Trial by Media (2020–…): Season 1, Episode 3 - 41 Shots - full transcript

I used to tell people
when I speak about my child,

I always say we grew up together

because I had him
when I was a child myself.

And I had this child at the age of 16.

Amadou.

My firstborn.

And then he told me,

"I want to go to the US
because I want to have a computer degree."

When I applied for him,

I took the passport out,
and I said, "Look,"

and he was, like, big smile.



He said, "Wow! So I'm going to America."

I said, "Yes, you got the visa."

And he said, "Okay, Mom.
Thank you so much."

I'll make you proud."

America,

it was a hope to my son.

He was on his way of achieving greatness.

Tonight, a man
who was not armed is dead.

As autopsy results provide
a tale of devastating police force.

The accused are four police officers,
all of them white,

and the victim was a black man
who, it turns out,

had no weapon and committed no crime.

The incident in New York City
has heightened racial tensions

and led to weeks of protest.



This was not a police murder.

This was a police slaughter.

A grieving mother determined

that her son would not be reduced
to four simple words:

African immigrant street vendor.

Before Amadou
came to the US from Guinea,

we view America differently.

In the news,

you don't see the reality.

Racial tensions appear to be on the rise
in New York City,

in part because of politics,

and in part because of murder.

In New York City in the 1990s,

crime was a major societal issue.

But it would also be an important part
of the politics of the city.

Voters across the country
are casting their ballots today

for governors, mayors,
and a range of issues.

In New York City, polls have indicated

the race for mayor is neck and neck
with incumbent David Dinkins

in a dead heat
with Republican challenger Rudy Giuliani.

Mayor Dinkins was
New York City's first black mayor.

While he was in office,

crime is going down.

Murders are going down.

Assaults are going down.

He was a hero in some circles.

Dinkins! Dinkins! Dinkins!

But he was also vilified
by many.

New York City
Mayor David Dinkins' plan

to create a civilian review board
as a watchdog over the police department

has city cops in an uproar.

The job of the police is a difficult one.

We had a huge population

at over eight million people.

Rudy and I are different people,

different attitudes.

I liked my way better.

An old-fashioned Democrat
trying to hang on to power

against a crime-busting Republican.

Rudy Giuliani had
a fundamentally different response

to law enforcement.

It was a very aggressive approach.

In the nation's biggest city,
a Republican challenger

has won a narrow victory

in a rematch with New York's
first African-American mayor.

His intent was to reduce crime

in a way that the city
had never seen before.

Forty thousand officers

stationed according to where
the most crime occurs.

Now with Giuliani as mayor,

policemen, they're in charge.

They're emboldened.

Giuliani said crime was down,

but the question always was,
"At what cost?"

We begin this morning in the Bronx,
and there are tough questions

for New York City police.

Officers shoot and kill an unarmed man,

and they took 41 bullets to do it.

Forty-one gunshots
at an unarmed West African immigrant.

Police had shot 41 times.

It was a hail of police gunfire,
dozens of shots.

Forty-one bullets at an unarmed man.

- Forty-one bullets.
- Forty-one shots.

Forty-one rounds
struck him over and over again.

I had gone in to the office
on a regular shift.

My boss at the time

was having a conversation
with other editors around him.

And, you know,

they were just discussing this thing
happened in the Bronx yesterday.

There were all these bullets.

This person is dead.

The editor looked at me and said,

"Frankie, go.
Here's the address. Go to the Bronx."

People were milling around.

People were in tears.

People could not make sense of anything.

Whatever it was
that had happened the night before

was just chaos and deadly.

Everything we got from the NYPD
at that time was:

He had come home from work...

and was standing on the vestibule

when these men approached
in their unmarked car.

He reached into his pocket
to bring out a wallet.

One or two of them thought it was a gun...

and opened fire.

Twenty-two-year-old Diallo,
an immigrant street peddler

from Guinea, West Africa,

was killed in the vestibule
of his apartment building,

gunned down in a storm of 41 bullets.

With police bullets coming from the street
and possibly a locked door behind him,

it seems Diallo had nowhere to go.

He was trapped.

All people
could think about was...

the NYPD shot someone 41 times.

The media didn't have any other concern
in discussing who he was.

They would say, "He was a street peddler."

He lived in a poor neighborhood."

