Witness American Justice

SIREN WAILS

This programme contains scenes which some viewers may find upsetting and some strong language

DOG BARKS

# You can run on for a long time

# Run on for a long time

# You can run on for a long time... #

I believe in good and evil.

I believe it exists in this world.

# Sooner or later God'll cut you down

# Go tell that long-tongue liar... #

I'm not going to lay down and not let my vote mean something.

My ancestors died for me to have the right to vote.

And we're going to have law and order.

CHEERING

# Goodness gracious Let me tell you the news... #

We have to enforce the laws of the state of Florida,

and our laws say we have to be tough.

I don't care what caused you to do it -

you can't run around stabbing people.

Some people do belong behind bars,

and I will not apologise for putting them there.

# Great God almighty Here's what he said

# Go tell that long-tongue liar

# Go and tell that midnight rider

# Tell the rambler, the gambler, the back-biter

# Tell them that God's gonna cut them down

# You can throw your rock

# Hide your hand

# Work in the dark against your fellow man

# But as sure as God made the black and white

# What's done in the dark will be brought to the light... #

Some believe the criminal justice system is in need of serious reform,

and that racial tensions are at historic highs,

so, do you believe that there's a need for criminal justice reform

nationally and locally, and if not, why not?

In three weeks, Jacksonville elects its next state attorney.

Our law enforcement officers are the symbol of authority on the street,

and they must be obeyed.

They must be obeyed because they are here to protect

every single one of us.

But, mid-campaign, attention switches to a series of shootings

across America.

It starts with two black men being killed by police in two days...

-GUNSHOTS

-You shot four bullets into him, sir.

I told him not to reach for it!

I told him to get his hands up!

..and culminates with retaliations against police in Dallas.

Five officers were killed and seven wounded in the attack at a downtown

Dallas protest over the recent killings by police of black men

in Louisiana and Minnesota.

Black lives matter!

Protests erupt across the country...

Black lives matter!

..and hit Jacksonville at the same time as the presidential election.

And we're going to respect our police,

because you have to respect our police,

and we're not going to shoot our police.

-CHEERING

-We're not shooting our police,

and we're going to have law and order.

YELLING

Just stop! You're a xenophobe! You're a racist!

You're the racists! You're the racists!

Hey hey, ho ho, these racist bastards got to go.

Hey hey, ho ho, these racist bastards got to go.

Build that wall! Build that wall! Build that wall!

We're going to make our country safe again.

We're going to make our country great again,

as sure as you're standing here.

Thank you. Thank you, Jacksonville.

SIRENS WAIL

Hello?

A mass shooting at Eureka Gardens last night

left seven people wounded.

Police are reviewing security footage, hoping it will help

lead them to three gunmen who fired 50 rounds into

a group of people last night.

Eureka Gardens is a poor, predominantly black housing complex

in the west of Jacksonville.

These tenants are naturally very distraught.

You can understand why.

We have been here all morning.

A group of at least eight people were outside -

one of them is a baby -

when three men walked up to them and started shooting.

They fired at least 50 rounds.

And which apartment was it they hit? 105 or 106?

105?

Detectives from Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrive at the scene

of last night's mass shooting.

This is where the eight partiers...

People were hanging out on the patio, having beers and relaxing,

when the gunfire started?

Yes. Yes. This part takes a strike here...

Seven people were injured in the attack -

two are fighting for their lives.

One of the male victims was standing up in the vicinity of this area.

He and several other victims fled inside the apartment complex

as they were getting shot.

-They got hit in the neck, and that's what all that blood is?

-Yes.

DOG BARKS

And the 15-month-old and two-week-old were out front when

the shooting started, and no kids were hit?

No kids were hit.

Lucky.

Don't take this wrong... Have you ever been shot at before?

Nope, never have...

One of the group, who was shot at, is still at the scene.

-The boys were standing out here on the grass.

-On the grass, mm-hmm.

The girls were standing back there...

and then...and then we heard "pow pow".

So, I'm just happy to be alive.

-You know how lucky you are, right?

-Yeah.

I hope they get shot like they did us.

I think it's fair.

I think they should be prosecuted to the fullest effect.

OK.

While detectives hunt for witnesses,

a prosecutor from the State Attorney's Office, London Kite,

is assigned to the case.

In order for me to feel confident,

you need strong physical evidence and solid eyewitnesses.

However, Eureka Gardens has had this, kind of, continuing, um...

kind of battle with the police.

They are a tight-knit community.

Then, when they have problems, they shun law-enforcement,

and then they try to take care of the problem themselves -

that's been my experience with them.

London is briefed by detectives who've returned from the scene.

There were seven victims that were bullet to bone.

