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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Did Dad Kill Family, Himself?; Police Beating Caught on Tape; Nine- Year-Old Arrested by Cops; Smith Photo Scandal: Innocent or Sexual?

Aired May 08, 2014 - 19:00   ET

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


JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, breaking news in a cataclysmic mystery. Four people are dead, found in the smoldering rubble of a million-dollar Florida mansion that went up in flames and a massive explosion and fire. Inside the destroyed house, the four victims were found with gunshot wounds. Here is one of the frantic 911 calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God. This is so bad. I was walking my dog and the house just exploded. Oh, my God!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Calm down and take a deep breath. OK? I know it`s horrible.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just horrible. I was walking by. It just was exploding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good evening, I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell. Thank you so much for joining us. We`re live tonight.

Cops don`t have DNA confirmation, but it`s likely the dead are a mom, a dad, their teenage son and daughter, the very family renting this mansion, and that family hasn`t been seen since the explosion.

Police say yesterday`s inferno was set intentionally. In a very bizarre twist, fireworks had been spread all over the home. Cops also found accelerant and a gun registered to the husband and father.

Take a look at this brand-new surveillance tape. Police say just two days before the inferno erupted, quickly torching the mansion, the father bought gas and a huge amount of fireworks at a local fireworks store. Check it out. I`m seeing this video for the first time. We just got it in. There he is, just released surveillance video of him inside the store buying massive quantities of fireworks. Did this man wipe out his entire family, and if so, why?

The burned-out Tampa estate is owned by retired tennis star James Blake. He was not at the property, wasn`t even in Florida. But it sits inside an exclusive gated community in an area of Tampa that is filled with celebrities. You can see even from the rubble how big the house is.

Darren and Kimberly Campbell had been renting the five-bedroom 6,000-plus- square-foot home for about two years. The other two victims are believed to be their 19-year-old son Colin and their 16-year-old daughter Megan. Look at those two beautiful kids right there. This is just gut-wrenching. It`s horrifying.

Nine-one-one calls poured in before dawn yesterday when the home started going up in flames.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a huge fire on my street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have discovered two males and two females in the residence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A father, mother and teenage boy and girl had lived in the home since last year. Retired tennis player James Blake owns the million-dollar mansion.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re in the house. They`re in the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re in the house?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have not been able to positively identify the bodies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The tennis pro was not here when the fire broke out.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was walking my dog. As I walked by, the house exploded.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mansion has burned off and on for hours.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So bad this happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did this father plan to take himself and his whole family out? And if so, what was his motive? Give me a call: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. I want to hear your theories. 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to CNN correspondent Alina Machado. Alina, thanks for joining us. Police just had a news conference filled with one stunner after the next. What do you know?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jane, we know that it`s going to take investigators a very long time to process this scene. This fire burned for several hours. So you can imagine the kind of fire damage and water damage that investigators are dealing with.

But we have learned that investigators have at least been able to determine that the four bodies, the four people who were found inside this house, all four people had been shot.

Police are also saying that Darren Campbell, he`s the man that police say was renting this house from James Blake, they say that Campbell was seen at a fireworks store on Sunday about three days before this fire started, before this fire happened, purchasing a large amount of fireworks.

They also say that on that same day, on Sunday, Darren Campbell went and purchased several gas cans from a local home improvement store. And police say that they have recovered a weapon, a firearm from inside the house that was registered to Mr. Campbell.

But that`s about as far as they`re going. They are not saying anything about a possible motive or about what they believe happened inside this house or how these people died.

We also know that it will likely take a while for the medical examiner`s office to be able to positively identify all four bodies that were found inside this house. And Jane, as you can imagine, there is a lot of work to be done in this investigation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Alina, thank you so much for that comprehensive report. And I`m looking at this man buying the fireworks, and I`m trying to get a sense of, like, what is going on inside his head at that moment.

Now, he`s -- you know how much was spent, Alina Machado. Tell us about that.

MACHADO: Well, our understanding is that he purchased about $600 in fireworks from the store on Sunday. Police say that it was a "excessive amount." That`s how they characterized it during the news conference today.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Alina Machado, once again, thank you so much. But hang in there for a couple of minutes as we try to really solve this mystery.

I`m looking at this man. He`s been an executive. But look how he`s dressed. I mean, it almost looks like he`s really dressing in a very, very casual, casual fashion for this kind of an exclusive Tampa neighborhood.

