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Chokehold Protests Erupt in Violent Chaos; Grading the Police; Timing of Raid Questioned; Six Detainees Freed from Guantanamo; Magazine Changes Apology about UVA Story; Duke and Duchess Arrive in New York; Who is Daniel Pantaleo?

Aired December 07, 2014 - 17:00   ET

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

POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.

We are waiting to see if violent and dangerous protests return again tonight. This bloody rampage erupted on the streets in Berkeley, California, last night. Mass demonstrators hurled bricks and pipes at police officers and as the night unraveled, vandals smashed windows and looted stories. Cops in riot gear used tear gas on the crowd.

A sense of calm has returned today there as the protesters really made noise across the country. In Chicago, several churches held demonstrations right after their Sunday services. This morning some of the people laying on the ground motionless in these so-called die- ins.

In the nation's capital, crowds descended on Chinatown, blocking a major intersection there. Traffic came to a standstill. Police told drivers to turn around. There is a die-in going on in Washington, D.C. as we speak.

Also professional athletes weighing in. Two NFL players showed support for chokehold protesters by wearing "I can't breathe" shirts today as they warm up for their games.

No one knows how long the calm may last. We are watching very closely. So let me take you back to last night's violence in northern California. Take a look. Watch as a peaceful protest turns really into violent mayhem.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get back.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get back. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No to violence.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are people looting? There's no need. We're peacefully protesting. We shouldn't be taking from stores that aren't bothering us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Wow. All right, Dan Simon joins us now from Berkeley, California.

Obviously, Dan, where you are now a much different scene but it's the aftermath of what unfolded last night. Any idea of why this happened there last night?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hi, there, Poppy. It's a really good question. I'm not sure there's a good answer for it other than to say that it seems there was an anarchist mentality among some of those protesters. Police have described him as splinter groups.

It started peaceful enough as these protests often do, and then at some point, someone in the crowd became unruly and began throwing bricks at police officers. That's when they deployed their teargas and started firing rubber bullets. And that's when the chaos really erupted when some of these splinter groups went down University Avenue and Berkeley, which is sort of the main drag here.

And they targeted this Trader Joe's. As you can see there is some boarded up windows here. These windows were smashed in. They went to a RadioShack, looted the store there.

As we said things are calm right now. The question is what's going to happen tonight. We know that some people are trying to organize a protest at 5:00 p.m. and if they're successful at getting people out you wonder what kind of behavior they'll have and how might police respond -- Poppy.

HARLOW: It was interesting, Dan, too, and I am wondering what you're hearing at least in terms of what police there are expecting tonight because they had a very different experience with the protesters there in Berkeley than the police did with mainly people protesters in Oakland last night.

SIMON: That's exactly right. I think it's really going to depend upon what the protesters do. Are they going to throw bricks? Are they going to throw other things at police officers?

If you do that, Poppy, you're obviously asking for trouble. At the same time police have to be restrained when the protesters aren't doing anything that's unlawful. So it's a careful balance, emotions, as we know here in Berkeley and throughout the country are very raw and some police have a difficult job. But the protesters, of course, they have to behave themselves as well -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Dan Simon, appreciate the live reporting update with what develops there later if you would. Thank you. And let me bring in now from Washington, D.C. Eugene O'Donnell. He is

a 14-year veteran of the NYPD, a former assistant district attorney, currently a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Thank you for being with us, Eugene. I want to start with this video. You're joining us from D.C. Let me pull up this video for our viewers if we have it. A die-in was staged just in front of the White House, this literally just happened. I think we might have the pictures. There you go.

Just happened as the White House is holding this Kennedy Center Honors reception. What's your reaction to seeing this? It's really happening day after day in New York, D.C., elsewhere, mournfully peaceful.

EUGENE O'DONNELL, PROFESSOR, JOHN JAY COLLEGE OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Well, it's a tremendous amount to be said about police reform. It's absolutely essential. And there's a lot of common ground. The president has led on this in terms of creating a task force by Chief Ramsey. He's going to run the task force. At the same time, however, we have -- we have to recognize whether it's Berkeley or New York City or anywhere else, that peaceful protest is -- should be protected.

But nobody has a right, as we saw in Ferguson, to burn down people's businesses, to hurt other people, to provoke the police in an unlawful way. So we have to keep our equilibrium. It's an emotional time. Understandably there's a lot of issues on the table here, but law enforcement cannot be intimidated. Has to be able to protect innocent people as well as the protesters.

