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American Morning
Miami Rape Suspect Still on the Loose; New Orleans Officers Fired Over Alleged Battering Incident; Baby Penguin Snatched From London Zoo
Aired December 22, 2005 - 09:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: The opening bell just rang on Wall Street this morning. Dow Jones industrial average starts trading at 10,833, jumping more than 28 points on Wednesday. Let's take you over to the Nasdaq, the composite index opens at 2,231.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: The exuberant ones.
O'BRIEN: Exuberant? Over at the Nasdaq? I know they're just happy they made it into work today, or made it over to the Nasdaq today in Midtown.
Welcome back, everybody.
SANCHEZ: I always think of you every time I see the Nasdaq. You're the one who told me the Nasdaq is always more excited than the other guys.
O'BRIEN: Why do you think that is? We really should look into that, because it's odd.
SANCHEZ: The little guys try harder?
O'BRIEN: I am 100 percent accurate on that.
SANCHEZ: You nailed that one, too.
O'BRIEN: Lots to talk about including the big story in New York City, which the transit strike. Let's get to Kelly with updates.
KELLY WALLACE, CNN NEWS ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: Good morning, Soledad, that is the story we are following closely.
Both sides in New York's transit strike are meeting separately with a mediator. They are also facing a court appearance set to begin at 11:00 a.m. Eastern today.
Fair to say, most New Yorkers are already growing weary of the walk to work in the cold. All the inconveniences, some people can't even get to their jobs. The city is expected to request a temporary restraining order against union workers over the strike to try to get them back on the job. And that's all on top of the $1-million-a-day fine that the judge has already ordered against the union.
The other big story we're following this morning, the trial of Saddam Hussein. He's addressing the judge right now. Earlier Hussein called the White House, quote, "the number one liar in the world." This, after U.S. embassy officials in Iraq denied claims that Saddam and seven co-defendants were tortured, while in custody.
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld making an unannounced stop in Baghdad just a short time ago. This visit was kept under tight wraps until now, because of security concerns. Earlier, Secretary Rumsfeld said pulling the troops out from Afghanistan or Iraq too quickly would hurt the ongoing war on terror. Rumsfeld making the comments after a meeting with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai.
We want to get a look at what your forecast is going to look like on this day, especially Bonnie as I'm saying many of us, myself included, have to get out to the stores.
(WEATHER FORECAST)
SANCHEZ: Police are warning people in Miami to watch out for an accused rapist who has escaped from jail. Raynaldo Rapalo got away using a rope made of bed sheets. Miami's police chief tells AMERICAN MORNING, he believes that Rapalo is getting help somewhere, perhaps in the Little Havana sector. Christopher King is joining us live now from Miami, he's been following the story.
What have you got, Christopher?
CHRISTOPER KING, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Rick.
A massive manhunt is under way for this man, Raynaldo Rapalo. He's an accused rape suspect. Police say he raped seven victims. They believe he broke out of his cell while awaiting trial. They say he may have crawled through an air duct in his cell at a facility just outside Miami. They say he scaled down a wall using bed sheets tied together.
What people and police here in Miami want to know is, just how did he get out? The Police Chief John Timoney spoke with AMERICAN MORNING not too long ago. Here's what he had to say.
CHIEF JOHN TIMONEY, MIAMI POLICE DEPT.: There are two separate investigations, one obviously to get this guy off the street. The second one is how this escape took place? Who is involved? How the facility is constructed? How was he able to get -- we know he had certain tools that assisted him in the escape, how he did get them?
KING: Now, police are combing the streets looking for Rapalo. They're checking out bus terminals and airports. Chief Timoney says he believes Rapalo is currently getting help outside and he believes Rapalo is still is in Miami.
Now, he says that Rapalo is armed and they are considering him very dangerous. Rapalo stands about 5'4" and weighs about 140 pounds -- Rick.
SANCHEZ: Thanks so much for bringing us up to date on that. We'll be checking back.
