Return to Transcripts main page
American Morning
Excessive Force?; '90-Second Pop'
Aired May 04, 2005 - 07:31 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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everybody. It's 7:30 in New York.
In a moment here, we're going to get you down to Philadelphia, show you a videotape raising lots of questions today in that town. It appears to show a policeman punching a man in handcuffs off to the side of the road. A police inspector joins us in a moment to tell us what we need to know, what happened before and what happened after. So we'll get to that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And it's really what happened after that has lots of people talking this morning.
Also, the popular Fox show, "American Idol," well, it could take a hit in an ABC expose tonight. Supposedly a former contestant is talking about how Paula Abdul may have helped him, and maybe I should say, "helped" him, because that's kind of where his allegations are going.
HEMMER: It could be must-see TV tonight.
O'BRIEN: It could be.
HEMMER: We'll see what they've got.
Here's Carol Costello with the headlines, first check this morning.
Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
This just in to CNN. Pakistan says it has a senior al Qaeda suspect in custody. Abu Faraj Al Libi is wanted in connection with two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president in December of 2003. We'll bring you more details on this arrest when they become available.
A suicide attack in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Officials say the bomber laced his body with explosives and set them off outside of a police recruitment center. The blast killed at least 47 people and wounded 100 others.
New revelations this morning about the death of NFL star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. The former professional athlete was killed near Pakistan in April of 2004. The Army announced the following month that it was likely due to friendly fire, but according to "The Washington Post," troops on the scene knew right away that Tillman had been killed by American bullets, but apparently concealed evidence. No response from the Tillman family as of yet.
In Fort Hood, Texas, the man prosecutors say was the ringleader in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is set to take the stand today. Specialist Charles Graner will testify on behalf of Private First Class Lynndie England during the sentencing phase of her trial. He was her boyfriend at the time and is the father of her baby. CNN has learned England could face two years in prison as part of a plea deal.
And actor Kelsey Grammer is nursing some bruises from Disneyland's 50th anniversary bash. Take a look. The star of the long-running comedy "Frasier" was emceeing. Oh, and he's down! It seems he had wandered too close to the edge and fell off the stage. Grammer got back up. You see him there. He was able to host and continue the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELSEY GRAMMER, ACTOR: OK, I'll tell you what, I'll finish this, and then we'll take a look at what I've done to my body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Grammer does not appear to have been seriously hurt in the accident. At one point, he joked, I'm not going near that corner again.
HEMMER: I bet.
O'BRIEN: Boy!
HEMMER: He fell into a black hole.
O'BRIEN: You've got to be really comfortable with what you're talking about to be able to fall right off the stage.
COSTELLO: Or -- no, I'm not going to say it.
O'BRIEN: Good thing he's not injured at all. I mean, that's a pretty decent way to fall. All right, Carol, thanks. Appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: A Philadelphia police officer is on desk duty now pending an internal investigation into alleged police brutality. The narcotics officer, one of the three seen in this videotape right here, is accused of using excessive force to apprehend a suspect late Thursday night.
Inspector William Colarulo is a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department, joining us this morning.
Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us, inspector. Let's go back to that videotape we were just looking at. Explain to me what happened here. The suspect in a vehicle, crosses over the highway, hits a tree, makes a little bit of a run for it. What's going on here?
INSPECTOR WILLIAM COLARULO, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, first of all, the reason we were chasing this vehicle in the first place, our helicopter unit was following the vehicle because we had information that the person driving that car may have been involved in a burglary in the eastern section of the city. He was driving recklessly. He went over the Betsy Ross Bridge into south Jersey, came back into Philadelphia, crashed into a toll booth, eventually hit a tree, as you said. And then there was a short foot pursuit when the officers grabbed him.
Now, what the video apparently shows is another officer ran over. It appears that the officer may have been holding something, struck the individual on the ground. And then later on, and the commissioner admittedly stated later on, it appears that the handcuffed suspect was punched. And that is disturbing to the police commissioner.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a look, in fact...
COLARULO: Momentarily...
O'BRIEN: Let me -- forgive me for interrupting you here.
COLARULO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: But I actually want to show folks that videotape while we talk about it. OK. So, they're leading the suspect to the vehicle, and you can see the police officer on the right there. You can see that he actually clocks him in the head, at least once, right here. Look. Hits him on the head at least once.
Is there ever a reason that a suspect who appears to be restrained, who appears to be moving to the vehicle to be placed inside, ever a reason to hit a handcuffed suspect?
COLARULO: Well, you know, I would say there probably is not any reason to do that. But, again, you know, I've been a police officer for 24 years. And we have to look at all of the circumstances before we can make any kind of judgment. The commissioner was very forthcoming. He did say it was disturbing. Immediately after the commissioner viewed the tape, he ordered an internal affairs investigation. The officer was put on administrative duty pending the outcome of that investigation.
O'BRIEN: The suspect, though, who we saw being hit on the ground and then again as he's being walked apparently to the police vehicle, not charged with anything. Why would somebody then be released after that kind of a chase and that kind of an arrest?
