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Tornadoes in Midwest; Illinois Hit Hard; Man Plotted To Bomb Base In Kansas; Dash Cam Video; Witness Stories Conflict; Hillary Clinton To Announce Run For President; Body Camera Legislation; Race and Walter Scott's Death. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired April 10, 2015 - 13:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Wolf Blitzer. It's 1:00 p.m. here in Washington, 7:00 p.m. in Paris, 9:30 p.m. in Kabul. Wherever you're watching from around the world, thanks very much for joining us.

We are watching major stories unfolding this hour. Hillary Clinton here in the United States making it official. CNN has learned she'll formally announce she's running for president of the United States this Sunday.

And the South Carolina police shooting, there's dash cam video. It's been released. Funeral preparations under way right now for Walter Scott.

But we begin with a huge story in the Midwest here in the United States. Clean-up underway right now after as many as 14 tornadoes ripped through the region yesterday killing at least one person. Tornadoes were reported in Iowa and Missouri. But hardest hit was Illinois where storm chasers captured some amazing video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look it, there goes -- there goes cars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw headlights go flying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's over. He's over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE.)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go, go, go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: In Fairdale (ph), Illinois, a town of about 150 people, some 80 miles northwest of Chicago, a 67-year-old woman was found dead in the rubble of her home. Every single home there was damaged and another 17 buildings destroyed. In Kirkland, Illinois, fire officials said responders searched for trapped residents. We're having a hard time assessing the damage because the debris was so thick on the roads. And look at this, in Rochelle.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The back wall of a building --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- blew down and fell right on top of the two doors that had to be lifted up to get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we couldn't get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we had to wait for --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And all the cars over there demolished (INAUDIBLE.)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, our car is sitting right over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's in bad shape, huh?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, it's wiped out. It's wiped out.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Those two people among 12 trapped inside the storm cellar of a local favorite restaurant, Grubsteakers. They remained inside for about two hours before help arrived. The county sheriff there also lost his home in this tornado.

Right now, we're awaiting a live news conference. The Illinois governor, Bruce Rauner, has been taking a damage survey of areas of north central Illinois hit hardest by these tornadoes last night. There, you see the microphones. We're going to keep an eye on this. Once it starts, we'll have coverage and get an update from the Illinois governor.

But there's other breaking news just into CNN right now. Here in the United States, the Justice Department has arrested a man they say was plotting to carry out a suicide bomb attack on Fort Riley in Kansas. Our Justice Reporter Evan Perez is joining us now with details. Evan, what do we know about this alleged plot?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN JUSTICE REPORTER: Wolf, his name is John T. Booker. He's 20 years old from Topeka, Kansas. The FBI arrested him this morning as he was attempting to carry out a suicide car bombing attempting to kill U.S. military personnel at Fort Riley in Kansas. He came on the radar of the FBI last year, Wolf. He apparently attempted to join the U.S. Army in Kansas City. He was recruited and he was scheduled to arrive for basic training in April of last year. But sometime in March, he publicly posted on Facebook the following, I will soon be leaving you forever, so good-bye, I'm going to go wage jihad in hopes that I die.

This is something that obviously got the FBI very concerned and they introduced him to some undercover informants over the next period of months. He discussed carrying out some kind of attack here in this country against U.S. military personnel, either on the streets or on the base. Wanted to carry out something like Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood, if you recall.

BLITZER: Major Nidal Hasan.

PEREZ: Major Nidal Hasan, correct. And, you know, this is a -- this is one of those cases that really tells you a lot about what -- the type of people that are being attracted to ISIS. This kid, he's 20 years old, he's still a kid, was attempting to do this on behalf of ISIS. And, clearly, he was talked to by the FBI when he posted these things on Facebook. And he still manages, over the period of months, to attempt to carry out this thing. Either something was not completely right up here or, you know, he's just not the smartest one out there.

BLITZER: But this charge says he was actually -- wanted to work on behalf of jihad and he --

PEREZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- specifically wanted to work on behalf of ISIS, right?

PEREZ: Right. And this makes 21 ISIS arrests, Wolf, since the year started. Twenty-one since January.

BLITZER: Here in the United States.

PEREZ: In the United States. Some of these people who were trying to travel, they're charged with material support. In this case, this young man, 20 years old, John T. Booker, is charged with a whole host of other charges --

(CROSSTALK)

BLITZER: Does it say how he got inspired by -- is he a convert to Islam? Do they say in that charge sheet how he was recruited, if you will? What inspired him to join this jihad if he (INAUDIBLE) ISIS?

