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Ferguson Police Receive "The Alternative" for Guns; NBC Progress Report on Brian Williams' "Mistake"; Charges Dismissed Against Panthers' Greg Hardy.

Aired February 10, 2015 - 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: Just past the bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

The police force in Ferguson, Missouri, is the first and only department in America now testing out this new gun attachment designed to subdue or even injure criminals but not to kill them. Ferguson, the site of riots that erupted last summer in the wake of a police officer shooting and killing that unarmed teenager, Michael Brown.

So this new device -- let me show you. This is called the Alternative. It clips to the end of a police officer's gun. Designers say it acts like an air bag for the bullet here, lessening the impact but still inflicting a lot of pain.

CNN's Sara Sidner got a firsthand look at the device.

Sara, I'm told you actually have the air bag or piece of it. Show me how this works.

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, so you saw it there. It doesn't look like much. It's a little orange device. On the end of it, you will see this. This is what deploys. You probably can't see this too well, but inside this is a spent round. The bullet is inside of this. The bullet goes in here, and this would travel and hit the potential suspect in the center body mass, which is where police officers are trained to shoot when they're trying to shoot to stop a suspect. It is only one round.

There's a lot of controversy over there, but as you mention, we did end up talking to officials in Ferguson who said they are indeed the first to use this, the first to test this at a department in America. You're seeing some of the video there of how it works. It takes just, you know, a second or so to put this on to the gun. It is pulled from the belt, put on to the gun, and then it's fired. Right after it's fired, if the suspect doesn't stop, if this does not stop a suspect, then the officer, in a split second, can start firing lethal rounds. Bullets come right out.

One of the controversies, of course, over this is that departments are saying, you know, there's always a time differential. We're always worried about time. Could the officer be put in any danger? The company's response to that is two-fold. One, they say to get hit with this -- and it's kind of a golf-ball sized device.

(CROSSTALK)

SIDNER: It's heavy, it's metal. It would feel like a major league baseball player hitting you in the chest with a hammer. So that's how the company describes what this would feel like to someone that gets hit by this. If that doesn't stop you, they have the option to shoot you with regular bullets.

But of course, Brooke, this is all in reaction. Looking at this product, it's all in reaction to what's happened across the country since what happened in Ferguson with the killing of Michael Brown -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Gosh, I guess I have a lot of questions. It's like, how many different steps, and how much time it would take, as you point out. So much of the discussion has been the training of the officers. How would Ferguson determine that the training has been, quote, unquote, "successful," so then perhaps other police departments would put this to use?

SIDNER: That's a really good question. They've gone through several days of training. We know that happened last week. I was there and spoke to the mayor who said, look, everyone is talking about whether we're doing anything and they want to see us try different things, and this is just one of the things that we're willing to try, no other department is willing to try it, we are trying it, we're going to test it, if it doesn't work out, we won't use it, if it does, then this is an option.

It is not a panacea. It's not going to fix everything. But it is an option and gives a suspect one last chance to live. Then after that, the officer can, if they feel their life is in danger, deploy their weapon regularly.

But it's controversial because no other department is trying it. There's a great deal of push back from law enforcement saying this just doesn't seem like something that's going to work. And they're against it. They're worried about it. So there's a lot of controversy, but it is being tried -- Brooke?

BALDWIN: Sara Sidner, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Now to the investigation NBC is definitely not touting with pride here, the one focused on its own "Nightly News" anchor, Brian Williams, who admitted he misled the public on some of the details he gave on his Iraq war coverage. NBC leaders got a progress report on that internal investigation under way.

Let's go to our senior media correspondent, Brian Stelter.

Before I ask you about that progress report, there are new developments today about a meeting at an apartment of one of the execs.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA CORRESPONDENT & CNN HOST, RELIABLE SOURCES: I can report that Brian Williams sat down with the head of all of NBC Universal, the CEO. He runs all the cable channels, all the broadcast stations that NBC owns. We don't know what the outcome of the meeting was. We know they left together and appeared to be in good spirits. This is significant because on Sunday, Burke had an emergency meeting with his NBC News executive leadership at his apartment as well. So now we know basically this has reached the top of NBC with Brian Williams and the CEO. Now we wait to see what happens.

