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Manhunt Search Centers 300 Miles South of Prison; Corrections Officer Under Investigation about Escape; Healing Begins at First Service Since Church Shooting; Reward For Capture Of Two Escaped Convicts Up To $150,000; Latest Sightings Of Escaped Convicts Along Railroad In Friendship, NY; Emanuel AME Massacre Reignites Political Fight Over Confederate Flag At S.C. State House. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 21, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:02] FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, again, everyone. Thanks so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Several new developments in the search for those two escaped murderers, Richard Matt and David Sweat, who have been on the run now for 16 days. The reward is now up to $150,000.

At a news conference less than an hour -- less than really a half hour ago, police said the latest sighting along some railroad tracks in Friendship, New York, is credible because of the descriptions given by the woman who says she saw David Sweat and Richard Matt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. MICHAEL CERRETTO, TROOP A COMMANDER, NEW YORK STATE POLICE: On Saturday, at approximately 1:16 p.m., the state police received a call from a witness who spotted two men on a railroad line that runs along County Route 20 in the town of Friendship. The description given was similar to the description of David Sweat and Richard Matt, the two men who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6th. We interviewed the witness at length and the determination was made that this investigation lead should be investigated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And the search has intensified over the last 24 hours following that third possible sighting of the two along the New York- Pennsylvania border near a town called Friendship, New York, 300 miles south of the prison. And as a result of that sighting it has become the new hot spot with 300 members of law enforcement now concentrating there.

CNN has talked to the lawyer for the corrections officer, Gene Palmer, who has been on leave, paid leave as part of the investigation. He says -- the attorney, that is, says that Palmer will cooperate with the investigation. At that news conference less than 30 minutes ago, police said the latest sighting along some railroad tracks is indeed credible and they continue to look intensively there.

Alexandria Field is live for us now in Friendship. And while the state trooper there, the major did say that they are concentrating their efforts, there was a great omission about exactly what kind of resources are being poured into that area. Have we since learned anymore about how they're searching on the ground by air, et cetera?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, there were very few specifics as far as the exact locations that they are focused on other than to say that they are looking along the railroad tracks and that they are looking in the woods. We know about some of the manpower that they've brought in, 300 different law enforcement officers from various agencies. We know that they're doing the search from the air. We know that they have canines on the ground hoping to hit on a scent.

But here's the other emission in this press conference that we have just about a half hour ago. While police detailed the, quote-unquote, credible tip that led them to bring the search to this area, they would not say whether or not there has been another credible sighting since that first sighting was reported some 26 hours ago, Fred.

They say it came from a caller who they vetted. The spoke to, they interviewed the caller, the descriptions seemed to line up with the two fugitives. They found this caller to be believable and so they launched the resources that you have seen descend on not just this town, but really this county over the last day.

You also have to add a little bit of context to this, however, Fred. While we are some 300 miles southwest of the maximum security prison that Richard Matt and David Sweat broke out of some 16 days ago, there were other tips that came in just last weekend in a county just east of this one where two separate callers reported seeing people who they felt matched the descriptions.

So we've got to read in here, Fred, and determine whether or not law enforcement might think that given the proximity of those sightings in Steuben County, whether or not that adds some credence perhaps to the caller's statements made here, in Friendship, New York. What they did want to do at this press conference a short while ago was to assure people that they are continuing to look.

A lot of people in this town on edge over the last 26 hours. They are very cognizant of the influx of police officers here. They are being stopped at the roadblocks. Their cars are being searched. Some of them are seeing their homes being searched. So you have police coming out here and saying we have not yet exhausted this lead. You will see us continue to search this area until we feel that we really have exhausted it -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Alexandra Field, thank you so much, in Friendship, New York.

In another development in this manhunt and the investigation into that prison break, CNN talked to the attorney for the corrections officer who has since been placed on leave.