COLARULO: Well, that is one of the things that we want to look into, and that is why there is going to be an internal investigation. The police commissioner assured the public that there would be a complete and thorough investigation. There will be no cover-ups. We'll keep the public completely informed of our findings. And as he stated, the chips will fall where they may.
O'BRIEN: Why has the name of the officer not been released, or the name of the suspect either, who I understand was just given a couple of traffic violations because of that?
COLARULO: Well, you know, we're trying to conduct our investigation. We want to interview everyone that's involved in this incident. And we're affording everyone, including the officer and the subject, the same rights as we would anyone else. After all, the officer is entitled to the same due process rights as anyone else.
But they are going to be interviewed, and we are going to do an investigation. And once our findings are done, they will be submitted to the police commissioner and possibly to the district attorney's office for any appropriate action.
O'BRIEN: My understanding is that the officer, in fact, has been with the force for 10 years. Anything in his background that would lead to concern for you?
COLARULO: Well, we're not releasing anything regarding the officer's background now, because we don't want to do anything that's going to hinder our investigation. I know some local news affiliates have been reporting that the officer had 10 years on the job and stated some type of disciplinary record. But we're not even going to release that or confirm any of that information at this time.
O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, this officer has now been assigned to a desk job while this investigation is pending. If, indeed, it turns out that he hit a suspect without cause who has handcuffed, what happens to that officer?
COLARULO: Well, you know, I can only speculate. That would be the decision of the police commissioner and possibly the district attorney and the city of Philadelphia. If it's proven that the officer acted inappropriately, the officer can face disciplinary action and, quite possibly -- and again, this is just speculative -- quite possibly criminal charges. But again, that's down the road, and we have to let the investigation unfold.
O'BRIEN: The suspect in this case, is he suing the police department?
COLARULO: I'm not even sure, but I know the internal affairs division is attempting to locate him for an interview.
O'BRIEN: Inspector William Colarulo, thank you for talking with us this morning. We certainly appreciate it.
COLARULO: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: It's 22 minutes now before the hour. The second South Carolina teenager rescued after six days stranded in the Atlantic is now back home with his family. Fifteen- year-old Troy Driscoll was released on Tuesday, a day after his friend, Josh Long, was released. He and Long were swept out to sea during a fishing trip 10 days ago. They were spotted off Cape Fear by a fishing crew on Saturday. And Driscoll visited his high school on Tuesday, thanking his friends and teachers and thanking them for offering their prayers, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TROY DRISCOLL, RESCUED AT SEA: A lot of them prayed for me, even people that I didn't know, out on the beach and everything. And I just thank them for their support and what they've done for me. It's definitely God. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Get this: Driscoll and Long now plan to spend their weekend attending the high school prom. And great for them. They say they prayed and ate jelly balls, Chad, floating around there for six or seven days.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And knew enough not to drink the saltwater, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes.
MYERS: I mean, you've got to get that into the kid's head. If you're going to get them out there on a boat like that, you have to let them know the survival skills. And they knew it, and that's why they're still alive today. So congratulations to them and congratulations to their parents or whoever taught them those survival skills.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Have a good look this morning at the belly buster. Look at this thing. The cheeseburger that makes the quarter pounder look like an appetizer. You eat that thing today, Soledad, and you digest it in about 2006.
O'BRIEN: How many calories do you think that has?
HEMMER: We're going to add it up.
O'BRIEN: Two billion.
Also ahead this morning, "90-Second Pop." Good times for Paris Hilton. She's been immortalized in wax with a new movie on the way. "The Simple Life" star gets ready for a serious career move. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A Pennsylvania pub is beefing up its burgers to reclaim a prestigious title. Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield is now offering a 15-pound hamburger. It's called the Beer Barrel Belly Buster. Earlier in the year, the pub lost its title as home to the world's biggest burger to a New Jersey diner that was only offering a 12.5 pounder. The pub now upping the ante. The burger is obviously meant to be shared. It comes with 25 slices of cheese, one entire head of lettuce, three entire tomatoes, two whole onions. Four guys over the weekend tried to eat one, couldn't get it down. We're going to talk to the owner of the pub coming up in our next hour. I could eat that.
HEMMER: In one sitting.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: It looks pretty good. Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What are we going to talk to him about?
O'BRIEN: I don't know. It's not my interview. I believe it's Bill Hemmer's interview.
CAFFERTY: Good for you, Bill.
HEMMER: News to me.
SERWER: News to everybody.
HEMMER: Apparently.
CAFFERTY: Now that the runaway bride is home, we're moving on to the big hamburgers in the country.
O'BRIEN: Oh!
CAFFERTY: Texas cheerleaders may soon be doing less hip-hip and more hurray. The Texas House approved a bill Tuesday that would ban -- quote -- "sexually-suggestive routines by cheerleaders, drill teams or other public school performance groups." The bill now goes to the Senate. They're really doing this in Texas. Of course, it fails to define what constitutes sexually-suggestive.
The bill's sponsor, though, what was his name? Al Edwards?
SERWER: Edwards.
CAFFERTY: Al Edwards has suggested inappropriate booty-shaking is a distraction for the student and contributes to all kinds of social problems. This is troubling Al deeply.
