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Chattanooga Mourns Loss Of Sailor, Four Marines; Drones Delay Efforts To Fight California Freeway Fire; Lasers Pointed At 34 Planes In One Night; Friend: Chattanooga Shooter Changed After Mideast Trip; Trump Attacks McCain; Questions Him As "War Hero"; Family Skeptical In Texas Jail Death; 40MPH Wind Forces Delay In Tournament; Republican Candidates Out in Force in Iowa; Trump: McCain Not a War Hero; The Death of Sandra Bland; Winds Force Delay at British Open. Aired 12-1p ET

Aired July 18, 2015 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Sergeant Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sergeant David Wyatt, and Sergeant Carson Holmquist. Federal investigators are combing through electronics now taken from the home of the shooter, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. They have been sent to an FBI lab in Virginia.

Meantime, the hunt for his motive is also focused on a trip Abdulazeez took to the Middle East. A friend of Abdulazeez tells CNN he was, quote, "Certain that something happened over there." That Abdulazeez wasn't the same when he came back to the United States.

And live pictures right now of the memorial, a scene of a makeshift memorial set up for the victims outside the recruiting center where the shooting took place.

All day, people have been stopping by with flowers, messages of love and support and taking a moment to reflect on the five men that lost their lives as a result of the shooting.

Chattanooga mayor, Andy Berke, is joining me now. Mayor Berke, thanks so much for being with us. This is a very difficult time clearly for the people of Chattanooga there. How is your town doing?

MAYOR ANDY BERKE, CHATTANOOGA, TENNESSEE: I think that we are putting back the pieces of our broken hearts. That's something that we can only do together. Last night, we had a vigil for the community. We had a huge turnout. Most everybody involved in public service, people from throughout our community. We came together and started the healing process.

WHITFIELD: Then, I understand you did spend some time with the family members of the sailor, Randall Smith, who has since passed. What was that time like with the family at the hospital?

BERKE: Well, when I went to the hospital, there were numerous people there who were injured, got to talk to some of them. I would really in deference to their privacy. I know nothing has been officially confirmed with that family. They are in our hearts and prayers today. WHITFIELD: And then what about the investigation, Mayor, how much information are you learning about how much more is known about Abdulazeez, the shooter, what transpired, how he got those weapons, and even the behavioral changes that some of those who know him seem to have observed after his trips overseas?

BERKE: Well, every one of our resources are being devoted to this investigation. Our police chief is spending a lot of time working on this as well as most everybody in our department. I feel confident having talked to the FBI, the ATF, everyone else who's here.

They say they are going to leave no stone left unturned, having looked at some of the things that they are doing, I feel confident that's the case. They have to figure out what the next steps are, where they have to go, and exactly what all the pieces mean together.

WHITFIELD: Let's focus on the heroism of the police officers in your town who ultimately took down this shooter. What would you like to share about them?

BERKE: Well, their stories were incredible. In the hours after the incident I got to spend some time with the individuals who were involved in this and hearing the harrowing stories of bullets whizzing over their heads as they continued to advance toward the shooter, undeterred.

Their training kicking in and literally the most incredible story is of people dragging Officer Pedigo to safety as they continued to engage the shooter. That's really special behavior by our Chattanooga police officers and the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department.

WHITFIELD: Indeed. All right, thank you so much, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke. Our hearts are with you and your town there as everyone tries to make sense of it all and move forward. Thank you so much.

BERKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about what's happening out west. Parts of a scorched interstate are now reopening in California. The flames jump to Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County and sent terrified drivers running from their cars and up a hill to safety.

About 20 cars in fact and two semi-trucks were destroyed as the flames seared the freeway there. We are also getting new details that five personal drones being flown in the area have been hampering the firefighting efforts and that happened in about 25 minutes span.

CNN's Dan Simon is covering the fire for us now from San Francisco. So Dan, what are firefighters up against as they try to contain it, only 5 percent contained?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Five percent contained, Fred, the flames do seem to be dying down a bit, not advancing on the community quite as aggressively as it did yesterday so that is good news.

But let's talk about this drone situation. You said about five drones in that area as firefighters are trying to put out the blaze. Here you have these hobbyists flying these drones in that area.

[12:05:08] These are fun to fly. They take great video, but they are a real hindrance especially in a situation like this. You have these helicopters trying to drop water and save these people and cars and they can't get there because you risk having a helicopter collide with one of those drones.