Our Sara Ganim is in Dannemora -- right there in Dannemora, New York. OK. So give us more about this conversation you had, Sara, with the attorney who is representing this correctional officer or employee there placed on leave. SARA GANIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, so this corrections officer, his

name is Gene Palmer. He's 57 years old and he's worked there for more than 25 years, Fred. His attorney spoke to me today and he told me that the reason that he is being interviewed, that he is part of this investigation is that he received a painting. And it was painted by Richard Matt, one of the two inmates who has escaped.

[16:05:11] And we also already know that Richard Matt was a painter and he also painted something for Joyce Mitchell, the prison seamstress who has now already been charged with aiding in the escape, giving those two inmates the tools that police believe they used to break out of the prison.

The attorney told me, though, he said 100 percent he did not know. Gene Palmer did not know, according to his attorney, that this escape was going to happen. Take a listen to the rest of our conversation that we had.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW BROCKWAY, ATTORNEY FOR CORRECTIONS OFFICER GENE PALMER: He was surprised, scared, I mean, he lives right down the road from the correctional facility. They know who he is. So he's very scared which is understandable. This community has been on lockdown for a lack of a better word for the past couple of weeks. And we're just hoping to get back to normal up here.

GANIM: Did he say what it was like that day at work when they realized that those two were missing?

BROCKWAY: I think that people were surprised that they were able to do what they did. With all the information that we've learned subsequently, it's obviously an elaborate plot. And if any good is going to come out of this, I think that it will expose where law enforcement needs to focus on securing the prison. Not to say that they haven't done that in the past, but obviously there's some weaknesses that need to be addressed. And Mr. Palmer hopes that his information will help to lead to a safer prison for the prison guards and civilian employees.

GANIM: One of the things the DA talked about was manipulation by Matt and Sweat. Does Gene think that maybe he could have been a victim of that?

BROCKWAY: I think that's also fair to say. These two people are psychopaths. They are master manipulators. They're obviously in prison for life, so they have nothing but time to develop schemes to take advantage of innocent people. And I'm not saying that everyone's innocent. Obviously Joyce Mitchell is under arrest. But my client at this time is not. And I think that they've taken advantage of a lot of well-meaning people.

GANIM: Is your client being interviewed again today?

BROCKWAY: I haven't been notified. I haven't been asked if he's willing to be interviewed at all. But if he is asked, we will be fully cooperative again. And we'll go down and answer any and all questions. He plans on being completely forthcoming with any information that can help in the capture of Mr. Sweat and Mr. Matt.

GANIM: You said he was on the honor block. Was he a guard? Could you tell us his role?

BROCKWAY: He is a prison guard and the honor block is where the two escapees were housed. He was an officer on that block.

GANIM: What was his relationship like with them? What would you characterize it as?

BROCKWAY: I would characterize it as Mr. Palmer was trying to do the best job that he could in a very -- it's a maximum security prison, so these are very dangerous individuals. Obviously he wants to make sure that his fellow coworkers are safe and he's doing his job to the best of his ability. Obviously he had daily contact with these individuals.

GANIM: So establishing a good rapport, a good relationship to keep the prison safe essentially.

BROCKWAY: Yes. That's very true. He was trying to do the best that he could to make sure that he maintained a safe facility.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GANIM: Now a little more context, Fred. The attorney also telling CNN that Gene Palmer, that corrections officer, was actually beginning a vacation the night that those two inmates escaped, that he wasn't actually there. Back to you, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So then, Sara, you know, help us understand why is he actually on administrative leave, paid leave? Is it simply because of -- I shouldn't say simply. But is it because of receiving the artwork or is there something else that authorities are just not willing to explain? Or help us understand if that is, you know, the offense, where does that scale on behavior of those who work for the Clinton Correctional Facility?

GANIM: So it's hard to know exactly, Fred, because his attorney was reluctant to say exactly what they're asking him. And so was the district attorney. However, we do know from his attorney that it is paid leave, which means, according to his attorney, if it was unpaid leave, it would have implicated him in some kind of wrongdoing. And what his attorney told me was that they just believe that he has some information that they want to know.

