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Tom Brady Fighting to Play Full Season; Police Sang Lullaby to Girl Involved in Car Accident; Authorities Closing in on David Sweat and Richard Matt. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 23, 2015 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:20] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Coming up next, the items that the two escaped killers left behind in a hunting cabin some 20 miles from the prison. Why they might be staying so close. That's ahead.

Also, Tom Brady is fighting to play a full season with the New England Patriots. He wants that suspension from the deflate gate overturned. Hear what he did today under oath behind closed doors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:46] BALDWIN: All right. Let's talk about what is new today as far as the hunt for the two fugitives in upstate New York. Sources telling CNN law enforcement is closing in. They tell us David Sweat and Richard Matt had to run out of this particular cabin in a hurry. The pair were told caught by such surprise. They left boots and personal items behind. Police say now one of them may be on the run in this rough mountain terrain barefoot.

So let me bring in Lenny DePaul. He is a former regional task force commander for the U.S. marshal service.

So you are former task force, so Lenny, let's just first begin with, you know, the DNA in the cabin. You know, this cabin is within a day's hike from that prison. So what does that tell you about how far they have gotten or how advanced their plan really was?

LENNY DEPAUL, FORMER U.S. MARSHAL: Well, Brooke, as you know, we've been talking about this for a week or so.

BALDWIN: Eighteen days.

DEPAUL: Eighteen days. Right. And you know, yes, it's a home run. It's certainly a game changer for law enforcement, this positive -- what they got back on the DNA was positive for both of them. You know, they had somebody gets washed up on the cabin. They were abruptly had to run out the back and I think one -- possibly two of them was seen, not confirmed though, that it was them, though.

And you know, one of them left without boots. He is out there barefooted. They are certainly advantage. I spoke to a couple of guys that are down range and up there and the terrain is horrible. There's thick bushes, there is drop-offs, hills, ravines, and whatnot. It's raining. It is miserable. So I'm hoping again they are contained in this perimeter and certainly it's going to depend on the timeline when this guy had called law enforcement. They were able to respond to this cabin, set up a perimeter and tighten it and I'm hoping that the noose is getting tighter.

And only, you know, hope this goes down without incident, Brooke. We've been talking about it for 18 days.

BALDWIN: Not to mention, I talked to someone familiar with the area. He said, Brooke, listen, consider the bears and the coyotes and you know, what else did he tell me, the mosquitos, the ticks, everything else. And so, when you're thinking about one of these two barefoot, how long can you really last in terrain like this?

DEPAUL: Yes. These guys are desperate. I mean, you know, how long were they in this cabin? You know, this other cabin certainly there still has not been unlocked for the summer season yet. Maybe they got into another one.

Here we go with the what if thing again. I mean, they could -- anything is possible. Their mindset, what is it? Again, they are miserable. The weather has been horrible. How long have they been sitting in this cabin? This jar of water, this peanut butter, where did that come from? Was it from the cabin or another one.

You know, it is anyone's guess at this point. But I'm hoping that this goes down peacefully and I don't think that their mindset, you know, what I'm hoping it should be but, again, suicide by cop, I don't know. But these law enforcement folks that are up there, they are at a heightened level at this point. They are certainly well aware of, you know, what they are up against.

BALDWIN: Let's talk about these specific these clues and whatever else. I mean, I have to imagine, if you're the task force on the ground and you find this potential goldmine of DNA in a cabin, what are they combing through, looking at, what else can they learn?

DEPAUL: Well, yes, the perimeter is set up with all of the assets that are on the ground, and the state-of-the-art equipment, aviation support, canines, bloodhounds. They deployed hostage, the negotiating team, SWAT teams. You know, anything that you can think of that law enforcement would need is there. So any situation that may pop up or appear that they are ready to react to it. And, you know, one only guess on how this is going to go down. Are they split up? Are they still together, you know?

BALDWIN: Sounds like they believe they are still together.

DEPAUL: Well, they were, we think, when they left that cabin. I mean, the DNA is coming back positive on both of them. But they, you know, could have went left and one could have went right as they left that cabin.

BALDWIN: True.

DEPAUL: So, you know, we are unclear and we are not sure on that. Again, I don't know what the bloodhounds are picking up on. It's raining miserably up there so that is going, you know, they may send the dogs off, you know, also. So keep that in mind.

