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Missing Nevada Family Found; Cops Throw Canine Onto Suspect in Car; Congress Close to Budget Deal; Podesta Joins Obama Administration; NASA Says Rover Found Evidence of Ancient Mars Lake; WestJet Surprises Fliers With Gifts

Aired December 10, 2013 - 15:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Breaking news, after two days missing in this remote part of Nevada, a couple along with four young children have been found. Such encouraging news.

The family disappeared Sunday after heading out just to play in the snow. Consider the conditions. Temperatures, they were dropping to well below zero.

You had 200 search team members scouring the air and the ground, trying to find these children and this boyfriend/girlfriend, and then, just this hour, we heard the incredible news they were found alive.

Casey Wian broke this story at the top of the show. Walk me through what you know as far as their condition and how they were found.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we don't know a lot, Brooke, but it's an obviously incredibly good news.

We know they were found by ground search teams who found them looking through binoculars.

We don't know if they were close to the vehicle, a Jeep they had left in two days ago, but we know they were found in fairly good condition, according to the local sheriffs office.

We just got off the phone with them. They said they are en route to a local hospital by ambulance. They would not or could not say at this point the nature of any injuries they might have, beyond saying that they're in fairly good condition, all six of them.

We also spoke with the hospital just a few minutes ago. They had not received any of the patients yet.

They said they should be arriving at the hospital any moment. They had no details about what, if any injuries, they were anticipating.

But obviously a very incredible story, as you mentioned, 200 searchers over the last couple of days, looking for this family.

I have to be honest. It did not look good after two nights in temperatures that dipped below 20-below-zero. Somehow, they have managed to survive. It will be interesting to hear from them.

BALDWIN: We have a crew en route. Hopefully, we can talk to some of those rescuers who found them, amazingly through binoculars.

Casey, thank you very much.

As we wait for more updates on that, take a look at this. This is the end of this police chase. An officer tosses his police dog, this canine, into the car of a suspect, the whole thing caught on video.

Here's the question today. Did the officer go too far? Because the suspect says yes.

What do our legal experts think? That's coming up, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A police chase, suspect's caught, he's cornered. His car, wrecked. Instead of restraining him with cuffs, police take out the canine.

That's right. Dash-cam video shows this. The officer drops this police dog into the lap of the suspect, who later needs stitches.

Here he goes. There he goes in. He needs stitches from a bite.

Now a grand jury has ruled there's no crime here. Ashlea Kosikowski from our North Carolina affiliate WECT has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ASHLEA KOSIKOWSKI, WECT: The dramatic end to a police chase, caught on dash-cam, the PIT maneuver stops Johnnie Williams' car, then Wilmington police officer Stafford Brister lifts a police canine into that car.

A grand jury made up of 15 people watched this video several times before deciding to clear the officer of any criminal wrongdoing.

District attorney Ben David said he wanted a grand jury to decide if the officer should be charged with assault inflicting serious injury.

BEN DAVID, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, NEWHANOVER COUNTY, NORTH CAROLINA: I believe that it was a close enough legal question that the community should get to decide whether the use of force was reasonable and that I would not rule as a matter of law that it was.

KOSIKOWSKI: David says Williams tried to run over three officers during this chase.

The grand jury indicted Williams on charges of being a habitual felon, assault with a deadly weapon and other traffic violations. We talked with Williams after the incident. He admitted to making mistakes, but told us he didn't deserve to have the dog unleashed on him.

JOHNNIE WILLIAMS, SUSPECT BITTEN BY POLICE DOG: I didn't have the opportunity to raise my hand all the way because the dog had gotten in through the driver-side window and biting.

And it hold onto me about -- it was at least about 30 or 40 seconds before the guy got him off my shoulder.

I wish they would have took me peacefully and arrested me, you know, because that's what I was trying to do.

KOSIKOWSKI: Even though the officer was cleared of criminal charges, Chief Ralph Evangelous says there's still an internal investigation under way.

RALPH EVANGELOUS, POLICE CHIEF, WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA: And sometimes the job we do is not very pretty. It's just the facts. I mean, there are sometimes bad guys out there who are violent.

The canine incident is still pending. And, administratively, there's an administrative investigation going on as we speak.

KOSIKOWSKI: But as far as the criminal charges, David says this case is closed.

DAVID: That use of force could be called into question by reasonable people looking at it.

And I'll let the people watching at home tonight who I'm sure are going to watch this tape multiple times decide for themselves whether they believe force was reasonably necessary.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Let's talk about this. Get some insight here from Mike Brooks, HLN law enforcement analyst, and also Joey Jackson, HLN legal analyst. Easy for me to say.

Joey Jackson, let's begin with you, because we froze one section of the video. This is the driver's hands, you see the left hand, especially there, up in the air after this patrol unit has crashed into him.

The officer, as we saw, the piece, still puts the dog into the man's lap. Do you think just knowing this that this is not assault?

JOEY JACKSON, HLN LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, it becomes problematic, Brooke.

