Return to Transcripts main page

CNN NEWSROOM

Chicago Mayor Announces "Major Overhaul" Of How Police Respond To Calls; Bill Cosby Charged With Sexual Assault In Pennsylvania; "Affluenza" Teen Ethan Couch Captured In Mexican Resort Town. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 30, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:33:06] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Right this moment, the mayor of Chicago is announcing what his office is calling a major overall of how police respond to calls. Rahm Emanuel says that the culture of the embattled police force can change policy by policy.

MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: Today I want to announce some additional steps we are talking to provide the safety that every resident deserves. And rebuild the trust our officers need to do their job safely and effectively. Our goal as a city must always be to ensure that safety of everyone involved. To do that we must ensure that our officers have the right tactics, the right training, the right technology to resolve tense situations safely and security. It is about helping them realize the multitude of responses that are available in tense situations.

As one sergeant in the 15th district said to both superintendent and myself, there's a difference between whether someone can use a gun and when they should use a gun. And we as a city must train for that difference.

These changes are also not the first steps we have taken as a city. We announce that any officer involved in shootings will be put on desk duty for 30 days so we can assess their fitness for duty, that's a change from three days. I also directed in term superintendent Escalante and acting head of independent review authority, (INAUDIBLE), to review the crisis response policies that are in place so that we can see what needs improvement and what needs to be changed. Today we're taking additional steps to create more time and distance in these situations and other encounters to make environments safe and safer for all.

We will improve communication between officers and individuals to make these encounters less confrontational and more conversational. And we will double the number of tasers to 1400 while also providing officers in training to use them properly. I especially want to thank the members of the black and Hispanic caucus for their leadership in pushing for more tasers. With the right policies, the right procedures, and the right

practices, we can change our officers' perspectives to help them ensure their own safety and the safety of others. We want to ensure that our officers are not just operating in either first gear or fifth gear. But to recognize the degrees in between so they can respond appropriately to each individual situation where force can be the last option, not the first choice.

[15:35:48] BALDWIN: Rahm Emanuel there in Chicago minutes ago here, but will that be enough to quail his critics who fight literally, brought their anger to his front door just yesterday protesting outside of the mayor's home.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

BALDWIN: The mayor cut short his holiday vacation to Cuba to address the mounting outrage in his city and quite specifically against him. His news conference today is the first time the mayor is speaking publicly since Chicago police shot and killed these two people, just the day after Christmas, Bettie Jones, 55-year-old grandmother and community activist, who police officials admit was killed by accident. And Quintonio Lagrier (ph), a 19-year-old Engineering student at Northern Illinois University.

I want to get reaction to what the mayor has just now announced. With me now Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for the "Chicago Sun Times." Tom Verni, a former New York police detective and law enforcement consultant and La Shawn Ford, the Democratic Illinois state representative.

So thank you all for taking the time with when today. And Chicago really is front and center on our minds.

And Lynn, to you, you have covered Chicago for years and years and years and just listening to the mayor, knowing he is coming back from vacation announcing what he has about, you know, what from 780 officers up to 1400 will have these tasers focusing on de-escalation tactics. What do you make in all of this?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, CHICAGO SUN TIMES: Well, in a way it is - there is two things happening at the same time. All of these things people and critics have been saying should say should have been happening any way because this is the second -- this is tragedy what happened last weekend. And just in November, we learned about the execution style police shooting of a 16-year-old who was found with 17 bullets pumped into him.

So the taser issue has been a big one in Chicago. And Rahm Emanuel is going to get 700 more. Also in the press conference he talked about how he is going it look for best practices in other cities, Portland and Cleveland for example, where we just raised the question, why haven't best practices been known and implemented without waiting for these tragedies to happen.

BALDWIN: Right. Right. I want to get to that with you, Tom, here in just a second. But Representative Ford, I know that you have filed this house bill that would allow Chicago voters to recall the mayor from office. And in listening to Mayor Rahm Emanuel just now, has anything he said changed your mind or do you agree with the questions that Lynn raises?

LA SHAWN FORD (D), ILLINOIS STATE HOUSE: Well, Lynn Sweet understands Chicago. I'm very happy that she led off, Baldwin, because she hit the nail on the head. It is true. I mean, we can't forget why we're here with the reforms that the mayor is speaking of. We're here because of Laquan McDonald and all of the people skilled before him. And so the mayor can't -- the people are not going to forget there was a cover-up. The people are not going to forget that there is $531 million that have been paid out over last ten years for police misconduct.