He was just completely
and utterly otherized from the day one.

And I thought,
"I have to keep staying on this story

and try and figure out who was this guy."

When Amadou went to America,

he left behind everything:

His family,

his culture,

his privilege.

We had a good life.

I asked him,
"Do you need anything from me?"

He said, "Mom, only your prayers
and your blessings."

He wanted to make it on his own.

I was proud.

I received a phone call...

from a relative of ours
who lived in New York.

Immediately,
I thought about my son.

Thinking that my son was sick,

that he could be in the hospital.

And then he told me...

my son has been killed.

It was just too much to process.

Then to learn how he was killed, also.

Amadou could never have any problem
with the police.

This is not real. No.

In Guinea,

everyone surrounded me with love.

Giving me food and just protecting me.

But I need to get back up.

I have to go to America

to understand really
what happened to Amadou.

Let's look at
where the investigation stands tonight

at what went so wrong on Wheeler Avenue.

Why did four officers fire so many shots?

The four officers involved
are Richard Murphy, Sean Carroll,

Kenneth Boss, and Edward McMellon.

Twenty-three years collectively
on the job,

41 shots among them combined yesterday
on Wheeler Avenue.

All you heard about was 41 shots.

Forty-one shots.

Forty-one shots, 24/7.
It was all Diallo all the time.

You hear about the 41 shots,
and I suppose...

the first thing you think about
is that these

are trigger-happy cops, depraved killers.

But there's two sides to the coin.

The other side of the 41 shots is...

these were scared cops.

The African immigrant
was shot 41 times

by four plainclothes officers
from the elite Street Crime Unit.

The Street Crime Unit
was sort of the perfect illustration

of the Giuliani philosophy in action.

They were plainclothes.

They were in an unmarked car,

so no one would know
that they were police officers

until they stopped you.

And you knew
that if you were a black or brown person,

they could do or say anything
in the name of protecting you.

Minority residents
complained the police engage

in a systematic policy of harassment
against young black males,

and they take particular aim
at the NYPD's Street Crime Unit.

As a reporter,
I was most interested

in why the police approached Diallo
in the first place.

If you're the police
patrolling these neighborhoods,

what are you looking for?
What are you prepared for?

I think, ultimately,
it goes back to their training.

They would create situations
with all kinds of threats.

They're not training
for the possibility of innocence.

The officers
who were involved in this incident,

four police officers, were part
of a very special street crime unit.

All four of them have been taken off
of street patrol and placed on desk duty.

One, Sean Carroll,
has been calling in sick.

When they realized
they could be held criminally responsible,

each officer retained representation.

I eventually became Sean Carroll's
defense lawyer on the case.

He was the one that saw
what he thought was a gun.

He was the one that fired the first shots,

uh, and I think he felt
he was more vulnerable,

and he just didn't wanna be,
uh, thrown under the bus.

We did some background on Mr. Diallo.

We had some theories

as to why he was peeking in and out
of the vestibule,

which aroused the officers' suspicion.

They happened to be
in a high-crime minority neighborhood,

and they happened to believe that somebody
was confronting them with a gun,

and he happened to be... black.

New York is a racially-segregated city
in desperate trouble.

It is a city where you can be killed

for taking a wrong turn
because of racial violence.

The Diallo case didn't happen in a vacuum.

Under Rudy Giuliani,
there were a series of cases

involving use of excessive force
by the police.

Abner Louima
nearly died two years ago

at the hands of New York City cops.

He was taken to this police precinct

where he was savagely beaten by cops
in the men's room.

Anthony Baez was killed by a cop

who put him in a choke hold
after Baez's football hit a patrol car.

In the Diallo case,

you had what appeared to be
an egregious violation

of the rights of a young African.

And who was gonna speak for him
and his family and his community?

I think everybody

has to organize whatever space they're in

and raise a spotlight
in the fight for justice.

To many black New Yorkers,
he's been their mouth for social change,

for justice.

The issue of race is an issue
that we are forced to deal with.

It is not our option.

Never far from lights,
cameras, action.

- No justice!
- No peace!

But he insists that
his flamboyant behavior is necessary

if he is to get attention
for what he's after.

The media becomes the way

to force those that are reluctant
to deal with an issue

that they're gonna have to deal with it.

- When do we want it?
- Now!