That could be a real tragic situation. I want to show you this picture that the Forest Service tweeted, it's very simple. It says, "If you fly, we can't." So that's the message they are trying to get across is that they do not want people obviously to be flying these drones when you have an emergency situation going on.

As for the fire itself, Fred, you mentioned 20 cars destroyed. We just got an update. We are now told that 64 cars impacted in some fashion. In terms of the highway, we know that traffic is basically reopened. This is a major thorough way between Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

Yesterday afternoon, 2:30 in the afternoon, on a Friday, you have a lot of people going in both directions. That highway was absolutely clogged, happened at the absolute worst time, but fortunately, no injuries -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: That's very good news there in what seems to be a very difficult situation. Dan Simon, thanks so much.

All right, coming up, danger in the sky, dozens of pilots blinded by midflight lasers and it's happening in several areas, but mostly in the same night. The search for who might be responsible, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:10:42]

WHITFIELD: It is an alarming trend. In one night 34 planes reported lasers pointed at them. This is what it looks like when the powerful beam shoots into the cockpit. It can be blinding.

Here's a map showing the target area of where some of the planes were when these beams hit them. Most of the flights were near Newark, New Jersey, near the airport itself. CNN's Rene Marsh reports a number of laser attacks has increased dramatically.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: We're getting a laser at 10:00.

RENE MARSH, CNN AVIATION AND GOVERNMENT REGULATION CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pilots of 11 commercial passenger planes and one military aircraft temporarily blinded midair.

Between 9:00 and 10:30 Wednesday night someone on the ground armed with a laser targeted multiple airlines including American, JetBlue, Delta and United. A U.S. Coast Guard aircraft also targeted. UNIDENTIFIED PILOT: I didn't get it straight in the eye. I just saw it out of the corner of my eye and a few more times it lit up the top of our cockpit.

MARSH: Most of the laser strikes happened over New Jersey. The light may look like a pin on the ground, but as the light travels up the beam diverges, powerful enough to temporarily blind a pilot. Some have even been hospitalized with burned corneas.

LES ABEND, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: If your sole purpose is to disable the cockpit crew by shining that light and blinding them, that really is in my book attempted homicide.

MARSH: In addition to the laser strikes over New Jersey, the FAA says pilots reported 23 other incidents around the country that same night. The number of reported laser strikes on airplanes has soared in the past few years, increasing ten times overall according to FAA data.

Thousands of laser strikes are reported nationwide annually. Last year nearly 4,000. There are no known cases of a laser causing a plane to crash, but it's a worst case scenario pilots say is possible.

ABEND: If this occurs, the pilot's not going to be able to see all the instrumentation to be able to control and manage the airplane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARSH: Besides the laser strikes over New Jersey, there were several more in multiple states including Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas and California, clearly a widespread problem.

As of this month, more than 2,700 laser strikes have already been reported. And at that pace, the number of incidents in 2015 is likely to top last year's number.

Now, part of the reason may be because these lasers are cheap and easy to buy. We do know there are companies out there manufacturing goggles they claim will protect pilots' eyes, but it's not something the FAA has required pilots to wear.

The agencies primary focus has been educating people about the danger. You could face up to five years behind bars if caught -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Rene Marsh, thank you so much. Let's bring in Mary Schiavo. She is a CNN transportation analyst and a former inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation. Good to see you, Mary.

MARY SCHIAVO, CNN AVIATION ANALYST: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: OK, so this is very frightening and to hear that this is so wide spread, hearing Rene explained just across the country how many incidents -- and there seems to be some sort of uptick. You heard that suggestion that she did talk about goggles. Is that something that is realistic that pilots would start to wear? SCHIAVO: Well, it's realistic. They're available and some airlines have tested them. The problem is by the time you know your aircraft is being hit by a laser it's too late to get them on.

So they would have to put them on at night as they were entering the critical phase of the landing, which would be the phases close to the ground.

WHITFIELD: So how are investigators going to get to the bottom of this? It seems so arbitrary.

SCHIAVO: Well, unfortunately, and the pilots have to help and they've been really good. They have to report exactly where they're seeing the laser emanate from.

In some cases, people have been foolish enough or criminal enough to put the lasers on police helicopters and they of course had night goggles, night vision goggles where they could see the perpetrators.

[12:15:02] It really is a matter of everyone joining together to report. The FBI has a nationwide initiative on to get people to report people who do this.

