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CNN NEWSROOM

Manhunt Underway in Ferguson; Interview with Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri; Canadian Vet on Mission to Defeat ISIS; Prince Charles Candid about Love and Life

Aired March 13, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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


HARRY HOUCK, RETIRED NYPD DETECTIVE: There were some problems with Ferguson. I agree with all the stipulations that I think the police department need to adhere to in their recommendations. I agree with them all. And the fact is that --

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: So Ferguson police chief should have resigned?

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

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

HOUCK: What did he do wrong?

COSTELLO: You don't remember when he just like the surveillance video of Michael Brown in the convenience store, he just like released that without explanation? You don't think that exacerbated the situation?

HOUCK: It might have.

COSTELLO: It did.

HOUCK: But I think also what happened also is that all the rhetoric that was out there exacerbated the situation out there. When you've got -- one of the biggest problems right now is that this report has come out as far as the officer's shooting is concerned and nobody wants to believe it in Ferguson or at least 150 demonstrators don't want to believe it in Ferguson.

When truth no longer matters in a situation, where do we go? How does Ferguson heal? How does the police department heal?

COSTELLO: I would say the community would say that it is the truth and perception is reality, I mean -- right. So the police are --

HOUCK: Even though perception is reality it doesn't make it factual.

COSTELLO: You have to admit that Ferguson police department has a problem, right? HOUCK: Yes.

COSTELLO: Missouri police just have a problem with the community -- right?

HOUCK: I admit there are some problems with the community.

COSTELLO: So whether you buy into this report or not, they have a problem with the community and there has to be trust there. Somebody has to build that trust and you guys are the leaders.

HOUCK: Right but let me tell you. When you don't want to believe the facts itself, there's a problem. There's anarchy. No matter what -- those demonstrators out there the other night did not want to believe the report that Eric Holder put forward on this case. What do you do when the facts do not matter?

That's why I think Ferguson is a long way from healing.

COSTELLO: All right. Thanks for your insight. I appreciate it. Thanks for stopping by.

HOUCK: Thanks for having me -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Two Missouri congressmen are offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of whoever shot those officers. Representative Emanuel Cleaver is one of the lawmakers putting up that reward. He joins me now live by phone. Good morning, sir.

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: Good morning.

COSTELLO: Did you just hear our conversation?

CLEAVER: Tragically, I did.

COSTELLO: What do you think?

CLEAVER: I am extremely disappointed. I am of the opinion that racial tension and maybe even isolations is at best at a standstill. I'm hearing things today that I thought were not uttered past 1970.

COSTELLO: Like what?

CLEAVER: First let me just say we have no idea who did the shooting. What I think most people can agree on including the police in Ferguson is that the shots didn't come from the demonstrators. It came from a hill. We don't know race or ethnicity.

And the other thing is the report is scathing. It's damning. The gentleman that just talked about facts refused to acknowledge the presence of e-mails in which the police chief is calling the city manager telling him I've broken a record. I've given $2 million in lawsuits. And the city manager sends an e-mail back that says Good work.

There's something wrong when you have taxation by citation and that's what has been happening in Ferguson. And if what's going on in Ferguson is inspiring people to say what I just heard, then we have a very, very serious problem in this country.

COSTELLO: OK. Onto the subject matter at hand and the reason that you're on the phone, you are offering a reward for the capture of whoever shot these two police officers, correct?

CLEAVER: Yes, that's right. Congressman Lacy Clay and I believe that there's no excuse for shooting at police officers, law enforcement officers who get up in the morning and go out and put their lives on the line to protect us. We don't know the hearts of the gentlemen who were shot, the police officers who were shot. But we think that it's something that we all abhor.

So we already put up $3,000 and we're going to talk perhaps later on today about whether we could go raise more money to increase the amount of money. We think somebody called in. We have a nice sum of money.

The person that shot at the police officers did a tremendous amount of damage to race relations. Just think about this. What if when the shots were fired the police -- just one police officer had picked up to use his revolver shooting into the crowd. Today we would be talking about massacre and we would be talking about race relations dipping back 75, 80 years.

And I'm also wondering if that was one of the goals. If somebody, whoever did it, wanted to continue to damage race relations. And all people of good will ought to be about the business of trying to reduce racial tension.

It's kind of like embroidery that I saw my grandmother doing. Racial progress in terms of race relations is made stitch by stitch and we hope that what we just did will be a stitch in a big embroidery piece that no one should tolerate this kind of thing and people ought to speak out.

I mean, you know, people will make nasty comments about the President or Mrs. Obama and there are people who are asked should they have said that he's a Muslim. And we have people all the time, well he says he's a Christian. Let's start condemning things that are wrong.