Frankly, this looks pretty bad for Brian Williams. It's hard for me to imagine a scenario where this is going to end well for him. But anything is possible and very few people know what's actually going on.

BALDWIN: What's the progress report of this internal investigation?

STELTER: Last night, Williams was not in the room for this, but the guy in charge of NBC's internal investigation presented what he's learned so far to the NBC executives. They called this a progress report. And he's not done yet. The timeline, I'm told, is sooner rather than later. Everybody, I think, wants to get this cleaned up. It's been almost a week now. Every day that goes on, this is just a worse crisis for NBC News. I've never quite seen anything like this where the anchor has stepped aside for the time being. He says he'll be back, but people aren't sure if he'll be back. Meanwhile, as you know, Lester Holt has started to fill in for Brian Williams. He did just fine last night. The ratings seemed steady. It wasn't as if viewers rejected him in the anchor chair. Whether we like it or not, NBC is paying attention to that data right now.

BALDWIN: No matter where you work, you have a lot of bosses. So who ultimately decides Brian Williams' fate?

STELTER: Steve Burke is the CEO of all NBC Universal. He reports to the CEO of Comcast, Brian Roberts. Happens to own NBC and operates NBC News. Brian Roberts is the kind of guy who likes NBC News, appreciates having it. He just doesn't want it to be a distraction. He doesn't want it to be an embarrassment. Right now this is an embarrassment for Comcast. He's involved, as is Steve Burke, the CEO of NBC Universal. Right now, Comcast is busy. They're trying to get a merge approved with Time Warner Cable. They don't want this distraction. That's why they're trying to resolve this sooner rather than later.

BALDWIN: Whatever that really, I guess, means.

STELTER: A lot of people want Brian Williams to have a second chance. But can you imagine a situation where Brian Williams is across from a president or a politician and challenges them on misleading statements? Is he going to have any credibility to do that? That's what NBC is weighing, those two sides.

BALDWIN: Brian Stelter, thank you very much.

STELTER: Thank you. BALDWIN: Just ahead, charges dismissed. How the troubling allegations of domestic violence against a star NFL athlete quietly went away. Did this just become Roger Goodell's new problem? We'll discuss that.

Also ahead, somehow, the American hostages' letter to her parents was delivered. So who were the cell mates she mentioned in this hand- written note, and who brought her letter home? Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: A judge has dismissed charges against Carolina Panther Greg Hardy after his accuser was a no-show.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Hardy -- this guy here -- was convicted of attacking his ex- girlfriend in a bench trial last summer. According to court papers, he dragged this woman -- seen right here -- after he was found guilty. He allegedly choked her, threw her on to a pile of guns, bragging that they were loaded. And at one point, Hardy, according to these documents, said he threatened to shoot her if she went to the media or police.

He appealed. He sought out a jury trial. That was actually supposed to start Monday. But now the charges have been dropped with many, many questions as to why. In a press release, this is what the prosecutor is saying. Quote, "The D.A.'s office has also been made aware that the victim has reached a civil settlement with Mr. Hardy." What's more, the D.A. revealed investigators had a tail on Holder to try to get her to come to court. He said, without her, the case couldn't go forward.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

R. ANDREW MURRAY, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, MECKLENBURG COUNTY, N.C.: We encourage domestic violence victims to not only report incidents of domestic violence but to participate in every level of the prosecution. We need that participation in order to gain justice for not only the victims of domestic violence but for this community.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Let's talk about this with CNN's sports analyst, Christine Brennan; and Stacey Honowitz, a Florida prosecutor, who supervises the sex crimes and child abuse unit.

Ladies, welcome to both of you.

STACEY HONOWITZ, FLORIDA SEX CRIMES & CHILD ABUSE UNIT PROSECUTOR: Thank you.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Hi, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Stacey, you're up first.