Now, on the surface, this seemed like the absolute perfect family. He`s a business executive. His wife is described as sophisticated. Their teenage son and daughter, who live together, all of them, in a mansion, attended an exclusive, private school. But obviously, something went horribly, horribly wrong.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That Mr. Campbell did purchase an exceedingly large amount of fireworks at Phantom Fireworks -- at Phantom Fireworks on Sunday. We can also confirm that he purchased several gas cans at a local home improvement store that same day. A firearm was recovered in the residence that was registered to Mr. Campbell.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Take a look at this surveillance footage, OK, that shows Mr. Campbell, the father, two days before the explosion, buying that huge amount of fireworks at the store. He buys one pile, and then he goes back and buys another pile. One shopping cart new is not enough. Look at that. There he is. You`ve seen those kinds of fireworks.

Then he goes and buys gasoline, gas cans.

When cops got inside, they found four bodies, each with a gunshot wound, at least a gunshot wound. And we know that he had a gun that was registered for him. So this is a total mystery.

Straight out to the Lion`s Den. We have a fantastic panel. I think we have to start with Simone Bienne, the behavior expert. Listen, the cops aren`t calling this murder, but what else could it be? I mean, seriously, I`m not being facetious here. You know, we`ve heard circumstances where people commit mass suicide. But what else could it be, aside from at least one murder, two, possibly three along with a possible suicide? That`s what I see, but you know, the cops are not saying that. But take it away, Simone.

SIMONE BIENNE, BEHAVIOR EXPERT: I absolutely agree with you, Jane. How can it be anything else?

And this is a man who -- I don`t know what he was driven by: anger, shame, words, an affair about to be public. Were financial difficulties about to come about? He clearly didn`t want any single member of his family going on to live without him.

And this is something quite powerful, as well. There`s something quite dramatic going on, as well with him. So clearly, he wanted people to talk about it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And our phone lines lighting up. Let`s go to Debbie, New York. Debbie, what`s your theory? What have you got to say about this?

CALLER: Hi, Jane. I`m a little confused. That mansion looks huge, spread out. Huge. How does he do this? How did he shoot them first and then the fireworks went off? Did the fireworks go off first, then he shot them and then he killed himself? This is very confusing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is very confusing.

And the idea of the fireworks being spread all over the house, in fact, there was a claim, one of the reporters said, "Did you hear anything about fireworks being strapped to their heads?" And the law enforcement officer that was holding the news conference said no, they were scattered all over the house, but they were not strapped to their heads. But that`s the kind of speculation that`s happening because it`s so bizarre.

I heard somebody say something. Who wants to talk?

ANITA SEDAGHATFAR, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I was saying, Jane -- I was saying I actually don`t...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Go ahead.

SEDAGHATFAR: Jane, I was just saying I don`t necessarily agree that it`s this man that was the culprit here, because really, there are so many unanswered questions.

The police don`t even know what caused the fire. The police don`t even know exactly what the cause of death was. Yes, there were gunshots, but did they die from these gunshots or did they die because of the fire?

Now certainly, there was foul play. OK? So we know there were gunshots. We know that two adults had sustained severe injuries to their upper bodies, but the police need to conduct their investigation. They need to get surveillance video.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, yes. We certainly understand that we`re not going to have all the answers. But Elizabeth Espinoza, I mean, come on. There are certain common sense things going on here.

(CROSSTALK)

ELIZABETH ESPINOZA, CNN ESPANOL: No, but I`m with Simone on this. Simone`s a human behavior expert. I will tell you this: As a reporter, as a journalist, it`s two plus two is four here.

Clearly, there was financial -- financial problems. There`s a shame factor. Dad can`t provide for the family. So what does he do? I mean, e`s premeditating a thought of let me get fireworks, spread them around the house and then, you know, shoot the family members and then hide the evidence with the fire. And then he took himself out, as well. This is a real obvious situation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Dr. Gabe Crenshaw, psychologist -- hold on a second. Dr. Gabe, we`re going to get -- on the other side of the break, we`re going to get to the financial issues, and we have some facts that we`ve been collecting. We`ve been playing detective all day long here.

