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CNN NEWSROOM

Trump Suggests Changes to U.S. Intelligence Services; South Korea Planning Special Unit to Target Kim Jong-Un; Turkey: Gunman Identified but Still at Large; Police Brutality or Justified Force?; Inside Iraq's Destroyed City of Nimrud; Viral Videos Show Police Fighting Teen Girls; Faraday Future Shows Off Long-Awaited Model. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired January 5, 2017 - 00:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:00:11] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles.

Ahead this hour:

Donald Trump's feud with U.S. intelligence services takes a rather interesting turn. The President-Elect suggesting big changes might be on the way.

Viral videos -- one police officer's body slam, another unleashing punches both on teenaged girls. Police brutality or justified force?

Plus CNN goes inside an ancient Nimrud, an ancient city full of art reduced to rubble by ISIS sledge hammers.

Thanks for you company, everyone. I'm Michael Holmes.

NEWSROOM L.A. starts right now.

Donald Trump is squaring off against the U.S. intelligence community in ways that could further divide his own party. Sources close to the President-Elect's transition team say he is looking at ways to limit the power of the Director of National Intelligence. Now, that office heads up 16 intelligence agencies.

Trump also appearing to side with Julian Assange on the alleged campaign hacking. The WikiLeaks founder denying Russia is behind the leaks and Trump tweeting, quote, "Julian Assange said a 14-year-old could have hacked Podesta. Why was DNC so careless?" He also said Russian's did not give him the information. Trump, however felt differently about WikiLeaks in 2010.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN KILMEADE, FOX NEWS HOST: -- talk about WikiLeaks. You had nothing to do with the --

DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT-ELECT: No, I don't think it's disgraceful. KILMEADE: You don't think it's disgraceful.

TRUMP: -- should be like death penalty or something.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And for more, CNN intelligence and security analyst Bob Baer joins us now from Telluride in Colorado. Good to see you.

Let's start with this "Wall Street Journal" report Donald Trump's team supposedly planning an overhaul or a paring down of a couple of agencies and perhaps sending more CIA agents overseas. A huge development -- what do you make of it?

ROBERT BAER, CNN INTELLIGENCE AND SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Michael -- you know, I talked to people that are part of his planning for a remake of the intelligence agencies. And they really intend to go after the CIA, the DNI, Director of National Intelligence -- the whole intelligence community.

You know, you even hear about a hit list of people they are after at the CIA. I've never seen it myself but you have to wonder. I think they are determined to do this. This "Wall Street Journal" article is right on the -- right on the nose.

HOLMES: Yes, when we look at the broader issue of Donald Trump and the intelligence community -- what's extraordinary today, you know, back in 2010 Donald Trump raising the idea of the death penalty over WikiLeaks leaking U.S. classified material. Now he is quoting Julian Assange as an apparent teller of truth. What do you make of that?

BAER: It's extraordinary. I mean I couldn't believe it when I saw this because Julian Assange is a Russian mouth piece. I mean, all of his leaks could be traced back to Moscow in so many ways and he's done so much damage to U.S. national security. It's incredible.

I mean and the fact that he would embrace him or trust Julian Assange. I mean when Julian Assange says that a 14-year-old could have done this hack, he's wrong. He's not telling the truth. That was Russian code that was used, very sophisticated. It's never been sold on any sort of market. It's not something you pick up on the Internet.

You know, this is a turn of events that I never thought I would see. It's just incredible.

HOLMES: What's interesting when he said that Julian Assange was saying well, our source wasn't the Russian government or a state. But I mean you were with the CIA, what self-respecting Russian hacker is going to send this stuff in an envelope postmarked the Kremlin? It's going to have multiple layers of people handling it before it gets to WikiLeaks -- right?

BAER: Well, exactly. This is a KGB operation and it's a need to know. And Julian Assange often doesn't know the sources of his leaks. I mean he has even said that, gone public. I don't know who sent me the stuff. I just publish it.

So that doesn't work either. I mean there is absolutely no reason the Russians would inform him what they're doing, why they're doing it. They simply send him leaks, you know, the material.

