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Jane Velez-Mitchell
School Showed `Total Disregard` for Child Rape Victims
Aired July 12, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ISHA SESAY, HLN ANCHOR: I want to bring in Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, what do you make of all of this? Did you know there are all those phony coupons flying out there?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: I had absolutely no idea.
Now, imagine this: you`re lying in your bed asleep when all of a sudden you wake up, and there is a strange and very large man standing in your doorway. What on earth do you do? Well, it happened to a woman. And you will not believe why this guy is in her house. There`s the video right there. He`s a code enforcement officer, trying to give her a ticket because her lawn needed to be mowed? Listen to this from NBC`s "Today Show".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s going on? And then I saw someone standing in my doorway. And I said, "What are you doing here? Get out."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Surveillance cameras positioned around the house show the man opening the front door and walking around in this woman`s house. The homeowner says she can`t believe he just walked in. I`m going to talk to her live in just a couple of minutes.
And we`re going to hear, also, the other side of the story from the man who was caught inside her house. You`re going to want to stick around for this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, what`s next after today`s public hearing of the most powerful men behind Penn State? An in-depth investigation leads to damning criticisms of the late football legend, Joe Paterno, the former president, and two of his top deputies, accused of total disregard of young boys who were sexually assaulted. As convicted child rapist Jerry Sandusky sits behind bars, tonight we ask who else should go to jail for this obscenity?
And I`m taking your calls.
Plus, a woman wakes up to a terrifying sight: a strange man lumbering into her bedroom. A county worker says he was just there to hand her a citation for an uncut lawn. In her bedroom? She joins me live tonight to explain why she wants him prosecuted. And we`ll show you the astounding video.
Plus, unbelievable details revealed about Neighborhood Watch shooter George Zimmerman`s past. You won`t believe what his ex-fiancee told cops, stories that claim pushing and kicking and other violence long before Zimmerman gunned down unarmed teen Trayvon Martin. All the details tonight.
And tonight`s shocking "Video of the Day." Is this excessive force? Or was it justifiable for cops to taser somebody who was allegedly jaywalking?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized, created a dangerous situation for unother known unsuspecting young boys lured to the Penn State campus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jerry, what do you have to say about the verdict?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To put the interest of an image or publicity or the branding or the football program ahead of protecting children. The report is crystal clear that that`s exactly what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no indication anybody spoke to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was a corrosive atmosphere at Penn State. And Mr. Paterno was in the center of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, "I know my father did not know Jerry was a pedophile. He said we wished he would have followed up more aggressively.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The facts are the facts. And Mr. Paterno did nothing to protect young men.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They cloud their judgment. And money is like a drug. And they needed another fix. And they had to keep this going in order to keep that money coming.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, explosive new information coming out about the child sexual assault cover-up at Penn State University. And tonight we`re asking how deep does this scandal run? And who else should go to prison?
Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We all saw that. The public cheering as the jury found former Penn State football coach Jerry Sandusky guilty on 45 counts of child sex abuse. Forty-five. Jerry Sandusky sits in jail right now as we speak, waiting for sentencing. He`s expected to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.
But haul Sandusky off to jail is only the first step. Tonight investigators say they uncovered what looks like a massive cover-up by at least four big-wigs at Penn State. An internal review led by the former head of the FBI reveals a, quote, "total disregard" for child rapist Jerry Sandusky`s victims. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOUIS FREEH, FORMER HEAD OF FBI: Our most saddening and sobering finding is the total disregard for the safety and welfare of Sandusky`s child victims by the most senior leaders at Penn State. The most powerful men at Penn State failed to take any steps for 14 years to protect the children who Sandusky victimized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Wow. Powerful words. The investigation uncovered those four men -- former Penn State president Graham Spanier and his two right-hand men, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley -- plus late football legend Joe Paterno, knew of complaints that Sandusky was violating little boys on school property and that they decided the, quote, "humane thing to do" was to sweep it under the rug for three main reasons." Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREEH: The stated reasons by Mr. Spanier, Schultz, Paterno and Curley for not taking action to identify the victim and for not reporting Sandusky to the police or child welfare are, one, nobody told them it was sexual conduct. Two, Sandusky -- Sandusky should be treated humanely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What do you think about this alleged cover-up? Who else should go to jail? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
Straight out to Penn State University graduate and noted criminal defense attorney and child advocate Brian Claypool. This is a withering 276-page condemnation of the men who ran Penn State at the time Jerry Sandusky used Penn State`s sports facilities so the kids would then be molested. What struck you about all of those 276 pages most? What was the bombshell for you?