The question is this: Should Texas ban sexually-suggestive cheerleading?
Suzanne writes from San Antonio: "With all the educational issues facing Texas, what the cheerleaders are doing ought to be way down the list. How about spending time discussing school funding, wages for teachers and meeting the needs of our economically- disadvantaged kids? Typically Texas."
Jessica, in Magnolia, Arkansas: "The day will come where there won't be a Texan in the White House and the state's grip on dictating morality will be gone. Pardon me, but as a former cheerleader, I am aghast at someone dictating to me what they believe as sexually- suggestive."
Tom in Rhode Island: "Texas is not training cheerleaders; instead, they're creating future strippers. There is no need to insert sexually-suggestive movements into a cheer. Keep it clean."
D.W. in California: "Cheerleading is in the eye of the beholder. One man's young exuberant dance routine is another man's suggestive bumping and grinding. Let's leave it up to local community standards for each team."
And James writes from North Street in Mexico: "I think we should give Texas to Mexico."
HEMMER: It was there one time. Thank you, Jack.
The feds made a move yesterday. It's time to see how the markets responded to that. Here is Andy "Minding Your Business." And there's gas price.
SERWER: Yes, there is. The government has decided to revise its forecast for gas prices in the month of May. Of course, it is May. Your government at work.
The Department of Energy a few weeks ago suggested the price of gasoline in the United States, which averaged $2.35 a gallon this month, that's when oil prices were at $55 a barrel. Now that it's May, and the average price of gasoline is $2.24 a gallon, they're suggesting they may roll back their forecast. How can you have a forecast for May, if you're in May? Again, this is your government at work.
Yesterday, your government was also at work raising interest rates. Alan Greenspan and company raising the fed funds rate to 3 percent, up a quarter-point, the 8th increase since last June. And economists got very excited yesterday when they noticed that the sentence "longer-term inflation expectations remain well-contained" was not in the fed statement. Two hours later, the fed issued that statement with the sentence in it. And so the economists were all satisfied.
The market was a little turbulent trying to sort this out. But the averages ended up basically, except for the S&P, which was off less than a point. And futures are down.
HEMMER: They just kind of yawned at that yesterday, didn't they?
SERWER: Well, they're trying to figure out when they didn't have that very important sentence in there...
HEMMER: Sure. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: ... you know, economists got very, you know, all up in arms about that.
HEMMER: All right, thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Talk to you later.
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" is ahead this morning. Is Paula Abdul ready for her extreme close-up? The latest on tonight's blockbuster "American Idol" expose. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Pipe down. Pipe down, team. Everybody is getting a little rowdy here. It's time once again for "90-Second Pop." The gang is all here this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Karyn Bryant is the co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com also with us.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to "American Idol." Here's what happened yesterday. Vonzell Solomon sang Elvis Presley's "Treat Me Nice." Bo Bice sang Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." Let's show the picture. There she is. Scott Savol sang Brian McKnight's "Every Time You Go Away." There he is. Anthony Federov sang The Coasters "Poison Ivy." And Carrie Underwood sang the Elvis song, "Trouble."
Why are you snoring?
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're already bored just doing the list.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's long and complicated.
TOURE: OK, Vonzell...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
TOURE: ... is clearly the best of the group. She's a whole class veteran, the look, the sound, the way she feels.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: The look?
TOURE: Yes, even off, she's still a whole class ahead of everyone else. Bo has something sexual and different than I've ever seen on "American Idol," and I don't...
O'BRIEN: Long, long, long hair.
BOROWITZ: More than Clay Aiken, you think? I don't know.
TOURE: I mean, he's a total other direction.
BOROWITZ: He is hot!
TOURE: If he wins, if Bo wins, he'll be on the cover of "Rolling Stone" with his shirt off, right?
BOROWITZ: OK.
TOURE: That's the kind of guy he is.
BOROWITZ: Give me fair warning when that happens.
O'BRIEN: OK. But, you know, with all of this, the true drama is actually not about the show.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Of course.
KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": No.
O'BRIEN: It's about another show.
TOURE: As always. As always. ABC "Primetime" -- I love this story. They're doing a whole thing, bashing "American Idol." I love one network attacking another. We should do more of this sort of thing.
BRYANT: Yes.
TOURE: One of the former contestants, who you don't even -- you've never heard of unless you're a watcher-watcher, is saying that he had an affair with Paul Abdul.
BRYANT: Right. And that Paula gave him special preference and coached him.
BOROWITZ: OK. Now, I do not believe this in a million years...
TOURE: Me neither.
BOROWITZ: ... because, like, if Paula Abdul was coaching you, when you got on stage, wouldn't you be like slurring your words and going like this? I mean, come on.
TOURE: But she does not...
O'BRIEN: Oh, she has a neurological disorder.
BOROWITZ: Oh, OK. That's what it is.
TOURE: She does not vote, right? She's not on the phone calling a million times. She doesn't vote. It doesn't matter. It's not like the integrity of the show has been corrupted. Come on.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
BOROWITZ: I think we're all going to be happy to have this national nightmare behind us.