- When do we want it?
- Now!

I was called
by a young activist in the Bronx

who was from Guinea,

and he said, "Reverend,
the police shot a guy multiple times",

and we want you to come up
to Wheeler Avenue."

I said, "All right,"

and called for a vigil.

Twenty-two-year-old
Ahmed Diallo was killed

when 41 bullets were fired at him
last Wednesday.

This afternoon,
about 1,000 people gathered for a vigil

in front of the Bronx apartment building
where he died.

The city had dealt
with these encounters with police,

but Ahmed Diallo was the wake-up call

that said, "No, they will
not only beat you, they will kill you."

And the more that had started coming out,

no gun,

no drugs,

only took out his keys
going into his apartment.

So now we're building up this rage.

This is the second protest
in three days in New York City,

organized outrage over the police killing

of West African immigrant Amadou Diallo.

- No more! No more!
- No more! No more!

No more! No more!

No more! No more!

We want criminals prosecuted,

whether they wear blue jeans
or blue uniforms.

- What do we want?
- Justice!

- When do we want it?
- Now!

- When do we want it?
- Now!

- When do we want it?
- Now!

When do we want it?

Reality didn't sink in
until I crossed the ocean

to come for my child.

Before landing, I saw police car flashing.

I'm thinking,
"Okay, what is going on here?"

I was welcomed by the police,

escorting me and telling me
that they'll take care of me.

I told them that I needed first
to go to the scene

where my son lived and died.

They were reluctant,

but then I just said,
"No. This is it. I have to go there."

Amadou! My Amadou!

Amadou! Amadou!

Amadou! Amadou!

Amadou! Amadou!

Amadou! Amadou!

I went into Amadou's room.

And I just wanted to feel him.

So, I picked his clothes,

and I smelled it for the first time,

after two and a half years.

I could not believe it.

As they were taking me to the hotel,

I saw the news flash
when we were passing by,

and I said, "Who is that?"

This is the worst form of police brutality

that I've ever seen or heard of.

They said,
"This is the Reverend Sharpton.

He's doing a rally for your son."

And I said, "I have to see him.
I want to meet him."

I said, "She's with the cops
and Giuliani."

They've got her a big suite

overlooking Central Park on 5th Avenue.

"They're gonna use her against us."

I was coming in from the outside.

Everything was happening quickly.

At the same time,

I wanted to understand.

She says, "I don't understand
what's going on in this city."

I explained to her the history
of these encounters with police and race,

that we were not troublemakers.

It is the politics of it

and the policies
that resulted in the death of Amadou.

After about 45 minutes or so
of her asking very insightful questions,

she says, "I will not stay here
under the sponsorship of the city."

I will go where you...
You take care of where I go,

"and we will get justice for my son."

I will never, ever forget that day.

Earlier today,
the Reverend Sharpton said

the African-American community
will pay for whatever the parents need,

not the city.

We thank the city, but no.

The people will take care of her.

A man who was not armed is dead.

Prosecutors want to get to the bottom
of this case.

The Bronx district attorney
is convening a grand jury,

and the US attorney may get involved.

As the senior executive assistant DA
in the Bronx DA's office,

we had to have proper investigations.

And that means going to a grand jury.

The Bronx district attorney
is investigating reports

from neighborhood residents.

It is expected a grand jury will start
to hear evidence later this week.

Grand jury testimony is secret,
and it sort of takes a while.

You know, they hear a lot of evidence...

and there was
this sort of mysterious silence

from the officers themselves, right,

who didn't talk,
who didn't testify to the grand jury.

So it sort of fed this sense

about whether they're gonna be indicted.

The source
in the district attorney's office

says it's likely to be weeks at least

before there's a decision
on possible criminal charges

against those officers.

This is a very specific,
extremely weighty matter.

And whatever the facts are

is what should ultimately decide
what happens.

We've had terrible mistakes in this city,

when people have reacted to rumors
and intuitions and feelings.

Let's let the process take its course,

and then let's react to facts.

Ms. Diallo, are you gonna react
to the mayor today?

Please excuse us. Please excuse us.

When I came to the US,

there are so many things
that I had to confront...

to understand the reality
of how things are.

This mother went to East Harlem
to see the body of their son,

and despite the crushing emotions,

then went on to see the site
where he was slaughtered.