My first question is just simply legal. So they've reached this settlement. Does that mean that this ex-girlfriend, this accuser would have had to have physically been in this jury trial, would have had to have testified?

HONOWITZ: Well, prior testimony is used in a number of cases. In North Carolina, you have to vouch for the person's credibility once that prior testimony is moved in. In this case, I don't know if they made an attempt to use the prior testimony or if they could vouch for her credibility. It appears to be that they didn't have the transcript at the time of the original trial. They started comparing some things, and there were some inconsistencies.

With regard to, you know, did he pay her off not to come to court, certainly it's an ethical obligation of the prosecutor, even if money is accepted before hand, we still go forward. In this case, they made every attempt to get in touch with her. It's my understanding she wanted nothing more to do with the case. They felt as though they needed her.

BALDWIN: Here you have this football player. We know didn't end up playing last season. I think he was in for one game, but he was paid in full, all $13 million. We know officially the justice system has spoken. With the NFL, with this new policy, if he's now been cleared legally, does the NFL have a leg to stand on here?

BRENNAN: Absolutely it does, Brooke. In fact, everything that people have been hearing about that we've been talking about the last six months about the NFL and its get-tough policy on domestic violence, it's all going to be brought to bear now on this case and Greg Hardy. Basically, Robert Muller and his reports, the investigation that came out last month, and the NFL is now saying we can do basically whatever we want to do. We do not have to tie our prosecutions, our investigations, and our punishment to the U.S. legal system.

And in this case, I think that's terrific. Because if you look at what Greg Hardy allegedly did, found guilty of doing by a judge a year ago, terrible. It's worse than Ray Rice. It's worse than the elevator video. The totality of it is extraordinary, trying to choke her, dragging her around by her hair. It's terrible. The NFL now can actually mete out punishment in a big way against him. And my question is, why should he ever have the privilege of playing another down in the National Football League? That's just my opinion. But the NFL, especially led by women leaders now, Brooke, will be making these decisions. And that is now new. That's new as of the last six months in the National Football League.

BALDWIN: But, Christine, let me stay with you. I agree with so much of what you're saying, given what I've read about this. But when you're in the inner football circles or just chatting about the next season, the conversation involving Greg Hardy, it's not about sex abuse or victimization or accountability. It's about, oh, which team gets him. BRENNAN: Right. And that's frustrating. It's frankly disgusting.

But that's our world, right. People love the NFL. The Super Bowl gets great TV ratings, the most-watched event ever. Then, of course, we do care about domestic violence, but it's as if people are saying, "Not on Sunday. Don't bother me with it on Sunday."

But you're right. Now we're getting the football pundits coming into the mix. The difference is there are top women leaders now in the National Football League who have been put in place for this exact purpose. And now this is the test case, Brooke. We will see if the NFL is going to do what we believe it will do and be really strong and tough on people who go -- slide through the justice system but now they have to deal with the NFL and its new tougher system.

BALDWIN: Stacey, moving forward, final thoughts. Sounds like the charges are dropped.

HONOWITZ: Yeah, I mean, listen, it's very common. In domestic violence cases, it's a hand-holding procedure. Women don't want to come forward. And I encourage women -- I see this every day. When they go to the police, it's horrific acts that happen upon them, and then later on, they decide not to go forward. Nothing is going to change if they don't come into court and testify against the person that's done the victimization to them. So please, even though we see this case, and it's high profile, it should be a message for lots of women that these guys are going to go free if you don't come to court and you choose not to participate.

BALDWIN: Stacey, thank you so much.

Stacey Honowitz and Christine Brennan, appreciate both of you.

HONOWITZ: Thank you.

BRENNAN: Thanks, Brooke.

BALDWIN: Ahead, new revelations from one of President Obama's former top advisers. The inner circle, apparently, had feared a terror attack at President Obama's first inauguration. And now we know what they did to prepare for that. Stay with me.