Two of them are life-threatening.

The female is expected to...

probably have the plug pulled on her today, is that correct?

Yes. Just to bring London up to speed...

From the evidence, London, at the scene, we have...

On the corner, shooting across the parking lot,

we have some 50 or so rounds of three different calibres.

Two rifles and one pistol.

Where does the video come from?

They're coming from inside the complex.

They have video cameras?

Security cameras inside the complex.

You have the building across the street.

They come from this direction on foot, post up right here,

and shoot, just like that. So, what, 40 yards?

They go down that sidewalk,

and, by the time they turned around and came back,

it's between three and five seconds.

So, it's not like they stopped to see what their best angle was,

took a position of fire... No.

They walked down the sidewalk, let all their rounds go

and walked...ran right back.

The surveillance footage not only shows the suspects -

it also shows that there are witnesses.

There's two eyewitnesses,

because, when the suspects are running back, you can see...

You can't see the person, but he's upstairs on the balcony.

You see him flick a cigarette.

So, we've just got to track those guys down.

'We need witnesses.

'Witnesses are one of the most important parts

'of a criminal trial.'

-So...

-They're hiding on this corner.

They're coming on this corner.

We have a witness sitting upstairs on 68.

'But there's a significant history of distrust between

'the community and law-enforcement,

'because law enforcement don't look like them.'

DOG BARKS

Of the 12 homicide lawyers working in the State Attorney's Office,

London is the only African-American.

When I was growing up, I experienced racism.

I've been followed in stores just because I was a young black female.

My life experiences have given me a little bit more insight

into how that community operates.

You know, maybe a white prosecutor doesn't understand that

as, um, personally as I do.

-PHONE:

-The subscriber you have dialled is not in service.

The hardest thing that we have to do is get our witnesses to show up.

Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi's next case goes to trial in a week.

PHONE RINGS

(Ridiculous...)

It's a murder that took place in a strip club.

-PHONE:

-You have reached the voicemail box of 90...

Despite happening in front of 300 people,

Alan is struggling to get anyone to testify in court.

It is an old-school case.

We are not relying upon DNA, fingerprints, surveillance videos -

things that in the 21st century we rely upon regularly.

In this case, we're relying upon the statements of eyewitnesses.

The victim, 23-year-old Brandon Green,

was celebrating a friend's birthday in a strip club called Mascara's.

One of his group had an altercation and, in the argument that followed,

Brandon was shot in the head.

Brandon Green being murdered in a strip club is very unfortunate,

because people were drinking, and because people...

sometimes they go to those clubs in the middle of the night,

are not friends of law enforcement,

and they do not trust law enforcement

as much as people that may attend church on a Sunday morning,

and, because of that dynamic,

it makes it even more difficult to make sure that these people will

come to court, will testify and will be truthful.

Alan is meeting Brandon Green's parents

to prepare them for the trial.

In virtually every case that I've had where I sit down

as a white prosecutor and I sit across from a black family,

I would say, at the initial meetings,

there is always a level of guardedness.

There is an apprehension

that the system is going to work for that victim.

In terms of murder cases,

it's not terrible. It's not terrible, OK?

I'm not going in, "Oh, my God, I've got no chance."

But we have no physical... We have no gun, no DNA...

So, it's probably a little below average

and that's just where the shooting took place.

I don't lose murder cases, but I have.

I mean, so, like... It happens.

And, if it happens, he was put on trial for the murder,

which is a lot more than a lot of victims' families ever get.

Because a lot of victims' families, um, they never know

who killed their loved one.

So, in this case, we've charged him and we'll put him through trial,

and we have to have some level of comfort knowing that

justice will be served just by putting him through the trial,

and that it was public...

I hear you.

'This is something that these parents have waited for

'since they got that horrendous call on September 8th, 2013,

'and found out their boy was dead,'

and this is the culmination of

society's judgment on what happened to their son.

You know, victims, I think they struggle with the process

cos they're so powerless.

They have no control over the jury,

they have no control over the evidence and they've lost their son.

When I lay down and I close my eyes

and I try to picture Brandon lying there,

shaking and fighting for his life,

it's just...

It's just so unreal... I just...

I just can't believe it. I just can't believe it.

HARRIET SNIFFLES

And, you know, after he got shot,

and everybody was running out of the club...

..I asked his friend, I say, "Were anybody stepping on my baby?"

"Were anybody stepping on him?"

SHE SNIFFLES

And I always want to ask details

about what he was doing, about...

"Were his eyes closed or were he talking

"or were he begging for his life?"

But I never got the courage to ask him that,

and I don't think he will share that with me.

And I don't think he'll share it with me.

Brandon got a little girl.

