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CNN Live At Daybreak

Police Beating

Aired December 02, 2003 - 06:31   ET

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

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


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is a question of force in the police beating of a suspect who died in custody, and it is a question dividing a city again along racial lines.
Joining us now on the phone live from Cincinnati is CNN's Brian Cabell.

Good morning -- Brian.

Where does the investigation stand now?

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

The investigation is going in a few directions right now. Primarily there is a concern right now, Carol, that what happened on Sunday morning may turn into something bigger. So, the Justice Department is investigating this right now, a citizen's panel is investigating and police are investigating. Cincinnati, of course, has a history of racial tension with major disturbances some two and a half years ago.

But what they're looking into, of course, is this Sunday altercation before 6:00 in the morning when a fast food restaurant employee called in and said a man was acting strange out in the parking lot. Emergency medical personnel came out and took a look. Two police responded, and what they found was a 5 foot 9 inch, 350- pound man, by the name of Nathaniel Jones, acting belligerently. They got in a fight. The police had nightsticks and a chemical spray, but, of course, they were much smaller than the man.

They called for backup. Six people eventually responded. And finally, they got him down, but then they realized they had a medical problem. They turned him over and had to get him to the hospital immediately, but he died almost immediately thereafter.

Police say they did nothing wrong, and the coroner has now said he has no cause of death yet, but, as you indicated, what they have seen is that he had a very large heart. He had some cardiac problems. And there was also some PCP and cocaine in his system.

So, once again, an investigation into whether excessive force was used here, exactly how this started, and was there any way possibly that police could have treated him otherwise -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, of course, he did have cocaine and PCP in his system, and PCP does make for aggressive behavior. But just in looking at this tape, six police officers eventually responded. The police say that they were following proper procedure. I just wonder -- a Citizens Complaint Board is looking into this. How much will its decision factor in, in this investigation?

CABELL: Well, it will factor in. Ever since the disturbances back in 2001, the federal government has been involved here and this Citizens Complaint Board was set up to try to foster better relations between police and the black community. So, everybody is looking to see exactly how the black community will regard this at this point.

We've talked to an activist minister, I should tell you, yesterday, Carol. His words were not all that inflammatory. He was upset, but it was not the sort of statement you might expect if someone were expecting disturbances here in Cincinnati. We've been told there might be a protest today at noontime at the scene of this particular altercation, but so far what we're hearing is some anger, but not overwhelming anger, I would say.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Cabell reporting live by phone from Cincinnati.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.






Aired December 2, 2003 - 06:31   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: It is a question of force in the police beating of a suspect who died in custody, and it is a question dividing a city again along racial lines.
Joining us now on the phone live from Cincinnati is CNN's Brian Cabell.

Good morning -- Brian.

Where does the investigation stand now?

BRIAN CABELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, Carol.

The investigation is going in a few directions right now. Primarily there is a concern right now, Carol, that what happened on Sunday morning may turn into something bigger. So, the Justice Department is investigating this right now, a citizen's panel is investigating and police are investigating. Cincinnati, of course, has a history of racial tension with major disturbances some two and a half years ago.

But what they're looking into, of course, is this Sunday altercation before 6:00 in the morning when a fast food restaurant employee called in and said a man was acting strange out in the parking lot. Emergency medical personnel came out and took a look. Two police responded, and what they found was a 5 foot 9 inch, 350- pound man, by the name of Nathaniel Jones, acting belligerently. They got in a fight. The police had nightsticks and a chemical spray, but, of course, they were much smaller than the man.

They called for backup. Six people eventually responded. And finally, they got him down, but then they realized they had a medical problem. They turned him over and had to get him to the hospital immediately, but he died almost immediately thereafter.

Police say they did nothing wrong, and the coroner has now said he has no cause of death yet, but, as you indicated, what they have seen is that he had a very large heart. He had some cardiac problems. And there was also some PCP and cocaine in his system.

So, once again, an investigation into whether excessive force was used here, exactly how this started, and was there any way possibly that police could have treated him otherwise -- Carol.

COSTELLO: And, of course, he did have cocaine and PCP in his system, and PCP does make for aggressive behavior. But just in looking at this tape, six police officers eventually responded. The police say that they were following proper procedure. I just wonder -- a Citizens Complaint Board is looking into this. How much will its decision factor in, in this investigation?

CABELL: Well, it will factor in. Ever since the disturbances back in 2001, the federal government has been involved here and this Citizens Complaint Board was set up to try to foster better relations between police and the black community. So, everybody is looking to see exactly how the black community will regard this at this point.

We've talked to an activist minister, I should tell you, yesterday, Carol. His words were not all that inflammatory. He was upset, but it was not the sort of statement you might expect if someone were expecting disturbances here in Cincinnati. We've been told there might be a protest today at noontime at the scene of this particular altercation, but so far what we're hearing is some anger, but not overwhelming anger, I would say.

COSTELLO: All right, Brian Cabell reporting live by phone from Cincinnati.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.