The first night
at the National Action Network,

that was the first night
I spoke out in public in my life.

The mother of our brother Ahmed Diallo.

I just speak from my heart.

Thank you very much, brothers and sisters.

You have given me the courage to speak,

because it's not easy for me
to stand and speak today.

I know I have to speak for him,

because there's no way
I'm gonna let this happen

and just keep quiet.

Because of him,

we're going to fight together
to save all our children.

If she had stayed
in the sponsorship of the mayor,

then we would've all just been
marginalized as troublemakers.

There would have been no discussion.

It's nothing to do with systemic bias,

nothing to do with bad policing.

It's just an accident. Things happen.

By her taking that stand,

they could not run that narrative.

Not every black man on the street
can be a suspect.

Bless us together

and lead us to justice for this child.

On our streets!

- On whose streets?
- On our streets!

I just remember thinking,

"Madame Diallo wants results."

She wanted justice.

She wanted to understand what happened,

and she wanted to see
those four police officers

have some kind of reckoning,

some kind of responsibility
for the death of her son.

Sharpton and community activists

at the National Action Headquarters
in Harlem

called for civil disobedience
in the form of daily sit-ins.

- How many shots?
- Forty-one!

- On whose street?
- On our street!

On Tuesday,
hundreds of protesters

gathered outside a courthouse in the Bronx

where a grand jury
has just started hearing testimony

about the death of Amadou Diallo.

I'm upset for every mother
that's crying for their loved one

that's gone due to police brutality.

Giuliani called for protesters
to be patient

and let investigators do their job.

We will come to defend Amadou
and demand justice.

We are here for this,

and we will come back again
until justice is done.

This is why I'm speaking.

Something gotta change.

In the middle
of all of the things that were going on,

the protests, the battles with Sharpton
and the mayor's office,

his family had to go home
to put him to rest.

My bosses were kind enough
to say, you know,

"You should go to Guinea.

You should go
and tell us about this young man."

I remember
being at the Gbessia International Airport

in Conakry when the flight was coming in,

and Madame Diallo and Al Sharpton landed,

and there were hundreds of people
at the airport.

And then somebody spots the coffin.

And all hell breaks loose.

Everyone, it seemed
as if the whole country was just weeping.

For them, people who go to America
usually come back successful.

Amadou wanted to go to school, graduate,

become something, and go home.

And he had come home.

But he had come home in this box,
in this coffin.

That was just tragic.

It was hard.

But I got through it.

With prayers.

Even if I cried behind the scene,

when I come out,
I always held my head high.

To let the world know who my child was,

that was my determination.

I rode out
to the actual burial site.

And we buried Amadou.

She sat there...

with all the dignity and bearing,

and when it was over,

I told her,

"We're gonna go back
and get these cops indicted.

I promise you that."

She says, "All right."

She said, "Keep it peaceful, Reverend."

But you do what is necessary."

- Morning, Reverend.
- Morning.

I came back from Guinea...

and we had to continue.

We had to really put the pressure
on Giuliani and them.

One Police Plaza, New York,

will become a national symbol

of this government not dealing
with police abuse and police brutality.

- How many shots?
- Forty-one!

- How many shots?
- Forty-one!

- Forty-one!
- Shots!

It's a shame!

We are ready for the long haul!

No matter how long it takes!

No matter how rocky the road!

No matter how hot the sun
or cold the night,

we're gonna fight
until I can go back to that village

and stand by Amadou's grave

and say, "We fought till we got justice!"

No justice, no peace!

No justice, no peace!

No justice, no peace!

In acts of civil disobedience,

nearly 180 demonstrators
have been arrested

for trespassing and disorderly conduct.

For Mayor Giuliani,

this case has become a political thorn
in his back that will not go away.

I was outraged, as many were at the time.

It was important for me, personally,

to demonstrate my objection.

Former mayor David Dinkins,
a prominent New Yorker,

joined the demonstrators and was arrested.

You've gotta come up with ways
to become part of the news cycle

if you wanna help move the dial.

Four New York City policemen
will be indicted in the shooting death

of an unarmed African immigrant.

Today, the individual police officers
involved were charged with murder

and could get life in prison if convicted.

The four police officers...

were charged with murder
and reckless endangerment.