Because if you do harm a pilot or plane, the penalties can be up to five years in prison or more if harm results and a $250,000 fine. So the FBI takes it seriously, but the key is reporting. People have to report on those who do this.

WHITFIELD: And additionally do you feel like there's going to have to be some sort of stepped patrols particularly around airports, around the fenced areas where many people come out to watch planes come in for landing and takeoff? Might those be areas where people are going to start to see security patrol?

SCHIAVO: Well, they already have it around the airport property and the airports have been designated by the FAA as laser free zones and the air space around the airports.

The problem comes where there is congested area and makes it easy for people to hide like New York and New Jersey. Dallas had areas like this. But others occur in relatively more open spaces.

So people hide amongst the buildings and then shoot the lasers and it's getting better with GPS to pinpoint exactly where it's coming from and I think tough enforcement and prison sentences will also help reduce the casual user.

Those who are intent on criminal activity, I don't know if a prison sentence is going to deter them.

WHITFIELD: Do you wonder if this is just coincidence and just something strange from thrill seekers or do you think there is something a little bit more, you know, concerted and coordinated?

SCHIAVO: Well, given the number on one night, it does seem coordinated and concerted. There is an awful lot. I used to be a federal prosecutor and there's an awful lot of monkey see monkey do.

If someone tries something, someone else says I think I'll try that. Remember these laser pointers, some of them are powerful enough to try to point out stars. They actually can be used in stargazing and pointing out stars when they are doing that.

So they're intentionally powerful, but by using the green light, those are the ones that really cause the flash blindness in the cockpit. It's not necessarily the power. It's the color of the light.

And it does seem that some sort of maybe nationwide coordination of wrongdoers had occurred, but it's on the rise anyway even before that.

WHITFIELD: Very strange and very unsafe and scary. All right, thanks so much, Mary Schiavo. Appreciate it.

All right, friends and coaches described the Chattanooga shooter as kind, polite and humble? Well, those are not the descriptions that we typically hear about mass killers. So what happened to Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez? We dig deeper into his past, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A rising death toll in the Chattanooga, Tennessee shooting rampage. Randall Smith, a logistics specialist with the U.S. Navy succumbed to his injuries this morning. His death was confirmed by his stepgrandmother today. Smith was shot three times in the attack at the Navy Operational Support Center.

Four U.S. Marines were also killed, Lance Corporal Squir Wells, Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Sullivan, Staff Sergeant David Wyatt and Sergeant Carson Holmquist.

Federal investigators are combing through the electronics taken from the home of the shooter, Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez. They have been sent to an FBI lab in Virginia.

The hunt for his motive is also focused on a trip Abdulazeez took to the Middle East. A friend of Abdulazeez tell CNN that he was certain, quote, "Something happened over there" and that Abdulazeez wasn't the same when he came back to the U.S.

The more we learned about the shooter, the more it is hard to understand what may have led him to carry out the shooting spree. CNN correspondent, Brian Todd digs into his background.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Images of a young man seemingly full of contradictions as a boy, happily posing with his younger sister, and this high school yearbook picture with a chilling quote, "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?"

Back then he was known as a funny kid, witty, well-liked, later he got involved in mixed martial arts, an aggressive fighter in the ring. Contradictions, but few close as to why Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez would target two military sites and kill four Marines.

SCOTT SCHRADER, ABDULAZEEZ'S FORMER HMA COACH: There were tears in my eyes. He was one of the nicest kids which I know.

TODD: His martial arts coaches along with his high school wrestling coach and several friends have spoken to CNN. They described Abdulazeez as hard working, jovial with a great sense of humor.

KEVIN EMILY, ABDULAZEEZ'S HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING COACH: He was always very polite, very kind, and he was humble when he was in high school.

ALMIR DIZDAREVIC, ABDULAZEEZ'S FORMER MMA COACH: I mean, that kid never frowned. I mean, he always smiles. He always shaking my hand, how are you doing, I never heard him cuss.

TODD: Friends say he came from a seemingly happy, well-adjusted family. But a 2009 divorce complaint filed by Abdulazeez's mother alleged that his father, Youssef Abdulazeez repeatedly beat her, once so severely that she, quote, "fled the marital home and went to a crisis center."

The complaint says the father was occasionally, physically and verbally abusive toward their five children. The divorce case was dismissed. The couple is believed to still be married.