Soledad, over to you.
O'BRIEN: The New Orleans Police Department fired two of their own over a violent arrest in October. The incident in the French Quarter was caught on tape. The two white officers are charged with battery against a 64-year-old African-American man. That man, Robert Davis is also charged.
Joining us this morning is the attorney representing the two officers, Frank De Salvo.
Nice to see you again, Mr. De Salvo. Thanks for talking with us.
FRANK DE SALVO, ATTNY. FOR FIRED POLICE OFFICERS: Good morning.
O'BRIEN: What's been your client's reaction to this firing?
DE SALVO: Well, really none. One was in Michigan, the other one is in Disney World. The really didn't expect anything different from what happened. So, we're prepared to deal with it.
O'BRIEN: This is what you sort of expected all along?
DE SALVO: We did. We had a sham hearing, yesterday. They call it a chief's hearing, where they have an opportunity to be heard. But we chose not to be heard since the criminal proceedings were still pending and it just seemed like they set the timing so we'd play our cards early for them. And we weren't going to do that.
O'BRIEN: Before we talk about the criminal proceedings, let's talk about any recourse your clients might have. Is there any opportunity for appealing?
DE SALVO: First we go to the civil service commission. Of course, we will try the case eventually, believe they will be acquitted, and it will be a new ball game.
O'BRIEN: Here's what the police department had to say. We'll throw this up on the screen, "The department will not stand any type of abuse of the public or any type of unprofessional behavior." What do you make of the statement?
DE SALVO: Politics, pure politics. There was a knee-jerk reaction by the city and by the police department to the sensationalized news. Kind of like you guys did, too, you know?
O'BRIEN: You think the media exaggerated the story?
DE SALVO: I think so. I think so. I mean if you really look at it, you have one guy, the worst case scenario for the police department or police officers involved, only one guy ever struck him that's charged with any offense here. One guy was just trying to put cuffs on the man and the other one came to his aid.
O'BRIEN: You know what, I think a lot of people saw the videotape and were actually were pretty shocked. So, here, we're going to roll it again. There were people who saw this and said wow, here is a guy who is 64 years old. All caught on tape. And it looks like it's a pretty violent arrest of three police officers pinning the guy down, ordering him at one point to get up, while they're also trying to pull his leg back, which is sort of physically, difficult to do, and restraining him by the neck, as well. We can all see that on the tape. Why do you think this tape doesn't tell the full story?
DE SALVO: I'm sorry, why do I think what?
O'BRIEN: Why do you think this tape doesn't tell the whole story?
DE SALVO: Well, because it's a part of a tape, for number one. Number two, you really have to break down what each officer did on an individual basis, and look at it in very slow motion.
And we did that, we did it over and over and over again. And I can tell you what each officer did, when, where and how, and it doesn't fit. It doesn't fit.
O'BRIEN: So, explain that further to me. You mean that everything we can see on that tape didn't happen, or it's just one officer and it looks like three? What do you mean?
DE SALVO: Well, if you look at your tape there's only one officer who is charged, who ever did, threw any punches. The punches he threw were punches that were supposedly thrown in the shoulder and neck area, to bring the other arm around. Some of his punches missed, I got to admit. But that was the goal, that was the object of what was happening and this is a very kinetic situation and didn't hit the mark every time.
But the bottom line of the whole thing, had the man not resisted, had the man said OK, I'm going. None of this would have happened. It was his choice to resist arrest. It was his choice that caused this situation to escalate.
O'BRIEN: You were telling Anderson Cooper the other night that although this guy claims that he is a recovering alcoholic so he hasn't -- he doesn't drink, that in fact he was drinking. Is that right?
DE SALVO: He was drunk that night.
O'BRIEN: You believe he was drunk that night. You have witnesses to tell you that?
DE SALVO: I do.
O'BRIEN: Because he didn't have a breathalyzer --
O'BRIEN: I'm sorry?
