Blake. His attorneys tell me that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden shared a great deal of empathy with Blake when the two spoke over the phone during the former vice president's visit to Kenosha today.

What do you make of Biden's time in your state today?

GOV. TONY EVERS (D-WI): Well, certainly, as compared to what we saw it two days ago, it's night and day.

I have had a chance to talk to Jacob's mom and dad, and they're just extraordinary human beings. Lots of empathy. Lots of hope for the future. Obviously, they have lots of hard feelings about what happened to their son.

But, at the end of the day, they're calling for changes in policy. And they want to make sure that the state of Wisconsin hears that.

So, I think, from what I saw from Vice President Biden, he did a great job in reaching out. That's him. I mean, he is around empathy. He understands people.

You compare that to two days ago, when candidate Trump was in Wisconsin, first of all, this state is still struggling with the coronavirus. I think the president hopes that we don't talk about it anymore.

But, in Kenosha County, we have had 3,000 -- 3,000 people that have been tested positive; 600 -- or 60 have died, one yesterday. And he held this roundtable where he invited everybody to take off their mask, if they had one. Most of them didn't have one.

And that's just -- that just continues to be a problem. How can you help -- hope to help people heal in Kenosha, and then go there and say, don't care about the virus, you figure it out, folks.

[18:10:10]

That is hardly empathy, Jim.

ACOSTA: And, Governor Evers, I understand you would have preferred if neither presidential candidate visited Kenosha at this time.

In a letter to President Trump before his visit on Tuesday, you wrote that you were concerned that his presence would hinder community healing. Why were you reluctant about both of these visits? And do you feel that Vice President Joe Biden's visit was helpful?

EVERS: Yes, absolutely.

And what I -- my concern was around the issue of healing. I had a chance to be there last week, and a lot of pain, a lot of angst, you name it, a lot of feelings. But what impressed me most was their ability to be resilient, the people that I talked to, and great hope for the future.

They need healing. They need healing. And I don't think candidate Trump coming to Kenosha and talking about the shooting of Jacob Blake as three -- choking on a three-foot putt compares to what happened here with Joe Biden and his ability to show empathy, to understand the issues going forward.

To me, it was night and day. I did not want both of them to -- either them to come, because I'm very -- I was very concerned about the healing process and that people need to really think about what's going on in their hearts.

And I didn't want candidates to, frankly, muck that up. And I think Vice President Biden did a good job of being empathetic, understanding what the issues are, promising to fight for the important things that people care about.

ACOSTA: Yes.

And, Governor Evers, I want to ask you about what Attorney General William Barr told Wolf Blitzer yesterday on this program, that Jacob Blake was armed and in the middle of committing a felony when he was shot by police.

Blake's attorney say Barr is misinformed. And local authorities, as we both know, are still investigating. Does the attorney general's decision to weigh in publicly at this stage of the investigation make the job of those local law enforcement officials more difficult?

EVERS: Well, certainly.

Certainly...

(CROSSTALK)

ACOSTA: And do you know whether or not the attorney general's wrong?

I guess I should make that clear as well. Do you know whether he's wrong?

EVERS: Well, I don't know if he's wrong, but the crux of this is, he absolutely just has to be certain that he's not right. The attorney general in Wisconsin is conducting this investigation and his staff. They will make that determination. They have not made that call.

I have said right from the beginning, what I know is what saw. I saw eight shots go into the back of a black man as he was trying to get into his car. The rest of it is, frankly, up for the Department of Justice and our state to make recommendations to the district attorneys.

And for anybody to kind of jump in with information that God knows where it came from, I think is -- is trying to put his finger on the lever of justice here.

ACOSTA: And Blake's family -- I talked to his father earlier this week.

They say that this shooting and the events that followed further demonstrate that your treatment under the law depends on the color of your skin. What are you doing, personally, Governor Evers, to make sure that equal justice is served in this case in your state? EVERS: Well, yes. And thanks. Thanks for asking that question. That

is hugely important.

We called our legislature into a special session this last week. We had lots of support for this. Just nine accountability and transparency bills as it relates to policing in the state of Wisconsin actually have some support from different organizations that care about these things, whether it's police or sheriffs or chiefs.

They -- obviously, not everybody agrees on anything. But I think we're going to have a good chance to move forward. Republicans gaveled in. They didn't gavel out, but they didn't do anything.

And that sends a message. I mean, it -- I talk about the president and slash candidate Trump sending a message. This sends a message too, that the state Republicans are saying, we're not going to take up these nine bills that are -- frankly, some of them were one time introduced by Republicans, but, instead, we're going to show the people of Wisconsin how much we care by gaveling in and not gaveling out.

