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Police Officers Ambushed in Ferguson; Daring Escape from Tsarnaev Brothers; Secret Service Agents Drove Past Suspicious Package

Aired March 13, 2015 - 06:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY. We are live in Ferguson, Missouri, this morning, and here's the latest.

There were protests last night, mostly peaceful, smaller. There was also a vigil for those two officers, very mixed faith. It was also small, even smaller than the protests. The messages are all the same, but the focus now is on the investigation of who shot these two cops?

We know that authorities believe there were two people involved. Then it gets very gray. They're getting so many witness accounts, ear- witnesses and eye-witnesses, who say they saw things that it's being very confusing for officers. That's why there's an estimate of as much as 120 yards away where these shots came from. That would be very difficult shots, especially with a handgun.

We went out last night to give you a closer a look at exactly where these officers were shot and where the shooters may have been. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Unfortunately, this is where the two officers were shot early Thursday morning in front of the Ferguson Police Department. The questions are by whom and from where?

Now, on where, investigators lay out the possibilities as being across this street from high ground. That means Tiffin Street up at the top of the hill. We've seen gunfire from there in the past. But there are also witness accounts putting it here in this parking lot.

The problem is, there's not as much angle of high ground trajectory there. But locals tell us that the top of this tire store has been accessed many times during protests in the past.

This is the opposite angle from where witnesses say the shots came from. You can see that's where the officers were hit down there, in front of the station. There are two points that it could be. This is the high ground from Tiffin Street at the top of the hill. Much lower here is the parking lot.

And protesters just like tonight were in this area and disbursing, but it's not as high, the trajectory of the shot would have been difficult without hitting other protesters and that's why some witnesses say that the top of this tire store may have been accessed by somebody with very bad intentions.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Chris, that is so helpful. Michaela and I were just talking about how it's hard to visualize how a shot could have come from somewhere in the darkness and only hit two police officers.

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Nobody else was hit.

CUOMO: Look, I think it's part of a mystery. I actually think that it doesn't make sense. You can't find somebody who can tell you that they can hit that shot with a handgun from 120 yards away, let alone with all this movement in front of them at night and with -- by most witness accounts, ear and eye, as many as five rounds, so two hits out of five rounds from that distance? Very unlikely.

So, then, what is more likely? That people were closer. What's the problem with that? Well, then that starts to mean that the shooter or shooters were part of the population of the protest. Doesn't mean that they were protesters, it doesn't mean certainly that they were good people. But that confuses the narrative here right now making it harder for investigators.

CAMEROTA: And so, we know that investigators have questioned some people. I mean, do they think that they're getting closer to good leads?

CUOMO: Yes, yes. Ironically, they're dealing with too many leads right now. So many people saw things. You think it would be obvious. Well, you saw the muzzle fire, who was holding it? It was dark, people were scattering.

But the idea of people hiding who did it, we don't see any evidence of that on the ground and we're not hearing that from investigators. They're dealing with a lot of information. They did take some people in for questioning. They are looking for two others right now. They're moving along and there's going to be an answer. The question is just when, Mick.

PEREIRA: They've got their work cut out for them to be sure. Great context for us to see that. Thanks so much for doing that, Chris. We'll get back to you very shortly.

Meanwhile, President Obama's Secret Service detail under fire again. Two high-ranking agents suspected of perhaps being drunk reportedly drove a government vehicle through an area where colleagues were investigating a suspicious package at the White House.

One of the agents said to be involved is the number two man on the president's protective detail. The other, a senior supervisor in the Washington field office.

We're also learning that it took five days for the new Secret Service director, Joseph Clancy, to learn about that incident.

CAMEROTA: Urgent evacuations to tell you about in Charleston, West Virginia, because a man-made hillside near Yeager Airport is slipping. And serious concerns that more slides will dam a creek and heavy rains will then flood homes. Landslides have already destroyed at least one home and damaged a church there.

PEREIRA: A little levity here, Will Ferrell, "Anchorman" turned iron man. The actor-comedian taking the field for 10 different teams in five spring training baseball games Thursday. He played every position, struck out twice, facing two pitches both time, while in the field, watch home runs sail right over his head. He did however get a batter to ground him out while pitching for the Dodgers.