HARLOW: Let me get your take on the video we just showed at the top of the show from Berkeley, California, last night. You have taught police officer proper procedures and where the line is crossed and where it is not.

Do you believe that these police, with what they're doing, pushing them back, are acting properly?

O'DONNELL: Again it's hard to say. We know after the fact what's happening. We're seeing the ending. The cops don't know the ending. And there are anarchists out there, whether you're talking about this group or other groups. They're coming there. They're a small number of people. They're not representative of the protesters. What they're hoping to do is provoke stuff they can put on to video, and they -- it'll go viral.

Police have to be restrained but the police also have to protect the society. So that -- whether we're talking about Manhattan, the business community, the business community in Ferguson, we cannot have people running amuck in the streets causing damage. And it disgraces, by the way, the names of the people that we're talking about here. We have to have -- we have to have some -- obviously some significant improvements in the justice system but violence does not benefit anybody at this point.

HARLOW: Let me ask you about what's happening here in New York City. A complete retraining, three-day retraining, for every police officer here under Commissioner Bill Bratton. I wonder if you think, A, that is enough, these three days enough, because sometimes we are talking about things that are much larger than just physical training? You're talking about community relations.

And do you think there should be nationwide the same level of training, the exact same training for all police forces?

O'DONNELL: Unequivocally, yes. We have a task force the president created with Chief Ramsey, who's very respected by rank-and-file police officers who's been out there himself in the front lines, like the pictures you've seen. He's been right in the front in his chief's uniform. He understands policing. One of the great onset things here is the cops are often left on their own.

We have police departments typically they train for six months in this most complex job. And for New York City they do three days of training. It's a gigantic investment but it's not our -- and the cops like the training. But we could do a lot more than that. We need to do a lot more than that. We need to look at national standards for the cops. The cops themselves would endorse it unquestionably.

HARLOW: When you look at the sentiment towards police officers in this country, what we have seen recently, we're seeing a lot of verbalized, vocalized anti-police sentiment. And I'm wondering if you think that's justified in light of the recent events we've seen in Ferguson, here in New York City, on State Island, and in Cleveland, where a 12-year-old unarmed boy holding a toy gun was shot and killed?

O'DONNELL: Again we have to keep our equilibrium. The police are among the most respected institutions in America repeatedly, no matter you do in poll, they're right at the top. The military is at the top. Police are right up there.

I might say elected officials who have been pandering an awful lot, they are not at the top. The police are right in the middle or towards the top, and I would say in the African-American community there's a tremendous chance for creating a good relationship there because I believe from my service as a police officer that African- American uniquely, maybe more than any other community, gets the whole idea of service.

So if we can create the right ethos, the right emphasis, I believe there's a lot to be gained here. I don't think the divisions here are anywhere near the kind of conversation we'll have. There's a tremendous amount of common ground in this country around policing.

HARLOW: All right. We appreciate the perspective that you have as a former NYPD officer.

Stick with us. We're not done with you yet, Eugene. In our next half hour, we're going to ask you, and talk about the Eric Garner grand jury decision and the use of that chokehold.

Should the officer have been charged? Let's look technically at what happened. Quick break and we'll about that.

Also, coming up, two Westerners killed by al Qaeda during a rescue attempt by elite Navy SEALs. They are now really dealing with new reports that if this raid didn't happen, perhaps one of those hostages may have been released today.

Also "Rolling Stone" magazine rephrasing its own apology for the UVA rape story. The details live from campus ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Live pictures now of President Obama. He is speaking at a reception in the East Room of the White House. This is being held for those people that are going to be receiving the Kennedy Center Honors this evening.

Just yesterday also we did learn news on the president that he made an unexpected visit to Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He'd been complaining of a persistent sore throat. Doctors checked it out, said it was probably caused by acid reflux. They did a CT scan but it came out normal. Obviously that sore throat not bad enough to keep him from giving this talks and attending Kennedy Center Honor this evening. He will be there with the first lady tonight.

Also a new question, a big question facing military strategists. Is it time for the United States to re-evaluate its strategy for rescuing American hostages in the hands of terrorists?

About three dozen special ops forces trained to save American lives and specifically an American photojournalist, Luke Somers, from his al Qaeda captors in Yemen early yesterday. But the element of surprise was lost. That mission ended with two Western hostages dead.