COSTELLO: All right. Congressman Cleaver, thank you so much for joining me this morning, I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, a Canadian veteran joins Kurdish forces on the front lines trying to defeat is. You won't believe why he was forced to come off the battlefield. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A U.S. Navy admiral is sounding the alarm warning that America may not be able to defend itself against Russia. That country continues to step up its military activity and develop long range armed missiles. Our senior Washington correspondent Joe Johns is following that story for us this morning. Good morning -- Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning Carol.

A disturbing picture of Russian military assertiveness not seen since the Cold War. The admiral who heads up northern command in NORAD says Russia has been investing in new capabilities that make the North America -- the U.S. and Canada vulnerable in not ways seen in a generation.

Admiral Bill Gortney laid it out in written testimony for the Senate. He says Russia is making progress toward its goal of deploying long range conventionally armed cruise missiles with increased launch distances giving them what he calls deterrent options that don't cross the line over into the use of nuclear weapons.

Also says he's seeing improved inter-operability between Russia and long-range claims, other elements of the Russian military position to monitor NORAD. So it's clear the Russians are paying a lot of attention to what NORAD does. And when you add that up with what we already knew that Russian heavy bombers flew more out of area patrols last year than any than any year since the Cold War, not just around North America but also around the English Channel, it's something really to watch.

Here's Gortney.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ADM. WILLIAM GORNEY, COMMANDER NORAD: The long range aviation, Russian long range aviation is a pretty significant increase in numbers. And what concerns me more are two things. It's where they're flying even down the English Channel to where they're flying that's not been what they've done in the past even back with the Soviet Union and the development of the cruise missiles they have that have a long range that from eastern Russia they can have critical infrastructure in Alaska and Canada that we rely on for a homeland defense mission.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: So why are seeing this tempo change? Gortney says these patrols do serve a training function for Russian aircrews but also are clearly intended to underscore (inaudible) global reach and communicate its displeasure with western policies especially with regard to Ukraine -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Joe Johns reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

Several dozen Iraqi soldiers are dead after ISIS uses homemade bombs in an attack on an army headquarters. This new attack comes as ISIS raises the pressure in Ramadi because just 100 miles away ISIS is losing the fight for Tikrit. Only about 150 ISIS fighters are left to hold the city as Iraqi forces say they are making progress in pushing ISIS out. Kurdish fighters did not have a hand in retaking Tikrit but they did

manage to retake much of oil rich Kirkuk from ISIS militants. Involved in that fight an American war veteran Patrick Maxwell and Dillon Hillier, a Canadian who fought in the Iraq war in 2006. Some might say Maxwell and Hillier are foolhardy for volunteering to fight along side the Kurds. Others would say they're and are taking responsibility for fighting terrorism wherever it lives.

With me now, Corporal Dillon Hillier. Welcome, sir. Thank you for being with me.

CORPORAL DILLON HILLIER: Thank you for having me, Carol.

COSTELLO: You volunteered to fight alongside the Kurds against ISIS. Why?

HILLIER: There was a lot of reasons. I felt that I had the skills and ability to help out and do some good and there was two instances that took place in Canada. Two separate occasions ISIS-inspired criminals targeted and killed two Canadian soldiers so that hit close to home. And I felt that I should --

COSTELLO: -- do something about it. I totally understand that.

HILLIER: Yes, exactly.

COSTELLO: Although it was incredibly courageous for you to fight ISIS alongside the Kurds and we're seeing pictures of you from the battlefield. Tell us about your journey there.

HILLIER: I left on November 15th from Calgary. It was a three-day trip over there. I was pretty nerve-wracked when I was flying into Iraq. I met a Peshmerga lieutenant at the airport. He cleared my military gear through customs and then a week later I find myself on the battlefield.

COSTELLO: Tell us about one of the battles against ISIS. Tell us what that was like.

HILLEWR: It was pretty terrifying. I use my training and skills and they did me well.

COSTELLO: At some point you had to go back to Canada. Why did you leave the battlefield?

HILLIER: Me and Patrick were both told by a high ranking Peshmerga general, Sheikh Jafir (ph) that we were not to be used in combat anymore. I believe the Kurdistan regional government was fearful of political backlash from both Canada and the United States if we got hurt or killed.

COSTELLO: So it came from the Kurds and not from the U.S. Military?

HILLIER: There was Green Berets there as well who told us the same thing. They basically said it was time for us to leave.

COSTELLO: Why would there be political backlash?

HILLIER: I don't know. That's not something I can answer.

COSTELLO: But it's safe to say you didn't want to return. You wanted to stay and fight.

HILLIER: Yes, I did.

COSTELLO: Was it easy to get along with Kurdish forces because you don't speak the same language or do many of them speak English?

HILLIER: Not very many of them did. It wasn't too difficult. I mean they are the most hospitable people I've ever met. They're very friendly and, you know, there was a language barrier but I don't know. It was overcome.

COSTELLO: All right. Dillon Hillier, thank you so much for joining me this morning. I appreciate it.

HILLIER: Thank you again.