And so he's being interviewed. He was interviewed at length. His attorney, though, told me over and over again that he's cooperating, he will continue to cooperate. That he wants to exonerate himself and that he has nothing to hide.

[16:10:01] So the paid leave it seems has something at least to do with the fact that a search warrant was executed at his home. In fact police presence just left his home a little earlier today. And that search warrant was for that painting that Richard Matt had made for him -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sara Ganim, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, a church reopens for the first time since nine of its members were massacred. A live report next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The historic church where nine people were shot dead reopened its doors this morning for a healing service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen. I want you to hug three persons right next to you. Tell them it's going to be all right.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This was Sunday service at Mother Emanuel. Hundreds, blacks, whites, hugging and praising and worshipping together at Charleston's Emanuel AME Church. United in honor of the nine who were killed.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[16:15:10] REV. NORVEL GOFF SR., 7TH DISTRICT AME CHURCH: We are reminded this morning about the freshness of death. Comes like a thief in the night. But I declare that Jesus said it a long time ago, he said, I am the resurrection and the life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's go live to Charleston now. Our Martin Savidge and Alina Machado joining us there.

All right, so first to you, Martin. You were inside the sanctuary at Mother Emanuel for this morning's service. Some say this is nearly typical of a Sunday service there, but this was also something very different.

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It was, you're right. It is hard to sort of justify those two different kind of senses that you're inside and feeling. You know, memorial service after a tragedy, quite common. But it turns out that the church with a memorial service is both the site of the where people heal and where people died. That's extraordinary. And that's what elevated the emotion.

Inside you could tell there are people who've been showing up at that church every Sunday and a lot of people who have never been inside that church before. The couple beside me said they were just walking by the front door and just felt compelled, they had to come inside. There were many like them. There were clearly family members of victims that's inside there.

There were times when the service was joyful, people on their feet and shouting and happy and celebrating. There were other times where it was very somber, the pain very deep. You could hear open weeping and you can hear people wailing. At time when there were family members that were suffering other congregants would gather around them.

The reverend at one point began speaking out and the issue he raised was that this tragedy, this attack has raised many concerns, but now is not the time to debate them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOFF: There's a time and place for everything. And now it's a time for us to focus on the nine families.

(APPLAUSE)

Oh, I know I'm right. Because at this time, we need to be in solidarity and praying for families and our communities around this state and particularly in Charleston.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: The leaders of the church openly thanked the people of Charleston and of South Carolina and also law enforcement. That line actually brought people to their feet in applause. Security was extremely tight. People were checked as they went in. And uniformed police officers were circulating in the aisles.

Afterwards, when it was done, I asked one long-time parishioner if it really helped. She said, it did help, but the pain is still there and runs very, very deep -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, Martin Savidge.

So the church family, the Charleston family, all paying homage to the nine killed days ago.

Alina Machado joining us right now. So, Alina, there have been so many who have been conveying, you know, signs of unity and peace as a result of what happened earlier in the week. And then there's more planned. How are they going about it?

ALINA MACHADO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's amazing to see this continued outpouring of love and support by the people of Charleston. And I just want to point out that when we got here a few days ago, this memorial was very, very small. But look at this. It has grown so much, so many flowers, so many cards, so many balloons. Just so many symbols of love from people who came out here to pay respects to the nine lives that were lost at this church.

And we've also been seeing today on Sunday, a day of worship, members of other Christian churches come down here, members of the Muslim community come out, and bring flowers to the church as a way of showing respect for the people who died.

Now these nine people are being called the Emanuel nine. And they were front and center today at services at other churches in town. We were at the Morris Brown AME Church. The same place where hundreds gathered earlier right after this massacre happened to pray. And everyone at the church -- I want to show you what everybody was given. They were given this sheet of paper. And right at the top, the message of the day.