[00:04:55] Julian Assange is a narcissist. He doesn't care. He wants the attention. He puts it out to say that it's not from the Russians. Plus he's not trustworthy, he is a wanted man. I mean and could be convicted in the United States for espionage very easily.

HOLMES: What bothers you the most in the big picture? I mean if Donald Trump doesn't trust the intelligence community now do you worry that, you know, one day they're going to warn him of an impending attack or a threat from a country whose leader he likes and he might not act the way that you might think he should?

BAER: You know, I don't know what is going on here. But I'll tell if I were in the CIA I wouldn't go to Moscow. Six months ago, a CIA officer was beat up outside the embassy. The Obama administration didn't make a big deal of it but if you are in the CIA and you have the President turning to Julian Assange or Vladimir Putin for your intelligence as credible sources, what's the point in going? I mean, you know, it's just amazing that they haven't backed down from this so far.

You know, I just -- as a former CIA officer in the field, I really worry about what sort of conflict is coming between the President and the CIA and the rest of the intelligence community.

And don't forget most of this stuff about Russian hacking is coming from the National Security Agency which is not part of the CIA and no one has ever accused them of being political. So, none of this makes any sense at all to me.

HOLMES: And I suppose, you know, Donald Trump obviously has a lot of passionate supporters. What is the potential damage, I suppose, danger to the public's faith in their security institutions when the President-Elect doubts them?

BAER: Well, there has never been an occasion where the United States President has accused any FBI -- let's not forget -- and the CIA of being -- you know, disloyal to the United States. That has just never happened -- the conflict with this.

There's been unhappiness we know in the past that's leaked out but it's always been corrected internally. But there has never been a public attack by a President on the CIA.

HOLMES: All right. Bob Baer, CNN intelligence and security analyst, thanks so much. Appreciate it. Good to see you.

BAER: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, Congressional Republicans are taking their first steps, meanwhile, to repeal Obamacare, a long-made promise. But the current U.S. president is outlining a strategy to save his signature accomplishment. Mr. Obama told Democrats not to rescue Republicans as they struggle to replace the Affordable Care Act.

Vice President-Elect Mike Pence promising to lower the cost of health insurance without growing the government. President-Elect Trump tweeting "Massive increases of Obamacare will take place this year and Dems are to blame for the mess. It will fail of its own weight. Be careful."

Joining me now here in Los Angeles, Democratic strategist Dave Jacobson and Republican consultant John Thomas. Gentlemen -- thanks for being here.

Do you expect -- let's start with you, John -- do you expect a repeal as has been the Republican mantra for years now or do you expect a repeal and wait?

JOHN THOMAS, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: I think we're going to see a dismantling of Obamacare. There are some good provisions to the law and even Donald Trump has said so. The pre-existing conditions clause -- so I think they're going to keep segments of it.

But by and large if they don't repeal Obamacare, their base will hang them. So politically speaking they have to get it done. The question is what do they replace it with? And they're still figuring that out.

HOLMES: And Dave -- I suppose the other thing too, if you want to keep -- if you want to cherry-pick certain provisions like preexisting conditions, keep the kids on there -- that costs money. That comes from other provisions of Obamacare, doesn't it?

DAVE JACOBSON, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Right, of course. And we have heard President-Elect Donald Trump call for some of those provisions to stay. But we haven't heard House and Senate Republicans say those things.

And here's the challenge that Republicans are going to face, the blood is going to be on their hands if they repeal and don't replace it with a comprehensive plan that somehow provides healthcare to 10 million, 20 million -- potentially 30 million Americans who depend on the Affordable Care Act.

Moreover, they're going to have to answer to their constituents when tax cuts are going to go to the millionaire and billionaire class and big healthcare corporations who are paying a hefty tax because of the Affordable Care Act.

HOLMES: Do you think -- what you are seeing now already Mr. Obama and others, Democratic leaders are saying we're going to call it Trumpcare -- whatever it is.

THOMAS: Right.

HOLMES: And sort of shift that Obamacare mantle to Trump.