TOURE: Wait, before we go, right? The last time I was here, we were talking about Ryan Seacrest. I went to Jamaica. And now I'm back. I just want to say that I do have respect for him, because there's nobody in show business who is that uncool who has gotten that far. So, you have to have some level of respect for what he's done.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: The diss...
BRYANT: Andy is saying he'll give him some props on that one.
BOROWITZ: A star is next.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about "Shrek 3," a new movie.
BRYANT: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Justin Timberlake is in it. Is it just because his girlfriend, Cameron Diaz, is the star, so now she's kind of hooking him up with a little work?
BOROWITZ: Well, they are like the big couple now. They're like Bennifer, you know, except we don't have a name for them yet. I was thinking about that, because it's like Timberlake and Diaz. Let's call them Timber-Az. I think that would be awesome.
TOURE: Can we say that on TV?
BRYANT: Timber-Az.
BOROWITZ: Sure we can, Timber-Az.
O'BRIEN: Timber-Az with a "z."
BOROWITZ: OK?
TOURE: But that's...
BOROWITZ: We've inaugurated it.
TOURE: They're a good couple that people like. They're not tomcat. They're not Bennifer 2.
BRYANT: No, they are very likable.
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Are they going to get married? BOROWITZ: I don't -- you know, there are these rumors they're going to get married this weekend. But the thing is, Cameron actually has not been seen for the last few days, and she just turned up in this bus station in Albuquerque. So, I do not think that's in the cards.
TOURE: This is, like, one of the situations, like, we will have children, our children will be models.
BRYANT: We will breed. Yes, exactly.
TOURE: Our children's children will be models. Like, just they will rule the world.
BOROWITZ: Right. It's a breeding experiment.
BRYANT: Well, there was a rumor, too, that she already had a wedding ring on. There were pictures of that. And, you know, that they were, in fact, already married.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: I hope they let us know and clear up all of the confusion.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: Right.
O'BRIEN: I, for one, would like to be clear on this, if she's married or not.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Paris Hilton, because you know what? Didn't we say we weren't going to talk about her anymore?
BRYANT: I know, but this woman -- that's the thing.
TOURE: We did. Yes we did.
BRYANT: She is a businesswoman.
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
BRYANT: She plays, you know, the ditzy angle. And obviously, she's getting the last...
TOURE: She's playing the angle.
BRYANT: Well, no, she is. But she plays, you know, this larger- than-life sort of super silly girl on her show. She's making tons of money. She's got, you know, a perfume.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: She's got a jewelry line.
O'BRIEN: "House of Wax" is her new movie.
BRYANT: "House of Wax."
O'BRIEN: It got bad reviews of her acting.
BRYANT: Yes, well, did you expect anything more?
TOURE: What you go to "House of Wax" for is to see Paris get killed and then you go.
BRYANT: Right. But supposedly the story is, too, that they filmed one of her scenes with that grainy green, you know, sort of night-vision thing, and she didn't know that, supposedly. But that, you know, she knows when to play, I think, play the joke on herself and capitalize on that.
TOURE: She is the girl in class who will sleep with boys to be popular. She's not playing a role. She is that.
BRYANT: Well, she makes $100,000 to $200,000 to show up at a party for 20 minutes.
O'BRIEN: She's doing all right.
BOROWITZ: Right. She's doing fine.
BRYANT: Twenty minutes, Toure.
TOURE: OK, but none of this...
BRYANT: You can't get on the guest list.
TOURE: No, but that doesn't change her financial situation at all.
O'BRIEN: She's an heiress.
TOURE: Right. She's already a multimillionaire. Right.
BRYANT: For sure.
TOURE: So to get $100,000, that's a pay cut for what she's used to getting.
BRYANT: Well, I'm just saying for 20 minutes, the girl is doing something right.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure we're ever to talk about Meryl Streep...
TOURE: She's still on the Gulfstream.
O'BRIEN: ... and Paris Hilton in the same sentence except for the one I just gave you. You guys, as always, I thank you very much. We're out of time. We want to mention, of course, that you can catch Karyn Bryant every night, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Tonight, Paris Hilton, in fact, is talking about her new movie. Did I say bad acting? I mean, she's a fabulous actress. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on Headline Prime. That's at 7:00 Eastern Time -- Bill.
HEMMER: What are they paying you guys over there, by the way? Come on. Come on.
In a moment here, now she's a standup comic. The first lady, Laura Bush, stealing the spotlight. Why the higher profile? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
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 May 4, 2005 - 07:31 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning again, everybody. It's 7:30 in New York.
In a moment here, we're going to get you down to Philadelphia, show you a videotape raising lots of questions today in that town. It appears to show a policeman punching a man in handcuffs off to the side of the road. A police inspector joins us in a moment to tell us what we need to know, what happened before and what happened after. So we'll get to that.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: And it's really what happened after that has lots of people talking this morning.
Also, the popular Fox show, "American Idol," well, it could take a hit in an ABC expose tonight. Supposedly a former contestant is talking about how Paula Abdul may have helped him, and maybe I should say, "helped" him, because that's kind of where his allegations are going.