"The doors of the church are still open even though," as they put it, "hate and evil caused a tremendous amount of pain and suffering, not just in this community, but also among people of faith." The other message, that faith, Fredricka, is just as strong.

[16:20:05] WHITFIELD: Alina Machado, thank you so much. And Martin Savidge.

Let's talk more about this. Also there in Charleston, CNN's political commentator Van Jones.

So, Van, you know, we heard in that sound bite from Reverend Goff, says, you know what, there is a time and place for everything. Now it's time for solidarity for the nine victims. But at the same time, while it's not necessarily being encouraged -- being encouraged to politicized what has happened here but already we're hearing presidential candidates talk about what happened there at Emanuel AME, and talk about whether there needs to be a discussion -- further discussion and action about racism in America, about the Confederate flag on the grounds of the state capitol there.

You heard it from presidential candidate Hillary Clinton yesterday, and even this morning Mike Huckabee on the morning talk shows. So how do you see what happened there in Charleston really finding its way continually on the path to the White House 2016?

VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, a few things. Obviously today is still mainly a day of mourning and of some celebration, some healing, some reconciliation. Especially here in Charleston. This is -- again it's a global story, but at the end of the day, it's an intimate local story in a very small down. I have not met a single person who doesn't know someone who knows someone who was impacted if they were not directly impacted themselves.

But Monday, when you get to a new day, a workweek, these issues are going to become political. There are at least four issues. A question of gun control and gun safety, how will that be handled. The question of the Confederate flag which is likely to become a real hot potato especially within the Republican Party. You have the question of mental health and what role that plays. That's probably the only common ground.

And then the question of race and how much of this is an isolated incident and how much of this is actually a continuation of unfortunately many decades and centuries of racial violence charged against the African-American community.

All of those issues become live issues on Monday. You know, our hope I think is that there is a chance for especially those people running to be president. If you are running for president and you can't look at nine completely blameless African-American parishioners who are killed by someone who says he's a racist, who says he wanted to do it to start a racial civil war, and say something about the need for racial justice and reconciliation, I think there's something deficient in your leadership.

And so I do think that there's going to be a requirement over the next several days for those people who want to lead our country to show us what you could do, what you would say, what proposals you would offer in a situation like this. Because, unfortunately, it does not look like moments like this are going to be few and far between in the years ahead.

WHITFIELD: And then this week, the pastor of that church, Clementa Pinckney, will be lying in state at the state capitol in Columbia on Wednesday and then his funeral is on Friday. Talk to me about the significance of this.

JONES: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I mean, this is a powerful moment. This city is still trying to heal, family members still trying to grappling with the nation -- trying to grapple with. And this leader, you know, in the church and in the state legislature is being honored as such a huge giant, a peaceful man.

JONES: Well, absolutely. And one of the things that I think -- you know, it's so hard to get your head wrapped around monstrosity of the tragedy here, the size of this tragedy. You don't just have a massacre. You also have a political assassination. This was one of the youngest elected officials in the state when he was elected. He's someone who has spoken out for the need for justice. He's even spoken out around some of the police community relations that had been going on.

And so here's someone who's known by the president of the United States on a first name basis. So you have not just a massacre of nine innocents, but also a political assassination. And it happened in a church that has a political history. You know, Denmark Vissi, one of the great leaders for emancipation, who led a slave revolt. He was one of the founders of this church.

So you have a site that is a sacred site, a politically historic site, desecrated, nine families decimated, and a leader assassinated. All in one very short period of time. And so it is appropriate that he be allowed to lie in state.

But I have to say as a father on Father's Day, it is getting very difficult to talk to my children. I have two sons. One almost 7, one almost 11. Two little black boys. It is getting harder and harder to talk to them about what is happening in our country when their dad has to go and cover so many funerals and so many situations where the question of race is at least on the table. I do hope that there's some solace that the family gets by knowing that the state respect this man's contribution this week even if this racist terrorist did not.