(CROSSTALK)

THOMAS: I mean that's a cute way of branding it. And you know, it's fascinating to watch as President Obama transitions out of office. It's not exactly a smooth transition. I mean can you imagine George W. Bush in the final days before he left office, you know, telling Barack Obama that you know, to draw down troops is the biggest mistake. Whatever you do, you know, we're not pulling out of Iraq.

[00:10:01] It just -- it doesn't seem like a peaceful transition. Look, I think Trump understands the risk of the repeal but he also knows that it's hurting so many Americans because their premiums have gone up and they can't afford it. It's also hurting businesses, which, what do they do? They pass along their increased costs to the consumer -- the consumer who can afford it the least.

HOLMES: Dave.

JACOBSON: Well look, here is the challenge. Is Obamacare perfect? Absolutely not. But the challenge is that over the last seven years Republicans have had an opportunity to come to the table to meet with President Obama to work out the kinks, to come to consensus and come up with some middle ground. And the challenge is all they wanted to do and they voted 100 plus times in the House to do this, is just to repeal.

But the problem is they haven't come forward with some meat on the bone, specific concrete plan for what to replace it with. And I think that's the question. What is President Trump's plan going to be? What are the House and Senate Republicans going to propose?

HOLMES: Got to talk about Julian Assange. I mean this seems rather extraordinary that, you know, in 2010 Donald Trump was talking about we should have the death penalty for these WikiLeaks and now he's saying Julian Assange, listen to him because he says Russia didn't hand over the stuff.

I mean what do you make of what that -- I mean the whole sort of lessening of confidence in the intelligence community? I mean this has got to be counterproductive. He's going to be heading that intelligence community in a couple of weeks.

THOMAS: Yes. I think what Donald Trump is concerned about is the larger narrative being confused between the DNC being hacked by whomever. Perhaps it was the Russians -- we don't 100 percent definitively know.

HOLMES: The intelligence community thinks so.

THOMAS: Well, there are -- look, John Podesta's password was "password", ok. Sort of like Julian Assange said, a two-year-old could have hacked that. So it is possible that someone other than the Russians. But let's just assume it is the Russians, Donald Trump is worried that the Democrats are hijacking this story to make it that the election was hacked so the average viewer out in America is saying that Donald Trump is an illegitimate president.

HOLMES: Are they doing that -- Dave? I mean -- my reading -- I've never heard anyone in leadership role in the Democratic Party saying -- THOMAS: They say the election was hacked.

JACOBSON: Look, the election was hacked. They're not questioning Donald Trump's election in terms of the Electoral College.

THOMAS: Just with the recount.

JACOBSON: Well, that was Jill Stein with the Green Party. But look, they do raise the issue, of course, the Democrats or Hillary Clinton won by 2.9 million votes in the popular vote over Donald Trump but Donald Trump clearly won with the Electoral College.

Here's why this is so scary -- ok. Hypothetically there is no doubt in my mind that back in September -- say in September 10 in 2001 had George Bush gotten a tip from the intelligence community that these terrorists in al Qaeda were going to fly airplanes into the Twin Towers he would have acted on that. He would have gotten fighter jets up and he would have done something to try to prevent 9/11.

Why this is so scary is Donald Trump questions what our intelligence community brings forward. And if he gets a tip he might not believe it and he might not be in a position where he tries to actively prevent a terrorist attack. And that's where I think the challenge is.

HOLMES: And do you agree? I mean the undermining of even the public faith. I mean he's got passionate supporters who are listening to him tweet and basically say that the intelligence community is wrong.

THOMAS: Well, this isn't the first time Donald Trump has questioned the intelligence community. You remember, he questioned whether or not Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction. That was an intelligence failure -- right.

So I think what Donald Trump is saying is not definitively that the intelligence is wrong but that we shouldn't jump to conclusions without a full vetting -- proper vetting of the process.

He is waiting carefully. He is not saying they are definitively wrong. There's a distinction.

HOLMES: He does seem to be though saying that Julian Assange is more credible than his own intelligence service. I mean that's going to be the takeaway from what we've seen in the last few days. That's got to be worrying.