When it was over, he told the crowd, Ruth, Musial, Mantle, Will Ferrell, who would have thought that one day, those names would be synonymous.

It was all part of an HBO special that he's involved in. I love it.

CAMEROTA: Hardest working man in comedy.

PEREIRA: And apparently in baseball.

CAMEROTA: Right. That was great, thank you for the levity.

Well, also, there is gripping testimony to tell but in the trial against the Boston bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev. The man the Tsarnaev brothers carjacked telling jurors about his life-or-death decision to make a run for it his daring escape was caught on surveillance cameras.

CNN's Deborah Feyerick joins us live from Boston with more.

Just to see that video is incredible, Deb?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And, Alisyn, the people in the courtroom were really on the edge of their seats as they listened to the very dramatic, albeit understated testimony of this Chinese national, who to his right was an interpreter just to help with language problems, he didn't seem to have any.

What he did say was that it was one of the most harrowing nights of his life. And it was very clear by the images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK (voice-over): Kidnapped and carjacked by the Boston bombers, 27-year-old Dun Meng anxiously waited for a chance to run. When his SUV pulled into a gas station, he found his opening and raced as fast as he could across the street to another gas station.

Watch as Meng frantically tries locking the store door, begging the confused clerk to call 911. Fearing the Tsarnaev brothers will follow, he crawls to the back and hides in a storeroom.

The clerk gets the bliss on the line and hands Meng the phone.

911: Did they leave?

DUN MENG: I don't know. I don't know. They took my car like half an hour ago.

FEYERICK: Following the murder of MIT Officer Shawn Collier, Tamerlan and Dzokhar Tsarnaev hijacked the black SUV.

Meng testified Tamerlan pointed a gun and asked, "Do you know the Boston marathon explosion? I did it and I just killed a policeman in Cambridge."

Prosecutors say the brothers have placed homemade explosives in the SUV's trunk and then drove Meng to a bank where Dzhokhar used Meng's ATM car to withdraw $800 in cash.

Driving around, Meng testified Tamerlan Tsarnaev made small talk, asking him where he was from. Meng replied, "I'm Chinese." Tamerlan's response, "I'm Muslim. Muslims hate Americans."

Just before midnight, they stopped at this Shell station, Meng says, to fill up the gas tank intended to drive to New York. At the gas station, Dzhokhar goes inside to buy snacks, taking his time picking out chips. That's when Meng decided to run.

Surveillance video shows Tamerlan going to tell his brother, Meng has escaped. He leaves the snacks and follows Tamerlan. Meng alerted police his SUV had GPS tracking, a crucial break that helped police close in on the Tsarnaev brothers.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FEYERICK: And Tsarnaev sitting in that court seemed a little bit more engaged than he has been in the past week. In the past week he didn't seem to care about the witnesses who testified about the injuries they sustained. But it seemed that watching himself on the surveillance video really sort of engaged him in a way it hadn't before.

Prosecutors are just burning through their case. They've already had about 50 witnesses testify in just six days. They may be done a lot quicker than they anticipated and then they will move on to the guilt phase -- Michaela.

PEREIRA: All right. Deb. Incredible to see that video, we heard so much about that story and to see it play out on video is really incredible.

It is time for CNN Money now. Chief business correspondent Christine Romans in the money center watching our money and the markets.

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, stocks are up again for the year, you guys. It's been a wild week, huge swings, the Dow fell 333 points on Tuesday, but yesterday stocks climbed 260 points. That was enough to put us up for the year and not far from records. OK. The price tag of love -- are you tying the knot? I hope you

saved your money. The average wedding cost, $31,000 last year. The biggest cost? The venue, about 14 grand is the average. The engagement ring is next, costing $6,000. Couples in Manhattan, no surprise, they face the biggest tab, about $76,000 to get married.

PEREIRA: And the cost to elope?

CAMEROTA: Zero.

PEREIRA: Just, just a suggestion.

ROMANS: Cost of a lifetime of love --

PEREIRA: Well, exactly. All right. Christine, thanks so much.

All right. Let's turn back to Ferguson where Chris is telling us incredible -- showing us incredibly how this all went down.