[13:05:11] PEREZ: As a teenager, he changed -- started referring to himself as Muhammad Abdullah Hassan, so he was a convert and was apparently inspired by looking at things online from various terrorist groups. And that's where, typically, we see this behavior a lot with a lot of young people. It's not -- it's not certainly very common for the FBI to come and talk to you and for you still, a year later, to be trying to plot this, even when you know the FBI is watching. BLITZER: All right. Evan Perez, another disturbing story. And you

say this is, what, 20 arrests so far?

PEREZ: Twenty-one.

BLITZER: Twenty-one arrests in the United States, --

PEREZ: Since January.

BLITZER: -- individuals accused of working or at least inspired to go ahead and try to help --

PEREZ: Right.

BLITZER: -- these terror organizations. In this particular case, John T. Booker, Jr., of Topeka, Kansas. Evan, thanks very much.

There's new dead -- new video of that deadly police shooting in North Charleston, South Carolina, and it's raising a lot of new questions. Why did Walter Scott run after a routine traffic stop? Who was the passenger in the car with Scott? What happened in the crucial moments between the dash cam video and the video of the police officer, now former police officer, he's been fired, Michael Slager, shooting Scott in the back.

The dash cam video shows the officer approaching Scott's car. Moments later after the officer returns to his patrol car, Scott gets out and takes off running. Dash camera video also shows an officer patting down and searching the passenger who was in Walter Scott's car. A family attorney says the man was a co-worker and a friend of Scott's but he did not identify him by name. According to a police report, the passenger was detained, placed in the back of a patrol car.

CNN spoke exclusively to a new witness in the case. She says she saw a scuffle between Walter Scott and the police officer, Michael Slager. Brian Todd spoke with Gwen Nichols about what happened from her vantage point.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nichols says she was in the neighborhood when she heard the police cars speeding by. Curious, she followed them to the advanced auto parts parking lot where Officer Michael Slager pulled Walter Scott over. At that point, she says, there was chaos. She didn't want to get any closer. She says, she saw the two men at the entrance of a vacant lot less than a block away.

GWEN NICHOLS (on camera): I didn't hear anyone say, stop or halt.

TODD: That's when she said she saw a physical confrontation.

NICHOLS: Before what you saw on the videotape, --

TODD (on camera): Yes.

NICHOLS: There was a little tussle over there, like at the end of that gate down there.

TODD: Were they on the ground rolling? What were they doing?

NICHOLS: No, it wasn't on the ground rolling. It was like a tussle type of thing like, like, you know, what do you want or what did I do type of thing?

TODD: She says she has yet to speak with police.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was Brian Todd reporting for us. Let's break down the latest developments and some of the serious questions raised by this just-released dash cam video. Cedric Alexander is joining us. He's the president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives here in the United States. He's joining us from the CNN center, once again, in Atlanta. Here with me in Washington is Tom Fuentes, our CNN Law Enforcement Analyst, former FBI assistant director.

Tom, let's start with this dash cam video. It seems to be pretty routine, the initial decision to go ahead and stop the car, stop the vehicle and go to the -- go to the car and ask the driver for some information.

TOM FUENTES, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Right, everything the officer does during that traffic stop was completely professional, completely what you would normally do in that type of traffic stop. Asks for the driver's license, asks for vehicle registration. And then, go back to your car. He's not doing paperwork in his car. He's checking on the license. Has the car been reported stolen? He's checking on the driver's license. Are there warrants outstanding for Mr. Scott? And before all that is completed and he returns to the car, Mr. Scott takes off running.

BLITZER: Do you see anything, Cedric, anything wrong with the way the police officer -- the initial decision to go ahead and stop the vehicle because there was a faulty brake light in the rear over there, a taillight? Do you see anything wrong in this initial encounter before Walter Scott gets out of that car and starts running away?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: No, absolutely not, Wolf. It appears to be a pretty normal traffic stop under the conditions in which we are able to see. But I think it's important to realize, too, is it's becoming very evident that every day more and more information is beginning to evolve even as it relates to witness statements.

So, I think as the days and weeks go along, we are going to continue to see a number of, hopefully, maybe, possibly people who may come forth and say, here's what I saw, here's what I witnessed. But to your point and being more specific to your question, it appears to be just a typical traffic stop in which the officer engaged Mr. Scott.

BLITZER: Yes. And yesterday when I spoke with the Scott family attorneys, two of them, they say that they believe he started to run, to get out of that vehicle despite the order from the police officer to remain in the vehicle, started to run because he was wanted for a couple years on back payments for --

[13:10:11] ALEXANDER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- child support and didn't want to go back --

ALEXANDER: Yes.

BLITZER: -- to jail.

Cedric, let's take a look at part of the video where Walter Scott gets out of the car, starts running. Once he's out of frame, we don't see him anymore, he's running away and there's a chase underway, we do hear the police officer shouting out, taser, taser, taser. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL SLAGER, POLICE OFFICER: (INAUDIBLE.) Taser, taser, taser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: What do you think, Cedric? A police officer shouting, taser, taser, taser. At that moment, appropriate, not appropriate, to take out a stun gun and start using a taser?