HEMMER: It could be must-see TV tonight.
O'BRIEN: It could be.
HEMMER: We'll see what they've got.
Here's Carol Costello with the headlines, first check this morning.
Hello.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Good morning to all of you.
"Now in the News."
This just in to CNN. Pakistan says it has a senior al Qaeda suspect in custody. Abu Faraj Al Libi is wanted in connection with two assassination attempts against Pakistan's president in December of 2003. We'll bring you more details on this arrest when they become available.
A suicide attack in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq. Officials say the bomber laced his body with explosives and set them off outside of a police recruitment center. The blast killed at least 47 people and wounded 100 others.
New revelations this morning about the death of NFL star Pat Tillman in Afghanistan. The former professional athlete was killed near Pakistan in April of 2004. The Army announced the following month that it was likely due to friendly fire, but according to "The Washington Post," troops on the scene knew right away that Tillman had been killed by American bullets, but apparently concealed evidence. No response from the Tillman family as of yet.
In Fort Hood, Texas, the man prosecutors say was the ringleader in the Abu Ghraib prison scandal is set to take the stand today. Specialist Charles Graner will testify on behalf of Private First Class Lynndie England during the sentencing phase of her trial. He was her boyfriend at the time and is the father of her baby. CNN has learned England could face two years in prison as part of a plea deal.
And actor Kelsey Grammer is nursing some bruises from Disneyland's 50th anniversary bash. Take a look. The star of the long-running comedy "Frasier" was emceeing. Oh, and he's down! It seems he had wandered too close to the edge and fell off the stage. Grammer got back up. You see him there. He was able to host and continue the event.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KELSEY GRAMMER, ACTOR: OK, I'll tell you what, I'll finish this, and then we'll take a look at what I've done to my body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Grammer does not appear to have been seriously hurt in the accident. At one point, he joked, I'm not going near that corner again.
HEMMER: I bet.
O'BRIEN: Boy!
HEMMER: He fell into a black hole.
O'BRIEN: You've got to be really comfortable with what you're talking about to be able to fall right off the stage.
COSTELLO: Or -- no, I'm not going to say it.
O'BRIEN: Good thing he's not injured at all. I mean, that's a pretty decent way to fall. All right, Carol, thanks. Appreciate it.
COSTELLO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: A Philadelphia police officer is on desk duty now pending an internal investigation into alleged police brutality. The narcotics officer, one of the three seen in this videotape right here, is accused of using excessive force to apprehend a suspect late Thursday night.
Inspector William Colarulo is a spokesman for the Philadelphia Police Department, joining us this morning.
Nice to see you. Thanks for being with us, inspector. Let's go back to that videotape we were just looking at. Explain to me what happened here. The suspect in a vehicle, crosses over the highway, hits a tree, makes a little bit of a run for it. What's going on here?
INSPECTOR WILLIAM COLARULO, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, first of all, the reason we were chasing this vehicle in the first place, our helicopter unit was following the vehicle because we had information that the person driving that car may have been involved in a burglary in the eastern section of the city. He was driving recklessly. He went over the Betsy Ross Bridge into south Jersey, came back into Philadelphia, crashed into a toll booth, eventually hit a tree, as you said. And then there was a short foot pursuit when the officers grabbed him.
Now, what the video apparently shows is another officer ran over. It appears that the officer may have been holding something, struck the individual on the ground. And then later on, and the commissioner admittedly stated later on, it appears that the handcuffed suspect was punched. And that is disturbing to the police commissioner.
O'BRIEN: Let's take a look, in fact...
COLARULO: Momentarily...
O'BRIEN: Let me -- forgive me for interrupting you here.
COLARULO: Sure.
O'BRIEN: But I actually want to show folks that videotape while we talk about it. OK. So, they're leading the suspect to the vehicle, and you can see the police officer on the right there. You can see that he actually clocks him in the head, at least once, right here. Look. Hits him on the head at least once.
Is there ever a reason that a suspect who appears to be restrained, who appears to be moving to the vehicle to be placed inside, ever a reason to hit a handcuffed suspect?
COLARULO: Well, you know, I would say there probably is not any reason to do that. But, again, you know, I've been a police officer for 24 years. And we have to look at all of the circumstances before we can make any kind of judgment. The commissioner was very forthcoming. He did say it was disturbing. Immediately after the commissioner viewed the tape, he ordered an internal affairs investigation. The officer was put on administrative duty pending the outcome of that investigation.
O'BRIEN: The suspect, though, who we saw being hit on the ground and then again as he's being walked apparently to the police vehicle, not charged with anything. Why would somebody then be released after that kind of a chase and that kind of an arrest?
COLARULO: Well, that is one of the things that we want to look into, and that is why there is going to be an internal investigation. The police commissioner assured the public that there would be a complete and thorough investigation. There will be no cover-ups. We'll keep the public completely informed of our findings. And as he stated, the chips will fall where they may.
O'BRIEN: Why has the name of the officer not been released, or the name of the suspect either, who I understand was just given a couple of traffic violations because of that?