But here`s the first thing I thought of. They are renting a mansion. Now, either you can afford a mansion or you can`t. If you can afford to buy it, buy it. If you can`t, don`t live in a mansion. The idea that you would rent a mansion to me says, you know, you`re very concerned about status. Maybe to the point of putting yourself in the hole.

DR. GABE CRENSHAW, PSYCHOLOGIST: Exactly. Yes, because you know, I mean that`s typical of Americans. We call it family-cide is what it`s called. If it`s a murder-suicide, if that`s in fact what happened.

But this is status. This is trying to project a particular lifestyle that maybe is really, you know, too far for you. You`re reaching too far. I mean, you know, it`s interesting. He lost one job. And we saw that, you know, in the reports. And there he is, you know, sitting on the board in the financial department with his kids` school.

It just looks like to me that everything that we see on the outside is never that way on the inside. And reality bites. It got too close to home. What do you do? You take yourself out, and you take your family out. Possibly, this is what`s going on here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know how I always say if it`s too perfect on the outside, is it a smoke screen for something dysfunctional and toxic behind closed doors?

We`re just getting started. We`re going to talk about the money issue right on the other side. And then a little bit later, we`re going to talk about this story that blows my mind. I had to read it three times. I`m like no, this can`t be.

Yes, cops decide they have to arrest a 9-year-old girl, who`s in a swimsuit by the way, and take her down to the station house, cuff her, fingerprint her. Are you kidding me? Mom says her whole life has now turned into a nightmare. We`re going to talk to some people involved in the story. It`s unbelievable.

But first, much more on this deadly bizarre fire at the mansion owned by a tennis star. He`s out of the country, but the family renting it, they`re likely dead tonight. The question is, why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nine-one-one, what is the emergency?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a huge fire on my street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A massive blaze engulfed former tennis star James Blake`s multimillion-dollar Florida home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was walking my dogs. As I walked by, the house exploded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`ve got to hurry, please.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Calm down, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is so scary. Oh, my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where are you right now?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m right in front of the house.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re right in front of it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes, send a fire truck.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A rented Florida mansion filled with fireworks explodes. And inside the rubble, four dead, all believed to be, although it hasn`t been confirmed by cops, to be the renters. The Campbell family. Mom, dad, and the two teenage children.

Now, dad Darren Campbell, who was seen -- right there he is, buying a whole bunch of explosives just two days before -- has a very odd employment history. He was an executive at several high-level, high-profile companies, including a storage company, a shipping company, a glass manufacturing company and an insurance company.

His LinkedIn profile we checked still lists him as an executive at the insurance company. But published reports say that company was purchased. He no longer works there.

His father-in-law said he took the last year off. You`ve got to wonder if that was voluntary or if he was fired, let go.

Published reports say Dad also took an unpaid position as the treasurer of his children`s private school. In light of these extraordinary events and this tragedy, you`ve got to the wonder if school officials are checking the books right now. The ones that Mr. Campbell had access to.

Mrs. Campbell was a stay-at-home mom. I think we`ve got some pictures of these folks. I mean, it`s a beautiful family. Where is the money coming from to rent this mansion from the tennis star? How are they paying rent for this 6,000-square-foot mansion? Cops are looking into whether this family was facing financial problems.

But here`s the weird part. Simone Bienne, behavior expert, our background checks show -- we did some digging -- there`s no bankruptcy. There`s no massive debts for the father. So it`s all very strange.

BIENNE: Yes, you see, again, if you`re looking from the outside, I actually think that this guy was obsessed with status. Who knows? He could have been -- clearly he`s a psychopath if he did murder his family, but I think this is all status driven. And what we do know about psychopaths -- I don`t want to label him, but we do know they are very driven by status.

So the fact that he lost his job, the fact that he`s gone for the top treasurer job at school -- yes, I know it was unpaid, but again you`ve got status there -- I don`t know. I really believe it`s him, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s go to Blair, Texas. What`s your theory? What do you have to say, Blair Texas.

CALLER: Oh, my God. I can`t believe this has actually happened to this family.

My question is, did the police in the case think there`s any foul play? And if so, do they think that the father just flat-out killed his family and then killed himself like a murder/suicide?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know, the police are not saying much, and they`re being, in my opinion, a little -- well, they have to be cautious until the DNA comes back that shows this is the family, even though they`re renting it, even though they haven`t been seen since the explosion, even though it`s very likely it`s them, they`re not going to go out and say that this was murder/suicide until they find out who was in there. But look at these beautiful kids. I mean, that`s a gorgeous family.