That is wrongheaded. We're going to continue to fight this fight, and hopefully get some progress on it soon. That's what we have to do. We have to -- I heard Jacob's father talk about this just the other day.

We can be mad, we can be angry, we want to be healing, but, at the end of the day, we need change in policy. There is a reason why we talk about this. We have seen it now in Minnesota. We have seen it now in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

[18:15:04]

The time is now to take these bills up and actually talk about it among us.

ACOSTA: And, Governor Evers, I want to ask you, because we're also learning that out-of-state residents from at least eight states have been arrested during the unrest in Kenosha.

What can you tell us about these out-of-state instigators, and what can you do about it?

EVERS: Well, first of all, what we have learned is, frankly, we also saw in Minnesota and heard about in Minnesota, out-of-state agitators.

And, frankly, somebody walks around with a long gun, you got to -- you got to be careful. The -- what we have learned is, they're well- organized. They are well-organized. And if we believe that they're just some random group of people or ones or twos just showing up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, that would be incorrect.

So, we have learned that they're organized. We have to make sure that we are ready as a state, that we don't let people that are, frankly, anarchists, in the worst sense of the world, they want to -- they want to make sure that peaceful protesters don't have their First Amendment rights. That is sacred in my heart and in the state of Wisconsin. We have to

protect that. And we have to do a better job of understanding how well-organized they are, and to make sure that they don't interrupt our peaceful protests and making sure that freedom of speech is for everybody, not just for a few.

ACOSTA: All right, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a lot of work ahead for you and your state. All the best to you and the state of Wisconsin. Thanks for joining us. We appreciate it.

And just ahead: a grim new estimate from the CDC. At least 200,000 Americans are projected to die from the coronavirus by the end of this month.

And, later, new details on a disturbing case out of Rochester, New York, where newly released video shows police officers covering a man's head with a bag before he died.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:21:20]

ACOSTA: Breaking news.

We're learning new details about Joe Biden's phone call with Jacob Blake and meeting with Blake's family. Biden's visit to Kenosha, Wisconsin, this afternoon set up some very clear contrasts with President Trump, who made a trip to the city just two days ago, despite pressure from local leaders to stay away.

Let's get some perspective on all of this from CNN's Van Jones.

Van, good to be with you. Thanks for being with us.

During Joe Biden's trip to Kenosha today, he met with the family of Jacob Blake, spoke with Jacob Blake over the phone, which I thought was very interesting, and I guess a hopeful sign for Jacob Blake.

Earlier this week, though, by contrast, President Trump spent his time serving damage, discussing public safety, more of his law and order message.

What did you make -- what are your thoughts on these two very different visits?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, it points for two different futures, two different pathways for the country.

When we have these tragedies, lawlessness, whether it's lawlessness within law enforcement, which we're seeing all too often on these videos and these shootings and these killings, or lawlessness in the streets, or lawlessness from vigilantes, you need somebody who is strong enough to bind up those wounds.

And the only person running for president right now who's been willing to condemn the lawlessness within law enforcement, some of these street disturbances, and the vigilantes is Joe Biden.

So he's able to walk into a room with his conscience kind of clear, with his hands clean, with his heart open, and he can be received by people. There's no -- there's no hypocrisy there.

And so I think that, if we want a future where you have got leadership that can bring us together, that can end the lawlessness in all three areas, Joe Biden seems to be the person who's putting himself forward, saying, I can be that guy.

ACOSTA: But, Van, as you know, both candidates are sticking to messages that resonate well with their supporters.

For Biden, this message of unity, that has been his message since the beginning of his campaign. The president's message of law and order is popular with his base, is it not?

JONES: Yes, but that's my point, is that, if you want to have -- if you want to talk about law and order, shooting down African-American men, as you're seeing over and over again with these videos, African- American women, often unarmed or certainly not posing a proportional threat to the amount of gunfire directed at them, people getting bags put over their head and killed that way, this is horrific stuff.

And it is lawless. If you want law and order, you got to have a stance against that lawlessness. Certainly, nobody is part of the pro-crime lobby or the pro-arsonist committee. So you got to stand up against that stuff.

And you have got vigilantes coming out, shooting people down in the streets in America. So how can you be for law and order, and the only lawlessness you're going to condemn is one-third of the three different types?

So I think that, even if you want a law and order candidate, to my point, is that Biden is not only competing on the empathy scale, and obviously winning there. He's also winning on the law and order scale, because he's the only one willing to condemn lawlessness wherever it can be found.

ACOSTA: And I want to get your response to something the attorney general, William Barr, said on this program last night, when he was with Wolf Blitzer, and Wolf pressed him on the presence of racism in this country.