DE SALVO: I do. I have witnesses who established he was ejected from another establishment earlier that evening for being drunk and belligerent.
O'BRIEN: So, you have witnesses who will say that he was drinking.
DE SALVO: And thrown out of a place of business.
O'BRIEN: Of course, all this goes to court because your clients now face, as you mentioned a moment ago, these criminal charges of battery. Does that change, the firing make any difference to what's going to happen in the criminal courts, potentially?
DE SALVO: If we had a judge that was weak as our mayor our chief, it might may make a difference, but we have a judge who is going to call it like he sees it, so I think it will be all right.
O'BRIEN: We'll see. To be continued, I guess. Attorney Frank De Salvo, thanks for talking to us. We appreciate it.
DE SALVO: Thanks for listening to me.
SANCHEZ: British police are following up on an anonymous tip that could lead to a baby penguin stolen from the zoo. Officials say the three-month-old penguin, named Toga, if he's still alive, won't last much longer without his mother. CNN's Robyn Curnow is live now for us in London.
Robyn, what can you tell us about the fate of this penguin? Have we learned anything new since we talked to you earlier this morning?
ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, you haven't. People waiting and hoping there will be good news.
Like you said, there was an anonymous tip phoned into a TV station here this morning, in London. A man saying he was the person who took Toga and that he dumped him at Portsmouth Harbor, which is a huge, big industrial harbor. And it is also the home of the Royal Navy. So many people out there looking for Toga in this harbor.
Of course, the Royal Navy and the police, many people concerned about this fate of this little penguin. And the sad thing is, of course, it's just around the Christmas around the corner. And police say that one of the reasons this penguin might have been taken is that someone who enjoyed watching that movie, "March of the Penguins" was perhaps hoping to have their own penguin Christmas present. That is one of the reasons, police are saying, that maybe he was taken.
SANCHEZ: What kind of confines was he exactly taken from? Can you help us understand, draw us a picture of how this happened?
CURNOW: Well he was in a zoo. A place called Amazon World, and it is a confined environment. It is also a controlled environment. And, of course, he was there with his parents. He was only born three months ago. And he's a bit, about this high, about a foot high. And like any baby penguin or like any newborn baby, still needs his parents. Still needs to be fed a special diet, needs plenty of water. And, of course, the weather is very chilly out there. And this penguin is from South Africa, so they're also concerned about him having to survive out there in the weather. And, of course, his parents are just as concerned about his whereabouts apparently.
SANCHEZ: Yeah, they say they're kind of shook up, huh?
CURNOW: Yeah, the parents apparently listless. Like any mommy and daddy, I think they're also hoping that before Christmas, they'll get their baby back. But like I said time is running out. They're concerned about this penguin out there, having to sort of face the big, wide world out on his own. The parents not so happy about this.
SANCHEZ: Interesting, a story that --
CURNOW: They're praying he'll be back soon.
SANCHEZ: Thanks, Robyn. It is really a story that is taking on a life of its own. People, really, all over the world, animal lovers are all calling and trying to find out the whereabouts is, and what they could possibly do to help, which is probably not a whole lot.
Robyn Curnow thanks again for that report.
Soledad.
O'BRIEN: Such a sad story. He's a baby. All right. Well, I hope they get to find him and it's not too late.
Still to come this morning, we're talking about identity theft, a computer stolen, now tens of thousands of people whose private information could be in the wrong hands, we'll tell you who is affected.
SANCHEZ: Meet the young artists behind these drawings. He's a victim of Hurricane Katrina, and has a heartbreaking story, but thanks to a new art program, art therapy is what it's called, he's getting some help, the help he needs. Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back. While one bank breaths a sigh of relief, another major U.S. company worries about possible identity theft. With that, and a check on Wall Street, Andy Serwer is here, "Minding Your Business."
ANDY SERWER, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: It's really sad when that identity theft graphic goes up, because it means more bad news.