CUOMO: Well, that is the big question for investigators here, Mick, in Ferguson, Missouri. There were protests on the streets last night. There was a vigil for the cops who were shot. But the real story is the manhunt for now. Two suspects who police say ambushed officers, what will this do to the community? How are they going to handle it? It can't just be ignored.

We're going to discuss with somebody at the center of helping this place recover, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: Anxiety and fear, that's what the shooting of these two police officers have cast over this community, both by the law enforcement community and the community at large. What are they going to make of the shootings? How will they come together around them? How will it affect any progress here at all?

Someone who is trying very hard to find answers to those questions is Robert White, pastor of the Peace of Mind Church of Happiness.

Reverend, it's good to see you. I show you on the street last night. You're with those meeting individual. I asked you why the group was so small, you said this community still has mixed feelings about police.

ROBERT WHITE, PASTOR, PEACE OF MIND CHURCH OF HAPPINESS: Absolutely. The mixed feelings are from years of the way that certain police have handled this community. But last night was the beginning or a continuing of the process we've had as clergymen and as leaders in this community, to bridge that gap between the police and the community.

We've put out a statement of faith, and in support of our officers, praying for those officers and their families. But we want to make the message very clear. And our support of our officers is not an either/or thing. It's an "and" thing. We support great policing. We support protecting our police as well as those in our community.

CUOMO: And you say part of the frustration is progress is being made, stores are being built back up, jobs are coming to this community. People are working on the connections that weren't there frankly in years past with the police.

WHITE: Absolutely. From the last time I've spoke with you, we've worked behind the scenes to build those relationships with Chief Belmar, Chief Dotson in St. Louis Police Department. So, that shooting put a damper on all of our hard work.

And we just want everyone to calm down and realize that we trust that the police are going to bring to justice those individuals responsible. But we in the clergy, we in the leadership of this community. We want to make it very clear -- we do not condone those actions of those individuals. But we also want to make sure that the narrative is written such that they're not connected to the work that we're doing.

CUOMO: Right.

WHITE: Is it possible that they were in the crowd in yes, that's a possibility. But it's also possible that they were not in the crowd.

So, we would like for the police officers to take a step back and let the investigation work itself out. The same way they do when a community member is shot. Don't put the pictures out there of the helmet with blood on it, showing the evidence of the officers being shot, because when it's on our end, they tell us to wait and allow the investigation to take place.

CUOMO: Well, right? And that's where the hard questions come in you talk to law enforcements here. You talk to big members of this community here. They say that's exactly what didn't happen with Michael Brown, is that the hands up don't shoot started, and when that wound up not being validated by the grand jury, not validated by the DOJ report, that the community specifically, the black community was silent. Nobody came forward and said, well, I guess, look, Darren Wilson, I guess he had his appraisal by the DOJ, which is not local cops and I guess it was self-defense.

Nobody said that. These cops get shot. Everybody says it's a distraction -- that that hurts the feeling of a bond on the side of law enforcement. Does that make sense?

WHITE: It makes perfect sense. The Bible says it will take the foolish things to confound the wise. My mother always says, two wrongs don't make a right. And so, just like, it's not probable -- it's not good for us to come back and not say anything, it's also not good for the officers to come out and say, they had a handgun, when you haven't had the evidence to prove. So, it's also not good for them to say they were in the crowd, when the evidence is not there yet.

So, let's allow the evidence to take its place. We have to look at the DOJ report and realize that there's evidence to prove that Mike Brown's hands was not up. Let's not repeat that by saying the same thing here, that he was in the crowd or saying he had a handgun.

CUOMO: Why do you have to draw an equivalence, though? I think that's part of the frustration is that they did it with Mike Brown, maybe we're doing it right now. It goes back and forth. Why not just take things as they lie?

You know what the DOJ report says about the Mike Brown shooting. You know what it says about the culture of policing, right? If you give respect to both findings, doesn't that help build community?

WHITE: And that's why I say it's an "and" thing. We in the African- American community, we've been told for years to forget about slavery. Forget about what has happened to us. So, I think what happens in this narrative, is we have to keep what happened to Mike Brown in the forefront so that it's not forgotten.