JACOBSON: Well, that's dangerous. I mean he is siding with a known fugitive who, over the course of the last eight or so years, has put information out over WikiLeaks that has put American troops on the ground at risk.

And that's the real danger. Our incoming commander-in-chief who oversees the military is siding with a criminal and a thug and a bully with Vladimir Putin. I mean that really scary.

HOLMES: Yes. All right. Well, we're going to leave it there. But you are back next hour. We've got a lot of other things to talk about. So thanks very much. We'll talk more -- Dave Jacobson and John Thomas.

Meanwhile, South Korea planning to set up a special brigade this year, and it's meant to specifically target North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and his military in the event of war.

Andrew Stevens is joining us from Seoul with more on this.

It's a curious thing, one imagines, that for a country that technically is still at war with its northern neighbor this was part of the war plan anyway. What are you hearing?

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, pretty much is that the South Koreans, Michael, are pushing ahead with this unit they describe it, which will be capable, they say, of infiltrating North Korea and literally eliminating the leader, Kim Jong-Un. Not just the leader but the command and control apparatus of North Korea.

[00:15:07] But the important caveat here, of course, is that that only happens in the event of war. Now what actually qualifies the event of war and what would trigger that, the South Koreans are not saying that at the moment.

We were aware that the South Koreans were looking into this sort of unit back in September of last year. That was just after the fifth nuclear test carried out by North Korea. What's new this time is that they have brought forward the plan -- Michael.

So they want this unit up and operational, ready to go be by the end of this year. We understand they're throwing a lot of money on it. They're going to be buying a lot of sort of cutting-edge U.S. military equipment to make sure that they have what's necessary, the means necessary, to actually follow through.

They also, of course, have missiles which are -- will be used as sort of surgical strikes, if you like. So, South Korea certainly ratcheting up its own rhetoric on how it would respond to further provocation; and listen, they would be sort of the ultimate provocation, if you like, a war between the North and the South.

HOLMES: It raises a couple of questions, timing being one. Why now? And what's the North likely to do in terms of reaction?

STEVENS: Well you never know with the North but the reaction could be more rhetoric, even more bombast from Pyongyang from Kim Jong-Un. But the question on why now is interesting.

We had the -- that September test last year. But since then we had the speech from Kim Jong-Un on New Year's Day saying that they're in the final preparations of a launch of an ICBM, an intercontinental ballistic missile which could have the capability of reaching North America. So he has said that j-- that is obviously a clear red line for countries like South Korea and also for the U.S.

But also in December last year, on local television, there was broadcast in North Korea of an attack on a mock blue house, now the blue house is the residence of the South Korean president. There was a mock attack on this blue house and it's plastered all across the media there, talking about how North Korean troops could and would take out the blue house.

So that could also be seen as a provocation which has brought forward this response from South Korea -- Michael.

HOLMES: All right. Andrew -- thanks very much. Andrew Stevens there on the post in Seoul, South Korea for us.

Well, Turkish authorities say they have identified the Istanbul nightclub attacker who, of course, killed 39 people on New Year's. But police are not releasing his name or saying where he is from.

They have been carrying out raids and making more arrests in connection with the shooting. 20 suspects with alleged links to ISIS are now in custody. The Turkish reports say some of them are thought to have lived with the gunman.

Our Ian Lee tracking all of this from Istanbul joins us now.

Let's start with the suspect. They know who he is, why are they not saying?

IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they know who he is yet they still haven't been able to catch him, Michael, five days after this attack has happened. They have rounded up 20 ISIS members, according to the government in the city of Ismir (ph) at four different locations.

They were able to pick up a bunch of military equipment including night vision goggles, scopes, ammunition belts and other equipment. And the government is accusing these people of living with him, being associates of the gunman who was when they were living in the central Anatolian city of Conia (ph).

So they're going to be interrogating them, trying to figure out what exactly they know and how they can help them figure out where that gunman is now. But five days on, still haven't been able to catch him.

HOLMES: And the sense, obviously, from the rounding up of these other suspects particularly if they lived with him, is the feeling there was a cell, that there was a support network that helped this man and perhaps helped him get away.

