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New Video of Ferguson Officer after Shooting; Top General Mikes Surprise Trip to Iraq; Bill Cosby Refuses Comment on Rape Allegations; GOP Promises to Fight President's Immigration Reform; Interview with Rep. Henry Cuellar; Dispatch Audio Released In Ferguson Shooting; Fears And Tension In Ferguson; Boston Bombing Survivor's Amazing Strength; Winter-Like Weather Hits U.S.

Aired November 15, 2014 - 11:00   ET

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


FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Brand new video of Officer Darren Wilson just hours after the shooting death of Michael Brown, this as we also hear for the first time the conversations between police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get us several more units over here. There is going to be a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Then one of American's top military leaders making a surprise visit to Iraq. What General Martin Dempsey's trip means for the campaign against ISIS -- next.

Then:

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT SIMON, NPR HOST: This question gives me no please Mr. Cosby but there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Bill Cosby confronted about rape allegations on the air. Wait until you hear his response straight ahead.

Now brand new surveillance video and police radio calls from the day a white Ferguson, Missouri police officer shot and killed a unarmed teenager. The surveillance video shows Daren Wilson in the hours after he shot Michael Brown. And the audio reveals the fatal shooting lasted less than two minutes.

These new tapes are released as the entire Ferguson community awaits the grand jury's decision on whether to indict Officer Wilson. Our Stephanie Elam is in Ferguson with more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The "St. Louis Post Dispatch" obtained the police audio and video through the state's so-called Sunshine Law according to the paper's timeline of the August 9th encounter between Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. At 11:53 a.m. a dispatcher reports a stealing in progress at the Ferguson market.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok. We're taking a stealing in progress from 9101 West Florissant, 9101 West Florissant.

Subject may be leaving the business (inaudible)

Stand by for further.

ELAM: The "Post Dispatch" says about 19 seconds later dispatch issues a description of a suspect.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25, it's going to be a black male in a white T- shirt. He's running towards Quick Trip. He took a whole box of the Swisher cigars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black male, white T-shirt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's affirmative, she said he just walked out of the store.

ELAM: And there's more detail in the police cross-talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is with another male. He's got a red Cardinals hat, white T-shirt, yellow socks and khaki shorts. He's walking up --

ELAM: According to the paper at noon Officer Wilson reports he's back in service from another call. He then asks officers searching for the suspects if they need his help.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 21 to 25 or 22 -- do you understand me?

ELAM: Seven seconds later officers report the suspects have disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dispatch relay. I couldn't hear him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He thinks that they disappeared.

ELAM: The paper says at 12:02 Officer Wilson responds.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 21, put me on canfield with two.

ELAM: On August 9, Michael Brown's friend Dorian Johnson said they were walking down the street when Officer Wilson told them to get out of the road. According to Johnson he and Brown told the officer they were almost at their destination and would be out of the street shortly. But Johnson said the officer grabbed Brown by the neck and drew his gun eventually shooting Brown.

By contrast, a Wilson family friend identified as Jozy told local radio station KTFK that according to Wilson, Brown started a physical altercation with him and grabbed the gun which went off. Both sides agree that Brown ran and then turned back.

The "Post Dispatch" says 41 seconds after Wilson's call another officer was about to arrive at the location.

The radio calls also show other officers arriving at the scene and a call for a supervisor and then according to the newspaper, this call at 12:07 p.m. with the apparent sound of a woman wailing in the background.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 25.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get us several more units over here. There is going to be a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are there any available Ferguson units who can respond to Canfield and Copper Creek? Advise.

ELAM: The "Post Dispatch" also obtained surveillance video of Officer Darren Wilson hours after the shooting. The paper says the video shows Wilson in the white T-shirt leaving the police station for the hospital two hours after the shooting accompanied by other officers and his union lawyer. The video then shows him returning to the police station.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELAM: Now Fred based on this timeline, the interaction between Mike Brown and Officer Darren Wilson was less than two minutes. Two minutes that's now the focus of a grand jury decision, two minutes that changed one man's life and left an 18-year-old dead -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much Stephanie Elam.

All right joining me right now is Missouri state senator, Maria Chappelle-Nadal whose district includes Ferguson. Senator, what do you make of these new recordings?