Let's not forget what happened to these young men all across this country when the limelight is put on when the tables are turned. So, we bring them both simultaneously together, so that as our counterparts in the Jewish community does so often, we will never forget what happened. If we allow it to be pushed under the rug, our next generations will not be reminded of what has happened to the past.

CUOMO: And the message is obviously very strong coming from you and hopefully it spreads, that this isn't just something that happened. This isn't a distraction. Changing this community, part of it will be addressing violence towards officers and the respect that needs to be there. Otherwise, you will never have police being comfortable being in a community where they feel every time they put on the uniform, they could get shot.

WHITE: Absolutely. It's not just us, it's justice. And we are looking for justice in all walks of life. All life matters, we understand that black life matters as well, but all lives matter, but a lot of us have police officers in our families.

So, we want them to come home to their families, to come back and protect this community.

CUOMO: We're going through on the church calendar right now, we're going through Lent. We're coming into Easter, Easter is rebirth and renewal. A little bit of sign that the reverend is trying to help here, Alisyn and Michaela, new baby in your family.

WHITE: Absolutely.

CUOMO: What's the name?

WHITE: Kyree Seth (ph), and welcome him with open arms, he's healthy and strong.

CUOMO: Good. New baby, new community, new growth. It's great to have you with us.

WHITE: Good seeing you again, Chris. CUOMO: All right. So, what do you think about the issues that surrounding these two police officers and the issues that still remain here? You can get us on NEW DAY, or you go to Facebook.com/NewDay.

Mick?

CAMEROTA: That's beautiful, Chris. That's such a nice message to end on. Thanks so much.

PEREIRA: Right. New information on the latest Secret Service scandal the details a little murky surrounding the agents with some sort of incident following a night of drinking. The big question, though, this morning -- why was their new boss kept in the dark for days?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PEREIRA: Two senior-level Secret Service agents now under investigation for allegedly driving after a night of drinking may have also disrupted an active bomb investigation on the night in question, that incident another in a series of embarrassments for the embattled agency trying to repair its reputation. Big question, is the new confirmed director, Joseph Clancy, the right person to fix the Secret Service?

Joining us to discuss all this, White House correspondent for the "Washington Examiner", Susan Crabtree.

Good morning to you.

We know you've been a whole lot of digging and a lot of research into went on and I want to see what you have compared to what we are learning here at CNN, that in this night of question, the two agents were able to get through two checkpoints without issue. The car was driving very slowly and may have just nudged an orange traffic cone, instead of crashing into some sort of blockade, but they did disrupt or drive through a suspicious package investigation.

Does that match what you're hearing?

SUSAN CRABTREE, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, WASHINGTON EXAMINER: That's the same as I am hearing. The one sort of outrageous thing is they may have actually run over the suspicious package. All of that will come out in the details.

And that's what I think is bothering some of the officers that were on the scene that night and that's maybe why this leak came out in the press. You have had Joseph Clancy not knowing for many days about this incident.

PEREIRA: Five days.

CRABTREE: Yes, and that's pretty outrageous.

PEREIRA: I want to talk about him in a second, but to this investigation, one of the things that's coming into question seems a little murkier. These details about whether or not they were drinking, whether the agent driving was drunk at the time. And the fact that an officer who had wanted to do a field sobriety test was overruled by a supervisor, that essentially sent them home. What are you hearing about all of that?

CRABTREE: Well, there will be eye witnesses that were at this retirement party for Edwin Donovan, a retiring Secret Service spokesman. And there will be witnesses. So, if they were drinking, that will all come out in the investigation. But I talked to lawyers and they say that the person who wasn't driving, he's going to be getting off, this is not a problem for him. It's the person who was driving.

PEREIRA: Sure, behind the wheel.

CRABTREE: Exactly.

PEREIRA: We know the two agents involved have been named Mark Connolly, second in command of President Obama's security detail. George Ogilvie, a senior adviser in the D.C. office. These are high- ranking fellows. Any word on discipline? If they have been or they will be?