And you know, believe it or not, this case has really bizarre parallels to the Julie Schenecker "Mouthy Mom" case which is going on in the same city, you know, "Shaky Mom" on trial for shooting her teenaged son and daughter. Excuse me.

Dr. Gabe Crenshaw, could this be a copycat?

CRENSHAW: Well, you know, Jane, anything`s possible. But I will say what is very similar in both cases is something that we call over-enmeshment. You wonder why would a parent murder or shoot their child. It`s because there`s a point with over-enmeshment where the parent sees their kids as possession. They see -- the husband sees the wife as his possession and really one and the same. So they lose their identity.

And so the kids, the wife and everything that concerns the family is really wrapped up in this one personality. So when I kill them -- when I kill me, I kill them. There`s no way I`m not going to kill them, because not to kill them is not to kill me. It`s crazy.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: But you know that always kills me? Elizabeth Espinoza, when I look at video of people who look like they`re a day or two away from committing a horrific, horrific crime -- we don`t know that for sure, but it`s quite possible this guy was buying all these fireworks to set around the house to basically then kill his family and then have it all blow up. That`s my theory. It hasn`t been confirmed by cops.

Look how calm he is, like he`s going shopping for a Fourth of July cookout.

ESPINOZA: Right. I mean, we`re in May. So we`re not in July. He wasn`t buying fireworks to go celebrate Fourth of July or anything like that. It is very clear.

And I agree with you, Jane. There is no question here that everything points in the direction that he did this on purpose. Shame was too much. Ad I think the wake-up call here, because I`m tired, I will tell you, as a journalist covering these stories. I`ve covered these stories here in the valley here in Southern California where a father lost his job, and it`s like the shame. I can`t provide for my family anymore. Comes home and he kills everybody and sets the house on fire. It`s not the first time. And I really hope that this story is the last time.

America, stop with the competing with the Joneses. You know what? If you lose your job, you`ve got your health. Stay focused.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Exactly. That`s why I live in a studio. I don`t need more space than a studio. I enjoy living in a studio with an alcove.

My heart goes out to the extended family of those who lost their lives here. This is a gut-wrenching mystery. And we`re going to stay on top of it.

On the other side, outrage as police are caught on tape, allegedly brutally beating the man -- you can see the tape, and you decide for yourself -- after what was supposed to be a routine traffic stop. We`re going to talk to the man who said he was pummeled more than 40 times next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no mercy shown. He broke the phones on my son`s face.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beating by police officers.

KYLE HOWELL, BEATEN BY POLICE: I`m in fear of the police now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And within a few minutes, something set them off.

HOWELL: I was hit in the head so many times, it`s like I don`t remember.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s a clear violation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The officers beat him mercilessly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If there was no video, he would have no voice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, escalating uproar and outrage over allegations of a brutal beat-down at the hands of two police officers, and it was all caught on tape.

I want you to take a look at the shocking surveillance video. Twenty-year- old Kyle Howell, who we have on tonight, claims he was viciously attacked, punched and kicked more than 40 times by a couple of cops in a New York City suburb on Long Island after he was pulled over for a routine traffic stop.

Kyle says he was leaving his job at a motorcycle shop when cops stopped him for a broken windshield. He claims things quickly turned violent after he flipped on his cell phone to videotape the cops and then reached across the front seat to reach a paycheck he said was about to blow out the door.

Watch this video. Kyle says that`s when one officer suddenly snaps and starts beating him up. We`ve pushed in so that you can see. There`s the officer, and he`s -- he`s kicked. It appears he`s that he`s kicking and punching inside the car.

OK. The cops admit to hitting Kyle, but they say it`s because Kyle, quote, "punched and kicked them" so violently they suffered injuries which required medical attention. They also say Kyle tried to eat a bag of marijuana that was allegedly found in his car.

Kyle denies these claims, saying he was beaten so badly -- take a look at his face -- he lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital, battered and bruised with a broken nose, bone fractures and facial nerve damage. Kyle claims these twos cops have had it in for him, stopping him at least a dozen times in the weeks leading up to this beating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: The damage that happened. I remember getting a knee to my face, and after that, I don`t really remember much. I was hit in the head so many times it was like I don`t remember. I`m emotionally scarred.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In what way?