She wasn't even one year old when he died,

so, you know, he ever had the opportunity to show what kind of

father he could have been.

You know, I mean, he loved his kid, man.

He loved his children, man.

Yeah, I know he would've been a good father.

The struggle to find witnesses means Brandon's family has been forced to

wait nearly three years for the case to come to trial.

So, we knew from day one.

You know, they know from day one who had killed him,

but they took six months to bring him to justice.

You know what I mean? To get a warrant to arrest the guy.

So, when they got him, you know,

we've been going through this over two and a half years now.

It's so much time-consuming, and, you know,

and, for the family of the victim,

you have to relive this every time you go to court.

You know what I mean?

You've got to look at this guy, knowing this guy killed your son.

That there is the hardest part for me.

The man accused of Brandon's murder has been in jail since his arrest

two and a half years ago.

His name is Lenard Anderson.

I think about the victim's family from time to time,

and I sympathise what they're going through,

and I understand that, you know, that they're seeking justice,

but I also know that they have the wrong guy.

I did not commit this crime.

I did not commit any wrongly activity.

I feel that justice is not blind here

for the simple fact of the colour of my skin.

People my colour are forced into trial,

forced to take pleas that they don't want to accept.

Justice is the truth,

not going after a person

according to their characteristics or the colour of their skin.

The State Attorney's Office, they don't uphold the law,

they take the law into their own hands.

They do things their way here,

so there's no justice here, especially for people of my colour.

No, sir, I don't believe so.

It's been 24 hours since

the mass shooting at Eureka Gardens.

Two of the victims are critical in hospital.

So, let's get right to it.

-Travis, will you update everybody?

-OK.

There was a total of seven victims shot.

Jessica Nelson, who was the homeowner at 105, 1214 Labelle.

She has the most severe injuries.

At some point yesterday, she was touch-and-go on whether or not

she was going to survive, because of her internal injuries.

She is going to be dialysis this morning.

Despite surveillance footage showing there were witnesses,

no-one has come forward.

So detectives return to Eureka Gardens to step up the hunt.

Some people view police officers, really, as the ultimate enemy.

You know, this guy could've killed this person, but...

and that person's related to you,

but I'm not going to go to the police, even if I saw it,

because that's worse than anything.

That whole dynamic is really...

I guess it's the whole "us and them", and that needs to change,

because policemen, without co-operation in a neighbourhood,

we're not very effective.

Sheriff's Office!

DOG BARKS

Hello?

There we go. Hey.

Hey, Mister.

-Step out on, sir.

-There's nobody else home.

-Give me ID, man.

-I ain't got no ID.

I hold you as a material witness on this crime,

so don't give me no lip-service, please.

I'm not here to play around.

I'm here to do my job. You understand that?

I ain't like these guys you talked to before,

I'm one of these guys who ain't going to come here

and understand that lip-service.

You understand me? Do you understand me?

Cos if you ain't got your ID, and you ain't got your ID,

we ride downtown and I'll figure out who you are with fingerprints.

You feel me?

-Sir? Sir, you understand that?

-You already know my name.

I don't know you. I ain't never met you.

-Do you know my name?

-You know my name.

-Do you know my name?

Do you know my name? If you don't know my name, I don't know yours.

I could ride you downtown.

I've got this support that's backing me up on that.

-You understand that?

-Yes, sir.

-All right, so let's keep it cool.

Don't give me none of this.

All right. Well, dude, keep your hands up,

and just keep your mouth shut. Hands up, mouth shut.

I generally think that most police officers that, you know,

go in those neighbourhoods are trying to do the very best

with the worst set of circumstances.

A lot of times it's frustration, because they are going through

this horrible incident.

They've got somebody stabbed or they've got somebody shot,

and they're just frustrated with the whole, like,

process of it all.

Look at me, cos I want to promise you something, OK?

This isn't a threat or anything else.

Citizens of Jacksonville, this apartment complex,

the businessmen, the clergy, the mayor, the sheriff,

are all tired of this violence.

-That's why I said that...

-So what I'm saying is -

don't be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution.

When you're dealing with the police, it's their way or no way.

They treat us like nothing, so we've no type of respect for them.

He's not, but be respectful, because he's earned that badge.

They always get frustrated, but...

there ain't nothing they can really do about it

besides abuse their authority.

It's worse every time they come.

When they don't get what they want, it's worse.

It's really worse.

All right. You see some bad things, you call the police.

You got me? All right.

No witnesses are found and detectives are running out of leads.

22-year-old Vernell Bing has died after being shot by police

in Springfield.

It started with a pursuit, yet ended with a crash and gunfire.

A shooting puts the Sheriff's Office in Jacksonville

at the centre of a new storm.