BRIAN CLAYPOOL, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Jane, the bombshell for me was this litany of e-mails between Spanier, Schultz and Curley where they collectively put together a where they were going to intentionally conceal, cover-up and not tell anybody at all about Sandusky and his propensity for abusing kids.
And in my opinion that is criminal nature. And all three of those individuals need to be charged with conspiracy to commit child endangerment. They had an opportunity to stop this monster. They did nothing about it, because they were worried about money and the revenue that that football program was bringing in for the university.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, as you mentioned the scathing report says this wasn`t a one-time hush-hush. That these Penn State leaders allegedly communicated many times including through e-mails about what should be done about Sandusky. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FREEH: The evidence clearly shows, in our view, an active agreement to conceal. And I think it would be up to a grand jury and a law enforcement officer to make decisions whether it meets the elements of criminal offenses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. I want to go out to Sara Ganim, who won a Pulitzer prize for her reporting on this. She`s from "The Patriot News" and an HLN contributor.
Sara, two of the officials, Tim curly and Gary Schultz, are set to stand trial for allegedly failing to report Sandusky`s crimes and lying to the grand jury about what they knew. But what about former Penn State president Graham Spanier? Even though he comes up frequently, he is not charged with anything. What is the back story there on these e-mails and Spanier`s involvement?
SARA GANIM, "HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS": Well, Jane, the back story is that these e-mails were not found as part of the criminal investigation. They were actually dug up by this internal investigation. They were dug up by Louis Freeh`s team. They couldn`t get through and get these e-mails out by themselves. Now, there is still an ongoing grand jury investigation at the state level. There`s also a federal investigation, a federal criminal investigation along with a Clery Act investigation, a NCAA (pH) investigation. There`s a whole bunch of investigations still ongoing.
So I think that this report even though it doesn`t have direct criminal implications could lead assist in other criminal investigations. Louis Freeh said that he had been discussing their findings with other investigative agencies. And he said he turned over those e-mails immediately as soon as he found them. He said that he found them to be the most important pieces of evidence in the case and immediately gave them to investigators with the grand -- with the attorney general`s office. That`s where the grand jury was convened.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, Sara, we`ve got some of these. And I want to read a couple of them.
One of Sandusky`s victims testified that when he was a child, Sandusky bear-hugged him and made him feel violated when they showered together.
Now, a slew of e-mails allegedly show the Penn State leaders were aware of this 1998 incident. In just one e-mail three months later then- athletic director Tim Curley allegedly writes, "Anything new in this department? Coach is anxious to know where it stands." Coach, OK, Joe Paterno.
Then vice president Gary Schultz allegedly replies, "The public welfare and police met with Jerry on Monday and concluded there was no criminal behaviors, and the matter was closed as an investigation. I think this matter has been appropriately investigated. And I hope it is now behind us."
Tawny Acker, attorney, that was 14 years ago. Are these e-mails the smoking gun that will likely be used in the trial against two of these men, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz?
TAWNY ACKER, ATTORNEY: Well, they certainly, Jane, will be very persuasive evidence. Because again, we have to remember we`re not just talking about the common-sense moral obligation that people have when they have information that children are being harmed or violated.
There is a federal law, the Clery Act, that says that if you`re a university and you are getting federal money and federal dollars, which Penn State is, those university officials have an affirmative obligation to disclose crimes taking place on that campus.
So the notion that you can have these sort of slipshod internal proceedings where people are like "I don`t think anything`s really going on" or, you know, they can brush things under the carpet, that is not OK. If you get federal money, you have an obligation to disclose those crimes. And that did not happen here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, you can see that this was the rioting that occurred after Joe Paterno was fired in the wake of the scandal. And he later tragically died. Only recently -- you know, when all this first broke, Joe Paterno spoke out and said that he did everything he could. Listen to this from "The Washington Post" and then we`ll analyze.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE PATERNO, FORMER PENN STATE FOOTBALL COACH: I called my superiors and I said, "Hey, we got a problem, I think. Would you guys look into it?" Cause I didn`t know, you know. I had never had to deal with something like that. And I didn`t feel adequate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But this report says the opposite, that this wasn`t "I did everything I could or went to the right authorities." It`s basically saying these guys did not do that. As a psychotherapist, Robi Ludwig, what would be the motive behind not taking action?