Today Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was asked if it's time to change tactics.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Is it imperfect? Yes. Is there a risk? Yes. But we start with the fact that we have an American that's being held hostage and that American's life is in danger. That's where we start. And then we proceed from there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. Let's get some perspective on this from two experts, CNN global affairs analyst and retired Delta Force Army officer, Lt. Col. James Reese. Also joining us, our national security analyst and former CIA operative Bob Baer.

Lieutenant, let me begin with you. There is some reports, our Barbara Starr reporting it, it may have been something as simple as dogs barking that tipped off the captors literally 100 meters from when the Special Ops Forces were going to arrive. And then ultimately these two hostages were shot and later died. Talk to me about how Special Forces are trained when something goes

awry like that.

LT. COL. JAMES, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Poppy, first off, there's really only two organizations that are really the national forces for hostage rescue and they train all the time on these type of instances that happened. And when they get into their last what we call our last cover and conceal position, before we start our assault, it's literally the most critical. As I've suggested, it's like being fourth and one on the goal line. And anything can happen there.

Dogs barking, cars pulling up. And it's just -- it's been years of experience that these men have that they have to time it. What happens, though, is if something does happen and (INAUDIBLE) the enemy off, they go now and they have to go. So there's three elements we use in any hostage rescue. It's surprise, speed, and balance of action. You lose one of those three you can still do it but it really makes the other two go really ramp up.

HARLOW: And this was the second attempt in a week for U.S. Special Forces to try to rescue Luke Somers and ultimately what they found out to be another Western hostage, South African, Bob, by the name of Peter Korkie. And there are reports that he was set to be released possibly today.

Now the South African government says it doesn't want to assign any blame for this tragedy. But I'm wondering, Bob, should the United States have known that Korkie was also a hostage at that location?

ROBERT BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Poppy, it's almost virtually impossible because we're talking about the mountains of Yemen. It's a tribal society. Very difficult to get sources inside. And as experienced as our commandos are, without good intelligence they can't -- answer a question like that.

HARLOW: Yes.

BAER: Nor could they answer the question of whether they had guns against their heads. And in this case we simply went in because there was a threat that an American hostage would be killed. So the decision was right. But as Colonel Reese said and is so ably understands is this is always an if you proposition. There is no 100 percent surprise and these guys are well, well-trained and that's the best you can do.

HARLOW: I mean, look at what went wrong with Osama bin Laden operation and they were successful in that. But oftentimes there are these hiccups in these things that you cannot predict.

Colonel Reese, to you, what does it tell you that twice in one week, President Obama authorized, signed off on very risky rescue missions for Luke Somers?

REESE: Bottom line, Poppy, it means we will not stop trying to bring back and repatriate, you know, our American citizens and others that are being held. That's the bottom line. And so for the bad guys, for al Qaeda, for ISIL, for anyone holding out there, they're always looking over their shoulders. No one -- the United States is going to do whatever they can do to get their people back.

HARLOW: Bob, there's this article in the "Daily Beast". I want to ask you about it. It suggests that the United States should revisit its policy about never negotiating with terrorists. I mean, we all hear about other Western nations that will pay for their hostages and sometimes get them back as a result.

Do you think that the U.S. should be thinking about this, considering paying ransom for hostages?

BAER: Well, Poppy, that's a good question. The problem is France because they started paying ISIL for the hostages, getting back in al Qaeda. So they virtually set up a market for these hostages. And so when they're grabbed, the terrorists know what they're going to get for them. And once we go down the road, paying to get people back, you know, where does it end? And we end up funding these terrorists.

HARLOW: But --

BAER: It's almost medieval the way it works.

HARLOW: But the fact that you're saying with France doing it, has that set the stage where the United States has to seriously reconsider the playing field right now?

BAER: Well, Poppy, yes, we might. It's a political decision. It's a moral decision. You know, first of all, these people shouldn't be in countries like Yemen or Syria and the rest of it. That's the first problem. But once they're there and they're starting to take their lives, we really do have to ask ourselves whether we should be paying ransoms. And that's not a question I can answer. The American body politic has to.

HARLOW: Yes. All right. Appreciate it, gentlemen. Don't go anywhere.

When we get back after a quick I want to get your take on six Guantanamo Bay detainees released after more than a decade in prison. Still no charges. What does this all mean? Right call or not?

