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CNN NEWSROOM

Police Searching For Suspects After Two Police Officers Were Shot; What Happened The Night Of Secret Service Crash?; Netanyahu Losing Ground in the Latest Poll

Aired March 13, 2015 - 10:00   ET

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me. We begin this hour with breaking news.

New audio captures the moments St. Louis area police officers learned that two of their own had been shot during a protest in Ferguson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Got an officer down. Officer down. Shots fired at the station in Ferguson.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: En route to officer down. Officer need 31980 clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer down. 223 South Morrison.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: En route to officer down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: This as the manhunt for the suspect or suspects continues in the shooting of those officers.

Alina Machado is in Ferguson with the latest on the manhunt.

Good morning.

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. We know authorities are chasing every lead they can to find the person responsible for this shooting. We know they've identified two people they want to talk to. One of them they believe could be the shooter.

Now the shots rang out from a hill that overlooks the police department. Officers reported seeing muzzle some 125 yards away. There was a group of protesters between the area where the officers were shot and the area where the muzzle flashes were seen. So these bullets had to fly over the protesters before they hit those police officers.

Now in the hours after the shooting, police went to a house that's just a few blocks away and they brought in three people for questioning. One of the people is a woman who lives at that house. Listen to what she had to say about what happened. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

IRESHA TURNER, QUESTIONED AND RELEASED BY POLICE: I opened my door. I stood back up. I looked at my chest. There's a red dot on it. I had my hands up and started crying, please don't shoot me.

After they searched the house, I asked for a search warrant to go into the attic. They found something in the attic.

JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A gun?

TURNER: Yes. It was a gun they found in the attack. It was not to be used to hurt anyone. It was used to protect myself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MACHADO: Now again that woman and the two people who were brought in for questioning were released. As far as we know, Carol, no charges. No arrests have been filed in this case.

Now there is a $3,000 reward being offered and there's been a change in terms of the security detail here in Ferguson during those protests. Initially Ferguson Police was in charge now, we're being told, those duties are going to be handled by the St. Louis County Police as well as the Missouri State Highway Patrol -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Alina Machado, reporting live from Ferguson, Missouri, thank you.

Some protesters want the entire Ferguson Police Department out insisting that the resignation of the city's police chief is not enough.

So the big question, will the Ferguson Police Department be dismantled in light of that scathing report from the Justice Department?

Earlier this morning, the attorney for Darren Wilson, the officer who was cleared in the shooting death of Michael Brown, addressed that issue.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEIL BRUNTRAGER, ATTORNEY FOR DARREN WILSON: I think the Justice Department has no intention of coming into this police department and managing this police department. I think the point is to disassemble this police department. So again, ultimately what you're going to do is you're going to close them out because I don't think Ferguson could withstand a consent decree. The cost is just too high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Let's talk more about that with CNN's national correspondent Ryan Young.

Good morning, Ryan. RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Look, a lot of

conversation here. We were talking to several residents who said they are upset this shooting happened for more than one reason.

First of all, when you look at that video, quite scary that someone would open fire near all those people especially with officers who are not engaged with anyone and both of them were hit . There was a candlelight vigil. People talk about protecting the community.

But then there's the other conversation of trying to move this city forward and the fact that so many people want the Ferguson Police Department dismantled. Now that conversation has changed because everybody is sort of focused on the manhunt for

whoever shot these two officers.

But the community has been getting involved. In fact a lot of tips have been coming in as you just heard. But one again, people here are tired of being painted in one way or another. There have been so many peaceful protests in the last few months and they were hoping that they can continue to focus on that.

Now we did see protesters hit the streets overnight. There's a lot of rain so it can -- maybe kept some people away but once again we did see protesters came back out to make sure their voices were heard. A lot of folks here want the Ferguson Police Department gone for good.

COSTELLO: All right, Ryan Young, reporting live this morning. Thanks so much.

In his first public comments about the shooting, President Obama says there is no excuse for criminal behavior.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue. They're criminals.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: I want to bring in Patricia Bynes, the Democratic committee woman for Ferguson Township.

Good morning.