And as Lynn Sweet said, you know, we -- this is what we should have been doing a long time ago. And I didn't hear anything from the mayor about consequences for misconduct. He should have had a press conference with the state's attorney and he should have said that we're going it treat police like citizens. If you break the law, then we're going to prosecute you.

BALDWIN: Tom, as former New York police detective and hearing all of this. And you know, listen, you hear both of them. You think, all right valid questions. When you are hearing a mayor of a major city, talking about best practices and de-escalation tactics, that sort of like -- forgive me, but a no in a sense. So why -- do you think this a little too late and at the same time, even in New York, not everyone has tasers.

TOM VERNI, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Well, yes. This is your classic closing the barn door after the horses have already come home situation. It is not unusual for a mayor to throw cops under the bus as mayor Emanuel has already done by jessing out Garry McCarthy who was not that we were a big fan of him here in the NYPD when he was here for a number of reasons, but he was doing a fairly good job there. And you know, you want to have these best practices already in place to overt a tragedy like this.

I mean, the fact that this young man and this woman were killed is a tragedy. Sure, the police don't feel good about it. And the fact that young man came down the stairs with a baseball bat gives the officers the right to resort to some level of force that is going to need to exceed that force to stop that threat.

So, you know, outfitting the officers with tasers I think is great idea. Why that wasn't done already at this point in Chicago and as well as New York is a dollar and cents issue. So, it is, you know, penny wise, you know, and dollar foolish where they don't want to spend the money many times to outfit the officers with the tools that they should have in modern day policing to give them an additional option. It takes tragedies such as this where the officers could have confronted with the situation if they have to evaluate and take some sort of action with a matter of a millisecond to avoid themselves being injured as well as anyone else. Their safety is paramount at that point. And they have to protect themselves. So, you know, if someone coming out at me with a baseball bat, you know, at that point, do I have to sit there and start figuring out, should I go for my mace, should I go for my stick? You know, that bat could kill me and all my partners, so yes, I'm going to resort to what I am trained to resort to which is I will use my force which is my firearm.

[15:40:25] BALDWIN: You mentioned the young man with the baseball bat, I just have to sit here and say we talk about - we are talking about Quintonio La Grier, his father was on with me for quite a while yesterday. It was a gut wrenching interview. And there are two sides --

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Tom Verni, thank you. Lynn Sweet, La Shawn Ford.

We actually got to go but I appreciate all of you. I promise we are going to stay on Chicago. This is extraordinary important. But let me pivot to -- thank you.

I have just been told that we now have Bill Cosby's mug shot. So guys, throw that up on the screen. And here you go.

Jean Casarez is up live with us. She is the correspondent who was inside the courtroom in Pennsylvania for Mr. Cosby's arraignment a short time ago.

Jean Casarez, talk to me. Tell me more about what you saw today.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, we were sitting in this very small courtroom right behind me and I mean, very, very small. This is the courthouse right behind me. You can see what it is. And it is very quaint, very small. And all of a sudden a police officer stuck his head into the door right there because that goes straight into the courtroom. And he said, in a minute. So right after that. Bill Cosby walks into the courtroom with a female companion by his side. Seemingly guiding him. It appeared as though he couldn't see. And he is walking and making his way to the defense table. He sits down and I would say it was within two minutes that the magistrate judge, walks in, sits down and he now has a male defense attorney to his left side, and she says, good afternoon, Mr. Cosby.

And the main importance here, she apprised him of the charges. They are aggravated indecent assault. And she went through the different theories with different counts, meaning that he impaired his victim. That he rendered her unconscious or unaware and that he did not allow her to not consent. She wasn't able to consent to a sexual assault. He listened. There was no comment. There was no registering as far as emotion. But then the judge went into your bail has been set at $1 million, ten percent you have to pay.

And here are the conditions. You must turn over your passport. At that point, the male attorney stood up, he already had it, and he said, your honor we've got the passport right here. And the attorney put it in the hands of the prosecutor that was sitting at the prosecuting table. And then after that, she said, Mr. Cosby, you must have no contact with your complainant or alleged victim in this case. And at one point he had to sign papers. So papers were brought to him on the conditions of the bail. And she reiterated, you must have no contact with your complainant. And he said, no contact with -- and those were the first words we heard he spoke. And she said no constant with your alleged victim. OK.