COSTELLO: Still to come in the newsroom, uncommonly candid. Up close and personal with Prince Charles. A sneak peek at the exclusive interview next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A rare sit down with royalty. In an exclusive interview Prince Charles is candidly opening up about his sons, his love for Camilla and his affection for the United States. Here's more from CNN's Max Foster.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: He's the next king of Great Britain. She's the love of his life. Charles and Camilla: unguarded moments, never seen before video and an exclusive interview.

Congratulations on the imminent arrival of another grandchild.

Uncommonly up front about his feelings for her.

CHARLES, PRINCE OF WALES: I'm very proud of her.

FOSTER: They first toured the United States as newlyweds.

PRINCE CHARLES: My darling wife enjoyed that visit very much.

FOSTER: Now on the eve of their return.

PRINCE CHARLES: I picked up an awful lot of good ideas from the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Our royal correspondent Max Foster joins me now from London. How exciting. What were they like off camera?

FOSTER: Well, I think, all I wanted to do was sort of get a real sense of them. They are running up to their tenth wedding anniversary. I think he wanted to talk about her, the support that she's given him but also the context here is that she was deeply unpopular ten years ago when they got married, even more unpopular before that.

And gradually the British public at least has warmed to her. And I think he felt like this was a time to start talking about her. He rarely gives interviews. He rarely gives anything personal away, let alone talking about his wife Camilla. So this is one of those rare occasions where he starts to talk about her. He's probably not going to talk about her again. But this is really about him opening up and trying to make the world know what she's really like and what she means to him.

COSTELLO: That's kind of lovely. Why do you think that the public in Britain is warming to Camilla? Is it because of Prince Charles, the passage of time or do the princes have something to do with it?

FOSTER: Well, it's interesting isn't. I think -- I mean she's always compared with Diana and so much of the world was in love with Diana and Camilla was the other woman. She's had to overcome that. In the 90s, there was a very aggressive spin strategy in the palace trying to convince people that they should like her and counter-briefing against perhaps Prince William's team.

So there's a lot of that going on. It absolutely backfired. But I think over the last ten years, actually the family is getting along a lot better but the strategy is simply to allow her to be herself, to follow the causes she's interested in, to support her husband but also just to do things that she wants to do.

When people do meet her, they are inevitably charmed because the person you see on TV just isn't the person that exists in real life. They can't really control that TV image. As she meets more people, more people warm to her and she's being more authentic now. So I think people are trusting a bit more in the person that they see now.

COSTELLO: Interesting. Max Foster, thanks so much. "CNN SPOTLIGHT: CHARLES AND CAMILLA" an exclusive interview with Britain's Prince Charles airs Saturday night at 7:30 Eastern on CNN.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, "Breaking Bad" fans listen up, (inaudible) stop bombarding this home with Pizza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: A woman from New Mexico is fed up with her home being pelted by pizzas and now the stars of "Breaking Bad" are delivering a stark message to their fans. Here's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a special delivery when a pizza ends up on the roof, not of your mouth but of your house. This is a famous scene from "Breaking Bad" when Walter White tries to make peace with his wife. She ends up closing the door in his face and he launches the pizza but the actual house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, has become a tourist attraction for fans and owner Frances Padilla says a few have been flinging pizzas.

FRANCES PADILLA, HOMEOWNER: Some people have tried and missed. Some people have gotten them on there. If you're going to be a jerk, stay the hell away.

MOOS: Frances seems more than capable of defending herself. She got some help from the creator of "Breaking Bad". in a podcast, Vince Gilligan called her the sweetest lady in the world.

VINCE GILLIGAN, CREATOR OF "BREAKING BAD": And if you were getting on her nerves, you were doing something seriously (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I don't even consider them fans. I consider them jag-offs.

MOOS: Joining forces against the jag-offs tossing pizzas is Jonathan Banks who plays the hit man on "Breaking Bad".

JONATHAN BANKS, ACOTR: If I catch you doing it, I will hunt you down.

PADILLA: I loved it. I loved it -- yes.

MOOS: After all, who wants to clean pizza off the roof?

PADILLA: It's the few idiots --

MOOS: Some wonder how many takes Brian Cranston's famous pizza toss took?

BRIAN CRANSTON, ACTOR: I got to get it up there?

MOOS: He did it his very first try. He landed. He stuck it.

From personal experience -- want some pizza? I can tell you, it's not easy.

Want some pizza.

We failed the first two takes. It's on the house. Well, not exactly on the house but near the house. Nevertheless, our $18 pizza was resilient. Want some pizza? Don't try pelting Frances' house with pepperoni pizza, or you may end up in slices.

Jeanne Moos, CNN --

PADILLA: If you're going to be a jerk, stay the hell away.

MOOS: -- New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: It's disturbing that Jeanne's pizza stayed intact after all that. Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

"AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now. Have a great weekend.