MARIA CHAPPELLE-NADAL, MISSOURI STATE SENATOR: Well, I do have to tell you that it is interesting that we now know what happened at the very beginning. I don't think it offer too much information. However the officers who did call the dispatcher did know that there was going to be a big problem pending. And so that is why the urgency was in his voice. And obviously we're where we are at now at 100 days after Mike Brown was killed.

WHITFIELD: So what did you hear in that audio that perhaps completed a very uncertain picture in your view?

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Well I think from the very beginning they knew that this was going to be a big deal. And obviously it is because the entire world is looking at Ferguson right now. And we still don't have any answers. I initially said that the time frame that the grand jury is going to be looking at is approximately 45 seconds from the first encounter to the final, the fatal shot of Michael Brown. And we now know in fact that it is within two minutes. And so that is the timeline that the grand jury is going to have to look at very closely. And we're just waiting for the results of that grand jury right now.

WHITFIELD: And what do you interpret from the motivation behind releasing these audio tapes to the "St. Louis Dispatch" at this juncture when it is believed within days possibly a decision will come from the grand jury.

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Well actually, I don't really think it offers much more than what it is. I mean it is what it is. But it doesn't say that Darren Wilson had a certain kind of personality. He doesn't show any emotion in the video whatsoever. It doesn't show him talking or corresponding with anyone else. So I don't think for the people who live here in St. Louis and in Ferguson particularly, it offers any new information.

What we do care about is the authenticity of any reporting between and among police officers. That transparency has not been available to the public. And that is a concern for the people who live here in Ferguson.

WHITFIELD: What concerns do you have post-release of the verdict?

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Well, you know, we do hope for best. There are many of my constituents who do want to have an indictment. I think there is so much information that is available to say that we may have an indictment. But practicality tells you there won't be one.

So what I am concerned about right now is that people are able to demonstrate peacefully and we do not have any violence whatsoever. We must have a balance between what the constitution ensures every single American citizen and also making sure that we are also protected at the same time.

WHITFIELD: Missouri state Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

CHAPPELLE-NADAL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: So if Officer Darren Wilson is not indicted for killing Michael Brown, violent protests could break out again in Ferguson. Straight ahead, I'll talk to three people who live in the area too, who actually own businesses there. And they will be telling us how they are preparing.

Many are preparing for at least protests but no one is sure whether it will be peaceful or not.

All right. Right now, America's top military leader is on the ground in Iraq. General Martin Dempsey making a surprise visit to Baghdad as the U.S. prepares to expand its assistance to Iraqi and Kurdish forces fighting ISIS on the ground there. This new video that we just received we want to share with you showing Dempsey at the Iraqi ministry of defense on his first trip to Iraq since President Obama ordered non combat American forces back into that country.

Joining me right now, Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, CNN military analyst. So good to see you.

So this visit caught some people by surprise. What do you make of the timing? Why important? Or what kind of signal is it sending now?

LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think General Dempsey -- first of all, good morning Fredricka. And General Dempsey likes to get out and conduct battlefield circulation. That is what we call it in the military. You've got to get a feel for what is going on in the ground.

And with all the debate about the expansion of the mission there and putting more troops to help the Iraqi army, I think he wanted to get over there and meet some of the new leaders in the Iraqi government and as well see how the troops are feeling.

WHITFIELD: And just this week General Dempsey testified before the House Armed Services Committee and this is some of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. MARTIN DEMPSEY, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: I'm not predicting at this point that I would recommend that those forces in Mosul and along the border would need to be accompanied by U.S. forces but we're certainly considering it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: How will the General try to assess the situation on the ground? Can he really, in terms of whether indeed it is helpful to have more U.S. troops there whether they are combat ready or not?

HERTLING: Well, he is going to talk to a bunch of different people while he's over there -- Fred. He's going to not only talk Mr. Al- Abadi as we just saw in some of the film. I just watched the first clip that you had and it looked like he was shaking hands with the previous defense minister, Abdel Qatr (ph) but he's also going to meet the new defense minister, Mr. Obedi (ph).

He is going to talk to the military commanders not only the air commander on the scene but as well there is now a division headquarters there. The first infantry division commanded by someone that General Dempsey knows well, Major General Paul Funk. He's also going to be talking to the U.S. forces. He's going to be talking to a lot of the Iraqi parliamentarians and he's going to be talking to a lot of the new Iraqi generals.