And it was just a very strange response from the attorney general. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARR: I do think that there's appears to be a phenomenon in the country where African-Americans feel that they're treated when they're stopped by police frequently as suspects before they're treated as citizens.

[18:25:05] I don't think that that necessarily reflect some deep-seated racism in police departments or in most police officers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What do you say to that, Van? What did you make of that?

JONES: Well, what would?

If you have, as he said, a widespread -- this is not like a couple of black people had a couple of bad interactions. He acknowledges there is a widespread fear and belief and experience -- I have had it personally -- I don't know a single African-American who has not had it personally -- of getting treated much more harshly, with much more of venom and aggression, for doing either nothing or something very minor, compared to what we see our white colleagues getting.

If that is not the evidence of widespread bias, what evidence could you possibly have? I think you're in a position now where there's a certain section of people in the country who will admit everything that is going on. They just don't want to use the term systemic racism.

They don't want to use the term racism or bias. But everything they're describing would be what you would be describing if you were to use those terms.

And so if they're just -- they're just, at this point, being completely hypocritical, and they're trying to play to a base and deny reality. But I think they're missing huge opportunities to be leaders and to actually, again, help to bind up the wound.

You can't fix a wound if you don't acknowledge that it's there in the first place.

ACOSTA: And Bill Barr sounded like he was talking to an audience of one last night, no question about it.

All right, Van Jones, thanks very much for that perspective. We appreciate it.

Just ahead, breaking news: The CDC now says at least 200,000 Americans will die from the coronavirus by the end of this month.

We will have details and expert analysis right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:30:00]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN THE SITUATION ROOM: Breaking news on the coronavirus pandemic, an updated forecast from the CDC now projects up to 211,000 U.S. deaths by the end of this month. CNN's Nick Watt has more on all of today's coronavirus developments.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) NICK WATT, CNN CORRESPONDET: Pfizer now teasing it might know if its COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective as early as the end of next month with a promise, no corners will be cut.

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, DIRECTOR, NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES: That's unlikely, not impossible. I think most of the people feel it's going to be November, December.

WATT: The CDC now telling state officials to prep to distribute a vaccine also as soon as the end of next month.

DR. ALI KHAN, FORMER DIRECTOR OFFICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND PREPAREDNESS AND RESPONSE, CDC: Just picking these dates before the election sort of stokes those fears that the government isn't being duly diligent.

WATT: A charge the White House denies.

PETER NAVARRO, WHITE HOUSE TRADE ADVISER: The goal of the administration is to get a vaccine out as quickly as it is safe and efficacious to do.

WATT: And on treating COVID-19, Dr. Fauci says more data is needed on that plasma treated hyped by the president and this --

THOMAS CUENI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION OF PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS AND ASSOCIATIONS: There will not be the magic bullet to tackle and contain COVID-19. The industry is still all in, and they have come a long ways.

WATT: Here in the U.S., we've come a little way in controlling the virus, but, again, we're over 1,000 deaths a day, the last couple of days. New case counts have fallen since mid-July but now seem stuck at around 40,000 a day these past two weeks.

FAUCI: That's an unacceptably high baseline. We've got to get it down.

WATT: But there's some resurgence in the northeast right now.

GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D-NY): The people of Western New York have to realize that if they don't follow social distancing, the precautions, the virus will increase.

WATT: But it's going up. In the Midwest, the White House task force now recommending Missouri close bars and mandate masks.

FAUCI: We have proven that you can actually control the outbreak. To me, that's good news.

WATT: Over in California, bars were closed, masks mandated, case counts now falling. In L.A. this morning, hair dressers allowed to welcome customers indoors once more.

KRISTEN BEST, DYLAN KEITH SALON: We are going to work our tails off and we are going to make it.

WATT: Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson now on the public awareness train after he, his wife and two kids caught COVID from friends.

DWAYNE "THE ROCK" JOHNSON, ACTOR: If you guys are having friends and family over to your house, you know them and trust them, they've been quarantining just like you guys, you still never know.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WATT: And, of course, growing problems on so many college campuses, Ohio State just announcing more than 250 positive tests in just a 24- hour period. They're still trying to figure out what their next move is going to be.

But the governor of Ohio in the run-up to this holiday weekend saying what a lot of us are thinking, which is, to our friends in college, we ask you to be careful. Jim?

ACOSTA: Absolutely. All right, nick watt, thank you very much for that.

Let's get analysis from the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha. Dr. Jha, great being with you.

This new forecast from the CDC projecting that we will reach up to 211,000 deaths from this virus by the end of the month comes before what many health officials warned could be very deadly a few months ago for this country.