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It was a determination based on who`s important and what`s important.
And also, there was an intellectualization going on. Whatever incident was going on privately, it had nothing to do with football. Football was his job. He had to ensure that they had a successful, that Penn State had a successful football team. And that`s what Joe did.
But clearly, you have to care about other people and what`s going on. It`s not OK to close your eyes and say, "I don`t know what to do." That`s not OK anymore.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, the irony of all this is that I think it was either the reporter or observers that said it`s all about avoiding bad publicity.
Brian Claypool, the whole irony of this is that it was all about making Penn State look good. And they were afraid if they revealed this, allegedly, that it would make Penn State look bad. And how bad does Penn State look tonight?
CLAYPOOL: Right. And Jane, I`m a graduate of Penn State. And Joe Paterno spoke at my national honor society event many years ago. And I`ll tell you, I`m ashamed of how this university the last 10, 15 years handled this.
Joe Paterno had an obligation to report this, make no mistake about it. And there is now an inconsistency. If you go through this entire file, it`s possible that he committed perjury, as well.
Because Curley`s e-mail in 1998 mentions a discussion with Paterno about the victim in 1998. Joe Paterno at the grand jury hearing said, "I didn`t know anything about it."
Now, the big problem here is that we need to prosecute the leaders of institutions for this criminally if we are going to make any monumental change in this country. This is bigger than Penn State now. We`ve got the Mira Monte (ph) scandal I`m involved in. You`ve got the Catholic schools in Philadelphia. We need change. And this is a stepping board to do it. But I will tell you...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Brian, are you saying that you feel the former president of Penn State, Graham Spanier, who has not been charged with anything in this case, should be charged or not?
CLAYPOOL: You bet. And I`ll tell you why. He sent an e-mail and he signed off. He signed off, Jane, if you can believe this, on allowing Tim Curley to go have lunch with Jerry Sandusky and talk to Jerry and say, "Hey, Jerry, are you going to be OK? You`re not going to do this anymore? And if you tell me you`re not, then we`re not going to report you."
That`s like going to a pathological drunk driver or an alcoholic and saying, "Hey, I`m not going to charge you with drunk driving but just assure me you`re not going to go drinking anymore. Are you kidding me? That`s taking the law into your own hands, and it`s throwing kids under the bus.
He needs to be prosecuted criminally, because he had an opportunity to stop this monster. And he didn`t do it. And he needs to pay the price and the consequences.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FREEH: They were afraid to take on the football program. They said the university would circle around it. It was like going against the president of the United States. If that`s the culture on the bottom, God help the culture at the top.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But I have to tell you that a lot of the principals involved, the Paterno family as well as statements from some of the officials we`ve been talking about, Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, we`re going to show you some. Essentially they say this is not fair, it`s an incomplete report.
And as we look at some of their statements saying that these are lopsided investigations and the truth will come out at some later time two of these men, Gary Schultz and Tim Curley are going to face trial.
We go to the phone lines. Jim, Pennsylvania, your questions or thought, Jim.
CALLER: Hi, Jane. Thank you for taking my call.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sure.
CALLER: I have three questions. My first question is who`s paying for Tim Curley and Schultz`s attorney fees?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Next question. We don`t know that.
CALLER: Next question, why are they still on administrative leave and receiving benefits? And could it be possible that Curley, Schultz, Spanier and Sandusky were involved in this heinous crime together?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, let`s not -- let`s not accuse them of anything that -- you know, this is a horrible, horrible, horrible situation for all these families. And I have to stress that these men, these officials are not accused of any kind of untoward activity towards children. No, no, no, no, no.
They are simply being accused of being officials who did not act and did not call 911 when they were supposed to, according to this huge information. Sara Ganim, what do we know about the men who are going to go to trial? What are they going to go to trial for?
GANIM: Well, Jane, to start with, we do know who is paying their insurance fees.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Good.
GANIM: And they`re still on administrative leave according to the board because they`re waiting for the final outcome of that criminal investigation.
Now, they`re charged with perjury of lying to the grand jury that was investigating Jerry Sandusky for about three years.
They`re also charged with failing to report the incident in 2001 that we`ve talked about so much that includes -- involves Mike McQueary and what he witnessed and reported to Joe Paterno, who reported to Tim Curley and Gary Schultz.
