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Published January 27, 2017
This is a RUSH transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," August 18, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.
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Hi, I'm Eric Bolling in for Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight.
Let's get straight to our "Top Story" the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. There have been dramatic and fast moving developments today. And Bill O'Reilly himself will be joining us with his analysis in just a moment. Missouri Governor Jay Nixon has deployed the National Guard in Ferguson as local and state authorities struggle to control the chaos. Ferguson is bracing for yet another night of turmoil after fierce clashes between police and a group of protesters, last night the worst seen yet.
With the situation seemingly spiraling out of control President Obama announced today that he is sending Attorney General Eric Holder to the area to help oversee the federal investigation into Michael Brown's death. While the President appealed for calm he also said he sympathized with growing frustration in the African-American community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: In too many communities around the country a gulf of mistrust exists between local residents and law enforcement. In too many communities, too many young men of color are left behind and seen only as objects of fear.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLLING: Joining us now on the phone Bill O'Reilly. Bill, you heard that sound bite. Is that fair? Is that a fair assessment the President has to make? That you know it's all about, you know, men of color in communities or is this more? Is this bigger?
BILL O'REILLY, FOX NEWS HOST (via telephone): Let's take a look at the stats I mean the facts really will tell the story in Ferguson, Missouri. Last year 2012, I'm sorry 2012 the latest stats we have from the FBI. There were 12 million total arrests in the United States of America. That averages about roughly 34,000 arrests per day across the country, all right? 34,000 arrests every single day. Do you know how many police shootings there were? 420 per year average.
So you've got 12 million arrests, 420 police shootings. And they call them homicides. Sometimes they are justifiable. Sometimes they are not. We don't have stat breakdown on how many police were convicted but not many. So this is an infinitesimal situation. It doesn't happen and those people who run in to Ferguson or any other city and say the police are hunting down young black men are lying and they're grossly insulting law enforcement across the country because this stat shows it all, this tells it all.
All right let's go to Ferguson, Missouri. There has never been, as far as we can tell and we have investigated, a police shooting in that town -- never. All right so again the people that ran there and are screaming about young black men being gunned down in the street it doesn't happen that much in this country.
Of all the police shootings 42 percent are white; 32 percent black; 20 percent Hispanic -- all right? So, it isn't one racial group. Now, black men are, you know, 13 percent of the population African-American. So it's higher. But it is in proportion to the crimes committed. All right so those are the stats.
Now let's get to the press coverage which is grossly irresponsible. The first thing everyone should know listening to THE FACTOR tonight is that most television journalists are terrified, terrified of being labeled a racist. Therefore, they are never going to challenge any kind of smear thrown out in any kind of a situation.
For example, on MSNBC, they put on a woman who said that Michael Brown was shot in the back. All right? That is a lie. We now know that because of the autopsy. Was it challenged by MSNBC? No, it was not. It was put out there as fact.
OK. So, there is my opening salvo. Now I want to praise Congressman John Lewis from Georgia, an old civil rights guy he's been around forever in Congress. He struck the right tone yesterday on "Meet the Press". He said that all Americans should be concerned when any American of any color is shot six times by a police officer and is unarmed -- all right. Concerned -- every American should be concerned they shouldn't be judging because they weren't there and that includes the racial provocateurs that go in and try to stir up trouble. And we all know their names. We all know who they are. They weren't there they don't know what happened.
The autopsy shows that the young man was shot six times, had marijuana in his bloodstream. The tape shows that shortly before the confrontation with the police officer, the young man stole stuff from a convenient store and not assaulted but pushed a clerk who is half his size. Mr. Brown was close to 300 pounds and 6'4".
Now, when that tape was released what did we hear in the media? This was a smear against Michael Brown, the victim. A smear -- how can facts be a smear? How is that possible? If you want a transparent investigation which I do, you have to put the facts out.
Now I am very, very upset that Michael Brown's family and friends have to go through this. I saw his mother on "Good Morning America" today and it's heart-breaking. But when you have facts in a case and there are people who are trying to exploit the case in a violent way, you have to put the facts out.
And the facts are that this young man did something wrong, was walking down the middle of the street and a confrontation happened. We don't know why. We don't know how. We don't know what happened. Let the justice system play out.
Now, politics. President Obama is within -- is doing the right thing by calling for calm. That's all he should do. He can't get involved with the criminal case. I have no problem with Attorney General Holder going to Ferguson, Missouri. I have no problem with that because the state authorities there have botched the case. And the local authorities are the Keystone Cops. So let's get the feds in and do a transparent investigation. That's what every good American should want -- to know the truth.
Finally 00 no justice, no peace. There are 100 people -- that is according to authorities -- that are causing trouble in Ferguson. They are violent people, they're throwing Molotov cocktails. Some of them are armed -- 100, that's all. But that's enough to bring out the Guard and bring out all because they can cause a lot of damage. These are anarchists, these are haters, these are new Black Panther Party. These are zealots -- all right. They have to be controlled because they will hurt the people. But it's not the African-American community. They're concerned and they should be. They should be. But let's keep everything in perspective and let's deal with the facts.
All right. What else do you want to know, Eric?
BOLLING: Well so, let's stay on that for a second. Let's talk about the facts. You know, I'm going to push back a little bit on you. I agree with almost everything you have to say there but part of the problem, if you remember, Bill, this young man was shot on Saturday. One of the first things we started hearing about the protesters, the rioters, the looters from the attorneys, to the families to the race merchants were the hands up. Remember the hands up he had the international sign of surrender and he was shot execution style. We heard it over and over again.
Why didn't the Ferguson Police Department, the Police Chief Tom Jackson release some of the facts that we're learning now. CNN today had an eyewitness on. She was asked about the video she took. She witnessed the whole thing. Never once was asked about the hands up. She was asked one question what happened. She went through it and then afterwards, the host, I can't remember her name, said oh, I see the emotion on your face in your voice. And she went to an emotional interview instead of asking for the facts. And the facts, Bill, may clear up a lot of the reason, a lot of anxiety that's going on in Ferguson.
O'REILLY: Yes. And we're not going to get the facts for a while. Number one, the police department in Ferguson is in over their head. They are panicking, they didn't know how to present it, they should have hired somebody immediately to go out and be their PR spokesman because they couldn't do it. All right that's number one.
Number two the woman you are talking about on CNN. I did not see the interview but I can tell you she is terrified. Absolutely they are all terrified, Eric, of saying anything that a race hustler might turn around and say oh, look, you're a racist. Look, you know that kind of thing.
So, no justice, no peace. These people don't want justice. What if the facts come out and say it was a justifiable shooting by the police officer? This guy was coming at him? What if they say that? Do you think these people are going to accept that?
BOLLING: Just ask -- I agree with you. She is probably scared to death. But why can't a CNN or an MSNBC just ask the darn question and let --
(CROSSTALK)
O'REILLY: Look I don't speak to that I speak to what we do on the Fox News Channel.
BOLLING: Ok.
O'REILLY: And we ask the questions that need to be asked. But, that being said, Eric that being said, you don't try the case on television.
BOLLING: Fair enough.
O'REILLY: All right. You just don't know.
BOLLING: A lot of these -- a lot of these rioters are getting their information from TV. Bill, they are actually wrapping me on your show. This could be the first -- it may be the last. Bill -- Bill O'Reilly thank you very much.
O'REILLY: All right, Eric. Good.
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