As you know Fredrick, they just swept clean a group of the old generals that were part of Mr. Maliki's Shia proxies. And I think General Dempsey knows all of these people. He served over four years of his life in Iraq. So he is going to meet with some of the new people they're going to replace them with and just take a look at their battle plans. And see what they are trying to do and what they are going to do next.

WHITFIELD: And you know General Dempsey. You know him personally. Formerly a neighbor of yours even. From what you know about him, what do you suppose his thinking might be or how he calculates when or how anymore U.S. troops would be involved in Iraq?

HERTLING: Well I do know General Dempsey -- Fredricka. I have the honor of having served with him many years but also calling him "friend". And I'm a bit biased when it comes to him because I think he's probably the best leader we've had in that position. America is really -- it's good to have him in his position.

But I think what he's doing is just getting a feel for the ground. What is happening, what kind of options can he recommend to the President? What kind of movement is he seeing in sectarian issues within Iraq and are they countering those. What kind of things are they learning from their military that are on the ground? What are the advisors who have now been there -- the American advisors who have now been there several months going to tell him about what they are seeing within the Iraqi army?

General Dempsey likes to be on the scene. He's a cavalryman. He likes to go to the places where things are happening and circulate on the battlefield. So he is going to get a feel that he just can't get from reports and from messages and dispatches. And that is what's going to happen while he he's there.

WHITFIELD: All right. Lt. Gen. Hertling, thanks so much. Always good to see you.

HERTLING: You bet.

WHITFIELD: All right. Also overseas, Russian President Vladimir Putin will not leave the G-20 early after all. There were reports earlier today that he was going home after being heavily criticized by President Obama and leaders of other nations because of the crisis in Ukraine. Well whatever tension you might interpret in this photo between President Obama and Mr. Putin, well that was reflected in Obama's words while in Australia and echoed by other Western leaders.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're leading and dealing with ebola in West Africa and in opposing Russia's aggression against Ukraine, which is a threat to the world as we saw in the appalling shoot down of MH-17. A tragedy that took so many innocent lives among them your fellow citizens.

And as your ally and friend, America shares the grief of these Australian families and we share the determination of your nation for justice and accountability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And along with Putin's arrival well, there was the surprise arrival of Russian warships on the Australian coast also increasing tensions at that summit.

More than half the country is dealing with the very deep freeze right now. So just how low will these temperatures go? We check in with our meteorologist. And Bill Cosby, America's dad, confronted about rape allegations. The comedian's reaction that just might leave you scratching your head.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Comedian Bill Cosby confronted on the air about rape allegations for the first time since they started making headlines again. NPR just aired an interview with the anchor Scott Simon and Cosby, where Cosby was asked about the accusations.

Alexandra Field joining me now from New York; so Alexandra it's what Cosby didn't say, I guess, that's really getting attention.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I think it relay surprised a lot of people. I think people expected that he would issue a denial. That's what we heard from his attorneys for all these years. They have strictly denied that he ever sexually assaulted any woman. They have flatly denied all of the allegations. But he was asked again today and said not a word. Here is how the exchange went.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

SIMON: This question gives me no please Mr. Cosby. But there have been serious allegations raised about you in recent days.

You are shaking your head no. I'm in the news business. I have to ask the question. Do you have any response to those charges? Shaking your head no.

There are people who love you who might like to hear from you about this. I want to give you the chance.

All right.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

FIELD: There you have it. You heard nothing. Bill Cosby not answering these questions. We don't know if he was given a legal guidance to do that. We don't know if he's decided that he simply doesn't want to answer these questions anymore.

What we do know is how one of the women who has accused Bill Cosby of raping her has responded to this. Here's what Barbara Bowman tells us. She says "I am not surprised that Bill Cosby was speechless. He has met his Maker. A simple shake of his head is implication of a man whose heart is heavily burdened with shame. I'm sure the thought has crossed his mind by now that he must face the fact that he did what he did to other men's daughters, sisters, granddaughters. I pray that his own daughters are immune to such experiences."

Now, we need to point out, Bill Cosby has never been prosecuted. He's never been charged with a crime. But a lot of these allegations came to light back in 2005 when one woman filed a lawsuit accusing him of raping her. At that time police investigated. They say that they could not find evidence to charge Bill Cosby with a crime but there was a civil suit which was settled but that was settled confidentially so Fred, we don't know what the outcome of that was.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. Alexandra thanks.