Check out this video from our scene last night. Take a look.

Now, JSO says the man was still in the car

ignoring the officer's commands, then got out of the car

and was trying to get away when the officer shot him in the back.

22-year-old Vernell Bing was shot dead after crashing his car

into police following a pursuit.

The car he was driving had been involved

in a shooting the previous month.

APPLAUSE

OK, people will tell us folks it's all right, but it's not all right.

No, it's not all right for young, unarmed black men to be shot down.

Not by one another, and certainly not by JSO.

No, it's not all right!

The sad commentary is this -

nobody knew what this young man was when he was shot.

But we did know that he was a black man.

Yeah!

APPLAUSE

WOMAN CRYING

SHE WAILS AND SCREAMS

I'm just sick of it. I'm sick of it.

I'm just sick of it.

I'm tired.

I'm sick and tired of coming to black funerals in this city,

and our young black men being killed,

and I'm sick of the police brutality.

I'm sick of it, and we demand justice.

I'm tired of it.

The police haven't even been charged,

haven't been investigated,

had nothing been done, and this boy is dead.

This is another black young man dead.

No accountability.

There's no respect for black life in this city.

An investigation into Bing's death is launched

by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

An investigation of any type of shooting,

whether it's by a citizen or a law enforcement officer,

is a long and detailed investigation, and I won't see

the results until everything is in,

as to whether it was justifiable use of deadly force.

The question that has to be asked is,

are we working to hold our officers accountable for their actions?

And the answer to that is yes.

But will I violate the law in an effort to rush to judgment?

I can't and I won't.

Our community deserves the truth and nothing but the truth.

I know that trust begins with having a law enforcement agency

we can all have faith in and be proud of.

That's how trust is built and that's how transparency is fostered.

He said, "Our community deserves the truth and nothing but the truth."

-What truth is he talking?

-Exactly.

The truth is, you shot down and killed an unarmed black man.

This is not the first time - that's the truth.

Why didn't you say that?

In the last ten years,

45 black men have been shot dead by police in Jacksonville.

Each incident has been investigated.

No officer has ever been prosecuted.

Sometimes, the officers are justified.

If he was not complying, you don't have to sit there and wait to die.

If a person is coming at you, with their hands hidden,

you don't have to wait until they pull the gun and pull the trigger

for you to do something about it.

You know, people are stirring up raw emotions sometimes, um,

that have a real, long-lasting, detrimental effect on

how law enforcement and the community deals with each other.

I'm planning on calling you and Gerald.

-'OK.'

-OK, so I'll need... We're going to meet...

I'm going to need to meet with Twan, Devondro, Gerald...

It's two days until the trial of Lenard Anderson,

accused of murdering Brandon Green in a strip club.

-'Yes, sir.'

-All right, so just stay in touch,

I'll look forward to hearing from you tomorrow, OK?

Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi is now threatening to use court orders

to force witnesses to testify.

That was Cornelius Toliver -

he's one of the witnesses in the case.

He, er...

He was part of the victim's group that was at the club.

He did not see the shooting,

but is friends with all of the people that were there.

Cornelius Toliver is one of the few who's volunteered to testify

and is helping Alan by trying to persuade others to come forward.

In order to get a conviction in the case,

these people have to come to court

and give their testimony in front of a defendant,

but it's incredibly difficult.

There's a saying that "snitches get stitches",

and people that are cooperating with the state of Florida

potentially has the danger of some retaliation against them.

Cornelius still lives and works in the community

where he and Brandon grew up.

I get butterflies in my stomach sometimes...

..because I think, "Oh, my God,

"will he be found not guilty?"

I just don't want them to find him not guilty,

and then he'll get off and go and kill again.

Lenard Anderson very well could walk away a free man, absolutely.

The percentages tell us that. We sometimes lose cases,

and we sometimes lose cases that are a lot better than this case.

It's certainly something that I'm aware of

and certainly the family will be aware of.

The trial starts with the prosecution.

Alan Mizrahi and his co-counsel begin their case by calling

Cornelius Toliver, and the rest of Brandon's friends,

to describe what they saw the night he died.

With no physical evidence,

the whole of Alan's case rests on their testimony.

Can you tell the jury why you're here?

Because a very close friend of mine was murdered in a nightclub.

Were you an eyewitness to that?

Yes, sir.

And who is that close friend of yours?

His name was Brandon Green.

I want to take you to the night of September 7th, 2013.

Can you tell the jury what you were doing?

Uh, in Mascara's, celebrating my cousin's birthday.

I walked to the bar, um,

I slipped past the dude and got behind him,

and ordered my bottle of water,

and, as I'm walking off, I accidentally bump him.