COLARULO: Well, you know, we're trying to conduct our investigation. We want to interview everyone that's involved in this incident. And we're affording everyone, including the officer and the subject, the same rights as we would anyone else. After all, the officer is entitled to the same due process rights as anyone else.
But they are going to be interviewed, and we are going to do an investigation. And once our findings are done, they will be submitted to the police commissioner and possibly to the district attorney's office for any appropriate action.
O'BRIEN: My understanding is that the officer, in fact, has been with the force for 10 years. Anything in his background that would lead to concern for you?
COLARULO: Well, we're not releasing anything regarding the officer's background now, because we don't want to do anything that's going to hinder our investigation. I know some local news affiliates have been reporting that the officer had 10 years on the job and stated some type of disciplinary record. But we're not even going to release that or confirm any of that information at this time.
O'BRIEN: As you mentioned, this officer has now been assigned to a desk job while this investigation is pending. If, indeed, it turns out that he hit a suspect without cause who has handcuffed, what happens to that officer?
COLARULO: Well, you know, I can only speculate. That would be the decision of the police commissioner and possibly the district attorney and the city of Philadelphia. If it's proven that the officer acted inappropriately, the officer can face disciplinary action and, quite possibly -- and again, this is just speculative -- quite possibly criminal charges. But again, that's down the road, and we have to let the investigation unfold.
O'BRIEN: The suspect in this case, is he suing the police department?
COLARULO: I'm not even sure, but I know the internal affairs division is attempting to locate him for an interview.
O'BRIEN: Inspector William Colarulo, thank you for talking with us this morning. We certainly appreciate it.
COLARULO: You're welcome.
O'BRIEN: Bill.
HEMMER: It's 22 minutes now before the hour. The second South Carolina teenager rescued after six days stranded in the Atlantic is now back home with his family. Fifteen- year-old Troy Driscoll was released on Tuesday, a day after his friend, Josh Long, was released. He and Long were swept out to sea during a fishing trip 10 days ago. They were spotted off Cape Fear by a fishing crew on Saturday. And Driscoll visited his high school on Tuesday, thanking his friends and teachers and thanking them for offering their prayers, too.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TROY DRISCOLL, RESCUED AT SEA: A lot of them prayed for me, even people that I didn't know, out on the beach and everything. And I just thank them for their support and what they've done for me. It's definitely God. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: Get this: Driscoll and Long now plan to spend their weekend attending the high school prom. And great for them. They say they prayed and ate jelly balls, Chad, floating around there for six or seven days.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And knew enough not to drink the saltwater, Bill.
HEMMER: Yes.
MYERS: I mean, you've got to get that into the kid's head. If you're going to get them out there on a boat like that, you have to let them know the survival skills. And they knew it, and that's why they're still alive today. So congratulations to them and congratulations to their parents or whoever taught them those survival skills.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HEMMER: Have a good look this morning at the belly buster. Look at this thing. The cheeseburger that makes the quarter pounder look like an appetizer. You eat that thing today, Soledad, and you digest it in about 2006.
O'BRIEN: How many calories do you think that has?
HEMMER: We're going to add it up.
O'BRIEN: Two billion.
Also ahead this morning, "90-Second Pop." Good times for Paris Hilton. She's been immortalized in wax with a new movie on the way. "The Simple Life" star gets ready for a serious career move. We'll explain ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
A Pennsylvania pub is beefing up its burgers to reclaim a prestigious title. Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield is now offering a 15-pound hamburger. It's called the Beer Barrel Belly Buster. Earlier in the year, the pub lost its title as home to the world's biggest burger to a New Jersey diner that was only offering a 12.5 pounder. The pub now upping the ante. The burger is obviously meant to be shared. It comes with 25 slices of cheese, one entire head of lettuce, three entire tomatoes, two whole onions. Four guys over the weekend tried to eat one, couldn't get it down. We're going to talk to the owner of the pub coming up in our next hour. I could eat that.
HEMMER: In one sitting.
ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: I don't know.
O'BRIEN: It looks pretty good. Hi, Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: What are we going to talk to him about?
O'BRIEN: I don't know. It's not my interview. I believe it's Bill Hemmer's interview.
CAFFERTY: Good for you, Bill.
HEMMER: News to me.
SERWER: News to everybody.
HEMMER: Apparently.
CAFFERTY: Now that the runaway bride is home, we're moving on to the big hamburgers in the country.
O'BRIEN: Oh!
CAFFERTY: Texas cheerleaders may soon be doing less hip-hip and more hurray. The Texas House approved a bill Tuesday that would ban -- quote -- "sexually-suggestive routines by cheerleaders, drill teams or other public school performance groups." The bill now goes to the Senate. They're really doing this in Texas. Of course, it fails to define what constitutes sexually-suggestive.
The bill's sponsor, though, what was his name? Al Edwards?
SERWER: Edwards.
CAFFERTY: Al Edwards has suggested inappropriate booty-shaking is a distraction for the student and contributes to all kinds of social problems. This is troubling Al deeply.
The question is this: Should Texas ban sexually-suggestive cheerleading?