HOWELL: It`s because I`m in fear of the police now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, we`re learning Kyle`s family is planning to sue the Nassau Police Department for false arrest, excessive police force, and depriving Kyle of his civil rights. The police have launched an internal investigation.

We reached out to authorities. They won`t comment on the ongoing investigation.

We`ve got a fantastic Lion`s Den debate panel. But first, straight out to our very special guest, Kyle Howell and his attorney, Amy Marion.

So Kyle, tell us about what happened in the moments leading up to this. One of the things that occurs to me as I`m looking at this is they`re saying in their police documents, which I read, that you`re kicking them. But you`re inside the vehicle. We don`t see you outside. We see him going into the vehicle with force. So I`m wondering how you be kicking them if we`re watching him standing out there?

HOWELL: I don`t know. They`re just making false accusations, I guess, to cover up what they did to me.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, you`re saying that the police in general have profiled you and pulled you over unnecessarily repeatedly or these two officers in particular?

HOWELL: In particular those two officers have pulled me over multiple times as well as other officers from the same precinct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And why do you feel that they were targeting you?

HOWELL: I am not sure.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I mean, did you ever -- is that why you pulled out? Because apparently you`re saying that they -- one of the officers, the officer we`re looking at here on the passenger side, quote unquote, "snapped: when you pulled out your cell-phone camera and decided you were going to start videotaping. Had you essentially decided "I`ve had enough. I`m going to start videotaping this," and that`s what caused him to snap, allegedly?

HOWELL: I guess that`s what he was mad at, because in the past he told me if I recorded him, he was going to use physical force to stop me.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I want to go to your attorney Amy Marion. Why do you think that police were allegedly targeting your client, Kyle Howell?

AMY MARION, ATTORNEY FOR KYLE HOWELL (via phone): I don`t know. We can`t answer the question why they were, you know, why they were necessarily targeting him. I don`t know that they were necessarily targeting him as opposed to just, you know, constantly targeting individuals of his age, you know. And race in his neighborhood. It`s just a constant thing in that neighborhood.

I don`t know. We can`t answer those questions. What we do know is that he`s been stopped repeatedly and given tickets for minor equipment violations. That you know, I mean, his mother said, "I`ve never gotten stopped so many times for or anytime for an equipment violation." And it`s, you know, odd that within a year, he was stopped 12 times for minor equipment violations and then his car was searched.

So we can`t answer why the cops did what they did. We`re just, you know, making a conclusion based on what they have done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK. Now let me just go over some facts and give you an opportunity to discuss them. Cops claim they found coke and pot inside Kyle`s car. Cops say Kyle tried to eat a bag of marijuana, which supposedly led to this violent brawl.

Kyle says no, he did not have drugs and that authorities are lying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Just recovering at this point. I`m getting ready for surgery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: According to local reports, Kyle does have a criminal history. And in 2012, he pled guilty to petty larceny and marijuana possession.

Now those are not serious crimes, but he`s got a history involving marijuana, which is part of what cops are accusing him of. What you`re looking at here are some of the charges that were leveled after this.

So first of all, I want to give you an opportunity to respond to that, Marion, the attorney for Kyle, who`s also on.

MARION: Right. Look, we`re not here to discuss whether or not there was pot, there wasn`t pot in the car or any of those allegations. The bottom line here is, even if you take the cops at their word in the light most favorable to them, this was a horrible brutal beating.

So as I`ve said, give them that. Let -- you know, if you believe them at their word, does that -- is that what this is about? In other words, you will brutally beat an individual in the way in which they did because of an allegation that he may have had pot or even swallowed pot?

We`re not going to address that. We`re not going to deal with that. Kyle Howell is still a defendant by the Nassau County district attorney`s office.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Amy, let me jump in here because we`ve got very little time.

MARION: Yes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You found -- did you find the surveillance video? In other words, if you hadn`t found the surveillance video, who knows what could have happened.

MARION: It was actually Kyle`s father that immediately went before we were even on the case, Kyle`s father had gone to the deli and gotten it. So he`s the one who got it. And that`s exactly right. If there wasn`t a video, we would not be sitting here having this conversation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, Dr. Gabe Crenshaw, psychologist, the police said that they had to go to the hospital for their own injuries as part of this fight but if you look at it, if you look at the video, you don`t see anything emanating from the car. You see the cop on the outside --

CRENSHAW: No.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- going into the car. How is he injured when you don`t even see this person outside the car?