I'm thinking, "No problems."

I turn to him and I say, "My bad," you know,

"I'm sorry," and walk off and think nothing of it.

Devondro came back, and he was chill for a second,

but then, like, a couple of minutes after that,

I seen a guy come follow him over there.

He has on a red Kangol hat.

It looked like a fisherman Kangol hat.

I called it, like, an LL Cool J hat, like,

cos, like, that's what he used to wear back in the day.

I asked him, "Hey, what's going on, man? Everything is OK?

"Everything good?"

He's like, "Yeah, everything's good. Who you with?"

And he had his hand down by his belt, and he was holding

his gun outside his belt.

And then, I looked back, he'd upped the gun.

What did you think was going to happen?

He was going to shoot all of us.

At that point, I froze up. I couldn't move.

He shot it one time, boom,

and then everything scattered, everything went mayhem...

Everybody's scrambling and running, trying to...trying to get out,

and I see someone laying on the floor in the section that we had,

and I go over there...

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

I go over there and I...

and I see it's Brandon Green.

I mean...

he got hit right in the face, so it was like the head was, like,

open, and there was blood everywhere.

At that, I get up off the ground

and jump up.

My cousin Cornelius, he comes running back to us, like,

"What's going on? What's going on? What's up?"

Did Brandon Rivers say anything to you?

Oh, he was pointing at the guy there.

He told me, he said, "That guy right there just shot BG."

I'm like, "Bro, Cuz, that's him right there.

"That's him right there, in the red Kangol hat,

"moving through the crowd. That's him."

And what did that person look like, that you saw?

I'd say a little bigger than me, probably a little lighter.

He was wearing a red hat.

Are you able to identify the person that you saw murder your friend?

Yes, sir, he's sitting over there.

He's sitting over there.

Thank you. That's all the questions I have, Your Honour.

Thank you. Cross-examination.

Lenard Anderson's defence is that the state's witnesses

are unreliable, and he is the victim of mistaken identity.

People always talk about defence attorneys punching...trying to punch

holes into the state's case,

'and that's true - that's what we do.'

Mr Toliver, have you been previously convicted of a felony?

-Yes, I have.

-How many times?

HE CLEARS HIS THROAT

Numerous times.

At least seven felony convictions, would you agree, sir?

I would agree.

'Defence attorneys will push every advantage they can.

'Their goal is to undermine the credibility of every witness that'

provides information that implicates their client.

Did you have a cellphone on you?

-Did I have a cellphone?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, I had a cellphone.

Did you call 911?

Um, no.

Did you call the police?

I was just trying to get home.

You said you did not call the police when you got outside?

MANS COUGHS

No.

You didn't call them when you got home?

No.

'I don't think the jury's really going to like

'who the victim was hanging with,'

and I think that the jury's going to think

that they are bad people.

If you put a nun next to a prisoner wearing a green jumpsuit,

and they told you the same story, you're going to believe the nun,

and that's just the normal biases of jurors,

and, obviously, those biases are based somewhat in reality.

'I was angry at a lot of his buddies that he went to

'the club with that night,

'because, after Brandon's murder,'

they was hiding a lot of details, you know?

They knew exactly what happened and nobody was telling nothing.

You know, a lot of them had warrants on them, but my son is dead,

and y'all are worried about going to jail for a week

instead of helping me catch his killer.

The defence has one more piece of evidence

to use against witness Cornelius Toliver.

So, you had a weapon with you inside Mascara's?

Yes, ma'am.

Where did you put it on your person?

I ran out of the club with it in my hand.

Why didn't you go to your car,

which is the one that you said you drove down with?

Because nine times out of ten, I know my wife,

she were out with her gun.

-But you already had a gun on you, correct?

-It wasn't big enough.

I was going to chase the guy my cuz had pointed at.

And what were you going to do?

An eye for an eye.

-I'm sorry?

-An eye for an eye.

No further questions at this time, Your Honour.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

I'm going to excuse you for the evening.

This will be your evening recess.

I hope you have a peaceful and restful evening,

and we'll see you tomorrow morning at 9am. Thank you.

People know what he did, you know what I mean?

But it's just like...

It's not what you know, it's what you can prove, you know what I mean?

You know, Alan's trying to do his best, but, you know,

I see what the defence are trying to do is put in reasonable doubt.

And she...and the defence attorney's doing a good job doing it.

You know, but whether the, you know, people believe in them or not,

yeah, that's another thing.

It's been a week since the mass shooting in Eureka Gardens

and detectives are still struggling.

The local community is afraid of retribution,

so they're calling people directly, to persuade them to speak.

I totally understand that,

and that is the reason why, if you get in your car

and come to the police station, nobody in that apartment complex

knows where you are or where you're going.