We'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. Big developments tonight in the war on terror. One of the FBI's most wanted terrorists is dead. You may recognize this face. Adnan el Shukrijumah was thought to be behind an alleged plot to attack New York City subway system back in 2010.

Also Pakistani intelligence officials report this man, Umar Farouk, was killed in a suspected U.S. drone attack. He was believed to be in charge of al Qaeda's operations in both Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan's military denying his death.

Let me bring back in Lt. Col. James Reese and Bob Baer.

Let me begin with you, Colonel. These men, big fish, big names within al Qaeda, within the terrorist network. But does this translate into making the United States any safer? Were they more figureheads or actual operative?

REESE: Well, Poppy, you know, Farouk, I would tell you, he was a figurehead. We've been hunting him a long time. And he has worked his way up the al Qaeda chain of command. So yes, I do believe that, you know, once you take out a senior leader like this, the network for al Qaeda starts to crumble. And fight a network with a network.

The other gentlemen, kind of a headpiece, I think, from my perspective. But again any time that we're able to, you know, disrupt what they're doing it's good for the U.S.

HARLOW: I want to get Bob's take because of his background in the region as a former CIA operative.

Do you agree, Bob, these both are key?

BAER: Well, they are key figures, absolutely. And one was involved in the subway attack and that was very real. The operatives actually got to New York. They had backpacks ready to go. And this was interrupted thanks to British intelligence. So these people mean to do us harm. And any time cutting their head off like this is always helpful. The problem is it metastasizes the threat and moves into Yemen, into Syria now and other places. And it's -- this war is not over by any means.

HARLOW: Absolutely.

Also, Bob, I want your take on another really big story that broke this morning. The U.S. government transferring six Guantanamo Bay prisoners to Uruguay, middle of the night. Taken to this military hospital.

A lot of people ask why. Why now? Why does the U.S. do this? Why six? Any idea?

BAER: Well, a lot of these guys there's no evidence against them. You can't take them to court. The military courts aren't going to work. And for sure one of these guys is going to end up back on the battlefield but that's just the price of doing business on the war on terror. You just -- you can't account for their behavior once they get out of prison. Some of them were more radicalized in fact.

HARLOW: Well, that -- I mean, that brings up the concern, Colonel, that was voiced on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning. House Intelligence Committee chair Mike Rogers said basically what Bob just said, that you risk too much. That they will reengage in terrorism and frankly history has shown us that that has happened in some of these cases.

Do you believe that is a very big concern and would you like to see this blocked? REESE: Poppy, I do but, I mean, you know, Bob and I, you know, we

could -- you know, we could talk off camera about -- there are some advantages to doing this also. And one of the advantages is, we have an idea, one, now who these guys are. I agree with Bob. I think most of them could become even more radicalized because they are just ticked off now. They've been set all these years.

HARLOW: Ten years.

REESE: Since 2002. Yes. In Guantanamo. But we know who they are. We know where they're going. We can track them. Hopefully we're still tracking them. And if they do -- you know, do slip out of Uruguay, that could become a trigger for us to looking at picking them up again, and just doing like cop work international. Sometimes that might help us. But yes, it's frustrating because the folks that hunt these people down kind of have to throw their hands up in the air and shake their heads why.

HARLOW: So, Bob, on that point, right, you are betting, the United States is betting on Uruguay and the official there to keep a detailed eye, keep track of these people and the U.S. even pays money and resources to help do that. But it doesn't always work. No matter what country you're talking about. So how big of a risk is that that you lose them?

BAER: I think in Uruguay they'll be out in a way within a year for certain. There's no way to monitor these people. Those governments down there don't have the same commitment to counterterrorism we do. And then some of these guys may just disappear and go back to their villages or wherever they're from. But like as we said one is going to come back out.

What our military, as Colonel Reese said, is capable of dealing with this. And we are learning every day and at the end of the day, Poppy, this can be a 100-years war against this radical form of Islam. It's just going to go on and on, and we're going to get better and we're going to win at the end of the day.

HARLOW: So, Bob, why Uruguay? I mean, if you're saying that this is a government not capable of keeping track of these guys then why not somewhere else where the U.S. is more confident?

BAER: Well, we could put diplomatic pressure on them. A lot of countries just didn't want them. Arab countries didn't want them. They didn't want them integrated into their society causing problems. So Uruguay easy to put diplomatic pressure on them. Quick solution but other than that there's no good reason.