LEE: That's right, and security experts say the fact that he could get away so quickly proves that there probably was a cell helping him. But we heard from another Turkish lawmaker just to give you an idea of kind of the threat that Turkey is under saying that in 2016 alone there were over 300 attacks -- attempted attacks that were thwarted by Turkish security personnel including over 200 attacks by improvised explosive devices and dozens of suicide belts and the attackers that they were able to arrest and apprehend. So it shows you just the threat that Turkey is under. [00:19:58] But also, going to your question, it also shows you that there is still a vast network out there of militants whether they be ISIS, whether it be the Kurdish militants, the PKK or their affiliates trying to target Turkey.

HOLMES: All right. Ian -- thanks for that. Ian Lee there, in Istanbul for us.

Do stay with us.

Coming up next on CNN L.A. -- why the manslaughter conviction of a soldier has deeply divided Israel.

Also, the modern destruction of an ancient city -- CNN travels to Nimrud in Northern Iraq to see the irreparable damage caused by ISIS.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome back.

The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he supports a pardon for an Israeli soldier convicted by a military court of manslaughter. Sgt. Elor Azaria faces up to 20 years in prison for shooting a Palestinian man who lay wounded after he allegedly tried to stab another Israeli soldier last year.

Now the case, which was decided on Wednesday, has deeply divided Israel because some people believe Azaria's actions were justified. Others say he violated the military code of conduct and shot a man who was no immediate threat.

In northern Iraq, the world heritage site of Nimrud, finally free of ISIS and once again under Iraqi control but it will never be the same. ISIS spent two years destroying the site's priceless stone artwork dating back thousands of years. This wholesale destruction also revived rumors of an ancient curse.

CNN's Ben Wedeman with the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It was an orgy of obliteration wrapped up in the usual slick production. No one boasts barbarity than ISIS.

In the spring of last year, the extremists meticulously documented their destruction of the ruins of the ancient Assyrian city of Nimrud, founded in the 13th century B.C. They took their sledge hammers to the city's famous winged bulls, the lamassu, reducing them to a pile of rubble.

Iraqi forces recently retook Nimrud just south of Mosul. We came to have a look, lone visitors to a lonely hilltop that hasn't seen a tourist in years. The scale of the vandalism that took place here boggles the mind. Only ISIS could turn ruins into ruins.

[00:25:03] By some estimates in northern Iraq, the extremist group destroyed or severely damaged around 80 sites, archeological ones like this one as well as Muslim and Christian shrines.

Through the warped lens of ISIS' logic all idols must be destroyed -- their every action here nothing less than utter contempt for Iraq's rich multi-millennial history. And that includes the remains of the vast Assyrian empire that once stretched from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea, the ruthless superpower of its day.

The statues, the cuneiform inscriptions now lie in piece, exposed to the elements. And ancient Mesopotamia ordinary structures like houses or shops were made out of mud bricks. With time they simply turned into dust. But for the statues of the gods and the kings, they used stone. The purpose was that they would last for eternity. That is until ISIS came along.

Archaeologists may someday be able to piece some of this together but that won't happen until the war against ISIS comes to an end.

There is gold in this hill. In 1989, Iraqi archaeologists uncovered what became known as the treasure of Nimrud. More than 600 pieces of gold jewelry and ornaments considered to be one of the greatest archaeological finds in history.

No doubt ISIS not above the love of money was searching for more treasure when their cameras weren't rolling. But the Assyrians built their tombs here with a curse, damning the souls of those who violated their sanctity to wander and thirst through the open countryside, restless for eternity -- a curse that may soon come true.

Ben Wedeman, CNN -- Nimrud, northern Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Extraordinary report there.

Well, a couple of very disturbing videos are making the rounds online. One of them shows a school officer body slamming a 15-year-old girl. The teenagers involved share their stories, coming up next.

Also Chicago police looking for answers after a gruesome attack broadcast live on social media. We'll have that as well here on NEWSROOM L.A.

Stay with us.