This case was going to trial.

With their arraignments, the four officers
have now been temporarily suspended

by the New York City Police Department.

After the indictment
of the officers,

for the first time, I had hope...

that my child's death will serve...

to change the situation.

Amadou!

Amadou!

- Amadou!
- Amadou!

Amadou!

This is the beginning of a very,
very complexand important process

that has to be done right
IN FAIRNESS TO EVERYONE: The family,

all of the citizens of the city,

and the police officers,
who are entitled to a fair trial.

A charge of murder,

uh, against four police officers,

I thought was extreme.

I did nothing wrong,

and this trial will show
that I did nothing wrong,

and I'm looking forward to it.

I'd like to thank the officers
of New York City

for their undaunted support.

And the members of Street Crime Unit,
stand your heads proud.

By the time
the protests were finished,

the citizens of Bronx County were inclined
to convict these guys.

We just don't want a police state.

We want to feel safe.

We want to feel safe from the police.

We need to continue on
until the walls come crumbling down

and there's some reform
in the police department here in the city.

Beyond that,
there was a circus-like atmosphere

with the media.

You had a cover of The New Yorker.

One editorial began
with the word "bang" 41 times.

It was all...

very, very negative publicity

from the point of view of the cops.

So we decided that a motion
needed to be made for a change of venue.

Attorneys for the officers argue

that jurors in the Bronx
tend to harbor prejudice against cops

and that excessive publicity
surrounding the case

would taint a jury pool.

The change of venue
was controversial.

Many people thought

that this would be
like the Rodney King case in Los Angeles.

The videotape has been seen
the world over,

over and over again.

The beating of Rodney King
by Los Angeles police officers.

Defense attorneys claiming

they couldn't get a fair trial
in Los Angeles

got the case moved to more conservative
neighboring Ventura County.

The change of venue meant
an entirely different jury pool,

and that's why people believed

the jury reached the verdict that it did.

The four police officers
who were videotaped

repeatedly beating an unarmed man

were found not guilty.

There was a lot of concern
when this trial was moved from Los Angeles

out here to Ventura County,

a much more conservative,
predominantly white county,

and a lot of people are gonna be saying
that's what went wrong with this case.

How can the defense say
that a murder committed here

can't be judged fairly
by the people who live here?

There is a clear racial message.

Yes, sir.

We call
on the federal government to intervene

- on behalf of the citizens of the Bronx.
- Yes, sir.

So they will not be allowed to do this
to Amadou Diallo.

I thought
that we had put on a pretty strong case,

but the other lawyers didn't think
we had a snowball's chance in hell

of getting a change of venue.

I have...

I have a present for you, if you like.

This is the opinion
of the appellate division...

on the change of venue motion.

I'm sure you'll be...

interested to see what it had to say.

Do you wanna read
the first paragraph?

I would be happy to.

"A pretrial change of venue"

for purposes
of protecting the right to a fair trial

is an extraordinary remedy...

reserved for the rarest of cases.

The case of the four police officers
accused of murdering Amadou Diallo...

"is that rare case."

Now, this trial is being held
not in New York City,

but Albany.

Uh, that's about 140 miles away
from where the shooting took place.

I don't see how Albany's
a comparable county.

You go from the Bronx,
has a 19 percent white population,

Albany has an 89 percent white population.

This decision

is an insult to the intelligence
of the people of the Bronx

and the city of New York.

Amadou Diallo's
mother and father, visiting from Africa,

are outraged the officers accused
of killing their son

will be tried in Albany
instead of in the Bronx.

When I saw in the news,

I could not believe it.

It was like a slap on the face.

It's like moving the trial
to a different world.

Welcome back to Court TV. I'm June Grasso.

And I'm Nancy Grace.

This morning, we are bringing you
continued live coverage

of the Amadou Diallo shooting trial
from Albany, New York.

The defendants are all charged
with second-degree murder

for Diallo's death.

If convicted,
they face 25 years to life in prison.

The Diallo case will be decided
by six Caucasian men,

two Caucasian women

and four African-American women.

Just because
a person is charged with crimes

doesn't mean
that they will be proven guilty.

The prosecution has to prove

a person's guilt
beyond a reasonable doubt.

Prosecutors say four members
of NYPD's elite Street Crime Unit

murdered Diallo

when they shot him down
on his own doorstep last February.