PATRICIA BYNES, DEMOCRATIC COUNCILWOMAN, FERGUSON TOWNSHIP: Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: Good. I'm waiting to see you to see if you're really there. But I do hear you and that is a good sign. Thank you so much for being with me. There you are.

(LAUGHTER)

You heard what the president said. He said what happened in Ferguson is worthy of protests but that he wants police and the community to work together to find solutions. Is that possible? BYNES: I think that it is possible. And it's something that people

in the community and this region want to have happened.

COSTELLO: You know, I talked to a reverend earlier this morning. And she said that she felt a change last night during a vigil and a demonstration that followed between the protesters and the police.

Do you feel that there's a change in the air?

BYNES: I think that maybe the very outward action of having a prayer vigil to the -- for the police officers really helped some people to understand what this movement has certainly been about from the very beginning. There's been a perception that there is such animosity that nobody wants to work with the police and there might be a small minority of people who feel that way but the majority of people involved in protesting understand that in order to make anything happen, we're going to have to work together.

And I think that the prayer vigil helped knock out that perception for people who thought otherwise.

COSTELLO: Is it fair to say, though, there will be no working together with the Ferguson Police Department?

BYNES: I'm sorry, could you ask me that again?

COSTELLO: The Ferguson Police Department, many people in the community want the Ferguson Police Department dismantled. They want them gone. So is it fair to say there is no working with them?

BYNES: That's not true. It depends on who you're talking to. I actually represent people who live in Ferguson. Many of them do not want their police department dismantled. They would like to see reform. They would like to see a culture change. Because they feel that maybe St. Louis County is not, you know, far better than, say -- than Ferguson police. So they would feel more comfortable just trying to work with their local police department.

COSTELLO: So the police chief stepped down. He resigned and I assume that wasn't completely his choice. So is that enough for the community? The community members that you're talking with?

BYNES: Well, there are some people that are still calling for a few more resignations. But this is ultimately really up to the people who live in Ferguson. So if they would like to recall other elected officials or if they would like to see more resignations, they really need to put the pressure on to the board, to the council to let people know that's what they want.

COSTELLO: I don't know if you know the answer to this question but I'm just curious. If the Ferguson Police Department is dismantled who would come in and set up a new police department? Who would that be? What entity?

BYNES: Right. So there are several municipalities here within St. Louis County who contract with other police departments. They will contract with a nearby municipality or they will contract with St. Louis County, so if you dismantle the police department, you will be looking to contract which is a cost. You would like to contract with another police department.

But what many are concerned with, if you bring in somebody else, you still need to deal with the trauma between the police and the community and there are many that feel that federal monitoring should they decide for the consent decree would be the best for everyone in this situation.

COSTELLO: All right. Patrick Bynes, thank you so much for being with me this morning. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, growing concerns as the Secret Service handles its latest blow. You won't believe it.

We'll take you live to the White House next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: New questions swirling around the Secret Service after an alleged drunken crash. While the details of exactly what happened that night are not clear, lawmakers say it is a major concern.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JASON CHAFFETZ (R), OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM CHAIRMAN: We're very united, Republicans and Democrats, in saying the safety of the first family is paramount. And we're putting this person in jeopardy and his family in jeopardy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Sunlen Serfaty is at the White House this morning with the latest on the Secret Service investigation.

Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol.

Well, one of the most disturbing details that we're hearing about this investigation is that rather than being notified immediately, the new Secret Service director Joe Clancy, he was not told about this incident until five days after it happened. This of course coming from the agency that he vowed to clean up and fix.

Now as you said, there are many facts that we still don't know. We don't have the full picture of the details but we're getting a few more facts. One is that in addition to these two Secret Service agents allegedly driving under the influence, we've also learned from law enforcement sources that they drove under police tape and destructed an active situation involving a suspicious package. And that was happening at the scene at the time on White House grounds.

Sources, Carol, are now downplaying whether these agents crashed through a barrier at the White House. Some sources saying that they slightly nudged one of these orange barriers that were there in an attempt to move it a few feet out of the way.

Also not clear what speed they were going. One source saying it was literally one-mile-an-hour. So a real downplaying of the drama around anything that altercation at the White House.