ALEXANDER: Well, at that point, certainly an officer not knowing exactly what he was being confronted with and, obviously, he had someone who was running from him and did not know where he was going -- coming from or where he was going to. So, he's probably just announcing the fact that he was going to taser. What is going to be interesting to note is in that small frame now where you have a witness who has come into play, she's somewhat putting some of that piece together as what has occurred between the time he ran from the vehicle up until the time we saw him shot in the back.

What's going to be very difficult here, Wolf, in this case, regardless of what happened prior to that shooting, it is going to be very, very difficult unless some real dramatic information comes forth that is going to be able to stay -- state, how does someone who is not a threat to you, doesn't appear to be a threat from the video that we're all looking at, runs away and you still shoot them in the back, the number of times that we saw. That is still very disturbing. And that -- and those -- and that's the question that is still yet to be answered.

However, we have to note that the state of South Carolina found probable cause in order to arrest that officer. So, there's your starting point right there.

BLITZER: And that officer has been charged with murder.

ALEXANDER: Absolutely, yes.

BLITZER: And let me just get Tom Fuentes quickly to respond. The fact that he was going to use a taser or a stun gun against this individual who had run out of the vehicle, was running away, appropriate, not appropriate?

FUENTES: Well, it's appropriate to yell that because you want -- if there's any other officers in the area, any other citizens, you want them to realize it's not a firearm that you're about to shoot. It's a taser which is a completely different weapon. Only has a range of about 20 feet. It's not going to kill a person, at least not deliberately.

Secondly, on the - the second witness come forth -- we have now a grand total of two eyewitnesses who are in complete conflict. The male witness, Santana, with the video -- who takes the video, says they're on the ground tussling which I tend to believe because the taser cord gets tangled in the arm of the officer and one of the cords go with Scott as he runs away. And you have the female now saying, no, they weren't on the ground. They were just tussling. A complete conflict. Either they were on the ground or they weren't. And we've only got two witnesses.

BLITZER: Yes. All right, well there's -- maybe there's others will show up.

All right, gentlemen, thank you very, very much. We're going to stay on top of this story as our viewers know.

Police in North Charleston, South Carolina, they will all soon -- every one of them supposedly will have to wear body cameras. We're going to hear from a state legislator in South Carolina who'd like to see those cameras issued to police statewide.

And Hillary Clinton, she's getting ready to make her huge announcement this Sunday. She's running for president of the United States. She'll make the announcement, supposedly, on Facebook. We're talking with our analysts and our reporters about what's behind this new strategy.

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[13:17:30] WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get back to the police shooting in South Carolina. If a bystander had not been using his phone to capture the shooting of Walter Scott on video, the incident may have gone undetected. While the dash camera video from the officer, Mike Slager, has been released, it only tells part of the story. The shooting happened out of frame of that dash camera.

Let's bring in the South Carolina state senator, Marlon Kimpson, who is a co-sponsor of a bill that would require all police in the state to wear body cameras. He's a Democrat whose district includes North Charleston. That's where the shooting occurred.

Senator, thanks very much for joining us.

Tell us why you believe every police officer on duty all the time in South Carolina should be wearing a body camera.

MARLON KIMPSON (D), SOUTH CAROLINA STATE SENATE: Thank you so much for having me, Wolf.

I authored this bill along with Senator Darryl Malloy (ph) back in December of last year. And this was in the aftermath of the Ferguson incident and also the incident in New York with Eric Garner. But in particular, in South Carolina, we've had several instances, most recently with the shooting of an unarmed African-American male in Richland County, who was pulled over by a seat belt violation. And so the dash cam camera on the highway patrolman's vehicle caught that. And the South Carolina law enforcement division certainly arrested, issued a warrant for an arrest and he's behind bars today.

An d so we know that video evidence is the best form of evidence. We know, as your - one of your prior guests testified, that already in this case there appears to be - this case being the Scott case - there appears to be some disputed eyewitness testimony. And historically, eyewitness testimony hasn't been proven to be the most reliable. So the state of South Carolina, if we can invest in Glocks and semiautomatic weapons and Tasers and other artillery, I'm going to urge my colleagues to invest in this equipment, body camera equipment, so that we can save lives.

BLITZER: Well, state - statewide. And let me ask you this, anybody oppose what you're trying to do? Are you getting any resistance?

[13:19:45] KIMPSON: Well, we've had three subcommittee meetings on the senate version of the bill and up to now law enforcement has come to the table and they've endorsed the concept. But we are now figuring out the nuts and bolts of paying for the funding. There are smart people in the room and we can figure this out.