We know you just gave us the most recent Barbara Bowman comment. But she was on CNN's "NEW DAY". And then she detailed at that time what she claims actually happened between her and Cosby years ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA BOWMAN, BILL COSBY ACCUSER: I didn't really talk about it much because nobody was believing it. And it was just -- I was in a situation. I was in New York. My job was to work hard, go to classes. Don't ask questions. Just be grateful for this amazing opportunity. Don't mess it up.

So when things would come up and he would start making me uncomfortable and I knew something was going on I would start asking questions. And he'd say you know what you don't trust me. You have to trust me. And by the way you were drunk.

And I didn't drink and I certainly wasn't doing anything but exactly what I was supposed to do. In 1989 though I did go to a lawyer -- a friend talked me into doing that. Eventually he laughed me right out of the office. It was terrible. It was humiliating. It was scary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Charges cannot be filed against Cosby in relation to Barbara Bowman's accusations because apparently the statute of limitations has already passed.

All right. Coming up, the GOP says they'll fight President Obama "tooth and nail", quote-unquote, on immigration reform. But our next guest is a Democrat and he's not for the President's plan to take executive action. Why? Congressman Henry Cuellar explaining -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: President Obama warning Republicans that he will use executive action to get immigration reform done before the end of this year. Well that's something House Speaker John Boehner says the GOP will do everything in their power to stop.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: And I indicated to Speaker Boehner several months ago that if in fact Congress failed to act I would use all the lawful authority that I possess to try to make the system work better. And that is going to happen.

REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: We're going to fight the President tooth and nail if he continues down this path. This is the wrong way to govern.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: I'm joined now by Democratic Congressman from Texas, Henry Cuellar. Congressman Cuellar, you are a proponent of immigration reform -- right. What is it that you would want to see in a package?

REP. HENRY CUELLAR (D), TEXAS (via telephone): Well, you know, I do support immigration reform. And I think any package should have three main concepts. One is you need to have sensible border security. I live at the border and that is what I want to see. Two, some sort of guest worker plan to make sure that we address some of the needs that we have here in our economy. And then number three is what do we do about the 11 or 12 million undocumented persons that we have?

The problem is that right now, you know, with all due respect to our Republican friends because there are some Republicans that support immigration. But, you know, they're just saying we're going to stop the President but, you know, we have at least two years this session to work on immigration reform. The Senate passed a package; on the House side it never, never, never moved. So instead of fighting tooth and nail to stop the President, Boehner should be fighting tooth and nail to compromise to come up with some sort of consensus on immigration reform.

WHITFIELD: So if that doesn't happen as we're hearing alluded to by Boehner. Then the President says he's going to use executive action in order to make it happen. But you don't agree with that approach. Why?

CUELLAR: Well I mean I'm not going -- if the President does that, I'm not going to vote to defund it like the Republicans are saying. I won't go that approach. I prefer that we have a bipartisan approach in Congress. That is the way it should be. But if the President decides --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: But in this climate is that realistic? In this climate is that realistic?

CUELLAR: I'm sorry?

WHITFIELD: In this climate, is that realistic?

CUELLER: In this climate, no. So therefore the President decides to go this way, we are going to have some sort of limited immigration reform. I'm not going to defund that. I will support the President. I might not agree with everything because he's doing this in secret and we don't know what he's doing. I saw some suggestions that might come out. And I don't agree with all of them but overall I think we can work with him.

And remember the President has the power to use an executive order just like other Democrat and Republican presidents have done in the past.

WHITFIELD: What are some of the things that you don't agree with? Because two of those items that you mentioned are in, I guess, the possible elements of his plan. These possibilities have been leaked by various sources. You know, tighter border protection. Some sort of allowances for a guest worker program.

The President apparently or possibly in this plan would be allowing people with children to stay. Migrant workers would be able to stay under certain conditions. What of the information that you are hearing might be in the President's plan --

CUELLER: Yes those things are fine. We'll get to look at the details. I'm talking in particular one thing in particular is the secure community. The secure community is if somebody gets picked up for a crime and they are taken to a jail, they will use biometrics to check his criminal record. And under secure communities they can use biometrics to check whether he's here legally or not. And if we catch a felon at that time, are we supposed to let him go because we get rid of the secure community and he's a non documented person? No I don't think so.

