Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Department of Justice Report Condemns Racism in Fergison Police Practices; Harrison Ford Airplane Crash Press Conference; Missing Malaysian Flight Investigation Continues; Preview of the Wonder List Galapagos Episode

Aired March 6, 2015 - 12:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN HOST: This week, one of the worst things that you can say about an American police force came out of the Justice Department, that its officers' systematically discriminate against and treat unfairly the people that they are sworn to serve and protect.

Ferguson, Missouri, if a federal investigation found evidence that you're employees were racist and actively targeted black people for traffic stops and arrest, do you think that you would still have a job?

This is the Ferguson police chief, still employed today, and you'll see this only on CNN because no one else has been able to get an on camera interview with him for his reaction to that awful federal report about his department. And what he plans to do about it. But our Sara Sidner sure did, she tried to get a straight answer out of him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don't you think you should have known some of the things that came out? The racist e-mails, the numbers. Were you just trying to bill people out of money instead of protecting them, telling your departments to just go ticket them?

CHIEF TOM JACKSON, FERGUSON, MISSOURI POLICE: OK. Thank you and I will be in touched, get a hold of Jeff (ph).

SIDNER: I've talked to everyone, I've given you literally every opportunity, we've been talking for days and days and days. All we want is an answer from you.

JACKSON: I'm going to analyze the report and take action where necessary. OK?

SIDNER: Does that mean you're going to stay around?

JACKSON: I'm going to take action where necessary. OK? Thank you.

SIDNER: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BANFIELD: Conversation over. We'll get back to him on that. Hopefully he'll get back to us.

So, that is just Ferguson, Missouri of population 21,000. What about the rest of the country. What are most Americans think about race relations, say since the country's first black president took office. There is a good spot to start the poll, exactly what we did. CNN poll found that nearly four of ten people in America think that race relations have actually become worse in the Obama years. 15 percent think that the opposite is true, and the rest say that relations between black America and white America pretty much stay the same just unchanged.

The President, himself, spoke to a satellite radio show this morning about exactly that, race relations in America, particularly with the Ferguson Police Department report so fresh in our memories.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA: We just saw the Ferguson report come out. I don't think that is typical of what happens across the country, but it's not an isolated incident. I think that there are circumstances in which trust between communities and law enforcement have broken down. And individuals or entire departments may not have the training or the accountability to make sure that of, you know, they are protecting and serving all people and not just some.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And again, that interview was President Obama's first reaction, in public, to that federal report that uncovered the systematic police abuse against the African-American community in Ferguson, Missouri.

Coming up, it only takes one person -- one person or more specifically one juror to save a person's life. And up next, the story behind the holdout juror that will keep Jodi Arias in prison for life instead of on death row until she dies.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: And live breaking news out to Venice immediately where the NTSB is talking to the press about the crash involving Harrison Ford. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... look at something and say, "Oh we didn't see that," or something new comes to light. And by having that documentation, you can revisit that. The -- where the airplane came to rest relevant to where it's first impact point is, physics comes in to play and a lot of different things. But that's...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Speed and altitude, how high, how fast?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well we -- ultimately we'll know how high he was when he collided with a tree. Once the collision occurs then everything is off because it depends on how much drag there is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... part of the investigation but you're obviously going about aviation. What do you think about the scale of this crash landing?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any time a human being can survive an accident with a mechanical device whether be a car, airplane, and helicopter whatever is a good day. And that's all I'm going to say.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well all of the video tapes -- cellphone videos (inaudible), will they (inaudible) in to your investigation as all in and so (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have not received any and actually there is a -- on our web site NTSB.gov, there is a link where people can go to upload videos that they may have. They could help us so I would ask for that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they beneficial at all?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They can be, absolutely, they can be.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What can you glean from looking at a cellphone video?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a lot of different things and it just depends it can be -- there can be audio, there can be angles, there can be a lot of different things, it depends on the quality of it and where -- what's -- what shown in it so its...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you talk about the record of aircraft, what you know about it, its history?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know much about this airplane other than it was restored. It is a restored aircraft and my understanding is that it was restored and actually it was an award winning restoral.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you spoken to Ford (inaudible).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have not spoken to the pilot. I don't know who...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... of the aircraft toady. How much of a challenge is that going to be to get this aircraft here down here one piece so that it could get to hangar and literally take it apart if you have to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It probably will be disassembled a little bit here and then transport it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, once you get it there, what do you tear apart? What do you go into, the way of the frame, gas tanks, everything else?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you doing an investigation, you look at everything, you're looking at flight controls, you're looking at engine, you're looking at instrumentation, you try to document everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From your first (inaudible) of this crashing (inaudible) which strikes you here. What are kind of your biggest (inaudible) into what happen?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any time that a human being can survive an accident involving an airplane or any type of mechanical it's a good day. And I do not try -- it is really hard to walk into an accident and not jump to conclusions. Conclusions get you in trouble, almost every time, and so I'm not going to jump to any conclusions at this point. Will wait for the evidence to come out and will go to from there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you educate us the top reasons for a potential engine failure in a -- from an aircraft?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's a wide area. I mean it's a reciprocal engine. It's, you know, it's a -- there's a lot of different systems that can happen. This aircraft is a fairly simple aircraft, it's a 1942 vintage aircraft.