[18:35:10]

I remember being at the White House when they were saying, you know, perhaps 100,000 to 200,000 deaths overall if we do all the measures that they recommended. What lies ahead, do you think?

DR. ASHISH JHA, : Yes, Jim, thanks for having me on. I can still quite, you know, remember that New York Times piece where we talked about marking the 100,000 Americans who had died. That was back in May. And so we have unfortunately hit -- or we will soon hit, I think, this very unfortunate milestone, and it's going to keep going.

Now, obviously, some things have gotten better. Our treatments have gotten better. But we're heading into the fall season where people are going to be spending more time indoors. And we've really got to bring this virus under control before we get to flu season, before we get the fall and winter season in front of us or we're going to have a lot more people getting sick and a lot more people dying, unfortunately.

ACOSTA: And Pfizer says it should know by the end of next month if its vaccine is effective. Dr. Fauci says it would be unlikely, not impossible to have a vaccine next month. But he says most people feel -- will know if a safe or viable vaccine can be made in November or December. You've been less optimistic than Dr. Fauci about this timing. What do you think is realistic?

JHA: Yes. I do think sometime this year, sometime this -- let's say, before the end of 2020, we should have it, we should have really good data. And I'm very hopeful that we will have a vaccine that's found to be safe and effective. I think people keep throwing around the October number. October is next month. The trials are still in rolling. So, even if we see some sort of an effectiveness signal, I want to make sure we have enough people enrolled to have enough safety data that we feel comfortable giving it to otherwise healthy people.

October feels really like a stretch. But I agree with Dr. Fauci, November, probably December seems more realistic.

ACOSTA: And how concerned are you about political influence in this vaccine process? I assume public health experts like you will be jumping up and down if you catch even a whiff of political influence in that process.

JHA: Yes. So, first of all, like I think all of us are hoping for a vaccine that's safe and effective, and we've got to bring this thing under control and that will be hugely helpful. But absolutely correct that it's got to be driven by science. If the data are not there, we will end up doing a lot more harm than good if we rush it.

So I think all of us are going to look at the data. The unfortunate track record of the FDA in the last few months is giving all of us a little bit of pause. But I am hoping that this time around that it's really science that drives it. And that, of course, will be what the American people need.

ACOSTA: Okay, that's what we all need, absolutely. All right, Dr. Ashish Jha, thank you for that.

Just ahead, Rochester, New York, police officers there involved in the death of a black man who died after a bag was placed over his head have just been suspended. That breaking news coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

ACOSTA: The mayor of Rochester, New York, just announced she's suspending the police officers involved in the death of a black man who died after a bag was placed over his head. Newly released police video of the March incident shows the officers covering the man's head with what's called a spit sock and holding him on the ground before he stopped breathing.

CNN's Brian Todd has the latest. Brian, this is a stunning new development.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Jim. This new release of the police video has prompted new investigations into this case. Governor Andrew Cuomo says he is demanding answers. We have to warn viewers that this story contains images which may be disturbing to some.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: The police body cam video shows that when police find him at about 3:15 A.M., Daniel Prude is naked on the street as a light snowfalls. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground. Put your hands behind your back, behind your back. Don't move. Don't move.

TODD: This incident occurred in Rochester, New York, on March 23rd, two months before the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Attorneys for Prude's family provided CNN with body cam footage showing several angles, and the confrontation is getting new scrutiny tonight.

MAYOR LOVELY WARREN (D-ROCHESTER, NY): Experiencing and ultimately dying from a drug overdose in police custody, as I was told by the chief, is entirely different than what I ultimately witnessed on the video.

TODD: The New York attorney general is investigating. Prude's family is demanding justice.

JOE PRUDE, BROTHER OF DANIEL PRUDE: They treated my brother like a piece of garbage. And what do you do to garbage? You throw it out. So that's basically what they've done to my brother.

TODD: Daniel Prude's brother called police that morning saying Prude was experiencing a mental health episode and may have been on drugs. When officers arrived, Prude complies with them and is handcuffed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you Daniel?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel Prude?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, let me get my money (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel Prude?

TODD: Moments later, the footage shows Prude visibly agitated for several minutes yelling at officers, squirming on the pavement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me go. Give me the (INAUDIBLE).

TODD: Three minutes after first confronting him police put what's called a spit sock over Prude's head to minimize exposure after they say he was spitting, but Prude becomes more agitated. The officers demand that he lie still.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Prude doesn't comply and appears to try to stand three officers physically restrain him and hold him to the ground.

One officer has his knee on Prude's back and the other is holding his head to the pavement while the spit sock remains on his head. Another officer can be seen putting his weight on Prude's head. Prude seems to be struggling to breathe.