So when they`re facing trial is a lot less -- It`s a lot more, I should say -- there was actually a status conference this week, but it was closed to the public. So we don`t know exactly what they talked about. And no real trial date has been set.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK.
GANIM: A loose schedule has been set. We anticipate maybe possibly by the end of this year.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now one of Paterno`s sons went on "The Today Show" this morning to defend his father`s name. Listen to this from Jay Paterno.
JAY PATERNO, SON: All Joe Paterno wanted to know and everybody at Penn State and certainly my family has wanted is for an investigation to look into the things that have happened and find the truth and go from there. Joe has always stood for integrity and those kind of things.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This has got to be hellish, Robi Ludwig, for these families. I mean, Joe Paterno, a legend and now this in death.
LUDWIG: Great shame and humiliation and clearly Joe can`t defend himself right now because he`s dead.
But there was a problem. And there was a cover-up. To what extent they colluded with this sick man we will find out, right, as this trial takes place.
But listen, when you sweep something under the rug, it doesn`t make it go away. And I think Penn State needs to really realize that. And I don`t know if they should have a football team anymore. I think that should be perhaps taken off their list for a period of time and send a message to all the other schools out there that are doing something similar they`re putting their college in danger.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened here on April 20? And why did that happen?
GEORGE ZIMMERMAN, ACCUSED SHOOT: He said, "Yo, you got a problem?`
I turned around. And I said, no, I don`t have a problem, man.
SYBRINA FULTON, TRAYVON`S MOTHER: This is not a black and white thing. This is about a right and wrong thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somehow Mr. Martin because he was wearing the hoodie is a criminal?
ZIMMERMAN:: I didn`t think I hit him because he sat up and he said, "Oh, you got me. You got it -- you got me, you got it," something like that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is not the grand conspiracy that the state seems to suggest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had lacerations on the back of his head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So his head was banged into something harder than his head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Astonishing new developments in the Trayvon Martin case. New evidence just released shows Trayvon`s shooter George Zimmerman -- are you sitting down -- wanted more guns after he shot Trayvon Martin dead in March.
You remember this? The nation exploding with protest because Zimmerman was still not arrested. Zimmerman`s in hiding. And we`re now learning tonight he was trying to get another gun. He contacted a gun shop asking for a weapon, allegedly. Why?
Zimmerman told the FBI that, quote "his life is in danger and he needs more guns."
Watch Zimmerman re-enact how he says this confrontation with Trayvon Martin went down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZIMMERMAN: When he was hitting my head against -- I felt like my head was going to explode and I thought I was going to lose consciousness.
He said, "You`re going to die tonight, (EXPLETIVE DELETED)." And he reached for it. But he reached -- like, I felt his arm going down to my side and I grabbed it. And I just grabbed my firearm and I shot one time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did Zimmerman have violent perhaps even racist tendencies? The FBI also interviewed his ex-fiancee who revealed the stunning accusation that during their engagement, quote, "Zimmerman hit her in the mouth with an open hand." Why -- because she was chewing gum. She also states that during an argument Zimmerman kicked her dog in the stomach when the dog approached him.
Will prosecutors be able to use this newly released evidence to portray Zimmerman as violence-prone? Give me a call, 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1- 877-586-7297.
Straight out to Natalie Jackson, the attorney for Trayvon Martin`s family; Natalie, thanks for joining us. What do you make of this bombshell new evidence just released hours ago?
NATALIE JACKSON, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN`S FAMILY: Well, there are 300 pages that were released by the state attorney`s office. I only went through half of it. I think it definitely will help the state with their case. There`s a lot of information -- new information that talks about the psychological of George Zimmerman.
But ultimately this case, the star witness of this case will be George Zimmerman and his own words; the smoking gun is his own words. So the jury will just -- they`ll come back and they`ll notice -- I believe that they`ll notice all the inconsistencies with the story and that will be what is the thing they consider most.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, listen, an ex-fiancee can sometimes hold a grudge.
But criminal defense attorney out of Miami, Michelle Suskauer, Zimmerman allegedly hit here in the mouth with his open hand because she was chewing gum? Kicks her dog, according to her? Will prosecutors be able to use this in court during his trial as evidence that he is prone to violence?
MICHELLE SUSKAUER, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know what; I don`t know if they -- listen, they are certainly going to want to try. But this is a prior bad act or prior bad act and they may not be able to use this at all.