MARION: Exactly. Exactly.

CRENSHAW: I think they`re lying. I think it`s a level of embarrassment on the police officers part. It`s just police officers doing business as usual particularly when it comes to black men.

You know, Kyle, I really, really understand what you`re going through because as a black man in America, I`ve been stopped, I`ve been racially profiled. I`ve had my car seized and searched for absolutely no reason whatsoever.

It happens all the time. And we have gotten used to it, and we allow this to go on. You know what? You`ve gotten beat. Rodney King got beat. We can go down the line here. It happens all the time because black men are often seen as criminals before they`re considered to be innocent. It disrupts the natural --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I just have to jump in. Anahita Sedaghatfar, criminal defense attorney, these officers have been placed on modified duty. They have not been suspended pending this investigation. That blows my mind.

ANAHITA SEDAGHATFAR, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: They have to be suspended, Jane. The video says it all. And this video right here is exactly why I say that every single police vehicle should have a video camera in the car so stuff like this can be recorded. And it`s not just to protect suspects like this individual. But also even to protect the officers from false claims and false allegations.

So I think this man should be so thankful that there was that surveillance video because if it wasn`t there, like his attorney said, we wouldn`t be here having this conversation.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sorry. I apologize. I`d love to talk about this more. We`ve got another shocking story on the other side.

But I promise you, Kyle, we`re going to stay on top of this and please keep us posted. We want to do follow-ups.

All right, a mother is devastated, demanding answers after cops cuff and haul away her -- are you sitting down -- nine-year-old daughter. What the hell`s going on?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An emotional Latoya Harris relives her family`s personal nightmare when two Portland officers came to her house and arrested her nine-year-old daughter. I`m told the child was still wearing a swimsuit at the time of her May, 2013 arrest.

LATOYA HARRIS, MOTHER: I`ll never get the image out of my mind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arrested her nine-year-old daughter.

HARRIS: They handcuffed her and walked her about two feet to the cop car and took her downtown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police tell me handcuffs are used for safety reasons and not to intimidate even a young child.

HARRIS: They treated her like a hardened criminal. It just should not have happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Harris calls the move bullying.

HARRIS: My daughter has never been the same after this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, now I`ve heard everything. A nine-year-old little girl in Portland, handcuffed put into the back of a police cruiser and then booked into an adult jail. Why -- because of a scuffle with another child six days before.

Her mother is upset. You just heard her. Furious saying this is totally out of line with the quote, "alleged" if you can call it crime. It was a scuffle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: The image out of my mind, they handcuffed her and walked her about two feet to the cop car and took her downtown. My daughter got scared. She was scared.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The nine-year-old girl reportedly got into a fight with another little girl at the local Boys and Girls Club six days before her arrest. The counselor said the fight was relatively minor, no severe injuries and she was suspended for a week but that wasn`t enough. The mother of the other girl, cops say, called police and demanded they haul the nine-year-old into jail.

So instead of saying thank you for your opinion and clicking, they drove to her house. And while this little girl is in the sprinkler playing wearing only her bathing suit, they handcuff her and haul her off to jail. They proceed to fingerprint her and take her mug shot. She`s nine years old.

Portland police say technically these officers did nothing wrong because the guidelines don`t -- they don`t say you can`t arrest young children. They say juveniles, you can`t bring them in.

Well, we`ve reached out to Portland police and they`re in the process of reviewing how these arrests take place, specifically arrests of children under 12.

Out to the "Lion`s Den". You know sometimes when I think I`ve seen it all, I say no. You know, there`s no words. I`m not speechless very often. But I`ll start with Elizabeth Espinosa.

ELIZABETH ESPINOSA, CNN ESPANOL: Yes. You know what? This is really crazy. And --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I got to step off. This is it. Every time, sometimes there`s things that happen I say no. I`m done for a while. Go ahead, Elizabeth.

ESPINOSA: I know -- right? I feel your pain. I feel your pain. I know. Please come back, but I hear you. This is ridiculous. I mean, these two police officers have a weapon at their waist, ok? And apparently this third, fourth grader I mean she`s a real threat because by the way, she got into a fight with another nine-year-old a week ago.