And then she said, if you do anything and not in compliance with this bail, it could be revoked. Do you understand? And she was very nice. And he said, yes, your honor. With a smile on his face. And then the preliminary hearing was set for January 14th. And that was basically it. And she said, the judge said, Mr. Cosby, good luck. And he said, thank you. And they stood up and he walked right out the door of this courthouse.

BALDWIN: Very first criminal charge he has faced amid all these different accusations from different women, 50 or so who come forward.

Jean Casarez there seeing it with her own eyes in Pennsylvania. Thank you so much, Jean.

And Tom, I have you sitting next to me so let me just put you on the spot from the police perspective. We know that we saw the pictures of Mr. Cosby leaving this, you know, small quaint courthouse headed in his black SUV down the road to this police department where we know, obviously, saw his mug shot. There you go. Fingerprints. What else happens typically? I don't care if you are Bill Cosby or anyone off the street. You know, after an arraignment, what's the process?

VERNI: Well, he has been released now. So he posted bail. He has been released. He will show up I guess at the initial court hearing, whenever that they have that scheduled in January. So yes, he is free to go just like anybody else would be, you know. And thankfully, Pennsylvania has a statute of limitations that last so long. In a lot of states you don't have it lasting as long.

BALDWIN: You mean for sexual assault.

VERNI: For sexual assault, yes. Yes. Sexual assault cases. And different states vary. So in Pennsylvania, this case happens to be 12 years which thankfully for that victim. She gets to have her day in court and to, you know, to prove out these allegations.

BALDWIN: Inside though, I mean, having you know, worked in New York and I'm sure have you seen your fair share of folks come through police stations. I would imagine these officers would obviously have heads-up. Bill Cosby is coming through. Do they sort of clear other people out and make sure it is expedited? How would that go?

VERNI: Well, I'm sure that this situation is handled in way to get him in, get him processed and get him out for more reasons than one. Clearly, they knew it would be a media circus out there.

BALDWIN: Helicopters, on the ground, you name it.

VERNI: So they want to get him in. Get him, you know, just for the sake of because of who he is, yes. Some people will say, well, that's special treatment. That's not right. But in a small town like that, and this is something that, you know, just probably the biggest event that town has ever had. I mean, it is not New York, it is not Los Angeles or Chicago where this happens regularly in high profile cases. So they do want to get him in, get him processed. Do everything by the book and do everything by the law. Get him printed and set his bail and get him out. You know, if he is free to go and then they took away his passport, he is clearly not could be a flight risk. From there probably back it to Los Angeles to his home and just await. Sit down with his lawyers and come up with, you know, the plan.

BALDWIN: The plans, the strategy. Tom, thank you so much.

VERNI: You're welcome. Any time.

BALDWIN: Next here, the wealthy teenager captured while on the run in a Mexican resort town is fighting extradition to come back to the United States. We have heard from U.S. marshals a news conference moments ago. We will find out exactly what is next for this young man, Ethan Couch, and his mother.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:51:10] BALDWIN: All right. He killed four people in a drunk driving crash and did not go to prison. And he is now refusing to leave Mexico. His attorney's just filing this request to extend his legal shelter there and fight his extradition to the United States.

And talking about Ethan Couch sparking outrage again after he was deemed too rich and too spoiled to serve time behind bars. Apparently not knowing right from wrong because he has had some money. So instead he skipped town with his mother, fled to Mexico's resort town of Puerto Rialto where he is now apparently refusing to leave. Just a short time ago U.S. marshals talked about the extradition stall.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF DEPUTY RICHARD HUNTER, U.S. MARSHAL SERVICE, SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS: It's our understanding that Ethan Couch and his mother have retained council in Mexico and have filed an Amparo, loose translation is a protection. Closest thing we have here in America to that is a writ of habeas corpus. It's a legal maneuver in Mexico that allows certain protections to individuals that have been accused of wrongdoing in Mexico. And the only -- the reason for that is it takes the decision out of a lower level immigration agent's hands and asks that a higher authority make the decision to deport them.

So at this point an immigration agent we contacted and gave the address to did what we call an encounter with them. They were asked if they were Mexican citizens, of course they are not. They were asked if they have proper documentation, they did not. So at that time they were taken into immigration custody. And investigation after that revealed in the minds of the immigration agents that did the investigation, they were subject to deportation and they made that decision. And that's what got the ball rolling.