They've failed to finds the witnesses

in the surveillance footage, but now think a resident has information

about the motive for the attack.

There's no way around it.

Nobody wants to be in the predicament they're in.

We have seven people that were shot.

I bet you can't talk to one of them that says,

"Hey, I wanted to be shot."

So, how do you want to do it?

Do you want me to send some cars to your house? Do you want to get

in your car and come down here? How do you want to do it?

VOICE ON THE LINE

All right, drive safe.

HE EXHALES

Defying expectations,

the most seriously injured victim of the attack, Jessica Nelson,

has pulled through.

She was shot four times, and has lost a kidney and half her pancreas.

One bullet is still lodged in her chest.

Her husband John was the person who rang 911.

-'Sir, who got shot?

-Come on! My wife, my baby!

'Get here! Get here, now!

We have help on the way to you. Who shot them?

-'Get here now! Get here now!'

-HE SCREAMS AND CRIES

They're making an appeal for witnesses to come forward.

What was the worst thing for you, in that moment?

I really didn't think that I would ever see my family again.

I know JSO hasn't caught these guys.

They said they had surveillance video.

Are you angry that this hasn't been resolved yet?

I'm really disappointed that it hasn't.

I can't be angry, but I am disappointed.

People like that shouldn't be around,

so it's very important to me that they get found.

Detectives may have a breakthrough -

a possible name for the intended target of the shooting.

We've had someone tell us that one of our potential witnesses

is out there at 173 Eureka Garden Apartments,

a male known to us as Chico.

We are very certain that it's him that was getting fired on,

and we're going to try to get Chico to come downtown

and talk to us about what's going on.

Hey, we are in the front of the apartment complex,

and so we're all set, and nobody's going to lay hands on us.

No, all right.

OK, all right. OK.

He's walking out to us.

-Oliver?

-Yeah, I'm Oliver.

-I'm...

-Hey, do me a favour.

-Yeah?

-That brown car, where is it?

It's right there, right there.

Cool, go hop in that car there, we'll go downtown.

-Downtown?

-BOTH: We'll bring you back.

-Not...

-Nobody'll mess with you.

-We only want to talk.

How long will y'all have me down there?

We'll get you in and out as soon as we can, OK?

-Thank you.

-Thanks, man. Get in that car right there.

Detectives believe the attack may have been retaliation

for an earlier shooting Chico is suspected to have carried out.

If that is the case,

Chico will be able to name the suspects detectives are after.

'Most of the neighbourhoods do, especially Eureka Gardens...'

We've had... We've had actual cases, like murder cases, where, um...

members of that community or neighbourhood have

taken matters into their own hands.

It's a very thin line between being a victim or a defendant.

INAUDIBLE

Now, what's he telling you?

He's saying he knows nothing.

He is denying any activity or any involvement.

But it's kind of hard to call him a liar

when you don't have anything to confront him with.

Well, I don't think you have any reason to

keep him or continue to badger him, or...

-Yeah, I think we need to leave it like that.

-Mm-hm.

-Yeah.

Same place we were on day one.

The shooting of Vernell Bing by police ten days ago

continues to cause controversy.

Jacksonville Sheriff's Office must be held accountable

for their actions.

You have a community that's grieving, outcrying...

You have entire families that's in pain.

We're drawing a line. We're tired of it.

-We won't go unheard.

-DOG BARKS

The legal system of Jacksonville has failed the black community.

We're making it clear we want an indictment,

we want an arrest, and we want to make sure it's taken to

the full extent of the law.

Protests are planned across Jacksonville.

There's several Black Lives Matter or similar type of motivated groups

who claim they're going to show up and protest peacefully,

but leech groups have, kind of, latched on,

so we don't know what's going to show up.

There are some agitators in those groups, guys.

In the group format, they're going to try to agitate you

and say racial stuff, anti-police stuff... They want that attention.

All right, guys, be careful. Thank you.

Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

Black lives matter!

Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

Black lives matter!

Black lives matter! Black lives matter!

'There's a fundamental disconnect between law enforcement

'and the community it is supposed to protect.'

It's not OK to shoot our children,

and it's not OK to shoot our men,

and it's not OK to shoot our women.

We want change! We want change! We want change!

One can only achieve justice through the cooperation

and the trust of the community we are trying to seek justice for.

We want change! We want change! We want change!

I believe that this disconnect is the greatest problem

facing the American justice system right now.

The trial of Lenard Anderson is entering its third day,

and his defence attorney, Ann Finnell,

is going to present an alternative theory for how Brandon Green died.

She begins by analysing the evidence of the medical examiner.