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BALDWIN: Used to be in the good old days, if you were single, you'd walk into a bar, a restaurant, a coffee shop, scope out the spot next to the cutest prospect in the room. Maybe your bestie would set you up on a blind date. No more.

"CNN Money's" Laurie Segall has more on her latest installment of "Love, Inc."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's kind of weird to believe that that code, the ones and zeros, could significantly change the course of your life. From here, it doesn't look like much, but in some cases, that data could lead to love.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We run all of their properties through our algorithm to decide who's the best for you and give a score. We show you the best people for you.

SEGALL: Those lines of code might not exactly look like your perfect match, but they're the formula for dating apps like Hinge.

(on camera): How do you apply big data to love?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We present you each day with a group of people, and you say yes or no to each of them. And we can just learn those trends statistically to say, like, oh, people of a certain religion, you always swipe left or you always swipe right based on their height or ethnicity or who the friend is in common or what type of job they have. All those things are taken into account.

SEGALL: It does seem a little funny or ironic you have these tech nerds. I envision the tech nerds in the hoodies playing cupid to a degree.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, in a sense. In our tech pod back there, we have a board and we post photos of couples we've made.

SEGALL (voice-over): Here's a surprising thing about dating apps. Most of them aren't profitable. At least not now. It's match first, make money later. And yet, they have huge valuations. In December, Hinge got $12 million from investors, bringing them to over $20 million in funding. Tinder is reportedly worth nearly $1 billion. Tinder finds you options based on your location. Swipe right if you're interested, swipe left if you're not. And they just announced how they'll turn a profit.

(on camera): You guys are very much capitalizing on things we all do anyway, which is kind of this fear of missing out, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's two things that our use verse always asked us for. You might accidently swipe because you're going too fast, and you can bring that person back. And to change your location, because a lot of people might commute to work, they travel to different locations. Those we call Tinder Plus. That's a premium.

SEGALL (voice-over): Match.com says 31 percent of U.S. singles met their most recent first date online. With more and more options, it's almost addicting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do know people are addicted. The average user uses Tinder for over 10 minutes a day and swipes a lot.

SEGALL: Here's how biological anthropologist, Helen Fisher, describes it.

DR. HELEN FISHER, BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST: It's called cognitive overload. That's a big problem in the dating industry. The more opportunities you have to meet an awful lot of people, the less likely you're going to meet anybody. It's one thing you have to control, the addiction to keep on swiping. Get to know somebody. You may well find the love of your life.

SEGALL (on camera): Do you ever feel like you almost have a responsibility when you're playing cupid?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of crazy to think, like, you know, people are getting married, having babies even, and if we botched that algorithm, that baby might not have been born.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

BALDWIN: If not for the algorithm, that baby might not have been born. That is the line of the day, Laurie Segall.

SEGALL: Look, the good news is there's more options than ever. You have your Smartphone, which is the ultimate disrupter. You can literally swipe through people all the time. The bad news is sometimes people just keep swiping even if they're on a date or something and you have to be very, very careful about it. You heard Helen talk about people just not taking it serious enough because there's so many options.

BALDWIN: Well, that's the thing. It's almost like you're on the train, you see people doing this constantly. I know what you're doing. So it does make you wonder that you're not really thinking too much about who this person is, what they're about to see if you're smoochable.

SEGALL: I got the inspiration for this whole series because I was at a bar, and I saw these people that were clearly on an online date. She walked away to the bathroom, and I could see him pull out his phone and start looking on Tinder.

BALDWIN: No! Mid date? Call him out.

SEGALL: I thought, oh, my god, oh, my god. So we have to do this responsibly, if we're going to do it. But there's good news because a lot of people are finding their ultimate match on Tinder, on Hinge, online.

BALDWIN: I was in one of my best friend's weddings thanks to match.com.

(LAUGHTER)

Laurie Segall, we'll see you tomorrow for more on this all week long here on CNN. Thank you.

SEGALL: Thank you.