But certainly it`s bad information about George Zimmerman if in fact this person is credible, which we do not know if she is credible or not. Just like you said, Jane, this is an ex-fiancee. This is someone who did not marry him for whatever reason. He broke up with her. She broke up with him. Who knows?
But, again, what is consistent from what everything I`ve read is that he does not come across as a racist. Everyone who has been interviewed and there were over 30 interviews about that.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, ok.
SUSKAUER: But he does not come across -- no one has said that he ever has been that way. And so there are some very positive things, if you want to spin it in the other way, for the defense that have come out of all this document today.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Your thoughts on that, Natalie Jackson.
JACKSON: Well, I`m not saying that George Zimmerman is a racist or he isn`t, but there is a witness that has come out. That`s witness number 9, the controversial witness, whose statements have been redacted. But the statements that were released with witness number 9; she called two days after the shooting before all of the uprising and she did say that he had those tendencies.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Speaking of -- and I`m writing down a caller`s name and state. So let me continue now. Speaking of this whole issue of whether or not he`s racist, evidence released today once again raises this question, was George Zimmerman racist? Is he a racist? Does he have those tendencies?
Now, police did suspect that although Zimmerman himself hotly denied it. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This person was not doing anything bad. You know the name of the person that died?
ZIMMERMAN: Trayvon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trayvon.
ZIMMERMAN: Trayvon Martin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trayvon Benjamin Martin. He was born in 1995, February the 5th. He was 17 years old. In his possession we found a can of iced tea and a bag of Skittles and about $40 in cash. Not the goon.
You got problems with black people?
ZIMMERMAN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok. I had to ask.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. "So you got problems with black people?" "No." "Ok, I had to ask." Zimmerman constantly claims he`s not racist.
But in this new evidence some disturbing things from his MySpace profile. He wrote about Mexicans walking on the side of the street soft (EXPLETIVE DELETED) want-to-be thugs messing with cars and he goes on to complain about getting knives pulled on you by every Mexican you run into.
Now, Robi Ludwig, this sounds to me like a very judgmental person who makes sweeping generalizations and assumptions based on people based on their ethnicity, their appearance, whatever. Isn`t that exactly what he did to Trayvon Martin?
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, it sounds that way. And of course we`ll find out more details. But he also sounds very paranoid to me and highly reactive. And when someone`s in a paranoid state, then they tend to see things if you are in an outsiders group, you`re an enemy. You`re either an outsider or an insider.
And that`s what I see about Zimmerman. He seems perhaps when he`s not well is increasingly paranoid, increasingly more suspicious and increasingly highly reactive.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: What I found astounding about these documents, Tanya Acker, is that until the shooting -- oh the irony -- he was not on good terms with his own parents and he became on better terms after the shooting.
So what`s adding up here is somebody who has a tendency to get into arguments -- the ex-fiancee, Trayvon Martin, his own parents.
TANYA ACKER, ATTORNEY: I think that George Zimmerman`s best hope in his trial moving forward is he is going to have to take the stand. And he`s going to have to take a story. And he`s going to have to tell his story.
And if he does that, he is possibly going to open up the door to all of these other sorts of questions. He`s going to have to answer questions about his prior relationships, his tendency toward violence.
And look, the whole notion about whether or not he`s racist or not racist, whether or not Trayvon Martin was brought to his attention or whether or not George Zimmerman thought that Trayvon was more dangerous because he was black, that doesn`t necessarily turn on whether or not Zimmerman had a history of using the n-word or being in a hate group. They`re separate issues.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. Now, we`re going to the phone lines quickly. Crystal, Iowa, your thought, my dear.
CRYSTAL, IOWA (via telephone): does Trayvon`s family have any right to sue for the poor handling of their case?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, well that`s an excellent question. Very quickly, Michelle Suskauer, can Trayvon Martin`s family sue?
SUSKAUER: Well, who are they going to sue? Suing law enforcement? There`s immunity. But suing George Zimmerman, potentially. But, again, in Florida the "Stand Your Ground" law it`s very possible that they will have -- that George Zimmerman may be able to have civil immunity under this law. So that is an option.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Natalie Jackson, any plans now for a civil suit?
JACKSON: That is something that we have not ruled out the possibility. Right now the parents they are more concerned with the criminal case and what happens with George Zimmerman.