But what will happen is, and I think what's critical, is you have to look whether it was retaliation for the officer saying, You know what? You put me and my other fellow officers in danger. As a result, I will retaliate. Or was it proper police protocol or procedure, where you needed the dog, perhaps, to see if there were weapons, if there was someone else in the car, or if it represented a danger?

That's what it turns on and, finally, although a grand jury did, in fact, clear him, you know, that may not be the end of it legally.

Certainly there will be departmental charges that could be forthcoming depending on the internal investigation.

There could be a civil lawsuit here, depending upon what the victim, quote/unquote, "the defendant," in this case would decide to do.

Then the community certainly could push for some type of federal civil rights charge against the officer.

This is a discussion that's far from over, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Mike Brooks, you were a cop for years and years. You tell me. What is the proper police protocol when you're arresting a driver after an officer in this case crashed his vehicle?

MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, here you've got a guy. He ran a DUI checkpoint, tried to run over three officers. They had to use the PIT maneuver to stop him.

The officer thought -- he had a canine, put him in the car, because one thing, if you got a dog in your lap, you're not going to be able to take off from that scene and hit any other officers.

So was this over-excessive use of force? I don't think it is. A dog is a tool.

As Joey said, there are probably -- it could be some administrative procedures against this guy, but I do not think it was excessive use of force in this particular case.

BALDWIN: Mike, there is still this internal investigation by the police department.

Do you think what this officer did is going to get him into any administrative trouble?

BROOKS: I think since you had 15 people on a grand jury decide there was no criminal charges, I don't think he's going to get any administrative charges against him. If he does, maybe just some minor charge.

If you noticed, after he put the dog in, he tried to open the door handle. The door handle was locked.

Then you see the other officers on the other side of the car using the ax to try to get into the car.

Number one, when you have a guy like this, Brooke, and Joey will agree, you always assume that this person is armed, especially when he's running from the police.

BALDWIN: Joey, final thought from you. Do you agree?

JACKSON: Well, what will end up happening, Brooke, is you can argue that the raising of the hands was a very submissive thing.

Keep in mind, a grand jury, they're supposed to be a public confidence, right? You instill public confidence by letting the community decide.

However, it's how you present the case to the grand jury, so while I have confidence in our system of justice, at the end of the day, again, there could be some type of federal investigation into the nature of this case.

It may be far from over in terms of the conduct and whether it was indeed excessive, Brooke.

BALDWIN: All right, gentlemen, Joey Jackson, Mike Brooks, thank you both.

Coming up, will lawmakers avoid another shutdown? Just in to CNN, we're hearing negotiators are very close to this deal on the budget, which impacts your wallet, my wallet.

Plus, I'm just getting word Mr. Rob Ford, you know the man as the Toronto mayor who admits to smoking crack, he will speak live any moment.

And, listen, your guess is as good as mine as far as what he wants to talk about. It will be a surprise to us all, and we'll take it live on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just in to CNN, after weeks after talks behind closed doors and a couple months after that whole government shutdown, we are hearing negotiators are close to a deal on the budget.

Let's go to Washington to our chief congressional correspondent there, Dana Bash.

So, Dana, this word is specifically coming from top Republican in the thick of things here on this budget deal, Paul Ryan.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Paul Ryan, and also sources on the Democratic side who are involved in this, too.

They say this could happen in the next few hours, Brooke. This is not the wide-ranging grand bargain that includes big-ticket deficit items like entitlements.

But it is a modest budget deal that would set government-spending levels, which is important, we haven't seen that in a while, and replace automatic spending cuts set to hit early next year. Paul Ryan on the Republican side, Patty Murray on the Democratic side, they, many Democrats want to extend long-term unemployment benefits as part of this deal.

Other high-profile Democrats on the House side who represent federal workers, they're concerned part of this deal means an increase in money that people have to give who are federal workers to their pensions. They're not crazy about that.

Then the Republican side, conservatives are upset even before this is announced because they don't want to change any of those spending caps that have been in place since 2011.

Three outside groups have said, Republicans don't vote for this. If it is announced and is voted on this week, which we expect it will be, it will really have to have a true coalition of Republicans and Democrats who are in the middle for this to pass.

BALDWIN: We'll wait and see. We'll watch it with you, Dana Bash, for the next couple of hours to see if a deal can be made. Thank you.

And in Washington. as well, an old Clinton hand is returning to the White House. Former Clinton chief of staff, John Podesta, has been hired as a senior counselor to President Obama.

He's a party elder and founded the Center for American Progress. He's considered a steady hand, much needed after the shaky start to the president's second term.

Jake Tapper will have much more on that on "THE LEAD" in a couple of minutes.

And they charge fees for bags, aren't always on time, sometimes leg room isn't that great. Airlines can get a bad rep. We know that.

But wait until you hear this next story, because an airline planned a special surprise for its passengers to celebrate the holiday spirit, and it brings some of them to tears.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: How is this for a find on Mars? The NASA Curiosity Rover uncovered evidence of an ancient, freshwater lake.