Suzanne writes from San Antonio: "With all the educational issues facing Texas, what the cheerleaders are doing ought to be way down the list. How about spending time discussing school funding, wages for teachers and meeting the needs of our economically- disadvantaged kids? Typically Texas."
Jessica, in Magnolia, Arkansas: "The day will come where there won't be a Texan in the White House and the state's grip on dictating morality will be gone. Pardon me, but as a former cheerleader, I am aghast at someone dictating to me what they believe as sexually- suggestive."
Tom in Rhode Island: "Texas is not training cheerleaders; instead, they're creating future strippers. There is no need to insert sexually-suggestive movements into a cheer. Keep it clean."
D.W. in California: "Cheerleading is in the eye of the beholder. One man's young exuberant dance routine is another man's suggestive bumping and grinding. Let's leave it up to local community standards for each team."
And James writes from North Street in Mexico: "I think we should give Texas to Mexico."
HEMMER: It was there one time. Thank you, Jack.
The feds made a move yesterday. It's time to see how the markets responded to that. Here is Andy "Minding Your Business." And there's gas price.
SERWER: Yes, there is. The government has decided to revise its forecast for gas prices in the month of May. Of course, it is May. Your government at work.
The Department of Energy a few weeks ago suggested the price of gasoline in the United States, which averaged $2.35 a gallon this month, that's when oil prices were at $55 a barrel. Now that it's May, and the average price of gasoline is $2.24 a gallon, they're suggesting they may roll back their forecast. How can you have a forecast for May, if you're in May? Again, this is your government at work.
Yesterday, your government was also at work raising interest rates. Alan Greenspan and company raising the fed funds rate to 3 percent, up a quarter-point, the 8th increase since last June. And economists got very excited yesterday when they noticed that the sentence "longer-term inflation expectations remain well-contained" was not in the fed statement. Two hours later, the fed issued that statement with the sentence in it. And so the economists were all satisfied.
The market was a little turbulent trying to sort this out. But the averages ended up basically, except for the S&P, which was off less than a point. And futures are down.
HEMMER: They just kind of yawned at that yesterday, didn't they?
SERWER: Well, they're trying to figure out when they didn't have that very important sentence in there...
HEMMER: Sure. O'BRIEN: Yes.
SERWER: ... you know, economists got very, you know, all up in arms about that.
HEMMER: All right, thank you, Andy.
SERWER: You're welcome.
HEMMER: Talk to you later.
O'BRIEN: "90-Second Pop" is ahead this morning. Is Paula Abdul ready for her extreme close-up? The latest on tonight's blockbuster "American Idol" expose. That's next on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Pipe down. Pipe down, team. Everybody is getting a little rowdy here. It's time once again for "90-Second Pop." The gang is all here this morning. Toure is CNN's pop culture correspondent. Karyn Bryant is the co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Andy Borowitz from Borowitzreport.com also with us.
Good morning.
ANDY BOROWITZ, BOROWITZREPORT.COM: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: Let's get right to "American Idol." Here's what happened yesterday. Vonzell Solomon sang Elvis Presley's "Treat Me Nice." Bo Bice sang Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." Let's show the picture. There she is. Scott Savol sang Brian McKnight's "Every Time You Go Away." There he is. Anthony Federov sang The Coasters "Poison Ivy." And Carrie Underwood sang the Elvis song, "Trouble."
Why are you snoring?
TOURE, CNN POP CULTURE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're already bored just doing the list.
O'BRIEN: Yes, it's long and complicated.
TOURE: OK, Vonzell...
O'BRIEN: Yes.
TOURE: ... is clearly the best of the group. She's a whole class veteran, the look, the sound, the way she feels.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: The look?
TOURE: Yes, even off, she's still a whole class ahead of everyone else. Bo has something sexual and different than I've ever seen on "American Idol," and I don't...
O'BRIEN: Long, long, long hair.
BOROWITZ: More than Clay Aiken, you think? I don't know.
TOURE: I mean, he's a total other direction.
BOROWITZ: He is hot!
TOURE: If he wins, if Bo wins, he'll be on the cover of "Rolling Stone" with his shirt off, right?
BOROWITZ: OK.
TOURE: That's the kind of guy he is.
BOROWITZ: Give me fair warning when that happens.
O'BRIEN: OK. But, you know, with all of this, the true drama is actually not about the show.
BOROWITZ: Right.
TOURE: Of course.
KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": No.
O'BRIEN: It's about another show.
TOURE: As always. As always. ABC "Primetime" -- I love this story. They're doing a whole thing, bashing "American Idol." I love one network attacking another. We should do more of this sort of thing.
BRYANT: Yes.
TOURE: One of the former contestants, who you don't even -- you've never heard of unless you're a watcher-watcher, is saying that he had an affair with Paul Abdul.
BRYANT: Right. And that Paula gave him special preference and coached him.
BOROWITZ: OK. Now, I do not believe this in a million years...
TOURE: Me neither.
BOROWITZ: ... because, like, if Paula Abdul was coaching you, when you got on stage, wouldn't you be like slurring your words and going like this? I mean, come on.
TOURE: But she does not...
O'BRIEN: Oh, she has a neurological disorder.