Jane, I want to talk about the racism issue. The state is not charging George Zimmerman with any racial crime. So that really -- that is not an issue here. They have not charged him with any sort of hate or racial crime. They are charging him straight with murder two. And the profiling that they`re alleging is criminal profiling.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We are on top of this story. Thank you Natalie Jackson. Thank you my entire panel. Come here for the latest on the Zimmerman case.
Now to our shocking video of the day: an explosive confrontation between Florida police and two people they cited for jaywalking, allegedly. The female suspect shot the video. The male suspect later posted it on YouTube. It`s astounding. Watch it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Crossing the sidewalk which effects the flow of traffic. It`s a stop sign.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did anyone get hurt?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have your ID? It doesn`t matter if anybody got hurt or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If it doesn`t matter if there`s no victims to the crime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now I`m asking for your ID. And I`m asking you for your --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What statute requires me to provide you --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do I need to provide you ID for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that you committed an infraction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s not a statute sir.
If you tase me you will be charged. This is an attempted false arrest.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys need to get your supervisor. Call your supervisor. Get your supervisor. Call and get -- call your supervisor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to be charged. You`re going to be charged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re both going to be charged. I`m not being charged with a crime.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys are being recorded right now. Do you all want a lawsuit? Just go get your supervisors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You both are going to be charged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop. Do not fight them. Do not fight them. Don`t fight them.
Don`t fight them. He`s not resisting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not resisting. Don`t tase me.
He`s not resisting. Do not tase him. Don`t tase him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to be charged. You`re going to be charged.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re going to be charged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get your supervisor. Get your supervisor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put your hands behind your back.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are assaulting me. This is assault. This is assault. This is assault.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are going to analyze this video top to bottom. It`s ten minutes long. Tomorrow on this show with a team of experts, you will see the suspect get tased three separate times.
But the video doesn`t tell the entire story. Cops say both suspects were armed though neither drew their guns. The suspect`s YouTube page includes several other videos of him arguing with police. Again, it`s a controversial video. We are reaching out to everyone involved.
And we are going to analyze this top to bottom on tomorrow`s show right here 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And in fact you`re going to hear why the police captain is not only defending his officers, he says he wants to use this video as a training tool to teach police protocol?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Your "Viral Video of the Day".
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ok Mike. Here is a joke. Why did the chicken cross the playground? To get to the other slide.
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ERICA MASTERS: When I first woke up, all I saw was a big figure standing in my doorway. Almost as tall as the door frame itself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible) enforcement officers had entered her house without her permission while she was asleep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officer Vowell walks in and straight to Erica`s bedroom doorway.
MASTERS: This one is the actual camera that he was caught on right here. It scared me out of my mind. I had no idea who was standing at my doorway.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Sleeping in her own bed, gets a surprise of her life when a county worker shows up in her own bedroom. Why you ask, apparently her lawn needed to be cut and he wanted to give her a citation. Wow.
Tonight I`m going to talk to that woman, Erica Masters, right now. There she is. She lives in Augusta, Georgia. She was sound asleep the morning of July 2nd. And she says she woke up to this burly stranger standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Look at the surveillance cameras in her house that document this. He`s yelling at her to wake up. Here`s the 911 call she made.
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MASTERS: I just had one of the county code enforcement officers show up at my house basically to tell me that my grass is high. Apparently when he knocked on my door he says that the door opened itself.
But I`ve got him on camera and it looked more like he actually like tried the door handle and found that it was unlocked.
And then he actually walked completely into my house into my bedroom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, ok.
MASTERS: And actually wakes me up just to tell me that I need to sign this notice saying that my grass is too high.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Erica Masters couldn`t believe code enforcement officer Jimmy Vowell walked into her home uninvited. Later when Val`s supervisors questioned him about it, he allegedly told them that he had never walked into Masters` home until he was confronted with the surveillance video.
Now, Jimmy Vowell`s explanation was that he thought the house smelled like someone had died inside. Nice guy. He talked to NBC`s "Today".
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JIMMY VOWELL, COUNTY CODE ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: The interior was deplorable. There was a stench or smell that reeked. I was concerned that somebody was actually either dead or dying or seriously injured inside of that residence.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Vowell was fired this week but plans to appeal. He apparently will not face any criminal charges. We reached out to him, never heard back. He`s invited on. We`d love to talk to you.
Masters says she plans to sue the city. Straight out to Erica Masters who experienced this wild experience firsthand. Thank you for joining us.