HARLOW: All right. Bob Baer, appreciate it. Colonel Reese, appreciate it. Good to be with you both today. Thanks, guys.

Want to show you some live pictures now. We are waiting for the royal couple. We're very excited here in New York. The royal couple is coming. They have landed. They are en route to the Carlisle Hotel. They will arrive any moment. We will take you there live when they do. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The "Rolling Stone" magazine has issued a new apology over the handling of the UVA rape story last week after a series of discrepancies and the follow-up article by the "Washington Post" were published. The magazine retracted part of its story. And -- that it had published. That had made so many headlines. About a brutal alleged gang rape at the University of Virginia back in 2012.

But to many, that apology from "Rolling Stone" appeared to blame the victim. Now "Rolling Stone" says it is responsible for the mistakes.

Sara Ganim has been tracking this story throughout. She joins us live from Charlottesville, Virginia.

It's interesting. They changed their words, Sara.

SARA GANIM, CNN INVESTIGATIONS CORRESPONDENT: They did, Poppy. And as you mentioned, the first apology, the one that we heard on Friday put a lot of the blame on Jackie, who is the woman who is at the center of that story.

I want to show you both statements. We're going to start with the one that they issued on Friday. That one said, quote, "in the face of New information, there now appear to be discrepancies in Jackie's account and we have come to the conclusion that our trust in her was misplaced. We were trying to be sensitive to the unfair shame and humiliation that many women feel after a sexual assault and now regret the decision not to contact the alleged assaulters to get their account."

Poppy, the second statement which was released today on the same Web site with really very little fanfare from "Rolling Stone," no notice that this second statement was coming, it shifts, it shifts away from blaming Jackie and it puts all of the blame on "Rolling Stone" and its reporting.

I want to show you that statement, too, Poppy. It says this. "We published the article with a firm belief that it was accurate. Given all of these reports, however, we have come to the conclusion that we were mistaken in honoring Jackie's request not to contact the alleged assaulters to get their account. We should not have made this agreement with Jackie and we should have worked harder to convince her that the truth would have been better served by getting the other side of the story. These mistakes are on 'Rolling Stone,' not on Jackie."

So you see the two statements, you see where they changed -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes. And then just quickly, Sara, your take on campus from people there, what they are saying? Because the big concern about this is, does this take away from the reality that you still have a big problem with sexual assaults on university campuses across this country.

GANIM: Absolutely. What you just said is what we've been hearing from a lot of people and a lot of different groups. Not just the women's groups, not just the survivors we've talked to but also from regular students who feel that way and from fraternity members. From the inner fraternity council, they issued a statement saying, look, there are these discrepancies.

HARLOW: OK.

GANIM: But we want the focus to remain on other victims of sexual assault perhaps -- Poppy.

HARLOW: Sara, thank you for the reporting. We appreciate it.

Well, protesters continue to take to the streets today across the county driven largely by a grand jury choosing not to indict the officer, you see right here accused of choking Eric Garner to death on the streets of Staten Island. His superiors called him a model police officer. But CNN has found that he has been at the center of questions in racially motivated cases before.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: The royals are in New York. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have just arrived in New York for a three-day, really whirlwind tour. They're going to be all over the place. They are scheduled to arrive any moment at the Carlisle Hotel right there in Manhattan.

Let me go straight to Max Foster, our royal correspondent.

Max, the motorcade is starting to come, right?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, I think it might be quite a long motorcade because there were several police cars come with their lights flashing and were giving these warnings that they're not arriving.

Just give you a sense of the scene, Poppy. I mean, there are a lot of crowds here that keep getting pushed back by the police. But it's absolutely bitterly cold, as you know here, and people are slowly freezing, desperate for their little moments for the car to come in. But they're going to be staying here at the Carlisle. Seat of history, Diana used to come and stay here. And the poor hotel staff have been standing out there longer than us.

They think of them as well. They haven't got the coats or anything. (INAUDIBLE) come in. But today really is just about the arrival. They're going to go out to a private dinner tonight with some very wealthy Brits here in New York and they're going to have a discussion about how to raise money for the various charities that the couple are involved with, and then tomorrow it really starts, a really intense two days of events here in New York.

HARLOW: Right.