So, there are -- there's not a lot of computers to it and everything. So a lot of it is old school, mechanical. We'll see what it is? Well look at everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about bad fuel or fuel contamination? Is there about fuel in the aircraft or from the remnants the tank itself? Could you get clue on whether there was good or bad fuel in it?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It don't have any indication that there is any bad fuel -- we will look at, at everything, we will not exclude anything at this moment.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But why haven't you talk to Ford yet?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you believe he clipped this tree while trying to land on this particular portion? Can you characterized what type of landing (inaudible)...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: All right. One of it the headlines you might have just a glean from this NTSB news conference in Venice, California is that they haven't spoken to pilot yet, and the pilot is a pretty famous guy, Indiana Jones. It's Harrison Ford who was taken to the hospital with some minor injuries after surviving that plane crash and you heard this gentlemen say, "Anytime a human being can survive an accident with a mechanical device is a good day." And there we go as they continue to investigate that incident in Venice California.

Well be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BANFIELD: This Sunday, March 8th, it will be one year since Malaysia Airline flight 370 disappeared, and from most of us, it is just simply still stunning mystery. But the families, for them -- the families of the victims, this is a nightmare that will not go away because even to this day, there's been no trace of the plane. There has been no trace of their love one, even though ships continue to search the ocean floor.

Joining me is Justin Green, he's an aviation attorney with Kreindler & Kreindler, the law firm representing 27 of the families, you know, who lost love ones on board that plane. Just to happen to also be a military-trained pilot, a former marine helicopter pilot.

What is the status right now on the two prongs of what's going on right now? Compensating those family members and searching for that missing plane?

JUSTIN GREEN, AVIATION ATTORNEY: Right. Well, let me just tell you, representing the families -- the family really only care about one thing which is the search effort. And right now they're searching a priority area in the Southern Indian Ocean.

That priority area is supposed to be completely searched. Surface has already been searched, and now the underwater search is supposed to be complete in May. They haven't found anything on the ocean surface, nothing on the bottom of the ocean, nothing washed up on any shore. And the families, what they're concern about right now, is whether they're going to call off the search if they don't find anything by May so...

BANFIELD: Do you some indication that might happen?

GREEN: There are some indications from Australia who's very involved in the search about perhaps scaling back the search, making the decision on what steps, if any, to go forward with. But right now, they have decided based on an interpretation of satellite communications with the airplane that it ended up in this area of the Southern Indian Ocean, but so far they haven't found anything.

BANFIELD: And how big is this area now because it look...

GREEN: Its 60,000 square kilometers.

BANFIELD: It's still massive.

GREEN: It's very massive.

BANFIELD: And absolutely -- we are in the same place that we were when the story just began to die down because it was the same everyday after what we have all these developments we thought we found something. We thought we've narrowed the search. We thought we've moved the search and effectively nothing more that happens?

GREEN: Nothing. It is very large airplane, very modern airplane, 21st century, nothing has been found right now. And the family groups have an organization called Voice370. And right now, they are trying to get attention to the fact that the search must continue. Not only for them, I mean, obviously, their care about their loved ones.

And also, we don't know whether something is wrong with that airplane.

BANFIELD: What happened?

GREEN: We don't know what happened. Was it the airplane, is it pilot, is it terrorist? Until we know what happened, if you think about prior crashes, TWA 800, Air France 447.

BANFIELD: We learned from them.

GREEN: We learned from them. And they fixed the problems. Right now, we don't know what caused 370 disappear.

BANFIELD: So, why then do you think that there are some indication they're going to call the search off. I think I'm trying to remember from a year ago, the Australian Prime Minister saying, "We will search for that plane until we find it." There is not timeline on this.

GREEN: It's a question. It's a question of resources. I think the Australian searchers would love to continue but what they really want to see is a worldwide contribution to that search effort.

Right now, it's really being borne a lot more on Australia's shoulders than it normally would be given...

BANFIELD: Why not Malaysia? Why aren't they chipping in lot more than Australia?

GREEN: Well, they are chipping in. They are chipping in but they're not...

BANFIELD: Chipping in? Shouldn't they be directing this thing?