So for them to actually think that it`s common sense and a basic thing -- thank you Jane, for coming back -- is that, you know, you`re going to actually put her in the cop car, don`t take her to juvie car but to the main precinct, I mean, hello. Do you have kids? Because you know what, there`s a little word and it`s called karma. And those two police officers --

BIENNE: And why would he --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time. One at a time.

(CROSSTALK)

CRENSHAW: You know what? Here`s the deal also, this is really big.

SEDAGHATFAR: It`s called a lawsuit Jane, because this woman is going to have such a big lawsuit against this department --

CRENSHAW: Yes.

SEDAGHATFAR: -- because her daughter is going to be traumatized for a very, very long time because of the stupidity and lack of common sense of these police officers. But I just hope, Jane, let me just say I hope that it`s part of her lawsuit --

CRENSHAW: But it`s not just -- it`s not just stupidity.

SEDAGHATFAR: Hold on, let me finish my point. I just hope that she`s not only going to seek monetary damages for this but she`s going to ensure that that police department has a very clear and specific policy as to how to deal with situations like this in the future and make every single police officer --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. It can`t happen again, bottom line, it can`t happen again.

SEDAGHATFAR: Absolutely.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Gabe.

CRENSHAW: It happens all the time. It happens all the time and there are policies in place already. And this is not about stupidity and this is not about bad judgment. This is simply about race.

And you know what; we just need to get honest.

ESPINOSA: That`s true.

CRENSHAW: First of all, listen, research shows UCLA, this is not just Dr. Gabe talking, UCLA in "Journals of Psychology" show that racist police officers instead of children are innocent and need protection when it comes to black kids, they are seen as -- they dehumanize them and because they can dehumanize them they reduce them to a lower standard.

They also do age over estimation. She`s nine years old. It would not surprise me according to this research that they might have said, you know, she was probably 17 or 18 because research shows that`s what they do, whatever we need to do to rationalize and justify our racism. That`s what we need to deal with.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to give Simone the last word on there. But as I do I want to show how I was assigned to spend a night in jail, got handcuffed and I was traumatized even though it was all for television. It got very real for me as I lost my freedom and I lost my power and so I really feel that this child is severely impacted by this, Simone.

BIENNE: She is going to be impacted for a very long time. Because actually, children this young, it affects their mental health, it affects their emotional development. It affects their brains.

And I tell you somebody who needs brains needs to be looked at is those police officers. What makes me sick, Jane, is why couldn`t she allowed to put some clothes on? That really hurts me. So she`s humiliated even more.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: You know what? Make a lot of money. Put it in a trust fund for this girl. Send her to the best university. Get her the therapy. She has to end up a winner in all this. That`s just not fair.

Controversy erupts online over the photo you`re about to see right there. A shirtless 20-year-old in bed with the daughter of Hollywood royalty -- Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith -- Jada is firing back. She is furious. We`re going to play you what she had to say on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Andy Hickman and his fiancee Rosemary have been living in this 1964 Air Stream trailer for four years. While building what he calls a new earth home.

ANDY HICKMAN: We just wanted to focus on a home that was going to take care of us and allow us to be more independent and self-reliant.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This home is extremely smart when it comes to energy. Solar panels will be the sole source of power. Tanks are installed on the roof to capture rain water.

HICKMAN: This gray water cell will be growing edible plants and we`ll be able reuse the water in our house multiple times before it goes to the septic system.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: The 1,700-square foot home also includes reclaimed wood and ordinary objects.

HICKMAN: We`ve got well over 500 bottles here that would normally be recycled. But we`ve turned it into this beautiful work of art.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hickman had two goals in mind while building this house, functionality and acceptability, and he`s spreading the word on social media.

HICKMAN: We`re reducing our carbon footprint. We`re living an example of what is available and is possible.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is happening? I`ve been trying to reach them. I just keep getting a recording.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daddy, where are we going?

WILL SMITH, ACTOR: You`re going to (inaudible)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What? No. Why?

SMITH: Just strap yourself in. Go.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re at 30 minutes, Colonel.

SMITH: Copy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 30 minutes to what?

SMITH: They`re sealing off the island.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: He is one of the biggest stars of all time. Now "I am Legend" actor Will Smith and his famous family are at the center of a controversy because of photos that popped up on Instagram.