I mean if he as a parking ticket in the past that is something different. But I think secure communities can be adjusted on priorities but it should not be eliminated like the President is saying we should eliminate it.

WHITFIELD: If that were one concession made would you agree with the President using executive action with the elements that we know of in his plan.

CUELLAR: Well, again I'm not going to fight the President if he does executive action. I'm not against that because the president has used 193 executive actions since he was president. The average is 200 or 400 executive actions. At 193, the president is lower than President Reagan, President Bush and President Clinton so he's not used executive action a lot.

I'm not against an executive action. I just prefer a bipartisan legislative approach. But if he does that, then we'll work with him on that. And I might not agree with everything he's doing, but I do believe that we need perhaps immigration reform.

WHITFIELD: All right, Congressman Henry Cuellar, thank you so much and we will see in the new week ahead whether indeed that is the week where the president --

CUELLAR: Thank you so much. Bye-bye.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate it. Thank you. All right, it is brand new police audio of what happened moments after the Michael Brown shooting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Get us several more units over here. This is going to be a problem.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: So with Ferguson on edge as they await the grand jury decision, will the latest leak have an impact? We ask a panel of local business owners next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, new surveillance video and police radio calls have been released in the case of Ferguson, Missouri police officer who shot and killed an unarmed black teenager last August.

The video obtained by the "St. Louis Post Dispatch" shows Officer Darren Wilson hours after his fatal encounter with Brown. And police radio calls also released by the "Post Dispatch" are shedding light on the moments leading up to the confrontation. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: A stealing in progress from 9101 West Florescent. Subject may be leaving the business at this time. Stand by for further.

Twenty five, it's going to be a black male in a white t-shirt. He's running towards Quik Trip. He took a whole box of Swisher cigars.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Black man, white t-shirt?

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: That's affirmative. She said he just walked out of the store.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: He is with another male. He's got a Red Cardinals hat, white t-shirt, yellow socks and khaki shorts.

OFFICER WILSON: This is 21 to 25 or 22, you guys need me? Dispatch, relay. I couldn't hear.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: We think that they disappeared.

WILSON: It's 21, put me on Canfield with two and send me another car.

UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: In 25.

UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Get us several more units over here, there's going to be a problem.

UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Is there any available Ferguson units who can respond to Canfield and Copper Creek? Advise.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, meanwhile a grand jury could decide at any moment whether to indict Wilson for the shooting.

All right, so many people who live in the Ferguson area are on edge. Business owners in fact are boarding up their stores in anticipation of the decision and what could happen afterwards. Churches are even planning prayer vigils. And Missouri's governor is warning violence will not be "tolerated," quote/unquote. But a lot of people are afraid things will turn violent if the grand jury particularly decides not to indict white Officer Darren Wilson for killing black teen, Michael Brown.

Let me bring in three people who are in the middle of all of this. They own businesses. They live in the area. Charles David owns the Ferguson Burger Bar and More.

And on the phone with us, Steve King, he owns a gun shop and said sales are way up, and Suzanne Jackson has already boarded up the windows of her dog grooming store that she owns even though it's nearly 20 miles away from Ferguson.

Thanks to all of you for joining us. Steve, we can't see you, but we know you're there. So let me get all your reactions to the audio tape, if I could begin with you first, Charles.

CHARLES DAVIS, OWNER, FERGUSON BURGER BAR AND MORE: Well, now that they are deciding to release some of the nature I really don't have an opinion of it because it just seems like that is something they would have done prior to now.

WHITFIELD: So you question the motivation behind the timing of the release of these recordings?

DAVIS: It just seems odd that they decided to do it now instead of in the beginning because it may have helped keep a lot of disruption down had they done it in the beginning.

WHITFIELD: And Suzanne, what are your thoughts on that? Do you think timing would have made a big difference on how and when to release these recordings?

SUZANNE JACKSON, OWNER, BARK AVENUE: Honestly, I think the media has been leaking little things here and there. And, you know, I don't think that this is really going to make a difference either way. I think that, you know, tensions are high. And emotions are high.

And, you know, people are going to react how they are going to react. I don't think that this little bit of information is really going to make that big of a difference.

WHITFIELD: And Steve, you are on the phone with us and you own a gun shop in the area. What are your fellow business leaders and friends and neighbors saying about the release of this kind of information in a time where it could be just days away from this release of a verdict?