Abdulazeez and his family are said to be devout, but not radical, one coach said he'd often interrupt practice to pray. That coach says after one martial arts match, Abdulazeez's father was upset.

SCHRADER: A friend of his father told us that he was -- it was Haram in Islam to strike another person in the face.

TODD: But for this devote Muslim, a dui arrest in April of this year. The officer reporting Abdulazeez smelled of alcohol and marijuana, and had a white powdery substance under his nose.

Abdulazeez claimed it was crushed caffeine pills he'd snorted. Abdulazeez worked for a short time in a magnet and wire company, Superior Essex, after getting an engineering degree from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga.

[12:25:01] Jordanian government sources tell CNN he visited his uncle in Jordan last year. Still there are no tangible clues on what might have turned Mohammad Abdulazeez into a killer.

DIZDAREVIC: It was absolutely nothing on him that would show me that he was upset about something.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD: But a close friend says Abdulazeez changed after spending time in the Middle East, that he distanced himself for the first few months after returning. That friend told CNN's investigative unit that after the trip Abdulazeez never got close to him like he did before, and quote, "I am sure that he had something that happened to him overseas." Brian Todd, CNN, Washington. WHITFIELD: All right, continuing our discussion on the tragedy and remembering the fallen now. Four U.S. Marines and a logistics specialist with the U.S. Navy all killed in that shooting.

Here with me now is retired U.S. Marine Major General James Williams. Good to see you.

MAJOR GENERAL JAMES WILLIAMS, U.S. MARINE CORPS (RETIRED): Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So help us understand what the military family is going through right now as we learn more about all five of these men. They have done some extraordinary things. They have been on just indelible, you know, deployments and then they came back to U.S. soil probably thinking they're very safe at home, and then something like this happens. What does this do to the military family as a whole?

WILLIAMS: Well, the military family is hurting. Most of these men were there because they wanted to serve the country. At the end of the day, you know, as I like to say the most indelible word in English language is love.

They did it for the love of faith, country and community and family and friends. That's why they serve. You know when you look at these deaths certainly it's a crime whether it's terrorism. I understand that's the way that the FBI is looking at it.

The families are hurting. That's not the expected outcome that they expected for these young men. At the end of the day, they gave a great service, and that's what the lives were all about. The families will struggle especially the young kids will never see their fathers.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

WILLIAMS: Along the way hopefully the community and certainly the military community will embrace them and support them. It was a great action on the part of the Chattanooga police to take this individual down, you know, certainly the governor and major got on top of them.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we did talk with the major, who also gave great praise to all of the men and women who put their lives on the line and bullets flying overhead and trying to take down the gunman.

So then what is your general feeling about the recruitment centers as a whole? In large part military men and women are not armed to help promote a feeling of openness for the general public to come in and inquire about enlisting.

But now we understand in the state of Florida the governor has launched an executive order which would allow for the six recruiting stations in that state to be move today the armory and also there was an urging personnel would be adequately armed.

But in large part, what is your feeling about whether the recruitment centers need to have armed personnel? WILLIAMS: Well, largely the recruit centers happen to be a public domain in terms of the space and it's not a military organization or I should say that it's not owned by the military. Ultimately there's a responsibility for the force protection.

How do you protect your force? One of the things you could do is certainly put up a barrier plan around so that you do not have vehicles that crash through the door and these types of things.

You could do bullet proof glass. I mean, there are a lot of things that you can do. You know, one of the challenges I think for the local police and this is an issue to be addressed in Congress, the law in the United States separates the military from doing police actions in the United States.

That's the realm of the law enforcement and local police, and so forth. The question is, if you arm them in a place like an armed forces recruiting center --

WHITFIELD: Which in large part, many times they're in a shopping center in cities across America.

WILLIAMS: The question is do you create a new environment for that from a legal standpoint. That's the debate on the military community and Congress to adjust that or make an amendment to that law, and so, you know, I am sure that you can talk to the legal scholars and they can debate this, but that's one aspect of it in a secure protection perspective.

[12:30:00] I am sure the Pentagon is going through a lot of discussions now about how do we do this because you know, there are a lot of National Guard centers, you name the state that do not have fences around it. Somebody could walk in the door and they would be considered soft targets.

And if you're a terrorist, that's something that you're looking for. You do not want to go up against the strength of America because ultimately you will get defeated. If you look at the soft targets where you think you can have targets of opportunity then you will pursue that.