Here they are. They show Will and Jada Pinkett Smith`s 13-year-old daughter Willow on a bed with a 20-year-old friend. The photos went viral. And people started asking why is this 13-year-old child laying in a bed with a shirtless young man? Well now actress mom Jada Pinkett is firing back.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey Jada. Hi, Jada. How are you doing tonight?

JADA PINKETT SMITH, ACTRESS: Thank you so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jada, how is it going?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Make room, guys. Make room. Just don`t block our progress.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jada, can you comment on the picture that was posted on Instagram with Willow and Moses?

J. SMITH: Here`s the deal. There was nothing sexual about that picture or that situation. You guys are projecting your trash on to it. And you`re acting like covert pedophiles and that`s not cool. Let`s go. Come on.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you still allow her to take pictures (inaudible) like that?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Amy Palmer, entertainment reporter, she is upset. She says anybody who sees something sexual, well, basically they`re projecting they`re covert pedophiles. What do you make of her reaction?

AMY PALMER, ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: I think she`s right. I think she`s a mother defending her daughter and saying this is ridiculous. You guys are the ones who are sick. The Internet as we know is sick. We know that there are people online who project their own thing on to this.

But you know, this is a picture of a 13-year-old girl with a family friend. That`s it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you kidding me?

PALMER: Yes, that`s it, Jane. I`m sorry.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Are you kidding me?

PALMER: I have to agree. It`s just an image. Let`s not forget that we have seen images of Kate Moss, she was 14 years old. This has been going on forever. It`s just that the social media, the stratosphere has now created dialogue and creates controversy where there is none.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Elizabeth, you`re shaking your head.

ESPINOSA: Are you serious? No, this is a 13-year-old girl who is lying on a bed. Of course, we don`t know the specifics of who else is in that room. But the guy is shirtless. He`s 20 years old. That`s not normal. And I love that this was the knee jerk reaction of this country because that`s not appropriate.

Now, here`s my message to Jada Pinkett Smith, who I love. Yes, I`m a huge fan.

But listen, you love our money when we go see the movies -- right? You love it when we go do the whip -- "I whip my hair back and forth. I whip my hair back and forth." Right -- that`s the song.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s the daughter, Willow. We were playing her video. She`s a very sophisticated young lady. He is a star himself, the young man who is with Willow in these Instagram photos. He is best known for his former role as Rico on Hannah Montana. I mean he`s the best friend of Willow`s older Jaden. They`re hanging out at the house.

I mean, really, you`re going to make something of that? But people are.

More debate on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J. SMITH: Here`s the deal. There was nothing sexual about that picture or that situation. You guys are projecting your trash on to it. And you`re acting like covert pedophiles and that`s not cool. Let`s go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jada is angry Dr. Gabe Crenshaw because this is really calling her parenting into question.

CRENSHAW: Absolutely. And I`ll tell you something. From one parent to another -- at least there`s concern. For me, seriously, if he were a family member -- I`ve never seen this guy before, didn`t know he was an actor. It immediately sent up a red flag for me. Just as a father.

Now, I don`t know their family, I don`t know anything about them except for what I see and what I read. I do know that a 13-year-old and a 20-year- old, they`re friends. I don`t know if they`ve grown up together, but there`s a distance there.

What does a 20-year-old really have in common with a 13-year-old? That`s of a concern. And the ability for kids to make their own choices -- I think Will Smith was quoted as saying, "My daughter`s mature and she`s able to make her own decisions." That`s where I take issue with that a little bit. Her parents were --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me just say this. Yes, but let me say she`s no ordinary 13-year-old. She`s a very sophisticated young lady who already has a hit song.

CRENSHAW: I don`t care.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: "Whip My Hair".

CRENSHAW: I don`t care.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let`s watch it from Columbia Records and then we can discuss it on the other side. "Whip Your Hair"

(MUSIC)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. Dr. Gabe, come on. You`re not dealing with some child who`s grown -- she`s sophisticated. Sophisticated kids behave differently. I don`t think it mean it`s even sexual.

CRENSHAW: Yes, she is.

No, I don`t think it means it`s sexual necessarily either, Jane. It`s cause for concern. Ask Drew Barrymore, ask (inaudible) -- we only need to go back and look, it`s Hollywood. The same rules do not apply. You cannot --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`ve got to leave it right there. What a great debate.

Nancy Grace is up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END