[00:27:34] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:00] MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles, I'm Michael Holmes with the headlines this hour. Sources with Donald Trump's transition say he's looking at ways to limit the power of the U.S. national intelligence director. The president-elect has been openly critical of the intelligence community in recent times and he remains skeptical of its conclusion that Russia was behind the alleged election campaign hacking.

Senior diplomat Tim barrow will take over as UK's new ambassador to the European Union. Sir Ivan Rogers stepped down from that post on Tuesday just months before Brexit negotiations are due to begin.

Israel's prime minister says a soldier convicted of manslaughter should be pardoned. On Wednesday, a military court convicted Elor Azaria for shooting a Palestinian man who lay wounded after allegedly trying to stab another Israeli soldier last year. Azaria faces up to 20 years behind bars.

Well, two viral videos -- two videos, rather, are going viral in the U.S. at the moment and they both involve police officers in altercations with teenaged girls. And I do want to warn you they are hard to watch.

Now the first was in Philadelphia, an officer breaking up a group fight and this happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SIRENS)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: You can clearly see there the officer punching that 16-year- old girl who is on the ground. The girl says she was backing away when the officer pushed her down. Police say the video does not show the teenager hitting the officer and knocking the glasses off the woman's face.

And now let's go to North Carolina and that is where a school resource officer did this to a 15-year-old girl. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(YELLING)

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: The video is only nine seconds long. We don't see what led up to the body slam. Police say the officer was responding to a fight and is now on administrative leave.

OK. Criminal defense attorney Darren Kavinoky joins me now.

And I guess, gut reaction first of all to those videos?

DARREN KAVINOKY, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: A tale of two cases, or at least potentially. The first one from Philadelphia leaves me with a lot more questions than answers. And I've seen that video several times that it shows the difficulty of law enforcement where you've got a crowd seemingly out of control. And in some of the versions, it sounds like you hear the words gun, gun, gun being repeated.

And one of the most dangerous things for a police officer is to be in a crowd scene, where somebody can get access to that officer's weapon. Now you've got an armed crazy person and an unarmed officer. That's a bad and dangerous situation.

HOLMES: I mean, you heard a situation where both officers were apparently going towards the violence to try to stop it. I wonder, though, I mean, these are both teenaged girls.

KAVINOKY: Right.

HOLMES: Should age and gender play into an officer's reaction even if it is a violent situation?

KAVINOKY: Yes, I believe that they should. That it should. What ultimately we need to be concerned with is whether the officer's conduct was reasonable given the totality of the circumstances. So that suggests that the circumstances are going to have a very significant impact on the appropriateness of the officer's behavior.

So, for example, in the second clip where that girl gets body slammed, I don't know that there is any good excuse for what happened in that second situation. And that's why I say this is a tale of two very different cases.

HOLMES: And to that point, let's have a listen to what the two girls said. We can hear from them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[00:35:00] UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: I seen my sister fighting and then I see them both on the ground and I'm trying to get my sister. And that's when Officer Santos came and he picked me up and slammed me on the ground and I was out.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: This is a -- I'm still a minor and she's a grown woman and a cop. I feel like, sick, like I threw up, like, twice. My legs hurt, my body is aching. I have wounds on my face. She picked me up by my hair. She slammed me by my hair. She banged my head on the ground, on the car. Just yanking me everywhere by my hair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: And, you know, the thing is as always with these situations, if you don't see the whole video, you don't know what led up to this that led to that and so on.

So bearing that in mind from what we do know, do these girls have cases? Those officer likely to be in trouble legally?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I think in the first case where we had that group scenario, it's less likely that the officer is going to be in trouble than in the second case where what's been reported is that there was a fight that this girl was trying to break up or at least that's her story when the officer picked her up and body slammed her.

And regardless of the situation, when you are talking about a girl that weighs 95 pounds, who is a teenager versus an armed officer who is using that kind of force, I would think that's excessive. I would think 12 jurors would agree with me and frankly if I had to pick a side on which to represent I would rather have her case than trying to defend the officer based on what I've seen so far.