[16:25:07] WHITFIELD: All right. Van Jones, thank you so much. And a moment now to show you -- to show you more about the nine people

who lost their lives and the tribute taking place at Mother Emanuel AME Church today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOFF: Our loved ones was victimized the other evening. They've gone on before us, but we are behind them. We will be going also one day. And when we get there, oh, what a joyful time it will be. We ask, oh God, that you will guide and direct and strengthen those families who have been victimized by that horrible situation.

Pastor, Reverend Clementa Pinckney, Reverend Sharonda Coleman Singleton, Brother Tywanza Sanders, Sister Depayne Middleton-Doctor, Sister Cynthia Hurd, Marie Thompson, Sister Ethel Lance, Sister Susie Jackson.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:31:20] WHITFIELD: All right. Hello again, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield, welcome back. So we have several breaking news developments in the search for those two escaped murderers. The reward is now up to $150,000. At a news conference last hour, police said the latest sighting along some railroad tracks in Friendship, New York, is credible.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. MICHAEL CARRETO, TROOP A COMMANDER N.Y. STATE POLICE: On Saturday, at approximately 1:16 p.m., the state police received a call from a witness who spotted two men on a railroad line that runs along County Route 20, in the town of Friendship. The description given was similar to the description of David Sweat and Richard Matt, the two men who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility on June 6th. We interviewed the witness at length and the determination was made that this investigation lead should be investigated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Matt Sweat and -- Richard Matt and David Sweat, that is, have been on the run for 16 days now. The search has intensified over the last 24 hours following this third possible sighting of the two along the New York/Pennsylvania border near a down called Friendship, New York, 300 miles south of the prison. And as a result of that sighting, it has become the new hot spot with hundreds of law enforcement officers scouring the area. CNN has talked to the lawyer for the corrections officer, Gene Palmer who has been placed on paid lea as part of the investigation into the prison break. He says -- the attorney rather says Palmer will cooperate with the investigation. To reiterate, at that news conference, New York State Police said the last sighting near Friendship is credible and they are pursuing that lead.

All right, joining me to discuss the latest in Washington, Matthew Fogg, Retired Chief Deputy U.S. Marshall and Former Member of the U.S. Marshall Special Operation Group, and by phone, John Anderson, Reporter for the Wellsville Daily Reporter in New York. So John, let me begin with you. You work in this community, you're familiar with the people there. How big of a shock is this to this area and how are they proceeding after hearing news that this is credible sighting?

JOHN ANDERSON, WELLSVILLE DAILY REPORTER: Right now it' a little uneasy. At first, it was more of a road block, checking inside of cars. That has now turned into a lot of firearms, correction officers from Attica, Swat Teams. When they're checking the cars now, when the driver pops the trunk, there is a gun pointed at the trunk. It's uneasy. It's uneasy for the residents. They're being taken out of their homes. Homes are being searched. Hunting camps are being searched. So it's a little different from yesterday. It's intensified a little bit in terms of you can see more firearms. They're taking it serious, now that they've talked to the person who saw the two escaped convicts and they have determined that she is indeed credible.

WHITFIELD: So John, paint a picture for me. Let's go back to that moment where you said some residents are being taken out of their homes or were asked to leave their homes so that police can search, how is that happening? Is it just every home, that happens to be near that, credible eyewitness were people are being asked to leave their homes so there can be this search? Or how are police identifying the homes in which the search like that?

ANDERSON: Correct. They're going door to door. Some people are surprised. The media's really not too much in the area. They are allowing some of us in there just for a couple photos and some videos. So they're not alerted that it's happening. However, a lot of people do know, the local law enforcement and it's -- you know, it's not the worst thing in the world, but like I said, it is an uneasy feeling, and the amount of police presence is nothing like I've ever seen in this quiet town.