That's something that we have to be concerned about. I know that you talked to Secretary Ridge, and he is exactly right. This is a new order that's out there and in this world with social media and ISIS and all of the other terrorist groups have a forum that they can get to and communicate to very quickly, which they did not have before the internet was available.

WHITFIELD: It is a new age. All right, General James Williams, thank you so much for your expertise.

WILLIAMS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [12:35:11]

WHITFIELD: All right, Republican presidential candidates are out in force today in Iowa. Ten of the Republican contenders are at the 2015 Family Leadership Summit in Ames, Iowa including current frontrunners, Donald Trump and Scott Walker.

While Trump has gardened headlines for his remarks on Mexico, Marco Rubio took the stage first and offered his own thoughts on illegal immigration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, there are two steps. The first is we have to secure our borders and our border isn't just a border with Mexico. We also have to secure our airports and seaports, 40 percent of people in this country illegally come legally, they over stay a visa.

We have no idea who they are because we only log you in. We don't log you out. Imagine having a hotel that you only check in, but never check out. You wouldn't know who is there. The other thing that we need is an electronic verification system for employers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, CNN's Mark Preston is live for us right now out of Aims, Iowa. All right, so Mark, Donald Trump apparently has just been on stage and off. What happened while on stage?

MARK PRESTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, Fred, as we just saw Marco Rubio talking about immigration right there, an issue that Republicans want to see at the forefront. You have Donald Trump now just walking off the stage after addressing this group of social conservatives here in Iowa.

However, he has seemed to take the message off mark. Let's hear what we had the say about Senator John McCain who was a POW during the Vietnam War.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He is not a war hero. He is a war hero that was captured. He is a war hero because he was captured. I believe perhaps he is a war hero.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: I have to tell you, Fred, this is the kind of thing that Republicans are frustrated about, Donald Trump who is surging in the polls right now as we are starting to head into the fall.

We are in the middle of summer, but here in Iowa, politics are starting to heat up when you have attacks on Republicans like this. Certainly Republicans weren't ever running for president. This is not what Republicans want to hear -- Fred. WHITFIELD: OK, you can hear the audio in the background and some people were out loud and maybe even the person who was asking the question there or challenging on John McCain, but in general what was the reaction or what have people said there about his comments?

PRESTON: Well you have to give Frank Luntz (ph) a little credit there for acknowledging that John McCain was a war hero. When he was shot down over Vietnam, he was offered the opportunity by the captures to get out of prison. His father was a high ranking naval officer. John McCain chose to stay in there.

The last two that you heard was more of a side show. I don't think that he did himself any favors here. These are social conservatives, about 2,000 of them here in Iowa.

They're important to the Iowa vote. Donald Trump was having difficulty to even talking about his own relationship with God. He was asked several times about that. He was not able to say so and asked point blank has he ever asked God for forgiveness.

Donald Trump said no. That's not necessarily the answer you want to deliver here in Iowa today -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Mark, Preston, thanks so much. We're losing your signal there. So we are going to continue this conversation. We are going to bring in Larry Sabato, the director of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Mark, you're going still hang in there. We're going to keep you in there. All right, so Larry, your thoughts and reactions to this latest example of Trump essentially stealing the show and dominating his own personal thoughts, kind of unedited. What does this to do the campaign and overall race?

LARRY SABATO, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR POLITICS, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: Well, Fred, it's just more outrageousness from Donald Trump. We need to remember it's the summer before the election year. People even in Iowa are not taking it as seriously as they will when it's for the Iowa caucuses.

This is the message sending season. We have seen this before many, many times in the presidential process. There's always a candidate that's a vehicle for message sending. I am not sure exactly what the message is with Trump although immigration is obviously at the forefront.

But you're going to have a certain percentage who'll like a candidate who is blunt and straightforward and will say absolutely anything and goodness knows that's Donald Trump.

WHITFIELD: So what does this -- I guess, people are trying to understand his style. On one hand he is blunt, and you know, he just says what he thinks and feels at the moment. He is not necessarily thinking about what anybody else is thinking about him, but does there also seemed to be some areas where he can just go too far? [12:40:00] This might be one of those places, Mexico was one, and now you have John McCain and challenging on whether he is an American war hero or not. What does Donald Trump accomplish by doing this?