FOSTER: And in Washington. HARLOW: And I got -- I personally, being someone who resides in the

great borough of Brooklyn, I got excited to hear that the royals will be going to a Brooklyn Nets game tomorrow.

FOSTER: Absolutely. Yes. We're asking lots of questions about who they're going to meet when they get there. But it's really about a consistent theme, keeps coming up. William is very involved in conservation and about tackling the trade. The illegal trade in wildlife parks. So they're linking up his charity with the NBA just try and raise awareness of that. So they're going to turn up for the game.

And all this talk about celebrities and very wealthy people buying up tickets around the courtside as well, trying to get close to them. I spoke to some people at the British embassy here and they said they've absolutely been bombarded by requests to try to -- from people in New York, Americans and Brits, trying to get into all these events that they're involved with. So I think they creating a bit of a frenzy but we do hope they arrive soon before everyone freezes.

HARLOW: We hope they arrive before you freeze, Max Foster. Let me ask you this, l wonder, this is their first joint tour of New York City, together as a married couple, and I'm wondering, are they going to partake in any New York City traditions? Are they going to go see the tree at Rockefeller Center, go see the Rockets at Radio City Music Hall? I know that they do have a $100,000 a night fundraiser.

FOSTER: That's right. So on the Tuesday evening there this fundraiser for St. Andrew's University where they met and they fell in love. And they got lots of connections with the U.S. Twenty percent of the students at St. Andrew's are actually American.

One block away, we're getting close, Poppy. But that's going to be a glittering affair. Yes, so each seat is $10,000. And that money goes towards St. Andrew's University. So there's been a coming for that, all the seats have been sold out. So that's going to be a big glamorous affair in the sense that the Duchess will be wearing her full frocks and rocks, as we call it. So that's the big moment and if we spin the camera around, we'll be able to show you the motorcade arriving.

There's the first of the outriders. And the screams follow down the street gives us a sense of where they are coming from. Police cars are just around the corner. I can promise you that. So the royals get here. Their flight was actually delayed. So --

HARLOW: And Max, as we --

FOSTER: We probably have to show you, there's too many people on the camera.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: As we wait for them --

FOSTER: People all lining the street. HARLOW: As we wait for them to arrive, what else are they going to be

doing in New York?

FOSTER: Well, they are going to meeting Hillary Clinton because she's also involved in the conservation that they're involved in. The police are trying to push the crowds back here. We could try to work out which car they're actually in. We got another camera down by the door which you may be able to switch to as they get out.

HARLOW: Yes, our viewers are --

FOSTER: Extraordinary number of cars in most case.

HARLOW: Our viewers are watching that, Max. So they can see them about to come out of the motorcade. What else can you see?

FOSTER: There you have it. All I can say is William is turning around the other side of the car. I was told that the Duchess is wearing a Seraphine coat which a specialist pregnancy designer. So lots of interest in what she wears as ever. Crowds literally running across the road now. Police have pretty much lost control but it's a very calm crowd. It's not like some of the protests you've been having here.

(CROSSTALK)

HARLOW: And we're seeing them now.

FOSTER: And then they get ready for their dinner.

HARLOW: We're seeing them now walking in but you know who we're not seeing is their son. So traveling without Prince George?

FOSTER: Yes, basically it's a very intense series of events over two days, so more than 10 events over the days, spread between two cities. And they decided it was inappropriate to bring him. So because they weren't taking him, they also want to get back quickly as well. Partly explains why they are only here for two days.

So tomorrow when the main event he's actually going to be speaking to President Obama. President Obama invited them to the White House. And there's lots of speculation as to why Prince William justified that position but actually Obama said he's had such fascinating visits to London. Really appreciate what the Queen had done, what the royal family had done for him there. So he wanted to repay the compliment.

And then Prince William will take part in the conference there in Washington as well, the World Bank, a key note speech. And that's why the Duchess is here in New York going along to her in the city child care center in Harlem. So she is very interested in the youth and trying to help disadvantaged youth. Get a leg-up really. So you're going to see lots of different elements of what they're interested in.

But interesting as well, we just saw the British ambassador going there. A huge opportunity here for the British government to try to get lots of powerful Americans in a room to meet the Duke and Duchess and then sell the U.K. as a business destination as well.

HARLOW: Right.

FOSTER: So lots of elements to the trip for the very, very powerful couple and probably, you know, one of the most powerful couples in the world right now, when they gather people in the room for an event.