[16:36:20]

WHITFIELD: A number of people have expressed within the past 24 hours how much they, you know are ready, meaning they have their own weapons in their home, loaded. So talk to me about their sense of readiness, their sense of fear, and at the same time, we heard from one of our law enforcement analysts earlier, Jonathan Gilliam who talked about this also makes for a particularly situation for police too. Because they could be walking in the woods, you have some residents who are fearful, who are armed, and that also helps put law enforcement in danger to an extent. Explain that dynamic for us.

ANDERSON: Well, this is interesting. Back in 2004, there was a man who robbed a place that had recyclable cans and bottles and was wanted. He was spotted in the woods in Friendship. And the police had gone around and showed his photo. Residents saw him, told him to stop, the man continued. He shot him in the leg once. And the guy got up and tried to run. He shot him in the leg again. And the guy said, what are you doing, and the guy said you never run from a red neck with a gun and dragged him to the authorities. This was in Friendship, New York, and that's where this is taking place. People there are armed, just about everybody has a gun. This is a strong gun community. But not for protection, this is -- Elian County in New York is the largest deer take per capita per square mile. This is a hunting area, fishing area, a lot of pheasant, ski. It's an outdoors county, so people do have guns and they know how to use them and they will protect their families.

WHITFIELD: Matthew Fogg, what do you gather from what we've learned from that press conference less than an hour ago about this intensified search, the credible eye witness accounts that police have now looked into, and how that is in large part kind of directing this search?

MATTHEW FOGG, CHIEF DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL (RET.): Well you know again, Fredricka myself, I've been on a lot of these operations, and we've done these searches and panned out. And as a matter of fact, we were all up in that area, upstate New York, Pittsburgh line, New York line, all in that area and doing the same thing in that woods and so forth. What I gather is, you know, when you talk about the witnesses being credible, I'm not exactly sure just what that really means from the officers' standpoint, other than the fact that whatever information that witness gave them, they believe -- maybe it possibly could be these guys. I personally just don't see them out there just moving in that fashion. I see these two guys are very savvy. Again, the elaborate way they got out, I just don't see them out there being in that situation. But again, if the officers got something that think is credible, then they're going to bring all their resources, because that's what our training is. We bring all of our resources to a credible location, and then we pan out from there. Just like what you saw in the Fugitive with Tommy Lee Jones and stuff and I mean this -- this is how we do. We come in and pan out and start searching homes. And the key is we want to try to saturate the area with enough information so that people won't jump out like what the guy what just saying about jump out on the police or think for some reason, we get into some shootout with someone that's not even the fugitives. That would be horrible.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, so the search technique is different day versus night, Matthew. Describe for us the differences and the potential dangers that come with that as well, as we look at video that demonstrates both night and day searches.

FOGG: Right. Well, night time, of course you got a lot of infrared equipment. The search is going to be pretty much -- we're going to have the same locations covered. The bottom lined we're going to have lights out there, we're going to have helicopters flying around, lot of lighting, a lot of noises where if there is someone out there that saying it's not the fugitives themselves, but somebody's out there hunting or whatever, hopefully they've got enough information to all hunters, anybody doing anything like that, that just cease and desist and clear their area. So I mean -- but at night time, of course, it's dark, you got your dogs out there, the dogs are sniffing around. So it' -- you know, daytime, nighttime, we still boxing in the same location for the search.