STEVE KING, GUN SHOP OWNER (via telephone): And as evidence to the grand jury, I think that a lot of the stuff had to be confidential and safeguarded. So that rumors and the media quite frankly didn't take it out and try to put spin on it.

I think the grand jury has heard a lot of evidence from a lot of people. They need to get that from those people directly. I don't think outside sources should influence what the grand jury is thinking of. And I think we need to get all of the evidence on the table before we make a decision and let this process work itself out.

WHITFIELD: And Steve while you were talking we're also showing pictures of the interior of your gun shop. And I just want for context want to explain why we're showing video of all the guns in the shop there as we are talking about, you know, an impending reaction from people.

Because I don't think it is fair to make that kind of correlation between what you sell at your business and what could or could not happen at the protest. But explain to me why sales, in your view, have been influenced by the fear or even concern that people have as it relates to this August shooting.

KING: Well, that is a very good point. In August, the people of Ferguson, in particular on West Florissant say they saw what was going on and they were able to react to what they thought they needed to combat that fear they had.

So people of the area, the surrounding areas, came to our shop because we are their neighborhood gun shop, and they purchased firearms for protection from what they perceived as the threat.

What's different about it this time is that we've had three months of the media and law enforcement and politicians and protesters saying that there is no safe neighborhood in St. Louis. That any neighborhood can be selected to be protested, any neighborhood could be selected for riots or demonstrations.

And that, you know, when you are telling people that, the people of Clayton, the people of Ladoo, the people in St. Charles, West St. Louis County, South St. Louis County, they start to have these fears in their head that this can happen at any place, at any time.

So now we don't have this particular area of the St. Louis County Metropolitan area, but we have the entire metro St. Louis area on alert. And I think it's a responsible thing for people to understand that law enforcement cannot protect each and every single individual.

Their job as deemed by the Supreme Court, two times now. Their job is to maintain peace overall, the law enforcement over the community. Not individual protection.

So I think people are being responsible. And they are prepping just like they would be prepping for a snow storm or a hurricane. They are getting firearms, ammunition, food, water.

WHITFIELD: I'd love to talk further about that because sometimes fear makes people or encourages people to make not very good sound decisions. So Charles and Suzanne as you are hearing this from Steve and he says that fear is why a lot of people are buying guns because they are afraid of what could happen.

Charles, in what way are you seeing people being fearful about their day to day lives and I guess it's not clear, fearful of whom, of each other, of the relationship between the community and police? What are you seeing, Charles, in people that you know?

DAVIS: I think the people are more fearful of the relationship between the people and the police. I don't think they are fearful of the relationship between people and people.

As you can see, most of the businesses have boarded up, simply because they feel it might be a disturbance because of the presence of the police and the people that may be down here.

And it's a hard thing to distinguish between the peaceful protesters and the individuals who are not trying to be peaceful. Me, myself, I just put my trust in God. That's why I'm not boarding up. And if you want something to happen it happens.

A lot of individuals have not really came in and gave their views about fear. They gave their views on whether it's going to happen, whether it's not going to happen, a verdict or no verdict. But no one has come in and said they are fearful.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right, and then Suzanne, real quickly, we're almost out of time, but quickly, your interpretation. If you are seeing fear, in what way are you seeing it from people or experiencing it?

JACKSON: We're not afraid of the general public. We're not afraid of the protesters. What we're afraid of is the opportunistic tapeworms who may or may not do something just because the opportunity is there.

You know, it -- I can't afford to lose my business because somebody just feels like being violent. You know, the protesters aren't what scare me. It is just the people that want to take the opportunity to destroy something.

WHITFIELD: We'll leave it right there. Suzanne Jackson, Steve King, Charles Davis, thanks to all of you and hopefully we'll be able to chat with you again as developments continue there in the Ferguson area. Thanks so much. And we'll have much more from the NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Boston marathon bombing survivor, Rebecca De Martino, endured 17 surgeries to repair her badly damage left leg. After all that, she ultimately had it amputated. Amazingly, she remained positive through it all, and she spoke to CNN's Anderson Cooper following the surgery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "360": So Rebecca, first of all, how are you doing? How are you feeling? You look great.

REBECCA DE MARTINO, BOSTON BOMBING SURVIVOR: Thank you. You know, everybody would expect me to say I'm not feeling very well after I've just got my leg chopped off. But honestly, I feel amazing right now. I probably feel better than I have felt in the last 18 months.