So check this out. This is an illustration NASA says is the possible extent of the lake. This is inside the crater where the Rover landed.

Now, the lake could have supported microbes found on Earth in caves and the ocean floor, and it could have promoted life forms more than three billion years ago.

How cool is that?

All right, we know what you're about to see is a marketing gimmick. Let me get that out there initially. We know what this is.

But it has so much heart and such amazing spirit, I just had to share this with you today before I let you go.

So, WestJet, a low-fare airline out of Canada, decided to do a "Secret Santa" of sorts. The secret was this. When it's revealed, actually, you'll see it. And grab the tissues now. Let me just put that out there.

WestJet set up a kiosk in which a video Santa asked passengers, be it grownup or kid, what they wanted for Christmas.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What would mommy and daddy like for Christmas?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Big TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, a big TV.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I need is new socks and underwear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An Android tablet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So, they're talking to this virtual Santa, plane takes off, passengers traveling through the skies.

And, 150 WestJetters, this is amazing, they are scrambling on the ground to make the wishes come true, and don't you wish this would happen to you at baggage claim? Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ho, ho, ho!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No way!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The gifts never expected, what they asked of Saint Nick, would actually appear. It was all quite a trick.

A WestJetter would say, It was more than mere fun. Miracles do happen when we all work as one.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Oh, if we all could have been on that flight.

Richard Bartrem, you are the WestJet vice president of communications and community relations. And I tip my hat to you, sir, because that was a pretty awesome surprise, despite the fact that this was a total p.r. stunt and we're talking about it.

So -- but let's just -- walk through this, Richard. Let's say a little boy talks to virtual Santa and he says, hey, I want a teddy bear. Let me be real. He says, hey, I want an iPhone.

What happens behind the scenes? What happens that we don't see in the video?

RICHARD BARTREM, VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS AND COMMUNITY RELATIONS, WESTJET: Well, of course, just off-camera, you have -- and good afternoon, Brooke.

Just off-camera, we have, as you said, 150 WestJetters who are at the ready to head up to the local shopping mall and fulfill as many of those wishes as they can.

So, certainly you can see, there's one fellow that wanted a tablet, and he certainly did get that tablet.

There was one family who asked for a big screen TV. And the funny thing was, there were no expectations on the part of the guests that were traveling with us.

They really just thought they were having a conversation with Santa that wasn't going to lead to gifts being delivered at the other end.

And that was the magic for it for us, watching their faces as that TV comes out of the oversized baggage area.

BALDWIN: All the hidden cameras I'm sure that were put in perfect places to capture all this Christmas magic, but tell me how long was the flight?

Realistically speaking, how much time did your people have to do some very fast shopping and wrapping and delivering?

BARTREM: Yes, we were careful. We picked the transcontinental flight so this would be roughly the same going from New York to Denver.

We had almost four hours from gate to gate to get to the mall, back to the airport, wrap the presents, get everyone's name on them from the manifest and begin to get them going down the baggage carousel, number 8, as it says in the video.

BALDWIN: A tablet you can deliver but let's say curing disease or hunger, did anyone ask you for a gift that you just couldn't quite pull off?

BARTREM: Well, we had to improvise in a few of those. We did have three women who asked for a man. That will be something sort of difficult to fit in a box.

BALDWIN: You couldn't wrap yourself up, Richard? Kidding.

BARTREM: We put a Ken doll in for those people.

One woman did ask for a diamond ring and regrettably, it was cubic zirconia. There were some of those sorts of requests.

We did have one child ask for a puppy and had to make do with a stuffed animal.

BALDWIN: Let me just end this whole thing, watched part of this video and I wanted to ask, you are doing something beyond giving people presents. You are helping reunite families and people.

This is called WestJet Cares for Kids. Tell me about that.

BARTREM: Yes. WestJet Cares for Kids is our flagship community investment program.

We have a few facets of it, one being that we work with six national children's charities, one of them being Ronald McDonald House.

So this video far surpassed our expectations on YouTube. We were hoping to get to 200,000 views, and if we did, we would reunite a family at Christmas that would otherwise be not able to afford to get together.

So we are sitting, I believe, just before we went on air at a little over 1.7 million views, far surpassed our expectations.

The WestJet Cares for Kids program gives the gift of flight. We take something that we have lots of, flights, that a lot of people need and are used by our partners for fundraising, used for the gift of flight.

If you look at the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for example, we facilitate those flights for them.

We have another great program where WestJetters can volunteer in the community. As soon as they volunteer 40 hours, we will give that employee two tickets to anywhere we fly in the world.

BALDWIN: That is wonderful.

BARTREM: Yes. We've got --

BALDWIN: I've got to go. I'm sorry. I am flat out of time. I hear all this goodness you all do and I salute you at WestJet. Thank you very much. I'm out of time.

We go to bar, so that's my cue. Jake Tapper, take it away.