HARLOW: No question about that, Max, as we continue to talk about this visit, the first visit of the royals to the -- to New York together as a married couple, let's reset, let's show our viewers them just arriving here to frenzy from people, fans awaiting them outside of the Carlisle Hotel in New York City.

And, Max, the reason they're staying there, it has a lot of history, a lot of meaning especially for Prince William, right?

FOSTER: It does. It's interesting. I mean, William does not often talk about his mother, Princess Diana, but constantly you see these references to her. And this is where she always stayed. She was staying here without Prince Charles, interestingly. And this is where he chose to come and stay as well. He could have gone to all sorts of different hotels. They're also used to high profile guests coming here as well, I guess.

But yes, there is that reference and I think my experience in New York speaking to Americans about why they're fascinated with the royals is it does often go back to Diana. She was such a huge star here. And they do see Kate following in her footsteps. So of course William has got his association with her as well.

So I think that's the last part of the story here. And Kate and William have said that they haven't been to New York. They're fascinated here. They want to meet as many people as possible. But of course when you get crowds like this, it's very difficult to go in to them and start meeting lots of people without getting chaotic so we'll wait to see how many members of the public they do actually get to meet. There aren't that many opportunities, though, with the two.

HARLOW: I know you're cold and frigid, but I am a bit envious of your assignment, getting to be all over New York with the royals for the next two days. You'll be bringing us updates live here on CNN.

Thank you for that, Max Foster.

A quick break. We're back on the other side.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: Well, Police officers in cities across the country will be out again tonight in full force in case the public protests turn violent like they did on the West Coast in the early morning hours overnight.

Those are scenes from Berkeley, California, overnight, smashing windows, throwing rocks and bottles. Protesters still furious at a grand jury's decision here in New York not to indict a New York City police officer in the death of a Staten Island resident, Eric Garner. That police officer's superiors are holding him up as an exceptional officer but our Randi Kaye found out he has a history of questionable police work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An eight-year veteran of the New York Police Department, Officer Daniel Pantaleo comes from a family that has long served the city. His father is a retired New York City firefighter. His uncle, an officer with the NYPD.

PATRICK LYNCH, PRESIDENT, PATROLMEN'S BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION: He is the model of what we want a police officer to be.

KAYE: Pantaleo, who is 29, has a younger sister. His mother, now retired, worked as an assistant administrator of a nursing home. He is single according to the police union and doesn't have any children.

LYNCH: He's a mature, mature police officer who's motivated literally by serving the community. He literally, literally is an Eagle Scout.

KAYE: Pantaleo joined the NYPD in 2006 as a beat cop and in 2011 he moved on to the Street Narcotics Enforcement Unit. A year later, he joined the Anti-Crime Unit dealing with serious crimes like rape, murder, and guns on the street.

LYNCH: He is a good man. And more importantly, for us all here today, he's a professional police officer.

KAYE (on camera): That same police official told CNN Pantaleo had over 300 arrests with very few complaints, adding that he's not a hot head but he has been at the center of racially motivated cases before. In the last two years three men have filed lawsuits against him, alleging unlawful racially motivated arrests. In one case, from March 2012, two black men said they were forced out of their vehicle, handcuffed, and strip searched on the public street.

(Voice-over): The lawsuit alleges they were forced to pull their pants and underwear down, squat and cough. Then later at the police station, the men were subjected to a second humiliating strip search and forced to lift their genitals. The charges against them were eventually thrown out. They settled with the city earlier this year for $30,000.

In the second case, a man accused Officer Pantaleo of misrepresenting the facts to substantiate charges. The charges against this suspect were also dismissed. The man's lawsuit against Officer Pantaleo is still pending.

Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Randi, thank you for that.

Let me bring back in former NYPD police officer, now a professor of criminal justice, Eugene O'Donnell.

Listening to Randi's report and then also seeing the video of the encounter between that officer, Daniel Pantaleo and Eric Garner, what do you see? Was it done correctly?

O'DONNELL: Well, again, we have to restate over and over again because it's -- it's worth saying, that the death of Mr. Garner is a tragedy.

HARLOW: Right.