Ok. You are asleep. What happens then and what`s your emotional and psychological reaction to it?
MASTERS: I would say I`m still a little bit confused about everything that happened. But it`s been a really scary experience for all of this. I`ve barely been able to sleep at night. I lay in my bed for hours on end just staring at my doorway waiting for a figure to show up. Or I`ll actually get up every one to two hours and want to check all the locks even though I just checked them. It`s been a scary ordeal to deal with this.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This all began over an unmowed lawn. You admit it needed to be mowed. Here`s what you told NBC.
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MASTERS: From their point of view they probably were justified in serving me a violation notice. And I understand that. And I have no problem with that. But the way it was handled, they went way too far.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Why do you have four surveillance cameras in your home and around your home? And what about this allegation that there was a smell? Not that that is any of his business.
MASTERS: I`m sorry, could you repeat the question, please.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: He alleged there was some kind of smell. Not that it`s any of his business, but what do you make of that?
MASTERS: As a matter of fact, if you actually look at the entire surveillance video, there is a point where he pokes his head inside of my house, pokes his head inside the front door, looks around. And then he shuts the door.
And then he actually goes off camera for about two to three minutes. Most likely returns to his truck and writes out the violation notice. And then he comes back with the violation notice in his hand. And then he actually walks into the house.
So the whole idea about smelling something doesn`t even make sense. Personally, if I smelled a dead body and I opened someone`s door and got like a big whiff of it, I wouldn`t bother going back to a truck for two to three minutes and writing out a violation notice. I would try and get some help in there immediately.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now we`re going to listen to -- oh, look at this. This is a kitten. Bentley. There`s Gracie, the dog. These are our viewers who are sending in their precious companion animals for us. And thank you for sharing these great pictures. Look at that.
Lhaso inside the pool. And look at that beauty Tyler. You`re a stunner, stunner Tyler.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We just got this video of a code enforcement officer, Jimmy Vowell who, by the way, plans to appeal his firing, being interviewed by cops. Affiliate WRDW says Vowell originally told his boss that he never went inside Erica Master`s house. But then when he was confronted with the video that she provided because she has several surveillance cameras, well, I guess he had to admit it.
Here`s this Vowell gentleman telling NBC what he saw inside Erica`s bedroom.
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VOWELL: After seeing a silhouette of a body under a blue blanket -- no feet, no hands, no head, nothing. Again, I announced again, Columbia County code enforcement.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, we want to go to Andres Marierose, the attorney for Erica Masters. You say she is planning on suing. And obviously he could have left the citation right at the door. Is that your argument?
ANDRES MARIEROSE, ATTORNEY FOR ERICA MASTERS: Yes. I mean, there are several different arguments. First of all, he is a code enforcement officer and he doesn`t have authority to enter in anybody`s property unless he is escorted by the police. And even then, police would need exigent circumstances, probably cause or some sort of warrant to enter a home.
So there was no reason for him to be there in the first place.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So often, schools serve the cheaper and unhealthier alternative.
There was not a single thing that I would have wanted my children to eat.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We all know there`s an obesity crisis; kids, alas, no exception. The CDC says one-third, nearly one-third of all American kids between the ages of 2 and 11 are obese. What are our schools doing to turn it around?
Joining me now, Alex Jamieson, spokesperson for the New York Coalition for Healthy School Food Program; I love what you`re doing. Tell us what you`re doing to get healthy foods -- fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains into the school and get kids to eat them.
ALEX JAMIESON, SPOKESPERSON, NEW YORK COALITION FOR HEALTHY SCHOOL FOOD: We`re work with the schools to provide better food sources for the kids and we`re tested hundreds of recipes with the kids. All plant based, hot entrees, providing them with also educational and nutritional information every single day.
We have wellness wake-up calls which are delicious little tidbits of information that go out over the P.A. system so kids are getting nutritional information and healthy plant based meals in the cafeterias.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I understand because a lot of time there`s a lot of dairy products for kids which are very fattening. It is loaded with fat. Now there`s an alternative that`s coming up in terms of tofu.
JAMIESON: Tofu is finally going to be accepted as a protein source for the school lunch program which is great. And water is actually going to be required to be available to the kids in the lunch room.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, yes.
JAMIESON: The problem is they don`t require a cup to be given. So if there is a water fountain, the kids still don`t have a cup to get it. And most kids --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Get them a cup for water.
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