WHITFIELD: Ok, all right. John Anderson, Matthew Fogg, thanks to both of you. Appreciate it. And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:45:22]

WHITFIELD: The massacre, at the Emanuel AME Church has reignited the political fight over the confederate flag. It still flies on the state capitol grounds in South Carolina, next to the Confederate Soldier Monument. But after the deadly shooting at Emanuel AME Church, many people have said they want the flag removed, perhaps even put in a museum, the President even said that. CNN's Sunlen Serfaty, joining us live now, so as this debate rages on, what more are you hearing about how it's finding its way on the campaign trail?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well it sure is Fred, and it provides a lot of tricky politics for many of the 2016 Republican Candidates, where they've been forced to respond to this. Also (Inaudible) a cautious response at the same time, you know South Carolina is an important state for these Republicans, first in the south primary. So these candidates are trying to stay in the good graces of many social conservatives in that state, who believe that the Confederate Flag is a part of the state's history and shall remain. But the pressure was really increased over the weekend when Mitt Romney chimed in and tweeted out this very strongly worded response saying "Take down the Confederate Flag at the South Carolina Capitol, to many it is a symbol of racial hatred, remove it now to honor the Charleston victims." And the tweet also got a lot of attention from President Obama, he re-tweeted Mitt's tweet and said good point, Mitt. So all eyes right now on these Republican Candidates, a little cautious to chime in, really deferring the issue to South Carolina to decide. Here's a little of what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE HUCKABEE, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If the state government of South Carolina wishes to address an issue in their state, that's fine.

RICK SANTORUM, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't think the federal government or federal candidate should be making decisions on everything, and an opinion on everything. This is a decision that needs to be made here in South Carolina.

MARCO RUBIO, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Ultimately, the people of South Carolina will make the right decision for South Carolina. And I belie in their capacity to make that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And some state legislators in South Carolina have said that they will push forward with some proposals, some legislation to take down the flag and the use of the Confederate Flag in the state houses. Republican senator Tim Scott, though he's an important voice in this debate. He says he will have a side. He has not revealed yet what that will be. He said he's waiting Fred, until after the funerals.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sunlen Serfaty, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:53:00]

WHITFIELD: And now, new video of accused cop killer, Travis Boys is being loaded into an ambulance shortly after his capture this morning. Officials say he was treated for dehydration, 33-year-old Boys was arrested while trying to board a bus. Police he still had broken handcuffs on him. Authorities have searched for him for nearly 24 hours. He had escaped from being transported, getting out of his handcuffs, according to police. Grabbing a gun and then allegedly shooting New Orleans Police Officer, Darryl Holloway and then fleeing the scene. Officer Holloway, a 22 year veteran of the New Orleans Police Force died at a nearby hospital.

And last hour, I talked to New Orleans Police Superintendent, Michael Harrison about the shooting and the loss of Officer Darryl Holloway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HARRISON, NEW ORLEANS POLICE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE: With all the questions, obviously we are asked ourselves. There are investigations to get to the bottom of that procedurally, for safety reasons, and procedural we're trying to figure out how he managed to get that gun into the car. And so maybe some mistakes were made. Right now we're just focusing on healing the departments, we're focusing on healing the Holloway Family but we're working to get all of that to make sure that something like this never ever happens again.

WHITFIELD: What can you tell us about Officer Darryl...

HARRISON: We do know that there was a gun that was confiscated on his original arrest. So far, (Inaudible) so he was arrested originally on that violation when he had that gun. But apparently there was a second gun that we recovered.

WHITFIELD: I see, all right. So what can you tell us about Officer Darryl Holloway, a 20 year vet and a father, on this Father's Day, it's heartbreaking for his family?

HARRISON: Nineteen ninety two, I came on in 91' and we worked together in the same police district, then for a few years. Very lovable guy, the life of any room, when you walk in to the room he lit the room up, always had something funny to say. Just -- you couldn't be around him for three minutes without becoming his friend. He was great at community policing, and everywhere he served, the community and the neighbors who lived there, loved him. And so he's gone -- I'm going to miss him, the department is going to miss. This city will definitely miss him. And like I said, everywhere he went, everybody he touched, he was a great partner, great colleague, great person to have, always brave, but always full of life, full of energy, never had a bad day or bad attitude ever, just always full of life. WHITFIELD: And thanks so much for being with me the last three hours.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield, and the next show the NEWSROOM begins right after this.