This impact of the bullet, with its pressure wave,

broke the skullcap and the base of the skull -

that's the top and the bottom of the skull -

especially in the area of the right eye.

And then there's haemorrhage associated with this,

and some bruising of the brain, so he did not die immediately.

I mean, my argument is that, when they saw him...

I mean, they saw him fall, and they saw him on the ground,

they see a hole in the middle of his forehead

and they assume he was shot from the front.

Would...the injury you observed

be consistent with a shot coming from this direction?

From the body alone, in this case, I can't tell you where the gun was,

but the shot's coming from behind,

and it's going from his right side to his front, and slightly upward.

So the shot comes in here,

right by the temple,

and it comes out of the eye,

right by the right eye.

If you can imagine, it'd be like if it enters here,

and comes out in the middle of the head.

So, in order to be shot from the front, from the camera,

the person would have to pivot their body all the way around.

The reality could be that, you know,

the shot came from behind him and to the right,

which could be another member of their group,

it could be just somebody randomly, you know, showing off a gun,

and having the gun discharge.

You just don't know.

All right, sir, thank you. No further questions, Your Honour.

The state calls Detective Bobby Bowers.

Prosecutor Alan Mizrahi has one final witness.

Good afternoon, Detective. Please introduce yourself to the jury.

I'm Bobby Frank Bowers Senior.

What do you do for a living, sir?

I'm a detective with the Homicide Unit

at the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.

Detective Bobby Bowers interviewed Lenard when he was arrested.

We haven't heard from you.

-Yes, sir.

-We don't know what you have to say about what happened.

-Yes, sir, I understand.

-OK?

Now, I didn't come here to question you if you did the shooting.

What I came here to talk to you about was what happened,

and why did it happen, and why did it get to that point?

Sir, I have no recognition. I wasn't there. It wasn't me.

Do you remember who the DJ was?

No, sir, I wasn't...

Like I say, I wasn't there, so I wouldn't know.

You weren't there?

I wasn't there. It wasn't me.

OK.

'If you in any way acted in self-defence,

'this would be a good time to let me know,

'because, down the road, when this case, if it goes to trial...

'Yes, sir.'

..and then you come forward and say,

' "I remember what happened," it's not going to hold much ground,

'when we first met and you had no recollection of the whole incident.

'I understand, sir.'

-May it please the court?

-JUDGE:

-Proceed.

Mr Anderson, you know that you were in the club that night, right?

-Yes, sir.

-You know you were present when shots rang out?

-Yes, sir.

-And you know you've been arrested for that case?

-Yes, sir.

-OK.

So, here's the thing, Mr Anderson.

-Yes, sir.

-You said...

"I wasn't there."

"I wasn't there, I didn't do it, you have the wrong person."

But that was a lie, right?

Well, I said, "I wasn't there, I didn't do it,

"you have the wrong person," which it doesn't...

Why don't you just answer my questions, OK?

I said, "I wasn't there, you have the wrong guy, I didn't do this."

"I wasn't there"...

-Yes, I said that.

-..was a lie.

Yes or no?

Yes, it was.

Isn't it true, Mr Anderson, that you lied to those detectives

because it was in your interest to lie to them, correct?

-No, sir, I didn't want to...

-You just lied cos you felt like it?

I lied cos I didn't want to be involved.

I didn't want to be a witness in a case

that I don't know nothing about.

OK. What are you a witness to, Mr Anderson?

I didn't want to be a witness to anything.

I understand that, but what were you a witness to?

You weren't a witness to anything, were you?

I didn't want to be a witness to anything.

You knew you weren't being questioned as a witness.

You knew you were being questioned as the defendant, as the suspect?

When you're picked up by detectives, you're either being arrested

or you have a BOLO out for a warrant for questioning,

so I didn't know exactly whether I'm being fully arrested

-for this charge.

-OK.

That's all the questions I have, Your Honour.

'Every neighbourhood I grew up in, as a youngster coming up,

'there was always crime.

'You're learning, when there's a crime, yeah, you turn your head,

'you don't see nothing, you don't hear nothing,

'you don't want to be involved,

'or you may be faced with those same people that committed those crimes.

'And then you know what happens to you when you become a snitch.'

They're not going to come in your door and offer you cookies.

They're not going to come in your door and provide you money

to keep you quiet. They're fittin' to come at your door

with...with revenge.

With retaliation. Some hush.

They're fittin' to come in your door and puttin' you to sleep forever.

That's what they're coming to do.

And that's what happens when you involve yourself

in things that's not your business.

SIREN WAILS

-How are we all doing?

-Good. How are you?

-Good.

More than a month has passed since the mass shooting at Eureka Gardens.

-OK, so you all are going to give me an update?

-Yes.