HOLMES: Right. And I want to just bring up the North Carolina one, the principal had a statement and we can put it up for people to read for themselves, basically, on training and responsibility as saying, "Two years ago, our school district enacted a unified agreement with all local law enforcement agencies that provides training and clear understanding of the duties and responsibilities for School Resource Officer.

And, obviously, training is everything when it comes to how an officer responds.

KAVINOKY: But here's what we can't overlook. These officers are human beings and I see in both of these scenarios, we have situations that are fast-breaking, where officers need to make snap decisions. And what we are asking officers or really demanding of officers is that they be held to a higher standard because of that training. We expect more especially than we saw in that body slam video. That one was especially disturbing to me.

HOLMES: Darren Kavinoky, thanks so much.

KAVINOKY: Thank you.

HOLMES: We'll talk later. Appreciate it.

KAVINOKY: Look forward to it.

HOLMES: All right, now to another shocking story.

A horrible attack streamed live on Facebook, believe it or not. And it really is unbelievable. Chicago police arresting four people in connection with the assault. They say the woman who broadcast it is one of the suspects.

And another warning for you now, this video, too, clearly disturbing and you're going to see a man and he's a man who has special needs apparently, tied up in a corner. His mouth is actually taped and his attackers beating him and cut him as well yelling racially charged language, also yelling anti-Donald Trump obscenities at him.

The police say the man is so traumatized he can barely talk about what happened. And that's understandable. They say that he knew at least one of the suspects and may have willingly gotten into a van with the group, obviously not knowing what was to come. The suspects are expected to be charged within the next 24 hours, and Darren Kavinoky will be back in the next hour with me to talk more about that story.

HOLMES: Well, a start up company unveils a new electric car at the consumer electronics show. We'll check it out, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:55] HOLMES: Welcome back.

Innovators and marketers at the Consumer Electronics Show this week are unveiling a slew of products claiming to solve problems or make life easier.

CNN's Samuel Burke is in Las Vegas and tells us what's getting buzz at the conference.

SAMUEL BURKE, CNN MONEY BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Michael, here at the largest tech show on earth, all the buzz is about the mysterious car company Faraday Future. For a long time they have been all talk, no walk. Now they have finally unveiled their flagship production car called the FF91.

It goes from zero to 60 miles per hour, 96 kilometers per hour in just 2.39 seconds. It's an electric car. So the most important thing to know is how far it can go on just one charge. This vehicle can go about 380 miles. That's about 611 kilometers, again, on just one charge.

Now if you're the type of person who forgets their keys, you can use facial recognition to get into this vehicle. They also showed off how if you can't find the parking space, the driver can actually just get out of the car and it will keep on circling the lot until it finds a free space and back in.

This company did have a major speed bump on stage in front of all the world's press. When the billionaire investor who is also the founder of the Chinese version of NetFlix came out of the car, it was supposed to go autonomously just a few feet and it didn't move at all. And it's one of the reasons that this company is firmly in the shadow of its big rival, Tesla.

Now the other trend at CES this year is artificial intelligence and voice recognition. In fact, I've just --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Intelligence is an appreciable quality.

BURKE: But interrupting people is not. I've just been spending some time with this robot called Pepper. It's a Japanese robot that combines artificial intelligence and voice recognition. It's interesting to see how much Amazon has become a leader in this field because of the Amazon Echo speaker that many people call Alexa, because that speaker allows you to speak with it and use voice commands. A lot of other companies we now see are trying to use some of that intelligence and make their products integrate with the Amazon Echo and you see really how important voice communication has become with robots. Before it was all about buttons and maybe even gesture controls a lot of people thought, but really at the end of the day you see that talking with a robot and with the Amazon Echo, it's really what makes these products feel so natural and even they follow you with their eyes and that's another way that we see a lot of the technology around us becoming more and more human.

Should I bring one back for you, Michael?

HOLMES: No, you can bring me back the car, however, once they iron out the bug because that is an awesome model car.

Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM live from Los Angeles. I'm Michael Holmes. "World Sport" coming up next. Then I'll be back in about 15 minutes or so. You're watching CNN.

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