Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Terminally Ill Woman Ends Her Life; Deputy No Longer Showing Ebola Symptoms; Officer's History with Excessive Force.

Aired October 09, 2014 - 14:30   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: We are back with Stan Curtis, a man who took part in a rare human experience, when a person takes control of death and determines when and where and how it will happen with grace and dignity. His terminally ill wife, Cody, made that decision as profiled in the film "How to Die in Oregon." Here's another clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CURTIS: I think she'd rather not have to choose. I think she would rather gracefully let nature take its course. She was prepared for that to not be an easy course. And so it's not about the stint or the liters of fluid. It's about her state of mind and her pride in herself and her pride in us and our pride in ourselves and our pride in her and that doesn't get talked about very much and doesn't get said nearly enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Stan, you allowed these documentary cameras to capture these final moments of your wife's life. Let me just play one more scene. This is the scene at the end of the film when Cody is surrounded by loved ones before she takes the final dose. It is incredibly emotional. I just want our audience to see it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: What was that like?

CURTIS: It was nearly Christmas, and we had a really strong family tradition of singing carols and traditional song, and a lot of the family are quite musical. Our daughter especially, so the harmony parts were celebrated. So we didn't really -- we didn't really plan the last scene in any way. We were just doing traditional things. We had a traditional fudge and popcorn ball and we just decided that we would do some Christmas songs. So that was -- and then we didn't pick that song intentionally. It was kind of hard to remember the meanings of that particular verse so we laughed and broke out into "Jingle Bells" to recover and get back into the right spirit. I think death is one of those where it's part of life. So we did a really good job with our dog celebrating and understanding that, and I think with Cody it was much harder and much bigger but to have her mother there and her father there who were uncomfortable with the whole scenario to be there celebrating with us was terrific. In the sports analogy, that's a very difficult play and from a school analogy, we were worried about the final exam, but we all thought we got an "A." So that was great.

BALDWIN: Stan, this is tough watching the film. It's tough talking to you. I so appreciate you coming on. Since Cody's passing, I have such respect for you for five years later having the strength to come on and tell her story. What do you miss most about your wife?

CURTIS: You know, we think of her a lot. What would Cody do? We're very supportive of the story. It's a big part of the family in terms of the meaning of life day-to-day and the meaning of traditions that seem simple but in the end were very valuable. We used to joke about the recipes but now everybody keeps the family recipes carefully. And I think the understanding of the value and kids to be able to celebrate and be getting a standing ovation at Sundance, to be part of the evolution. My daughter just got married. She's 30 years old. She gets the meaning of the story.

BALDWIN: Congratulations to her.

CURTIS: So we're very appreciative of this. I think the theory of story by story building a better community is something new to me as a science and part of startups and part of the ongoing incubation of the story for others and I thank Brittany for doing such a careful job and I thank HBO for sponsoring such a well done documentary. Peter was brilliant.

BALDWIN: He joined us yesterday. After seeing Cody's story, I said we have to talk to Stan.

I appreciate you spending all this time with me and sharing your story again on CNN. Thank you so much.

CURTIS: Yes. Cheers.

BALDWIN: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: We are now hearing that the Dallas deputy hospitalized with, quote, "signs and symptoms of Ebola" has improved and is no longer showing the signs. This sergeant entered this un-sanitized apartment where Thomas Eric Duncan stayed just days before his death.

Let's go to Dallas, to Elizabeth Cohen, our CNN senior medical correspondent, who has been working this for a while.

Tell me about the sheriff's deputy. Does this mean he absolutely tested negative for Ebola?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: No, we're expecting test results later this afternoon. The judge overseeing this effort in Dallas, said there's zero percent -- I looked down to be sure I was reading that right -- zero percent chance he has Ebola. A federal official said he didn't have an exposure to Ebola so therefore he's not at risk for Ebola.

BALDWIN: Why was that even a possibility?

COHEN: I think what happened is that when he fell ill and went to the urgent care center, the message to first responders was he had contact with Mr. Duncan. We don't know how that mistake was made because he didn't. Once that call goes out, you have to do a full-court press. You have to do the whole thing.

BALDWIN: Makes sense.

Elizabeth Cohen, thank you very much.

Coming up, this shocking video of this police officer smashing the window and tasing this man, and now the family is suing and it turns out this police officer has a history with excessive force.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A video is stirring emotions and anger among many who have watched it. Police officers in Hammond, Indiana, smashing this car window, tasing the passenger over a routine traffic stop. Now the family is suing the city and local police for excessive force.

If you have not seen it, take a look again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

JAMAL JONES, PASSENGER: All right. I'm not the operator of this vehicle

LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: Are you going to open the door?

LISA MAHONE, DRIVER: Why do say nobody's not going to hurt you. People are getting shot by the police.

(CRASHING NOISE)

(SCREAMING)

MAHONE: Damn!

(CRYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Two children in the back seat of the vehicle. You hear some of them screaming. They are also named in this lawsuit. The whole family talked to Don Lemon and shared what happened from their point of view.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JONES: I felt harm to my family so I wasn't going to leave my family in the car when they have their weapons drawn. I felt to protect my family to stay in the vehicle.

JOSEPH IVY, LISA MAHONE'S SON: I started videotaping it because I knew he was doing wrong. And when the windows shattered after they hit it, I felt scared. I was scared. That's what really gave me the courage to keep videotaping it because I was scared. And I knew if we took this to court, we have something to fight against them because police have more power than us and with the video, it shows.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That's the family. The statement from the police department says, "The officers were following procedures."

But according to records, the police officer has been sued three times for excessive force, settling a case in 2007.

Rashid Abdul-Salaam, you were with us earlier this week, so we had to bring you back. Private investigator, security specialist, also former police officer.

Thanks for coming back. Beginning with this, if you were the boss, if you were in charge of this police department in Indiana, how would you handle this officer right now?

RASHID ABDUL-SALAAM, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, SECURITY SPECIALIST, FORMER POLICE OFFICER: Right now, he would definitely be immediately reassigned and he would be taken off patrol until such time as the particulars in this situation are sorted out.

The thing that jumps out is that it seems that what was the urgency in getting that passenger out of the vehicle? Also, we got to backup. The initial car stop was based on seat belt violation. The last time I checked the traffic code, the driver is responsible for the occupants of a vehicle. So their concern should have been initially with the driver. And she would have been the one cited for the other occupants not being restrained. I don't know why they were putting so much attention on the passenger. We can speculate and come to different conclusions, but if their intent was to cite her or to make her aware that she and the occupants were not properly restrained, there could have been a warning or a citation and they could have moved on.

BALDWIN: Here's my concern. You talk about the occupants. Children, two children. I keep thinking about the 7 year old and the 14 year old in the back seat. If you were an officer and you're coming up upon a car, justified or not, the fact that there are kids in the car as an officer, does that change the dynamic?

ABDUL-SALAAM: It should. It certainly should. It's a matter of sensitivity training. Officers are people. They're human beings like everyone else. You would want to think, how would I want to be treated in this particular scenario. Mind you, keep in mind, officer safety, following policies and procedures and protocol, that's all fine. It doesn't have anything to do with your pleasant approach, maintaining control of the situation, but being aware of and sensitive to how is this encounter going to affect those young people in that back seat?

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Especially because it was 13 minutes. This whole thing lasted for 13 minutes. It wasn't quick. I am thinking officers would have time to process the scenarios within the car for whatever reason they wanted this passenger to get out of the car before smashing the window and tasing the individual. Doesn't the length of time matter, Rashid?

ABDUL-SALAAM: It doesn't matter so much in that -- it matters to me that they could have taken more time. What was the hurry? What was the urgency? There again, it goes back to what was the point? Was the point that you were going to impose your will on that passenger to get out of that vehicle or was your point to admonish the driver and occupants about not being properly restrained operating a motor vehicle? It boils down to proper training.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: Maybe the justice system figures out what the point of this was.

Rashid Abdul-Salaam, thank you so much for coming back. I'm sure we'll stay on it and see what happens for this family and for this officer.

Thank you, sir, so much.

ABDUL-SALAAM: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Just ahead, a mother's plea to ISIS, "He is my only child." The mother of this American hostage says she wants to talk with ISIS. Will that work? Stay here.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: A traffic accident changes a young woman's life forever, or so she thought. Take a look at this week's "Human Factor."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE SHARIFY, STEM CELL DONOR: The only thing I did different was unbuckle my seat belt.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A split-second decision that changed the life of 26-year-old Katie Sharify.

SHARIFY: I was driving down on Interstate 5, a drive that I had done hundreds of times.

GUPTA: But this drive turned terribly wrong. The last memory she had of that day was unbuckling her seat belt and grabbing a can of soda rolling along the floorboard.

SHARIFY: I have done it before. Grab your purse. Grab whatever on the passenger side.

GUPTA: But her car veered off the highway, ejecting her from the back windshield.

SHARIFY: That was it. I snapped my back in half and compressed my spinal cord.

GUPTA: Instantly paralyzed from her mid chest down.

Days after the accident, she was asked to participate in the world's first human embryonic stem cell trial for spinal cord injuries. Doctors need volunteers to act as human guinea pigs in order to test the safety of experimental treatments. But it would not help with her recovery now she was told. In fact, doctors warned her it could possibly make things worse, but still she said yes.

SHARIFY: I would like for future injuries to have an option. Have a treatment available. Have hope. Because I know it's very hopeless in the beginning and you think your life is over.

GUPTA: Two years since the accident, Sharify's life is far from over. She's back to school, has become a young advocate for stem cell research, and this summer, she even learned how to surf.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)