BALDWIN: All right, Lenny DePaul, we will keep talking until they find them. thank you so much.

DEPAUL: Thank you.

[15:40:01] BALDWIN: Just ahead, half to share this moment with you. It's a photo, it is this police officer who swooped in and picked up this 2-year-old little girl and sang to her after this horrific, horrific car crash. You'll hear directly from that officer.

Also ahead, Tom Brady trying to get his deflategate suspension overturned. We'll talk about how likely that is, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:44:48] BALDWIN: The fate of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's suspension and possibly his legacy at stake today in New York as the NFL star makes his appeal in front of commissioner Roger Goodell.

CNN's sports Rachel Nichols is here as this whole thing is happening right now behind closed doors. Walk me through what they are doing.

[15:45:03] RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: I have never seen anything like this, Brooke. You have the most powerful man in American sports, Roger Goodell, facing off against Tom Brady, the reigning super bowl MVP, the most successful quarterback of this century, a future hall of famer, everyone's all American, married to a famous super model. And by the way, the NFL has been calling him a liar and cheater now, for couple of months. And Tom Brady is sitting in his office across town arguing with Roger Goodell about that. It's a bizarre situation. And remember, this is an appeals hearing. So the NFL has already ruled that Brady is guilty both of having knowledge that these footballs were deflated illegally and also covering it up, basically, not being forthcoming.

Now they are arguing over the semantics of this and whether he should have this four-game suspension. Of course, it was Roger Goodell's office that issued the four games suspension with Roger Goodell's blessing. And guess who these officers today? Roger Goodell.

BALDWIN: All right. So this is -- you laid it out for me. We're talking a four-game suspension. What are the options on the table?

NICHOLS: Well, obviously, the suspension was based on the wells investigation. Many months went into these deflated footballs. They came out with all of these findings. The NFL made a ruling.

Now, in the time since, a lot of outsiders have picked apart the wells report and found a lot of inconsistencies here. So Roger Goodell is an interesting tight spot here. If he reverses the suspension, he's simply undercutting his own office. And we're in an era with Roger Goodell where a lot of people don't have a ton of confidence in the NFL offices to begin with at the moment, right? So, I'm not sure he wants to come out and say, yes, we made a whole bunch of mistakes here. On the other hand, there are a lot of inconsistencies in the wells

report. So if he does nothing, well, there has been a lot of people who think, hey, you're not making the right decision there. He's left himself a little bit of a window. He said over there recently, he said, hey, if Tom Brady comes to me with new information, I'm happy to consider it. So maybe whatever they talk about today, Roger Goodell will put under the category of new information, whether it's new or not. And make a different kind of ruling but there's a lot of people on the Brady camp who think this should be all or nothing. Tom maintain he is not guilty and if they don't get completely firm we could see this end up in court.

BALDWIN: Really?

NICHOLS: Absolutely. We've seen a lot of Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, those cases have gone to court. And by the way, the NFL has lost a lot of those cases. So we'll have to see what happens.

BALDWIN: We'll be watching, Tom Brady. Thank you, my friend.

Rachel Nichols, everyone.

Coming up next, this heartbreaking moment after this car crash. This little 2-year-old girl survived. Her father was killed. Her mother was flown to the hospital. And while all of that was happening, this police officer picked her up and sang to her. He will join me live to reflect on this incredible moment, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a girl in the picture in the Vietnam war in 1972. I really planned to be alive.

I looked at that picture, I (INAUDIBLE) and I dream it, the whole of my life. I never see another child suffer like that. I still have the pain. I still have the scar. I still have the memory. But my heart is healed.

I'm so happy to be here in Canada as my second home. I'm living in Toronto area with my wonderful husband. I have two boys. My parents living with me too. And I have my niece Danielle. This is the daughter of my younger brother here in the picture. I sponsor her to Canada to study. And what I'm doing right now, I have a foundation, it is my Kim Foundation international. Our mission that we just focus in helping the children who are victims of war, who are underprivileged.

I realize that if I couldn't escape that picture, I wanted to go back to work with that picture for peace. And that is my choice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: This week, the CNN original series, the '70s, revisits the Vietnam war. That's Thursday night, 9:00 eastern and pacific. A little girl, a lullaby and the most terrifying story of her life.