COOPER: Is chopped off the technical term, Rebecca? Do they use that term in the hospital?

MARTINO: No. They used amputation in the hospital.

COOPER: OK. All right. I just wanted to check. I wasn't up on my medical knowledge, but I was pretty sure that's not what they call it. So the decision to amputate your leg, can you take us through how you got there? I know the last few years having extraordinarily difficult for you, 17 different operations.

MARTINO: Yes, I mean, when the marathon bombing first happened and I was in the hospital and the possibility of amputation came up I kind of told the doctors, look my leg is just a leg. It is not my life. And to me I'm blessed to be here. So if you need to amputate it, you can.

COOPER: You wrote this break up letter to your leg, which is just gotten a lot of attention. And I think it's an amazing idea. You posted it on Facebook. I want to read some of what you said. You said, "I feel like you are holding me back from really reaching my full potential."

You are talking to your leg. "Now I get this is probably pretty tough to hear my say, but I never lied to you and I don't plan to start now. What I need is something you can't give me anymore and the empathy that you require I can no longer handle." Explain the idea of writing that letter.

MARTINO: It's really funny because I didn't realize this letter was going to be such a huge deal to everybody. I wrote it in about 3 minutes, and it was kind of my way of saying, this really is a breakup.

Here's a part of my body, a piece of my life that I've had for the last 27 years, but it's not doing me any good, so when I think about it, it's kind of like a bad boyfriend. There's all these reasons you've got to get rid of him.

So I wrote the letter and everybody thought it was funny. So I'm glad that everybody could get a kick out of it.

COOPER: I saw a photo that you posted on Facebook, in which you wrote, of course, the most cliched breakup line of all, on your leg, you wrote, it's not you, it's me.

MARTINO: Yes.

COOPER: Which I think I've used that line multiple times. That was great.

MARTINO: Right? See. I mean, everybody's used it before, so it was just -- I mean, I used humor in everything and I tried to be really positive. So even with this, I wanted to make it something that wasn't a sad thing that really, you know, was a celebration for a new beginning. So, yes, I wrote that on my leg and it was, I guess, it was pretty funny.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It was funny and very profound. A psychologist working with survivors of the marathon bombing says De Martino's letter to her leg was a very healthy way to work through a traumatic loss.

All right, a polar plunge engulfing most of the country. You know you're feeling it right now. Jennifer Gray is feeling it too because she's outside braving the frigid temperatures.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Are you wearing extra layers today, hat, gloves, the whole works, because it's very much like winter out there? Even though, officially, the start of the season is still more than a month away. Well, let's take a look.

Redmond, Oregon, it looked very much like winter. If you had to catch a flight, you were not going anywhere. The airport actually closed after snow covered these runways. And it was a very similar scene near Boise, Idaho.

The I-Reporter who captured these images said the early snowstorm caught so many people there by surprise. It sure is pretty, but my gosh, it can be a little uncomfortable.

Hey, Jennifer's out in the cold. Cold snap, no snow on the ground, but it is kind of like, sometimes there's an icy chill in the air there. You're in Atlanta.

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, most definitely. You know, this morning, when we got here, it was 29 degrees here in Atlanta, which is about 15 to 20 degrees below normal. Of course, folks in the Midwest, the northern plains wish they could feel temperatures at 29 degrees.

We warmed up to almost 50 here in Atlanta. Now the sun has come out and it actually feels pretty nice. But friends to the north, it is going to be 20, 30, 40 degrees below normal and that's going to keep up throughout the next week.

Let's look at current temperatures right now because we are starting out -- we were starting out in the 20s. Now we're up to 43 in Atlanta, 39 in Memphis, currently 15 in Minneapolis, 8 in Billings. The snow is going to continue for the Midwest, the northern plains.

We could see anywhere from 2 inches to 4 inches and we could see that chilly air, Fred, continue. Another plunge is expected the beginning part of the week that's going to reinforce cool temperatures and possibly bring the southeast and the northeast even colder and Fred, highs in Atlanta by the middle to the end of the week in the 30s. WHITFIELD: My gosh, that's the high, boy! All right, well, pull out the layers, indeed, and we're not putting them away. Thanks so much, Jennifer. You look cute in your hat, too.

All right, we have much more straight ahead in the NEWSROOM right after this.

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