We're also starting to find out details of who these two agents are. Sources say that Mark Connolly is the one of the agents in the car. He is the high-ranking member of President Obama's own protective detail. In essence, basically was the number two on the president's own detail. The other agent, George Ogilvie, and he was a top supervisor in a Washington field office also at one time, a spokesperson.

Now we know according to law enforcement sources that Ogilvie was the driver and he was driving -- Connolly, the other agent -- back into White House grounds, West Executive Drive, so that Connolly could get his government car.

There are a lot of details that still have to come out about this about this, Carol, but hopefully we'll be able to learn more soon.

COSTELLO: Hope so.

Sunlen Serfaty, thanks so much.

I'll be right be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: On Tuesday Israeli voters will finally have their say in a contest that has become a tough re-election bid for Benjamin Netanyahu. With just days to go, new polling shows the prime minister is falling behind his chief rival.

And in an interview with Israel's Channel 2 News, Netanyahu says outside money from what he calls, quote, "European states is the reason he's losing ground."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Huge money flows into Israel. Millions of dollars. Could be tens of millions of dollars. There are governments that are assisting organizations of -- just not Bibi -- to convince the Arab voters to take out the left voters campaign that goes from home to home. Why?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN global affairs correspondent Elise Labott joins us now from Jerusalem with more on this.

Hi, Elise.

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS REPORTER: Hi, Carol.

Well, I mean, listen, the polls are definitely showing Netanyahu losing seats in the Knesset. You know, here it's not necessarily like an up or down. We're not going to know who the next prime minister is that night. We're going to know which party has the most seats. And clearly Prime Minister Netanyahu's Likud Party is down in the latest leading newspaper polls.

We have one that came out this morning from a leading newspaper "Maariv" says that Netanyahu's Likud Party is four seats behind the challenger -- leading challenger which is Isaac Hertzog's Labor Party. But the poll actually goes on to show that when you ask about who do you believe is more suitable to be prime minister here, Benjamin Netanyahu 48 percent to Hertzog's 28 percent.

So there seems to be this kind of momentum for change, Carol, but not real radical change. I mean, people definitely are going a lot frustrated with Prime Minister Netanyahu but aren't necessarily ready to endorse Isaac Hertzog -- Carol.

COSTELLO: So why are they frustrated with Benjamin Netanyahu?

LABOTT: I think over the last six years there's been this relentless focus by the prime minister on security issues, on Iran, on threats in the region, on the danger of making a peace deal with the Palestinians that doesn't protect Israel's security.

And there's a lot of other issues here, Carol. The economy isn't doing so well. There are rising food prices, rising housing prices. People care about social welfare reform, health care, and they say listen, yes, we want a prime minister to keep us safe but we also want someone who is going to think about our future and the future we want to give our children in terms of those kind of issues.

So Israelis, when I talk to them, they say look, we're tired of Bibi, as he's called here, Prime Minister Netanyahu. Not so ready to vote for Herzog. And I think this is really the dilemma here in the Israeli electorate. They want change, they don't know where that change is and when it comes to security, Prime Minister Netanyahu does poll very well and that is an issue in the back of their minds that is very important to them as well even as they try to make change on these other issues -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Elise Labott reporting live from Jerusalem. Thank you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, Ferguson Police out, state and county officers in. The job of protest security handed off as demonstrators call for the city's police department to be dismantled.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Right now authorities in Ferguson, Missouri, are trying to hunt down the individual or individuals who nearly killed two police officers. Officials have now identified two people, one of whom may be the shooter.

Overnight it was a much different scene on the streets of Ferguson. Chaos and gunshots replaced by a spirit of cooperation as one member of the community put it.

But for those in uniform, this week's shooting is a painful reminder of the threat officers face every day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF JON BELMAR, ST. LOUIS COUNTY POLICE: It's not every day that a fellow officer gets shot or gets hurt. And so this is kind of a reality check for us. It's an ugly reminder of one of the hazards of this profession. And it certainly plays into the minds, it certainly plays into the thought process.

You know, guys coming out here tonight versus guys coming out two weeks ago. Obviously there's a different mindset because it's now become a reality. A painful reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So let's talk more about this with Harry Houck, he's a retired detective for the New York City Police Department. Thank you so much for being here.

