MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript: Eric Garner

Interview

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PARKS: And something has to be done. And I agree with our President. We need some action. Talk is over.

SCHULTZ: And Congressman Meeks, you`re a former prosecutor, if this had not gone to the grand jury a prosecutor do you think you could have gotten a conviction based on what you know of this case?

REP. GREGORY MEEKS (D), NEW YORK: Well absolutely, I know I could have gotten an indictment because of what you just -- how you opened your show, Ed. Look, the way I would have gone in there at the beginning is just used the three elements that you talked about and did they advocate that way. One, it`s a violation of police policy that a chokehold is known to cause death to that -- the medical examiner rule this a homicide, that the cause of death was the chokehold.

So, I mean, just based on that, so can you go to a jury, a grand jury where only probable cause have to be established. You don`t have to prove a case beyond a reasonable doubt. All you have to show that probable cause that a crime was committed and that the person accused is the one that committed that crime because then you have the camera.

You have the body cam. More than a body camera, you have better camera than what a body camera would show, showing what took place. A man being held on the ground saying I cannot breath. And there is no easing up.

And there was no aggressive move by Mr. Garner, in fact he was started (ph) back, you know, in both for complaining and talking about members all over this -- in Congress and other places with their hands up. Well, hands up is symbolic for this all over America.

Because Mr. Garner`s hands were up and he was moving back. But -- event, the chokehold that killed him. And that`s how I think the case should have been presented to the grand jury and why I think that the testimony and all of the proceedings that took place in the grand jury should be opened up and -- and I would like to know whether D.A. Donavan asked the grand jury for an indictment when he finished presenting his case as most D.A.s do when they present a case to the grand jury.

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SCHULTZ: Congressman what do you think about that? Is this the time now for the presentation of a federal law and of course, Republicans now own the Senate and the House, they`re going to do something that law enforcement doesn`t want to have happen to them. But, I mean it seems to me, the only way to remedy this, this relationship between prosecutors and police departments is to have some kind of intervention from outside to have someone rendering judgment that has not connection to the police. What about that?

MEEKS: Well here again is where I think that -- unfortunately especially those of us who want better America has to rely on the federal government, to look into the relationships especially with reference to the prosecutor in Ferguson and the prosecutor here in Staten Island. So that we can dig deeper into...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

MEEKS: ... what took place and what did not took place.

SCHULTZ: And also Congressman -- there`s such a conversation about body cameras. You got a body camera, you got a lot of video tape right here and you still can`t get an indictment, what the hell is a body camera going to do?

MEEKS: Listen, that`s exactly what I said at our press conference. There`s been this big thing that body cameras are going to solve these problem, body cameras clearly are not going to solve these problem because, what happened -- I mean in this case is, who are you going to believe?

Your lion (ph) eyes or somebody else that came (inaudible) -- here was clear, you see -- everything that you were to see was there. So body cameras are not the answer. There`s a deeper problem in America that we got to resolve.

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SCHULTZ: Congressman, if you could do one thing to remedy what is unfolding in America, what would it be?

MEEKS: Well right now, I think that we do have to call on all American citizens of every race, of every religion, of very gender, I do think that we need to have peaceful demonstrations and let individual know that we got to make sure that there is justice in America, that there has to be -- and, you know, for example, I refer it back to the 1960s when you had Bull Connor and they were beating folks back then.

And no police officer was getting arrested. There was nobody that was being indicted. But Americans didn`t came to say, "We got to save our country." Well clearly if you have this kind of video tape and you have no indictment...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

MEEKS: ... we need Americans to speak up and say that we don`t want this to happen because this is a violation of human rights right here in America, when we talk about people having violation of human rights all over the world...

SCHULTZ: Yeah.

MEEKS: ... and show -- we got to do it right here in America.

SCHULTZ: Would it be too much to ask that every officer involved hold a press conference and explain to America, now that you`re not being indicted, now that you`re legally off the hook. Can you explain in the country what in the hell were you thinking when you did this? Can we get a teletactor out and get some play by play, and break it down on, "OK, this is why I did this, this is why this officer" -- I think America needs an explanation here.

If I`m a black kid and I`m on the streets of America and a couple of cops come up to me, I`m thinking today, this could go south really fast and I`m probably -- be pretty scared. We got to -- we have to hear I think from the officers who were involved. They are the ones that have to explain to America right now, what happened.

Karen Desoto, Daryl Parks and Congressman Gregory Meeks, thanks for you time tonight, we`ll talk more about this as we move along.

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