BOROWITZ: Oh, OK. That's what it is.
TOURE: She does not vote, right? She's not on the phone calling a million times. She doesn't vote. It doesn't matter. It's not like the integrity of the show has been corrupted. Come on.
O'BRIEN: Yes.
BOROWITZ: I think we're all going to be happy to have this national nightmare behind us.
TOURE: Wait, before we go, right? The last time I was here, we were talking about Ryan Seacrest. I went to Jamaica. And now I'm back. I just want to say that I do have respect for him, because there's nobody in show business who is that uncool who has gotten that far. So, you have to have some level of respect for what he's done.
(CROSSTALK)
O'BRIEN: The diss...
BRYANT: Andy is saying he'll give him some props on that one.
BOROWITZ: A star is next.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about "Shrek 3," a new movie.
BRYANT: Yes.
O'BRIEN: Justin Timberlake is in it. Is it just because his girlfriend, Cameron Diaz, is the star, so now she's kind of hooking him up with a little work?
BOROWITZ: Well, they are like the big couple now. They're like Bennifer, you know, except we don't have a name for them yet. I was thinking about that, because it's like Timberlake and Diaz. Let's call them Timber-Az. I think that would be awesome.
TOURE: Can we say that on TV?
BRYANT: Timber-Az.
BOROWITZ: Sure we can, Timber-Az.
O'BRIEN: Timber-Az with a "z."
BOROWITZ: OK?
TOURE: But that's...
BOROWITZ: We've inaugurated it.
TOURE: They're a good couple that people like. They're not tomcat. They're not Bennifer 2.
BRYANT: No, they are very likable.
(CROSSTALK)
BRYANT: Are they going to get married? BOROWITZ: I don't -- you know, there are these rumors they're going to get married this weekend. But the thing is, Cameron actually has not been seen for the last few days, and she just turned up in this bus station in Albuquerque. So, I do not think that's in the cards.
TOURE: This is, like, one of the situations, like, we will have children, our children will be models.
BRYANT: We will breed. Yes, exactly.
TOURE: Our children's children will be models. Like, just they will rule the world.
BOROWITZ: Right. It's a breeding experiment.
BRYANT: Well, there was a rumor, too, that she already had a wedding ring on. There were pictures of that. And, you know, that they were, in fact, already married.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: I hope they let us know and clear up all of the confusion.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: Right.
O'BRIEN: I, for one, would like to be clear on this, if she's married or not.
BOROWITZ: Right.
O'BRIEN: Let's talk about Paris Hilton, because you know what? Didn't we say we weren't going to talk about her anymore?
BRYANT: I know, but this woman -- that's the thing.
TOURE: We did. Yes we did.
BRYANT: She is a businesswoman.
O'BRIEN: God bless her.
BRYANT: She plays, you know, the ditzy angle. And obviously, she's getting the last...
TOURE: She's playing the angle.
BRYANT: Well, no, she is. But she plays, you know, this larger- than-life sort of super silly girl on her show. She's making tons of money. She's got, you know, a perfume.
BOROWITZ: Right.
BRYANT: She's got a jewelry line.
O'BRIEN: "House of Wax" is her new movie.
BRYANT: "House of Wax."
O'BRIEN: It got bad reviews of her acting.
BRYANT: Yes, well, did you expect anything more?
TOURE: What you go to "House of Wax" for is to see Paris get killed and then you go.
BRYANT: Right. But supposedly the story is, too, that they filmed one of her scenes with that grainy green, you know, sort of night-vision thing, and she didn't know that, supposedly. But that, you know, she knows when to play, I think, play the joke on herself and capitalize on that.
TOURE: She is the girl in class who will sleep with boys to be popular. She's not playing a role. She is that.
BRYANT: Well, she makes $100,000 to $200,000 to show up at a party for 20 minutes.
O'BRIEN: She's doing all right.
BOROWITZ: Right. She's doing fine.
BRYANT: Twenty minutes, Toure.
TOURE: OK, but none of this...
BRYANT: You can't get on the guest list.
TOURE: No, but that doesn't change her financial situation at all.
O'BRIEN: She's an heiress.
TOURE: Right. She's already a multimillionaire. Right.
BRYANT: For sure.
TOURE: So to get $100,000, that's a pay cut for what she's used to getting.
BRYANT: Well, I'm just saying for 20 minutes, the girl is doing something right.
O'BRIEN: I'm not sure we're ever to talk about Meryl Streep...
TOURE: She's still on the Gulfstream.
O'BRIEN: ... and Paris Hilton in the same sentence except for the one I just gave you. You guys, as always, I thank you very much. We're out of time. We want to mention, of course, that you can catch Karyn Bryant every night, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." Tonight, Paris Hilton, in fact, is talking about her new movie. Did I say bad acting? I mean, she's a fabulous actress. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" on Headline Prime. That's at 7:00 Eastern Time -- Bill.
HEMMER: What are they paying you guys over there, by the way? Come on. Come on.
In a moment here, now she's a standup comic. The first lady, Laura Bush, stealing the spotlight. Why the higher profile? That's ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