HARRY HOUCK, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: Thanks for having me, Carol. Good to see you again.

COSTELLO: So -- good to see you, too. Last hour I was talking with Tom Fuentes, our own law enforcement expert. He said it was stupid that some officers were patrolling last night without heavy tactical gear.

Do you agree?

HOUCK: Well, I think officers should -- you know, in light of the riots that occurred there before, I think officers should definitely have some tactical gear. The whole problem is I think politicians are making the decision for officers not to do that and at the same time what they're doing is they're putting police officers' lives in danger.

COSTELLO: I talked to a community organizer who said it actually calmed things down and the protest and the demonstrations last night ended peacefully. She even witnessed, like, police and the demonstrators talking with each other in a civil manner. And she credited that with the lack of heavy tactical gear worn by police.

HOUCK: I doubt that. I mean, I mean, I would say you would have probably saw the same thing as police officers sitting there talking with the members of the community last night whether or not they were in tactical gear or not.

But you've got to remember that the safety of the officers is a big concern and we have to make sure we take care of those officers and they've got to be prepared in the event anything happens like another riot.

COSTELLO: Do you think the Ferguson Police Department will survive this?

HOUCK: I'm hoping so because the report that came out on the Ferguson Police Department itself I believe was biased and a sham myself.

COSTELLO: Really? Why?

HOUCK: Right. Right.

COSTELLO: You know the statistics that you saw?

HOUCK: Yes, but those statistics -- nobody -- what they didn't do on that report also is tell us how many police reports were made where the perpetrators were black, all right, and go through that, all right, and how many arrests were made based on that.

I think the statistics they just spit out, 90 percent of the crime in Ferguson was committed by black people. That's the last report that I've seen. It may be right, it might be wrong, I don't know.

COSTELLO: Let's talk about traffic offenses. And we're not talking about heavy duty crime.

HOUCK: No. We got some traffic offenses, right, which are --

COSTELLO: Yes, we're talking about traffic offenses like 90 percent of the people stopped for traffic offenses were African-Americans.

HOUCK: Well, if they -- if these people, all right, commit violations, of course they're going to be stopped. And there was a report the other day saying more black people -- are actually stopped all right, and are in commit violations, traffic violations than white people do in that neighborhood in Ferguson.

COSTELLO: Now see, when the community of Ferguson and other African- American communities across the country hear you say that, they're going to look at you and say you don't get it. You don't understand. You're not even willing to open your mind and look at these statistics and read them for what they are.

HOUCK: Well, of course they're going to say that. But you know, you can't just throw statistics out there. You know, while we're --

(CROSSTALK)

COSTELLO: I think the Justice Department did a heavy duty investigation. They did the heavy duty investigation.

HOUCK: Well, I don't think that was a heavy duty investigation. They went out and they spoke to people.

COSTELLO: 37,000 pages?

HOUCK: In this community. All right?

COSTELLO: Or records from the Ferguson Police Department?

HOUCK: Well, I saw, 105 pages in the report that I read myself.

COSTELLO: No, I mean, 30,000 pieces of information from the Ferguson.

HOUCK: Yes, I mean, that's fine. But what I'm saying is there's always three sides of a story. OK. They went out and they interviewed hundreds of people in the Ferguson community. All right? Mostly minorities, al Qaeda. And asked them about their situations with the police. All right, they took, all right, their statements as gospel. They didn't go and check them out.

All right, They didn't find out -- they looked at the police reports. Didn't call police officers in and say in this instance why did you actually make a stop? Now there were some problems with Ferguson. All right. I agree, you know, with all of the stipulations that I think the police department need to adhere to, all right, in their recommendations, I agree with them all. And the fact is that --

COSTELLO: So the Ferguson Police chief should have resigned?

HOUCK: I don't know. Because, you know, this is all precipitated on the fact that what happened down, you know, in Ferguson when Brown was shot. All right. So this is where this was all started. All right. And still there is people out there --

COSTELLO: Do you think that this police, chief of Ferguson, handled that situation right, right after Michael Brown was shot?

HOUCK: Well, what did you do wrong?