CRABTREE: Well, what I have been told by an attorney who specializes in labor law, she said that they're going to be facing a 30-day suspension at least for the person who drove the government vehicle. That's misuse of a government vehicle. That's taxpayer dollars -- they're not allowed to take these government vehicles to social events and certainly not allowed to be drinking at the social events.

So, that's one of the things they're facing. And but it's going to be six to nine months before we -- months and months before this investigation wraps up.

PEREIRA: Just what this agency that's already facing other challenges and perception issues doesn't need. They brought in Joe Clancy to oversee and to bring back the sterling reputation that this agency once had. He didn't get told about this until some five days into this.

What is your sense of what people are saying? That he's doing the right thing? It's just going to take time to turn this agency around? Or is he not the right person to change it?

CRABTREE: Well, it's interesting, because President Obama backed him strongly yesterday through his spokesman. So, we have that confidence that the White House level. But what people are saying is that this is all too typical, that there's a culture of cover-up at the Secret Service. And that these supervisors often provide uneven discipline. And sometimes cover up misdeeds and misconduct.

And maybe Joseph Clancy didn't even know about it. But the problem is, is that he's from the inside, he's not an outsider. And the independent panel recommended an outsider for this role to really shake things up.

PEREIRA: We have heard about this morale issue inside the agency for some time, dating back several months, even perhaps years. We've heard about the allegations of cover-up. Is that still prevalent, even under Clancy?

CRABTREE: Well, you know, it seems like this incident is, if this is an anomaly. That would be a good thing. But this incident really is raising the hackles of congressional investigators. And they want to see some strong response, some strong action taken.

And basically you're going to have to have a sped-up investigation and there's going to be some message that needs, that Joseph Clancy needs to do. He's going to have to send a strong message in this case.

PEREIRA: Susan Crabtree, great to have you with us on NEW DAY, thanks so much for joining us and for your great reporting.

CRABTREE: Thanks for having me.

PEREIRA: A whole lot of news, so let's get right to it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PROTESTERS: No justice, no peace!

CUOMO: Live from Ferguson, Missouri, once again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One thuggish opportunist can set back an entire movement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heinous and cowardly attacks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no trust for Ferguson PD right now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want to see anybody get hurt. We now know the identities of the two Secret Service agents.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These officers had suspected alcohol on their breath.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The new director of the Secret Service didn't even find out about this incident until about five days after it happened.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three-quarters of the city of Tikrit in northern Iraq now back in government hands.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the Iraqi army, this is a crucial task. We saw them melt away in the face of ISIS last summer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the things that struck me is the charm and her humor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) had a lot of good ideas for the United States.

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY, with Chris Cuomo, Alisyn Camerota and Michaela Pereira. (END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: Good morning, welcome to your NEW DAY. I'm coming to you live from Ferguson, Missouri.

There are protests here last night. There was a vigil for the officers as well. But the city, very much divided and on edge. Police in a desperate search for these two suspects now, in the ambush shootings of two police officers. We're going to have more on that in just a moment.

First, let me get you back to New York with Alisyn and Mick.

CAMEROTA: Chris, great to have you on the ground, walking us through the geography and logistics of how this could have happened. We'll get back to you in a second.

Also this, morning we're learning more about those two Secret Service agents who allegedly drove on to White House grounds right through an active investigation. Why did it reportedly take days for their boss to find out about this?

PEREIRA: Also, Secretary of State John Kerry is in Egypt talking to Middle East leaders about terrorism before these next round of nuclear talks with Iran begin.

We're going to get to all of that. But, first, let's head back to Chris in Ferguson -- Chris.

CUOMO: All right. The big question is who did it. Yes, there were protests last night, yes, the message was the same. That they want justice or there will be no peace.

But that message means a little something different now in the shadow of these two officers being shot. There are so many different witness accounts of where they came from. It's actually complicating this investigation.

Let's get to you CNN's Alina Machado monitoring the manhunt.

What's the latest information?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Chris, authorities here are tracking down all the leads they had. They are desperately trying to find the people who are responsible for this ambush shooting. And even though it's been more than 24 hours since the two officers were gunned down just outside this police department, we know that there are no arrests so far.

Now, we also know that authorities say they've identified two people they believe may have been involved, one of them could even be the shooter. So far they have not found these people. And they continue searching for them.