-OK.

We have now served the search warrant at 2,970 West 15th Street.

-Did that produce anything?

-It produced nothing, um...

-Nothing of value?

-Nothing of value for us.

Anybody else that was living there, that supposedly...

There was a handful of people that have been ID'd,

and FIR up there...

'I think we're really, really far away from

'any kind of arrest whatsoever.'

Um, it seems like they have a lot of investigative leads,

but at this point, you know, getting to the point

where we can make any kind of arrest is... It's far off,

because of the level of cooperation that everyone's not giving us.

'The residents that live there,

'they know the individuals perpetrated the crime.

'The problem is infiltrating in that community and getting them

'to trust you enough so that they know they will be protected

'if they do speak up and speak out.'

The people are scared. They're scared to talk

because they're scared of being victims themselves,

or their families becoming victims.

'Of course, part of me wants to say,

' "Oh, I'd do the right thing and I'd talk."

'But part of me, you know, the part of me that would think rationally'

would probably do the same thing they're doing.

Not opening my mouth.

It's the final day of the Lenard Anderson trial.

All that remains are the defence and prosecution's closing arguments.

Does Brandon Green even deserve justice?

I mean,

this was a den of iniquity.

The law doesn't care.

He could've been as drunk as anyone in the world,

and high on 50,000 drugs.

And that life matters.

This was a very good friend of everybody.

And they didn't even stay to find out his condition.

They didn't even use their cellphones,

which everybody had, to call 911.

The defendant lied to the police.

Huh!

The reason to lie to police when you are arrested

is to get out of trouble.

You know what? That's not the biggest problem in the case.

The biggest problem in this case,

it's when Cornelius Toliver

went to Brandon Green.

The only thing he saw was a hole

right in the middle of Brandon Green's face.

He jumped to the conclusion

that Brandon Green had been shot in the face.

Brandon Green wasn't shot in the face.

That was an exit wound.

If I may have Ms Perry stand up,

I think I need to demonstrate something for you.

The victim is a few feet away from the defendant when he shoots.

The gun is raised and pointed.

"Oh, sh...!"

HE MIMICS GUNSHOT

Not one single one of them said he went like this.

Or he went like this.

Not a single person said that.

You know why? Because that's not what happened.

It didn't come from the front.

It didn't come from some red Kangol-hatted man.

It came from behind and to the right.

The shot didn't come from behind.

There's no grassy knoll in Mascara's.

The man in the red Kangol hat was always the suspect,

was the only suspect,

was the person that the only people in the world

that you would reasonably believe witnessed this murder,

all three of them came into court and said, "It's him."

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is an abiding conviction of guilt,

that means he is guilty,

and we submit you should find him as such.

Thank you.

Members of the jury, I thank you for your attention during this trial.

I would ask you all to please go into the jury room.

You may bring your notes, you may begin your deliberations.

'If this guy don't go to prison for the murder of Brandon,'

I don't know how I am going to react.

I can't go and tell my son, "Rest in peace,"

you know what I mean? Because it won't be peace.

I don't know if I can walk around and see this guy.

If this guy walks away from this, man...

..how can you believe in the justice system?

There's something wrong.

After 2½ hours of deliberation, the jury returns with a verdict.

All rise. Court is back in session.

Good evening, please be seated, if you wish.

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury,

the bailiff has informed me that you have reached a verdict.

Madam Clerk, will you please publish the verdict?

In the Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit

in and for Duval County, Florida, case number 16, 2014, CF39058 XXMA,

State of Florida versus Lenard Joel Anderson - verdict.

We, the jury, find the defendant guilty.

So say we all.

Done at Jacksonville, Duval County, Florida, signed by foreperson,

dated July 29th, 2016.

'Whoo!'

You got to wait till you get all the way. You say, "Whoo!"

Thank you, man. Thank you.

'I think the fear of the criminal justice system

'is people won't be treated with respect,

'they won't be treated seriously, that their voice won't be heard.'

Father, we thank you, God, for this verdict, Lord God.

Justice, God, is served.

Father, we continue to pray that you continue to cover us and keep us,

Lord God. Brandon is in your hands now.

'In the community, they see

'my brother, my cousin, my uncle is in jail -

'that's the police officer's fault,

'as opposed to the defendant's fault...

'..discounting the fact, well, the victim was black

'and the police were working to get justice for that particular victim.

'If people do not want to cooperate,

'justice can be very, very difficult to obtain.'

There are a lot of young kids who think having a gun is no big deal.

You're entering a plea to the charge of murder with a firearm.

Are you guilty of that charge?

The juvenile justice system is not designed

to deal with 12-year-old murderers.

I came in for murder. I ain't no child no more.