At one point, the officers realize Prude is spitting and appears to have vomited. Paramedics arrive and begin assisting, instructing the officers to roll him over.

CPR is performed for about 2 minutes. Prude is then placed on a gurney and put into an ambulance. He was pronounced brain dead when he arrived at the hospital and died a week later.

Prude's family is demanding the officers involved be fired and charged with murder.

Rochester's police chief said this week he didn't have evidence to indicate that anything criminal might have occurred but said if there was something more obvious, immediate action would have been taken.

The mayor has just announced all seven officers involved have been suspended. The investigations are continuing.

JOE PRUDE, BROTHER OF DANIEL PRUDE: The man is defenseless, butt naked on the ground. He's cuffed up already. I mean, come on.

How many more brothers got to die for society to understand that this needs to stop?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: Earlier today, the police union in Rochester said it had concerns about the involvement of some of its officers. CNN has not been able to reach the police union or the officers involved for any further comment on the case.

Now, the autopsy report ruled that Daniel Prude's death was a homicide caused by, quote, complications of asphyxia, in the setting of a physical restraint. The medical examiner's office also cites, quote, excited delirium and acute intoxication from the drug PCP as the cause of death -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: Very disturbing video, very disturbing story.

All right. CNN's Brian Todd, thanks. We know you'll stay on top of it.

Just ahead, Joe Biden hits the road for his first event -- his first campaign event outside the Northeast since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:51:54]

ACOSTA: And breaking news, we're learning new details about Joe Biden's trip to Kenosha, Wisconsin, which could signal a new phase in the 2020 presidential campaign.

CNN's Arlette Saenz has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight, Joe Biden back on the campaign trail in Kenosha, Wisconsin, bringing the message of healing.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: I am not pessimistic. I'm optimistic about the opportunity if we seize it.

SAENZ: The trip marks Biden's first trip to Wisconsin of the 2020 race and his first major campaign travel outside Delaware and Pennsylvania since the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Large rallies now replaced with smaller socially distanced events like this community meeting in Kenosha, as the city grapples with the police shooting of Jacob Blake and some violent protests that followed.

BIDEN: I think we've reached an inflection point in American history. I honest to God believe we have an enormous opportunity now that the screen, the curtain has been pulled back, and just what's going on in the country, to do a lot of really positive things.

SAENZ: Biden and his wife Jill, also meeting privately with Blake's family for an hour, Jacob Blake himself, joining over the phone from his hospital bed.

BIDEN: He talked about how nothing was going to defeat him, how whether he walked again or not, he was not going give up.

SAENZ: When President Trump travelled to Kenosha Tuesday, he did not meet with the Blake family or mention Jacob Blake's name.

It's the latest contrast in a heated race for the White House as Biden remains a lead over Trump one week after their parties' conventions wrapped up, and as the president has pushed his law and order message.

BIDEN: There's a lot of folks who thought that, well, the president has made great strides with this law and order strides here, that, boy, after his convention, he really, really made inroads. He hasn't. Not at all.

SAENZ: A new CNN poll found 51 percent of registered voters nationwide backed Biden while 43 percent preferred Trump.

Biden's current lead fuelled by support from women, people of color, and older voters, while the former vice president and Trump are nearly even among men and white voters. The Democratic nominee also sees signs of hope in some of the battleground states that will decide the election, including Wisconsin. Biden ahead of president among likely voters in the state by eight points.

Democrats hoping not to repeat 2016 when Hillary Clinton never visited the state in the general election and lost to Trump by fewer than 23,000 votes.

(END VIDEOTAPE) SAENZ: Now, while Biden has spent the week talking about racial injustice and police brutality, he's also trying to keep the focus on the coronavirus pandemic. Tomorrow, he will deliver remarks in Wilmington, Delaware, talking about the economy and what he believes is President Trump's failure on that issue -- Jim.

ACOSTA: All right. Arlette Saenz, thank you so much for that.

We'll have more news just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:59:26]

ACOSTA: Before we leave you this evening, let's remember some of the people we've lost during the coronavirus pandemic.

Gabrielle Gayle of New York was 34 years old. She was a special education teacher and soft ball coach with a big heart and a passion for her work. Gabrielle was pregnant when she died. Her unborn child, sadly, did not survive.

Joan J. Ball of Maryland was 86. Joan made a career in the federal government for 41 years, travelled all over the world with her husband. She was a caring mother who had a standing movie date with her daughter every Saturday, loved to treat herself to manicures and pedicures.

May they rest in peace.

I'm Jim Acosta. Thanks very much for watching.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.