Knowing that this case was
of national importance,

we were super-prepared.

There's really not a lot
in dispute in this case.

Our officers shot Amadou Diallo.
There's no question about that.

There's never been a question about that.

Under what circumstances?

This was the case of the century
at that moment.

Yeah, walk up here. Here we go.

So, it was no big surprise

that the judge would allow cameras
in his courtroom.

This case is one of the most extraordinary
that Court TV has ever shown.

It is why we are showing it to you
in its most complete coverage.

All right.
You want to take your seats, please?

The judge is in the courtroom
and has started a proceeding,

so we're gonna take you live
to that Albany courtroom.

Judge Teresi on the bench.

- Good morning.
- Good morning.

The People can go ahead
and make their opening statement.

"In the 1990s, in Bronx County",

in Albany County,

or anywhere else,

a human being should have been able
to stand

in the vestibule of his own home...

"and not be shot to death."

Especially when those doing the shooting

are police officers
sworn to protect innocent people.

"I have to confess
that I'm a little nervous."

It's not the cameras.

The cameras are here today
and gone tomorrow.

"It's the 12 jurors are really
the only audience that matters."

And you have my client
Sean Carroll's fate in your hands.

"When these four defendants"

killed Amadou Diallo
in a hail of 41 bullets

"in the early morning hours
of February 4th, 1999..."

Amadou was just 22 years old.

"What they are trying to do,
the prosecution,

is take a tragic accident..."

and make it a murder.

"To make it a murder."

They made the conscious decision
to shoot him.

They made the conscious decision...

"to sh..."

shoot a man standing in the confined space
of a vestibule...

"that was not much bigger
than an elevator."

These four defendants
intended to kill him...

and therefore are guilty of murder.

From the moment that we knew
there was gonna be a trial,

everyone knew that the trial was gonna
come down to one thing:

41 shots.

How in the world
could 41 shots have been fired

in such a brief period of time?

The prosecution will attempt to prove

that the officers intended
to kill Amadou Diallo

and should be found guilty
of second-degree murder.

When testimony begins
in the trial tomorrow,

attention will finally shift from a year
of emotional street demonstrations

and celebrity protest arrests

to the actual facts of the case.

In a case like Diallo,
which is so emotionally charged,

the public might feel outraged.

They were hunting that evening,

and the prey, unfortunately,
was Amadou Diallo.

But it's not a court
of public opinion.

It's a court of law.

And this morning,
a panel in Albany, New York

began to hear evidence
in the Amadou Diallo shooting trial.

As the prosecution,

I could get up there,

marshal the evidence,

and present my arguments

to the best of my ability.

- So help you God?
- I do.

Would you please take the stand?

What happened
when you returned to the window?

- What did you see?
- I returned to the window,

and I saw four guys.

They were walking towards 1157.

Did you hear anybody yell,
and this again,

right before the shots, "Stop!"?

No.

I heard a series of shots.

As the trial unfolded,

what became clear was that...

it was a straightforward case
by the prosecution.

Dr. Cohen,

using these front and side drawings,

could you please give us a brief overview

of the wounds inflicted upon Mr. Diallo?

Yes. As I mentioned,

Mr. Diallo sustained 19 gunshot wounds...

There was no mystery
about the cause of death

or who shot him.

The cause of death
is multiple gunshot wounds to the trunk,

with perforations of the aorta,

spinal cord, lungs, liver,

spleen, kidney, and intestine.

They were at close range,
very close range.

They fired numerous times together.

They aided each other to create
what, in effect, was a wall of lead,

and in doing so,
Mr. Diallo had nowhere to go.

He had a door behind him,
he had two walls in front of him,

and he had four individuals firing
9 millimeter pistols in front of him.

That is a depraved indifference
to human life.

After the prosecution
had tried their case,

the larger issue turned out to be,

"How was the defense
gonna justify 41 shots?"

Everyone, let's take a quick break.

As you know,
the jury is out of the courtroom

on their midmorning break.
You are not missing any live testimony.

As soon as it resumes,

we'll take you right back
into that Albany courtroom.

Stay with us.

If it ain't gonna be no justice!

It ain't gonna be no peace!

If it ain't gonna be no justice!

It ain't gonna be no peace!