Upon hiring council, the Amaparo was filed and now it's up to an immigration court to decide if the immigration agent's decision was correct and has merit. And at that point we anticipate the deportation continuing. At this time we do not have a timeframe. We do not know if the Mexicans have the highest priority on this case like we do here in America. It's on their time schedule. We have seen these things happen as quickly as two weeks to months.

And it depends on the court system down there. And it also depends on the fact that the couches have legal council. And it seems to me if they wanted to they could pay them as much money if they want to to drag this thing out as long as they want to. We are hopeful that's not the case. We are hopeful the Mexican immigration court will make a quick and decisive decision and return the couches to America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With that, joining me now, he is back with us, Zeke Unger, bounty hunter and owner of Little Zeke's Bail Bonds. Zeke has arrested more than 4,000 fugitives in his 30-plus years of bounty hunting. Also with us, Matthew Fogg, retired chief deputy U.S. marshal, former member of the U.S. Marshals special operation group. Gentlemen, thank you, thank you.

Zeke, first to you. I understand, you know, we know that mom and son are fighting extradition. But I hear you're saying a couple days in Mexican jail and they're going to be begging to come home, yes?

ZEKE UNGER, BOUNTY HUNTER: Absolutely. Third world country jail is not for anyone including people who live such a lavish lifestyle. I give it a couple days and they are going to be screaming to come home.

Fighting extradition they've been very ill-advised. They need to come back here and face the music. I can tell you that they're not going to do well down there. And we're going to see them coming back before you know it. They will absolutely be deported. We have worked a lot of cases down there. And extradition has always been granted.

BALDWIN: Mr. Fogg, I suppose file this under whatnot to do if you are running from the law, use your cell phone. And especially don't use your cell phone to dial up Domino's for some pizza which is apparently precisely what this young man did and he got caught. So that said, in your experience, you know, with cases like these and searching for folks, I mean, do you think that they were hiding out in this resort town for an infinite period of time, or was this just a stop on the fugitive journey?

[15:55:18] MATTHEW FOGG, RETIRED CHIEF DEPUTY, U.S. MARSHAL: I think they thought they get into Mexico they were OK. I don't think they thought that our electronic surveillance would necessarily -- we would go to the level of tracking them there like we would in the United States and I think they were in for a great surprise. But, yes, they were probably right. They looked like they were comfortable. The guy dyed his hair. They seemed like they were relaxing pretty much. And they didn't roll their eyes. Again, when they use that cell phone, you know, without electronic surveillance all the way to satellites we can track you all over the world.

And I think they found out the hard way that we could. And once we got ahold of the Mexican authorities they were right on it. So we have a good relationship as your other guest said. We have pulled a lot of people out of Mexico and brought them back to the United States. And I can guarantee you even on this extradition hearing that the U.S. will prevail on this and they both will be brought back to the United States.

BALDWIN: Zeke, you've worked with, you know, these different marshals teams. You know how this works. What's the next step here after -- let's assume that the fight will be short lived on extradition?

UNGER: I think the ICE team will get involved, that's the immigration and custom enforcement bureau. They'll be deported. ICE will take control of the bodies, bring them back to the United States, the U.S. marshals will take the bodies from there. And they'll wait to be heard. I think running to Mexico is not an option anymore for fugitives. I think that the U.S. Marshals service is amazing in what they do. And they are constantly bringing fugitives back from Mexico and other parts of the world. And I think that it is more difficult than ever now to hide anywhere.

BALDWIN: Matthew, final thoughts from you. 60 seconds.

FOGG: Most likely. It could be our special operations group because our team went down and brought back -- went to Panama and brought Emanuel back here and a lot of high profile and these people are now considered high profile fugitives, so. But definitely it won't be long they'll be extradited back into the United States.

BALDWIN: Zeke Unger and Matthew Fog, thank you so much. Appreciate you.

UNGER: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, much more on the story of the day here, breaking news Bill Cosby was arraigned moments ago charged with this felony charge of sexual assault. Here is his mug shot. Hear what happened inside court and at the police station next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:59:57] JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Thank you, Brooke Baldwin. From America's dad to sex assault suspect, "THE LEAD" starts right now.

Breaking news, Bill Cosby facing charges of sexual assault, something 40 years in the making for so many women who never had their day in court.