Indeed, this morning, 70,000 Ford workers, present and retired at risk. The auto maker confirming this morning that a PC was stolen from a Ford facility with personal information on tens of thousands of employees, including Social Security numbers.
Ford says it's cooperating with the FBI and the Secret Service. They don't know if any evidence, if anything's been used in thefts or anything so far. As if things weren't bad enough for Ford employees. But at LaSalle Bank in Chicago, customers breathing a sigh of relief this morning. A computer tape that was lost for a month was discovered amongst a bunch of DHL packages, a pile of them. A DHL employee found them. And the package was unopened, meaning -- we hope -- that there was no wrongdoing there; 2 million mortgages, people who had mortgages there at risk.
We want to go down to the Big Board and check out and see how stocks are trading, up 20 points on the Dow Jones industrials this morning. That means the Santa rally is in effect, and why not? Consumer spending up, jobless claims down.
One stock of note this morning, Albertson's, the supermarket chain out of Boise, Idaho, the stock down sharply. They were going to be bought out, but the "The New York Times" reporting this morning, talks have broken down. Tough times in the supermarket business.
O'BRIEN: You predicting, Dow 11,000 today?
SERWER: Not today, soon, soon. Oh, Soledad.
O'BRIEN: By the end of the year?
SERWER: I hope so. I don't know if we're going to make it by the end of the year.
O'BRIEN: Oh, sage.
(LAUGHTER)
SERWER: Karnac (ph), knows all, here.
O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.
SERWER: Thank you.
O'BRIEN: "CNN Live Today" is coming up next. We'll go to Daryn, and find out what she's working on.
Daryn?
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN LIVE TODAY: Good morning to you.
Coming up, everyone's looking for new ways to stay warm and not go broke on their utility bill. We have a must see "Top "Five Tips" segment on safe ways to heat your home and save money.
Also an early Christmas present in Chicago. Newborn twins found abandoned inside of a church. Get this, they have named them the babies Joseph and Mary. You'll have to stick around for the rest of the story. We'll tell you what happened to the tiny little babies.
Back to you.
O'BRIEN: Cute. How old are they? KAGAN: They were just a few days old. Their umbilical cords were still attached. But it is clear, somebody really was taking care of them; they had been fed and they were still warm. So somebody wanted them to get to a safe place and wasn't capable of taking care of them.
O'BRIEN: Oh, gosh. Daryn, thanks. We'll watch for that of course. Joseph and Mary, that's cute. I like that.
Rick?
SANCHEZ: Still to come, artwork that tells the story of unimaginable grief after Katrina, straight from the hearts of some of the smallest victims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SANCHEZ: We welcome you back.
You know, a lot of people -- a lot of children displaced by Katrina, saw lots of the horrors that few of us could imagine. In Houston, a group of mothers decided to try and help some of these kids by encouraging them to express their feelings, to get them out and to do it through art. Art therapy, that's what it's called.
Now, 30 of these drawings are on display at the Houston public library, until January 4. And now you can see what the kids were thinking, what their fears were at the time.
Joining us now is Ashley Bryant; she's one of the co-founder of the Katrina Kids Project. And the little guy next to her is Donald Expose. Did I get that right, Expos? Is that right, Donald?
DONALD EXPOSE, ARTWORK FEATURED IN EXHIBIT: Yes.
SANCHEZ: Donald Expose, who's are artwork is on display there. Donald lived in the Lower Ninth Ward and he escaped through a broken window. What a story.
So nice to have both of you here. So, Donald, you're quite the artist I understand, huh? You're good.
EXPOSE: Yeah, I'm real good.
(LAUGHTER)
SANCHEZ: Glad to hear it. What kind of things have you been drawing about? I know you had a real tough time when the floodwaters started coming up. And you were a little uncomfortable talking about that so you know, we're going to respect, we're going to only talk about the things that you want to talk about.
I know you drew about what it was like getting out of there. You ended up at the Superdome, right?