When you get
into the court of law,

the public sentiment sets the staging

so that the jurors and the justices

cannot operate out of context

of the racial and criminal justice
politics of a country.

No peace!

- No justice!
- No peace!

It became imperative
that we kept pounding that to the media

and hopefully to the public.

The Reverend Al Sharpton
is planning daily demonstrations

outside this courthouse.

He says he wants to keep the pressure on.

And many of the people who are here

came from New York City
early this morning on buses,

and they say they'll be coming back
again and again.

In the courtroom, you could hear
the chanting going on outside.

And it was nonstop.

- No justice!
- No peace!

No justice!

Between the protesters outside

and Court TV inside,

it was somewhat daunting.

It was kind of a, you know, a crucible.

Welcome back to Court TV

and our coverage
of the Amadou Diallo trial.

The defense has to prepare themselves,

bring up all their ammunition,
so to speak,

and not to be, um, joking about it, but...

People were watching it
on television, coast to coast.

I knew we had to put on a strong defense.

What do you think the defense can do

to argue against that?

I think they need to do
as much as they can

to show the jury that they have remorse

and they agonize and can't sleep at night
and what it has done to their families.

Only way, take the stand.

Gotta appeal to human emotions.
That's all they have.

I'm the only one...

For a year and ten days,
the four accused officers

have been shrouded in silence.

Now it was their turn to explain
how an unarmed man

standing at his own apartment doorway
was shot at 41 times by police.

I don't think there was
any debate about the officers testifying.

It was really the only way

for people to know what had actually
taken place that night.

Gonna have a rapid, uh,
series of testimony

by these police officers,

and we'll listen as he takes the oath
and begins his direct testimony.

I saw Mr. Diallo, uh,

appear from a vestibule,

um, quickly appear from the vestibule.

His right side is digging.
He's frantically opening,

trying to get through that door.
He's looking at us...

He was crouched.

He was down low, and he had his hand out.

I couldn't see his right hand. He was
still frantically tugging at something.

I'm saying, "Police. Show me your hands."

Show me your hands."

"Police. Don't move."

Brick by brick by brick by brick,
we made our explanations

of why what had taken place
was reasonable.

I could see Mr. Diallo
begin to turn.

He was gripping a black, square object,
and I... I thought it was a gun.

I seen a gun in his hand.

Not a doubt in my mind that he had a gun.

"I'm... I'm dead. I'm dead."

I heard Sean yell, "He's got a gun!"

I fired my weapon.

- And I fired.
- I fired my gun.

And then I fired
and jumped out of the way.

Then I said, "Oh, my God."

I just held him, his hand.

I rubbed his face.

"Please don't die."

Their testimony was compelling.

It was hard not to feel their emotion
and their sorrow.

Long story short,

they see someone reach
in to their pants, their jacket...

They're cops.

They assume he's reaching for a gun.

"I couldn't tell what was going on,"

my buddies were firing,
I thought he had a gun,

and I regret it.

"I-I would change it if I could."

If that reaches just one juror, hung jury.

The defense was very good
at leading them

to this display of emotion

and showing remorse.

They were playing to the cameras.

They wanted to perform...

because they're trying to paint
their own picture. That's what they do.

If you have all that evidence
on the prosecution's side,

do you think that can be balanced out
by the testimony of four officers

who come across as very credible,
very sorry, and very sincere?

A jury begins
deliberations today

in the murder trial of four white
New York City police officers

who shot an unarmed black man
to death last year.

In closing arguments on Tuesday,

prosecutors accused the defendants
of making a snap judgment

when they saw Amadou Diallo
outside his apartment.

Those weeks were so hard for me.

It was so hard, winter cold,

watching, without any control,
my son being tried.

He's not alive.

No one was speaking for him.

The prosecution didn't even speak
about who he was.

And finally, I stood up, and I walked out.

They continue to maintain Amadou
as suspicious.

How can you suspect somebody

standing in front of his own door
where he lives?

One of the supporters ran behind me
and called me, said,

"Mrs. Diallo, please be strong.
You're standing for us, too."

"Don't let go. Don't give up."

I was called to come back
to the courthouse.

So, I collected myself.

I came back in.

It was a Friday, and we learned
that the jury had reached a verdict.

I got inside,

and I sat on the bench
between my two brothers, hand in hand.