SABATO: Well, he pleases himself. As Mark said, Donald Trump indicated he has never asked God for forgiveness and I'm sure that's because in Donald Trump's mind he's never made any major mistakes.

But you know, the long and short end is that he is feuding with just about everybody. He does a lot of it on Twitter. He has been feuding with Governor Perry from Texas and he is feuding with Senator McCain from Arizona, and he's feuding with Jeb Bush.

It's pretty much he feuds with anybody who challenges him. It's really impossible to take the notion seriously that he would be even a serious contender for the nomination much less get the nomination. We're in the silly season, Fred. This is the silly season.

WHITFIELD: All right, Larry Sabato -- Mark Preston, any final thoughts before we completely lose your signal.

PRESTON: I think Larry Sabato is absolutely right. We are in the silly season, but this is the beginning of the silly season. People do start to stake claims.

You know, something Donald Trump, I agree, I don't think he is in it for the long haul, but you have to question, Fred, does he think that he is so angry that so many people have come after him, so many of his former association such as Macys and NBC, and what have you. Will he stay in just to be the spoiler? That remains to be unseen.

WHITFIELD: All right, fascinating stuff and crazy too. All right, thanks so much. Mark and Larry, appreciate it.

SABATO: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right, a 28-year-old dying while in police custody in Texas. Authorities say that she committed suicide, but her family insists that's not the whole story. Now the FBI is stepping in. The latest on the death of Sandra Bland.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:46:12]

WHITFIELD: The death of Sandra Bland while in police custody in Texas has ignited a fire storm in social media. The anger is fuelled by the YouTube video showing the 28-year-old being arrested outside of Houston.

CNN national correspondent, Ryan Young, has that video and why the Bland's family says they're not buying the police story about her death.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RYAN YOUNG, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A traffic stop for an improper lane change leads to a tense struggle between Sandra Bland and a Texas trooper.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You slammed my head to the ground. I cannot even hear.

YOUNG: The 28-year-old Bland was arrested and taken to jail for assaulting a public servant. Three days later she was found dead in her cell.

SHERIFF R. GLENN SMITH, WALLER COUNTY, TEXAS: The female jailer that was on duty at the time ran into the kitchen area and went back there to offer to see if she wanted to go outside for recreation, and that's when the jailer found her.

YOUNG: Texas sheriff official says that Bland took her own life. But there's a growing concern by her family and friends that something about her death does not add up.

SHARON COOPER, SANDRA BLAND'S SISTER: It is unimaginable and difficult for us to wrap our mind around the Sandy that we knew you for this to be characteristic of her.

YOUNG: A video from Sandra Bland's Facebook page shows the young woman discussing her mental state a few months back.

SANDRA BLAND: I am suffering from something that some of you all maybe dealing with right now. It's a little bit of depression as well as PTSD.

ELTON MATHIS, WALLER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: She may have been suffering from some sort of mental illness, and that self-diagnosis is certainly something that we're going to look at and consider with the motive for a suicide.

YOUNG: But for family members, the thought that Sandra Bland would commit suicide is something that there are not willing to accept.

COOPER: Based on the Sandy that I knew, that's unfathomable to me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: Sandra Bland's family has actually flown from Chicago to Texas and they plan to talk with investigators about exactly what happened to Sandra. Investigators say that they plan to have open communication with the family so all the rumors are kwelched and the family can figure out what happened to their sister. Ryan Young, CNN, Chicago.

WHITFIELD: All right, let's bring our legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland. Good to see you. And Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you as well.

All right, so Avery, what first here, can this police department investigate itself and investigate her death, or do somebody else have to step in here?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Yes, it's got to be somebody from the outside, Fredricka. The Texas Rangers, which is essentially the State Highway Patrol is already in there. On Friday, they announced that the FBI will be involved, and that's exactly right.

You have two aspects, number one, the question of excessive force pretty much wrapped up on video and witnesses across the street, the barber shop, and secondly, the thing that's so compelling here is the inadequate monitoring in a jail cell.

One of the arguments that the department said is for the reason we did not show part of the cell was to respect the privacy of the prisoner, really? How did the plastic bag get in there? So there are a lot of issues go to Texas Rangers and the FBI that warrant serious attention here.

WHITFIELD: So then, Richard, how customary is that this monitoring of the cell to be able to watch the wellbeing of every inmate at all- times?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Fred, they have an obligation to make sure an on hourly basis that the inmate is safe. This is a jail. This is not a penitentiary so it's a short term facility and they did monitor on an hourly basis through an intercom.