O'DONNELL: And that's unequivocally true and has to be said over and over again. But the reality with police work, especially NYPD, an organization I was in, a relatively smaller number of the police officers do a relatively large amount of the work, and with that comes complaints of people not being happy. And so you've got to contextualize that and -- so as we're looking at the long view, this is probably not a good week to have a conversation in the long view, but we have to get our equilibrium here.

And policing is a physical business, it's viscerally maybe unattractive business to watch on video, but the police are doing this in our name. And sometimes they do get complained about so you want to look at holistically, whether this officer did anything that's egregious. But 300 arrests is a lot of arrests. You could probably take dozens and dozens and dozens of police officers who don't make 300 arrests.

HARLOW: Why are you -- can you clarify that for us, why you make the point that a small number of officers do the majority of arrests and that leads to more complaints? I mean, why is that?

O'DONNELL: Because it's the reality, that's why we're having this conversation about cameras.

HARLOW: But why is it the --why is it the reality?

O'DONNELL: Police departments hire different people for different reasons. Some people come in because they're idealistic and they want to do the job and they're there for the right reasons and they're more hard charging. And some people would come in because it's a job and that's just the reality. And sometimes with police work, people who see it as a job have no problems. The people that see it as a vocation, something -- a higher calling, they do have problems.

Again, I'm not saying that's the case here. The police department has to do a much better job at monitoring officers. They're certainly -- nobody's denying there are officers out there in uniform that shouldn't be out there. So they have to do better. And the department needs to do it. They need to do it proactively.

HARLOW: And --

O'DONNELL: They need to preempt people who shouldn't be on the street. HARLOW: Eugene, this officer testified in front of the grand jury,

his attorney said that he did not intend to kill. He did not intend to inflict harm. That he was just trying to bring Eric Garner down. But this tactic did not work. And it's a tactic that he says he learned at the police academy. Should this tactic, even if it is a wrestling move, as he called it, what should happen so that someone else doesn't die?

O'DONNELL: Again, it's a really good time for Americans to have the conversation, what do you want the police to do and how do you want them to do it? And it's a physical job. In this case, the indictment here is that there should never have been an arrest. And that was now the cop who decided to do that. That was the highest levels of people in the government that decided to put the cops forward.

The commissioner of the police in New York City to his great credit has decided the cops have to be re-trained. And if you heard him real carefully, he basically said that cops are on their own. They don't have a lot of hands-on training.

HARLOW: Yes.

O'DONNELL: So they're going to rectify that. Three days is a meager but costly investment. But hopefully we can get police officers the time and the training that they want. They want the training.

HARLOW: Yes.

O'DONNELL: They want to be competent. They want to be able to do the job better.

HARLOW: Eugene O'Donnell, thank you for your expertise, your time joining us this evening.

O'DONNELL: My pleasure.

HARLOW: We appreciate it.

O'DONNELL: Thanks.

HARLOW: Coming up here on CNN in our next hour, fast forward. We're looking ahead at the questions that you're going to be talking about this week. We have seen furious protesters, we've seen die-ins across the country, after the decisions in the Michael Brown and Eric Garner cases. Could they escalate this week? What will happen? We'll discuss.

Also, will more athletes use their fame and their voices to add to the protest? We saw it play out this morning in the NFL.

Also could we hear from the writer and the subject of a huge article in "Rolling Stone" about rape at UVA. It is at the center of controversy or will they maintain silence?

All of that ahead. Stay with us. Just a few moments.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARLOW: All right. A big night here on CNN. 8:00 Eastern Time, you're not going to want to mists this. A special CNN HEROES. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: You have the power to do anything, to make a difference, inspire and change the world.

PEN FARTHING, CNN HERO: I want to actually still do something for Afghanistan. I want to help the people and the dogs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're giving them the best present in order to make a better future.

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH, CNN HERO PRESENTER: I'm here to honor real heroes.

KATHY GRIFFIN, COMEDIAN: It's going to be a great evening.

ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE: Welcome to "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute."

KELLY RIPPA, CNN HERO PRESENTER: It is my honor to hug the weightlifter with the biggest heart ever.

NED NORTON, CNN HERO: Never worry about what you can't do. Never, ever quit.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's incredibly humbling to be recognized as a CNN Hero.

PATRICIA KELLY, CNN HERO: This has been an amazing time.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're killing me, CNN. Got me sobbing all up in my chardonnay.

ANNOUNCER: See the stars come out to honor the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2014.

"CNN HEROES: AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE", tonight 8:00 Eastern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)