Bring the jury in.

I've received your note
that you've reached a verdict.

- Is that true, Madam Foreperson?
- Yes, Your Honor.

Sean Carroll was sitting there,
nervously.

I was also nervous as hell.

Would you please stand,

and the clerk will address you
and take the verdict.

With respect
to defendant Kenneth Boss,

what was your verdict

in reference to the charge of murder
in the second degree

under the first count of the indictment?

Not guilty.

- Members of the jury...
- Quiet, please.

With respect to defendant
Edward McMellon,

what was your verdict

in reference to the charge
of murder in the second degree

under the first count of the indictment?

Not guilty.

What was your verdict

in reference to the charge
of reckless endangerment

in the first degree
under the third count of the indictment?

Not guilty.

What was your verdict
in reference to the charge

of reckless endangerment
in the first degree

under the third count of the indictment?

Not guilty.

And then, when the verdict came in,
of course, a giant exhale.

I remember Sean hugging me
and Sean hugging the other officers.

In a hushed courtroom,
a stunning victory for the defense.

Hugs and tears as four New York City
police officers are acquitted

of murdering an unarmed man.

All of them
were found not guilty.

Friday, a racially-mixed jury
said the cops were not guilty

on all charges, not responsible at all.

A verdict that caught some observers
by surprise.

It was such a gut-punch.

A massive, massive, massive
disappointment.

When they went all the way down
to the last count saying, "Not guilty,"

we were outraged,
those of us that were in the courtroom,

that they would be that callous
and that insensitive.

I will never forget those tears
on my cheeks.

It was like saying to me

that my child has caused his own death.

In the end,

it was not about Amadou.

Tonight, a racially-mixed jury
outside of New York City

acquitted all four officers.

This has been an explosive case
from the beginning.

What happens now?

People were worried about riots.

Shame! Shame!
Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!

The legacy I wanted for Amadou
was a legacy of unity

and justice for all.

Is in the name of Amadou and his spirit

that I ask for your calm and prayers...

as we go on for the quest of justice,

life, equality.

I thank you all.

The verdict in Albany yesterday
stunned people here.

People have been bringing signs
and flowers and candles and letters,

all in memory of Amadou.

"This letter says," Dear Mrs. Diallo,

I am groaning with pain
because I have cried so much tears

"since the sad day
that they murdered Amadou."

At first, the jurors saidthey did not
want to speak about the verdict,

but last night,
in the face of mounting questions,

they changed their minds.

I understand how they feel.

Believe me, I understand,
and I have a... a 16-year-old son.

So I really understand.

But again, I have to take it back
to the district attorney's office.

They didn't give me anything.

The prosecutor
just put up a basic case

and let the defense do
whatever they wanted to do.

They never humanized.

He became a mistaken particle

of police fear, rather than a human being
that lost his life and future.

They never even put his mother
on the stand.

That was as despicable as anything.

Pure emotion is supposed to be
kept out of a trial

if it's offered
just for its prejudicial effect.

Mrs. Diallo's unbelievable grief...

In a trial?

It isn't relevant.

I had to present my best arguments.

I did that
in a way that was supported by evidence

and which I felt were in terms
that non-lawyers could understand.

That's what I asked of myself.

So, uh...

So, I...

I don't have any...

I don't have any regrets.

At its core,
racism is about fear.

Oftentimes,

there are people in our city,
and in our world, and in our country,

who don't see us
as fully formed human beings.

I don't know how you can prove racism
in a court of law.

But did we need to prove that

to get justice for someone
who was standing in his doorway

and was shot at 41 times?

And so, this justification for fear

of the black man in the corner
continues today.

As a journalist,
I want people to remember Amadou...

and so many other men

who have been cut down in their prime
by police bullets.

We have to keep telling these stories.

What I want the world to know,

there was this young man named Amadou...

that came to the US to succeed.

And never get a chance.

I'm here to talk
about my son Amadou.

Amadou was portrayed by the news

as this young man...

who was poor, from Africa.

He was selling in the street.

All I wanted to do
was to rewrite that story

so people would know who he was.

The power of the story is very important.

Twenty years later,

children are learning about Amadou
in schools.

Amadou's legacy is going to continue.

I will never stop talking.

I'll continue to speak.

That's my mission.