EXPOSE: Yeah, I was in the Superdome, just alone. And everybody else had their families. SANCHEZ: What did you draw -- what was it like there?
EXPOSE: Well, it was kind of noisy. There was no air, and a lot of people were just around trying to survive, just like me. And outside it was nothing but helicopters coming in and out. It was just noisy. It wasn't comfortable or anything.
SANCHEZ: Have you felt like you've been able to express yourself by drawing pictures of these things that you experienced at the time when you were so alone?
EXPOSE: Yeah, it really helped a lot. When I got pencil and paper, it just, I just started drawing, drawing it out of me, and I just started drawing the things out deep inside me on paper. And that's how I was getting my stuff out.
SANCHEZ: And it makes you feel good, huh?
EXPOSE: Yeah, I feel a lot better now because I did a few drawings and then it really helps. It's like art therapy. It really helped.
SANCHEZ: We should probably tell people, because they may be confused as to why you were alone. You were able to get out of your house, but your mom wasn't able to get out, right?
EXPOSE: Yeah. And when I just got out of the house, it was just like survival switches clicked on me, and then all I could think about is surviving.
SANCHEZ: And you swam out when the floodwaters starting coming up?
EXPOSE: Uh-huh. And then I just got on this roof and just, I just sat on a roof and waited for the storm to pass.
SANCHEZ: Wow! What a story.
Now, I'm thinking, Ashley, that this young man, who is so able to communicate, and seems so wonderful, and so together, you just want to give him a big hug. And part of that is because he's been able to express himself, because he's been able to share these things and kind of get it out of his soul?
ASHLEY BRYAN, CO-FOUNDER, KATRINA KIDS PROJECT: Absolutely. I mean, for three days, when I first met Donald, we drew -- he was drawing normal drawings, amazing drawings. But he really wasn't speaking about what had occurred. At that point, we were still searching for his mom, expecting to find her in a shelter.
And it was through his drawings that he became comfortable enough to draw a drawing that I think kind of opened him up in a way to explain what it actually occurred. So we got a lot more information to know what we were dealing with.
SANCHEZ: By the way, how is it going with the search for his mom, by the way?
BRYAN: Donald just went through DNA testing on Monday to try to identity his mom, her remains, so that we can get a death certificate and move forward and start his new, his life.
SANCHEZ: So you're here to say art therapy works and maybe more people should be paying attention to this as a therapeutic strategy?
BRYAN: Absolutely.
EXPOSE: Yes.
BRYAN: I had no idea the power that it held. Donna DeMesio (ph) brought down crayons and paper, and called us that night and said, you're not going to believe what the kids are drawing.
And at first, you would see kids drawing horrific images, a lot with the Superdome, a lot with helicopters, a lot with bodies. And sometimes within hours or days, they were drawing rainbows and sunshine. And we're not art therapists, we're just moms. I can't imagine what people that are trying this could do.
SANCHEZ: A great story. Ashley Bryant, co-founder of the Katrina Kids Project and Donald Expose.
Thank you, Donald. You're a great kid. We're so happy to have you on today.
EXPOSE: You're welcome.
BRYAN: Thanks for having us. Go to the website and check him out.
SANCHEZ: We will. Our pleasure. Good luck to both of you.
We'll be back in just a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
O'BRIEN: Next week on AMERICAN MORNING, just in time for your New Year's resolutions we'll tell you about five diets that really work, tried and true methods that help you shed those unwanted pounds if that's what you resolved to do in '06. Coming up next week on AMERICAN MORNING, and remember, we begin at 6:00 a.m. each and every day.
SANCHEZ: There are so many ways of doing it, you know, that lose weight thing. Carbs up, carbs down, more protein.
O'BRIEN: We got the five best ones. All new books, all new authors, and new strategies. Really good.
SANCHEZ: Look forward to it.
O'BRIEN: That's ahead. Let's get right to Daryn Kagan. She's at the CNN Center. She'll take you through the next couple of hours. TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
