Bloods member Nikko Caldwell insisted in an interview with MSNBC's Toure that the gang's truce with their rivals the Crips would continue indefinitely because they have made the right ties with certain "political officials" in the city. The Cycle co-host completely dropped the ball after such a shocking admission, however, when he failed to ask Caldwell to name names.
What's more, when Pastor Donte Hickman insisted that tapping the "natural power and influence" of gangs like the Bloods and the Crips was "the democratic way," Toure seemed completely unfazed. Here's the relevant transcript:
MSNBC
The Cycle
April 29, 2015
3:10 p.m. EasternDEREK THOMPSON, in studio: What happens going forward, this alliance between the Bloods and the Crips?
TOURE, on location in Baltimore: What's happening, going forward, this alliance that we see between the Bloods and the Crips? Is that going to continue in the future?
NIKKO CALDWELL, Bloods gang member: It definitely is going to continue. That is never going to end in this city, because now, based on, like I said the beliefs that we go by, we've made ties with the right political officials, the right people and everything -- we just made the right ties. There's going to be peace here. This truce, this alliance is going to stand. It's going to stand firm.
TOURE: Pastor, are you comfortable with the idea of the Bloods and Crips having a lot of power in this city in terms of trying to enforce peace?
Rev. DONTE HICKMAN, pastor of Southern Baptist Church: They have natural power and influence, that's the democratic way. I think that the using gangs to be a smoke screen to what the real issues are is the real tragedy here. I think the justice that we need to refocus on is towards what happened to Freddie Gray.
TOURE: Alright, thank you both, appreciate your time so much.