GREEN: Well I think...

BANFIELD: I know approximately its closer to Australia but...

GREEN: Right, its closer to Australia, Australia has better resources to the search.

The families are very, very upset with how the Malaysian government has handled this, how they communicate with the families, the lack of what they see as commitment.

BANFIELD: Has that not been ameliorated over the year -- I mean, it started off that and...

GREEN: Not -- in the end of January, this year 2015, my clients got a call saying, "Hey, you should go watch what the Prime Minister's about to say." And when they -- he said that we're calling it accident, we're saying that everyone was killed. Now the families can go on with their lives. And they have an announcement. The families put out an announcement in the last couple of days saying, "Look, that is we are not going to be able to go forward with our lives until we know what happened."

BANFIELD: That doesn't help the compensations.

GREEN: It does help the compensation. And let me just -- Let me turn to that real quick. The compensation is based on this idea that you have two years under the Montreal Convention but the families now have to go and say, "My love one is dead." They have to get a death certificate. They have to open a decedent's estate. And then they have to make a claim for wrongful death.

They don't want to say their love one is dead until they know it. And they're in kind of that situation where the law wires them to do that.

BANFIELD: Justin Green, I appreciate the update. It's remarkable to think it's already been a year since this happened and our thoughts toward your clients and the rest of those families as well.

GREEN: That's right.

BANFIELD: Thanks for being with us.

GREEN: Thank you.

BANFIELD: And tonight, you'll want to stay tuned because we've got the special "Vanished: The Mystery of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370." It's airing at 9:00 Eastern time right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: CNN's new series The Wonder List, Bill Weir travels the world in search of the people and places and creatures all at a crossroads. Like on the Galapagos Islands where there's a fight to save wild tortoises.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL WEIR, HOST, CNN'S THE WONDER LIST: Henry Moreno (ph) used to scratch out a living farming this piece of land surrounded by fences to keep the wild tortoises out, but after he tore down those fences, started charging tourists a couple of bucks to wander amongst them. He is one of richest guys in town.

HENRY MORENO (ph): (Foreign Language)

WEIR: 300 bucks a day. That's nice. So you even...

MORENO: (Foreign Language)

WEIR: They're good business partners, these big guys.

MORENO: (Foreign Language)

WEIR: And I can testify. It is more satisfying seeing a giant tortoise out here than in here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And that's why it's Wonder List, Bill Weir, the host joining me again live.

So, a little more about what you were just saying.

WEIR: Yes, yes.

BANFIELD: He's charging $3 dollars a day. He gets about 100 visitors a day at best season. And it's killing the place.

WEIR: Oh yeah, well, he's the richest guy in island. But he's, no, no, that's not what's killing the giant tortoises. It's complicated. It actually goes back to the pirates and the sailors who would come to the Galapagos and use these guys as the easiest protein any hunter ever bagged.

They would carry thousands of them, put them in a hole in the ship upside down where they could live without food or water for a year and the pirates and whalers would eat them.

They would leave goats on this island so that they can mix up their diet on the way back to Europe.

BANFIELD: And now the goats...

WEIR: And the goats ate all -- ate every leaf on the islands so the tortoises started to starve to death. They realized there's just a couple left.

And Ecuador and the Darwin Station there brought in snipers and helicopters and over the course of a coupe of years, they shot 250,000 invasive goats in order to save a handful of these last giant tortoises. It was just one example...

BANFIELD: Wait, is that going to work?

WEIR: It worked. It's done. It's working. They're coming back. The goats are coming back. But it's just one example of how conservation is in these places. They're having to play God to decide which creatures have to die in order to save the ones that are about to blink out.

The one at the end of that clip was at the National History Museum, that was the last Pinta tortoise that died a couple of years ago as the last of its kind.

BANFIELD: So, but what is the argument against tourism because if it's -- if that's not a problem, that guy...

WEIR: Well that... BANFIELD: ... is doing exactly what he should be doing.

WEIR: Well, that's where the rub is. They are wrestling with how many -- so many people who love animals want to go there and go on to these unspoiled islands and the animals come right up to because they're not afraid of human beings.

But at a certain point, there's too many. They start building too many hotels and so it's a real tug of war between...

BANFIELD: There's only one problem with your series, you don't have a co-anchor. That's all I'm saying.

WEIR: You want to fill up an application?

BANFIELD: Take me. I was going to say...

WEIR: Thank you Ashleigh.

BANFIELD: Thank you. I can't wait for the sun folks. Once again, this stuff is amazing. Bill Weir's Wonder List. Sunday night, 10 p.m. right here on CNN.

Thanks everybody for being with us.

Bill and I got to go because Wolf matters and he's coming up right now.