[12:50:11] It was not like an El Chapo situation where they have the video on the prisoner at all-times. This facility has been cited for negligence in the past for not properly monitoring, but this is a very tragic case, Fred.

The result is unfathomable, but it goes way back to the situation in every one of these cases if a police officer gives an order or a direction, you have to follow it whether you agree or not because nothing good is going to come out of it.

And here -- no, that starts with the initial arrest on the lane change and her getting beaten, which was horrible. Now to be put into prison in a community, in a county which has alleged racial discrimination issues for years, I am sure the family is upset.

Are you going to believe the local interpretation that she killed herself? I mean, if you ask 100 people out there, are they're depressed? A 100 people are going to say, yes, I've had some depression.

This is really -- it needs a major investigation and without an eyewitness, unfortunately, Fred, there's no way they're going to be able to prove that the prison authorities killed her.

WHITFIELD: All right, so Avery, there are a few points that you wanted to either counter or maybe even agree with?

FRIEDMAN: Well, I don't agree that they are not going to be able to show it because number one, they have already been on notice it's a substandard operation already. Secondly, when they say the reason we're not monitoring with video is to respect privacy of prisoners. I mean, that does not make any sense. At the very last, you have to get both state and federal law enforcement in here.

Because the basic questions, how did this plastic bag get in here. How did she rig it to hang herself? That does not make any sense, Fredricka. That's why you need law enforcement and investigative bodies in there.

WHITFIELD: And that's why in large part the family feels outraged and not so happy with the explanations. All right, Richard, Avery, always good to see you guys. Thanks so much.

All right, the British Open notorious for its terrible weather. Well, this year, it's really bad and worse than normal. CNN's sports anchor, Alex Thomas is in St. Andrews, Scotland. It looks like it's night right now though.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: We have had only 30 minutes of action on the third day of Britain's Open Championship. Ten hours later, we're still hoping for it to get under way at 6:00 in the evening local time. Join me, Alex Thomas, in just a moment for the latest from the home of golf.

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[12:56:59]

WHITFIELD: All right, the biggest news coming out of the British Open today isn't some amazing play. It's that the wind is blowing so terribly strong, that it has forced the tournament to be delayed for a long time.

CNN's sports anchor, Alex Thomas is in St. Andrews, Scotland. So Alex, first, you had a whole lot of rain, that was a mess, and now too much wind?

THOMAS: It seems ridiculous, surely, but a wind is going to come. It's hard to really express to you how much it's blowing. Try with this bit of grass. You can get a feel and it has died down and 11 hours after the second round started to be finished off, we're hoping for the play to get under way.

But already British Open organizers said that we will have to finish on Monday instead of the usual Sunday, only the second time that's happened in 155 years that would you believe.

WHITFIELD: My goodness, wow, and then some of the players have not been doing so great. We're going to see a lot of people's favorites that are not going make the cut.

THOMAS: Well, this started as a week that was all about the young American golfing super star, Jordan Spieth, at 21 years of age trying to win the third major of the year, the third of the row. That's not happened since the legend back in 1953. Instead he and Dustin Jones and his playing partner overnight were some of those involved with the 42 players this morning, but after a hour an hour, it was clear the balls were being blown off the green, and organizer and to call it off. It should not got under way after all.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much, Alex Thomas, hopefully the winds die down a little bit. Keep us posted. We have so much more news ahead. NEWSROOM starts right now.

All right, hello again and thank you for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Another life lost in the shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Randall Smith, a logistic specialist with the U.S. Navy died from his injuries this morning. His death was confirmed by his step-grandmother.

That brings the military fatality count to five at that recruiting center. As we have told you, recruiters are not allowed to carry weapons at those recruiting stations. We understand now that Florida Governor Rick Scott has issued an executive order that moves all Florida National Guard members at the states six storefront recruitment centers to Florida National Guard armories.

Let's check in now with CNN's Boris Sanchez in Chattanooga. Tell us about this latest development as many people continue to file behind you and leaving notes and flowers and thoughts and prayers for the five military men who have died.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, those adjustments in security not just being made in Florida but Louisiana, Arkansas and Oklahoma as well. Governors pushing for the men and women who worked at these recruitment centers to be armed, to be able to defend themselves in case an attack like this takes place.