And let me just say this, Wolf. This is going to be a bipartisan effort. Late last night, the only female senator in the South Carolina senate has agreed to sign on as a co-sponsor. In addition, Senator Paul Thurman and Republican Senator, chairman of the transportation committee, Senator Larry Groom.

So we want to send the message that Mr. Scott did not die in vain and his legacy will live on through some improvements in the way we go about in law enforcement and getting some transparency and accountability in the way that they perform their jobs.

BLITZER: We did hear from the mayor of North Charleston and the police chief, they are buying, what, 150 body cameras to make sure all the police officers there are wearing body cameras. North Charleston, correct me if I'm wrong, we did some research, back in 2007, was cited as one of the most dangerous cities in the United States. Has it improved since then?

KIMPSON: Well, it's interesting you note that the mayor noted that he is purchasing body cameras. Back in May, I authored a proviso to purchase those body cameras. He has now issued an executive order to do more. And the thing is, is this. North Charleston recognized the need and the - to attack this problem. And that's why we got the proviso funded.

But, yes, there was an escalating homicide rate in North Charleston. And, quite frankly, as a senator, I received an increased number of citizen complaints about how law enforcement treated the people there. And so we worked together, the city and myself and a number of legislators in a bipartisan way to fund the purchase of 115 body cameras. Back May of last year, that proviso passed. In January of this year we held a press conference indicating that we were going to purchase body cameras in addition - and here's - here's a critical point, to creating programs for this law enforcement agency to work with the community to foster better relations.

BLITZER: All right.

KIMPSON: And so, yes, we're aware of a troubled history with the number of incidents. But we are - we are trying to address that. And the legislature, in a large way, blessed the funding of the anti-crime community policing effort that I authored last year.

BLITZER: Yes, and I just want to point out, North Charleston, a separate city from Charleston, South Carolina. A smaller city, about 100,000 people living in North Charleston, but it does have a history of a lot of violence, a dangerous place. But things, I take it, have gotten better.

Thanks, senator, very much for joining us. Marlon Kimpson joining us from Charlotte. Appreciate it very much.

Just ahead, what role did race play, if any, in the fatal police shooting in South Carolina? What will it take for the community and the country to move forward? Bernice King, the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., there she is, she's standing by live. We'll discuss with her when we come back.

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[13:26:57] BLITZER: Certainly not clear what role race, if any, played in the deadly police shooting in South Carolina, but some residents in North Charleston have complained that African-Americans are unfairly targeted by police. The Reverend Dr. Bernice King is the daughter of the late civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She is the CEO of the King Center in Atlanta. She's joining us now from the CNN Center.

Dr. King, thanks so much for joining us.

BERNICE KING, DAUGHTER OF MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: Thank you.

BLITZER: Let's talk about your reaction to this fatal shooting in North Charleston. You wrote this and I'll put it up on the screen. "If we don't respond to the death of Walter Scott and similar incidents with the fierce urgency of now, the moral fabric of this nation will continue to be torn to pieces." Tell us what you mean by that, Bernice.

KING: Well, I mean, Wolf, I don't think it's a secret that we still have a very serious racial issues in our nation. And it permeates probably every arena of American life. And we've got to rapidly begin the process of facing this consistently and in an urgent manner and talking about how race factors into incidences like law enforcement with unarmed black citizens. We can't - we can't ignore that. It's certainly not the only thing. But it has become so pervasive, at least recently, that it's something if we don't - if we ignore it, I think we're going to pay a very dear and high cost in our society.

BLITZER: Because we do know that the federal government, The Justice Department here in Washington, the FBI, they're investigating to see if civil rights violations occurred, if race, in fact, was a factor. Is it too early - because we don't know all the evidence. We've all seen the horrific video of the police officer shooting Walter Scott in the back several times.

KING: Yes.

BLITZER: We've all seen that horrific video. But do you believe that there is an element of race that played into that?

KING: Oh, oh, no doubt. I do think there is an element of race, obviously. I don't think it's the only element. But I certainly think it is an element. And I think the fact is - you know, I've raised this issue. I don't know if there's research on it. But, you know, many people who practice, including law enforcements on targets, those targets typically are black figures. And I'm wondering how that factors in to the way in which law enforcement or others see African- Americans when they're in danger because you're training on a black target.

But the second thing is, let's just say it was race or - then we need to begin the process of looking at how we can restore or create a sense of community between law enforcement and the rest of the communities so that -

BLITZER: How do we do that, Bernice? How do we -

KING: Well -

BLITZER: Because I know President Obama has formed the commission, a policing commission. Everybody is studying it.

KING: Well, one -

BLITZER: But is there any short-term things we can do to fix this?

[13:29:54] KING: Well, I think - you know, I'm calling for a meeting, in fact, with some of our chiefs here in the metropolitan area.