This is a story you will not forget. Let me take you to Colorado.

Police called to the scene of this rollover accident on the interstate. An entire family involved here. A driver passing by, snapped this photo. An officer with this little girl on his hip, comforting her, trying to keep her from what's happening right behind there. Her dad, killed in that accident, her mother and a sibling rushed to the hospital. This police officer, it's not what he said to her, it's what he's saying.

So with me now, officer Nick Struck with the brighten Colorado police department, thank you so much for being with me. Officer Struck, how are you doing?

[15:55:39] OFFICER NICK STRUCK, COMFORTER TODDLER AT DEADLY CRASH SCENE: Thank you. Good evening. I'm doing well, how are you?

BALDWIN: I'm OK. I'm thrilled to get to talk to you. It's such a beautiful photograph. Can you just take me back to the very beginning when you were called to the scene, you heard about this accident on the highway, and then someone what, just plops this girl in your arms?

STRUCK: Yes, we were just dispatched to the injury accident where people got injected, other children. And when I was on scene, I first spoke with a little 4-year-old girl whose brother who (INAUDIBLE) wasn't responsive, and one of the paramedics handed me this little girl. And so, since we were right next to her brother who wasn't responsive, I took her away in the little grass field, and that's when all my emotions started coming to.

I have a 2-year-old daughter and that's where I thought, oh, man, this girl's the exact same size as my little girl, and she's crying, she was soaked in gasoline from the trucks since it was rolled over on its roof. And all I could think of was my little girl when she cries and I sing twinkle twinge little star with her. My daughter will start singing halfway through and she will stop crying and kind of calm down. So I tried that with this little girl and sure enough it worked. She stopped crying and she just rubbing my shoulder and -- with the beat, and I started pointing out the emergency lights and the helicopters that were on the ground, and really kind of had a little moment between me and that little girl.

BALDWIN: So you were distracting her all the while, her family, her father, the car turned over behind you all. And she was on your hip, she was doused in gasoline, was she not?

STRUCK: Yes, it soaked everything. It's one of the worst smells now to me, because I relive that every time I smell gasoline. There's a poor little girl with her poor soaked diaper and dirty clothes. It was difficult.

BALDWIN: And this photo, you're pointing, maybe this is when you're pointing at emergency lights, keeping her, her mind, you know, with you. Did you even know this photo was being taken? I understand there was a bystander who stopped to help and she's the one that snapped the picture?

STRUCK: Yes, it was really an unusual moment, because usually when we get on scene, we don't allow anyone into the crime scene area. She happened to be a witness. I had no clue she was right there. It was just me and that little girl and the beat of twinkle twinkle little star is actually the same pattern on our fire trucks and police cars. So that is where we kind of spend our time. I think I sang the song wrong, because I just kept going over and over again. So it lasted for a little while.

BALDWIN: I think you did everything right in that situation, your fatherly instincts kicking in. So she -- have you at all been in touch with her or have you followed up with the family since? How is she doing? How are they?

STRUCK: Yes. The family definitely needs many prayers. The little girl that I was holding, thankfully her and her other little sister were released from the hospital, but I believe the little baby and the 4-year-old are still pretty bad, so we just need to keep praying for them.

BALDWIN: Will do. Officer Nick Struck, thank you.

STRUCK: Thank you, ma'am.

BALDWIN: In the final minute I have you, I just want to play you some sounds as Hillary Clinton is addressing this confederate flag debate just recently out of an event in Missouri. Here she was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Recognizing it as a symbol of our nation's racist past, that has no place in our present or our future. It shouldn't fly there, it shouldn't fly anywhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: That was Hillary Clinton speaking at an event in Florescent, Missouri. And as we are really the nation is watching what South Carolina does, we know they have voted to agree to debate on the issue, to remove the state flag. We've also learned the state of North Carolina will be joining the state of Virginia in terms of considering requiring no longer issuing any kind of confederate flag emblem on anyone's license plate as a result of what just happened - what has happened there in South Carolina.

So we will be watching all of that as it happens and specifically that flag in South Carolina as is really most of my guests today agreed that this has been a watershed moment for this country.

I'm Brooke Baldwin here in New York. Thank you so much for being with me on this Tuesday. We will see you back here tomorrow. In the meantime, "the LEAD" with Jake Tapper start right now.