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Will Joe Biden Run?; Freddie Gray Trial; Illinois Manhunt. Aired 3-3:30p ET

Aired September 02, 2015 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:02]

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Breaking news from the suburbs northwest in Chicago. The ground hunt there for those three suspected killers has closed in one area, but the search, having just spoken with the chief and a detective there, that is far from over. Lead investigators saying this afternoon that hundreds of tips have come in by phone, through social media. Told me 100 investigators are on this. Detectives have obtained surveillance video that could help them learn how Lieutenant Charles Joe Gliniewicz was murdered Tuesday morning.

He was one month away from retirement after 32 years on the force, and while there's so much to say, and we will as far as how beloved he was in this community, we know very little about who killed him. The lieutenant's last calls on police radio revealed he was chasing not one, not two, three men, and he described them only by race.

That's the description. That's it. That's what we have so far publicly. When a backup officer arrived on the scene, Gliniewicz, a 52-year-old father of four sons, had already been shot.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: How do you look for three suspects with such a scant description?

GEORGE FILENKO, COMMANDER, LAKE COUNTY MAJOR CRIME TASK FORCE: Again, we're going to rely on information and there's processes involved in the initial investigation, canvassing, talking to people in the area, reviewing those videos that somebody had asked a question about and building leads off of that. As always, we're relying on the public, too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: With me, private investigator and law enforcement analyst Anthony Roman, but first to you, Deborah Feyerick. You know, we know the perimeter is no longer around that two-mile radius around Fox Lake. Where are they looking now?

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically, what they are doing, the manhunt does continue, but they are not doing those grid searches that they were doing yesterday to try to isolate these individuals who they thought may have holed up somewhere just until the heat died down.

What they are doing now is detectives are right in the throes of this investigation. They are looking at forensics, potentially taken from the autopsy. Evidence technicians have been at the scene of the murder, and they are gathering things, for example, fingerprints, DNA, if those exist, sending them to a lab which is expediting the results so that they can get these guys and get them very quickly.

They are also following whatever leads, whatever tips are coming in, as you mentioned, and some of those leads, for example, is the commander of the major crimes task force says all you need is one in order to break this case wide open. And they are looking at video, a lot of video from businesses and private security cameras in the area.

Now, the commander was asked why he initiated, the police officer initiated this stop on his own. Here's his answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FILENKO: Well, I can't speak for the officer, again, but if you're driving down a roadway that's got nothing but open fields, possibly abandoned businesses, and you see three individuals there that have no reason for being there, it would be a fundamental police procedure to stop and at least question them as to why they are there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FEYERICK: And that really paints the first broad picture of what happened in those moments, that he saw three individuals, they were someplace that they shouldn't have been and so he approached them, and that's when the three men ran. He did radio. He followed standard operating procedure by all accounts.

A lot of people still on the ground, Brooke. You have got ATF, U.S. Marshals, sheriffs, police, everybody, hundreds of people there trying to cooperate and trying to find these three individuals. The presumption, they started on foot. Not clear where they went afterwards, but really they think that if they get one good lead, one good tip, then this case is done. Somebody will turn. Somebody will tell what happened and somebody will maybe even describe who else was involved.

BALDWIN: As far as descriptions, though, I mean, all we have is the race of these three suspects and that's really it. And we just spoke with Chief Filenko on air a moment ago.

And you, Anthony, were sitting right now next to me and listening and we were sort of sitting on his every word. And one of my questions was, you know, listen, 2015, there's cameras everywhere, whether it's, you know, toll road, homes, et cetera, why not, you know, saturate the airwaves with pictures of these suspects? And what was your read on that response?

ANTHONY ROMAN, INVESTIGATIONS ANALYST: Well, we have seen multiple cases in the last couple of years where grainy video of suspects has been released, and there's not really a good identification view, but the hope was by law enforcement that someone who knew them would recognize the general body figure, the type of clothing, the type of movements that they had.

That hasn't been done in this case. The police are being very careful during the course of this criminal investigation. I suspect they may have a little bit more than they are telling us. They are pursuing these guys. They want them very badly, and they are collecting all of this data. They are going to get these guys.

BALDWIN: So hopefully they do have more than they are letting on, and perhaps they are honing in on one, if not all of these three, want to catch them by surprise and not tell everyone else who they are looking for.

[15:05:05]

FEYERICK: Right. It's very difficult to capture somebody in real time, especially when you have got members of the press and others competing for the exact same information.

And one thing that could very well happen is that somebody hears something by one of the three that leads them to call police and say, we think it's this person. And it's...

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: You mean if one of the three was running their mouth before this happened yesterday morning?

FEYERICK: Exactly, exactly, exactly, or, you know, I was hanging out with my two buddies, they were behind a building and stuff, or we're going to do this, I'm going here. It's little things like that. People have to follow their instincts, and when they hear something that just doesn't seem right, those are some of the leads that are coming in, some of the tips that they are looking in to follow so that they can hopefully get them.

But you're right. This is not like those prisoners who we knew their names, we knew everything about them, we had pictures of them. This is like chasing ghosts.

ROMAN: It's very interesting, but the police will not only be looking for residential witnesses and civilian witnesses. They will go to their underworld sources. They will go to organized crime. They will go to the street gangs. They will start putting pressure on their business operations, their illicit business operations, and creating all sorts of havoc for them, particularly undercover officers and officers dealing in narcotics, human trafficking, prostitution and that kind of thing.

They are going to put the screws to them, and they are going to get some information as to who these guys were.

BALDWIN: Good. Good. Deb Feyerick, thank you. Anthony Roman, thank you so much. We can you there will be a vigil for this Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz,

also known as G.I. Joe, as I mentioned, a father of four sons, a 32- year veteran of the force who just loved kids on and off the job.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LILY JOHNSON, MOURNING OFFICER GLINIEWICZ: He would always be on our street, and he would always stop and say hi to us. Probably he would give us candy and stuff. He was a really good guy.

QUESTION: Well, why did you want to come out here today and tell us what you did?

JOHNSON: I came out here with my favorite bear because he's such a great guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Well, one student who knew Lieutenant Gliniewicz personally, Devan Arbay, trained under him as part of the Fox Lake Police Department Explorer Post. It's a program that invites teens from the area to work side by side with law enforcement, going on ride-alongs, training with officers.

And officer Gliniewicz led this group. Here is Devan's interview here with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: What can you tell us about Lieutenant Gliniewicz? What kind of a guy was he?

DEVAN ARBAY, STUDENT MENTORED BY OFFICER GLINIEWICZ: Lieutenant Gliniewicz was a person who truly did care about his community. He was always involved with community events, village events, et cetera.

He truly loved his job. He loved doing things for the Explorers and his Explorers was a huge part of his life. He really dedicated hundreds of thousands of hours into bettering the Fox Lake community, the Illinois Law Enforcement Explorers, and the national Law Enforcement Explorers.

COOPER: Yes, the Fox Lake Police Explorers Post, what kind of program is it? What kind of things did he do and you do?

ARBAY: Well, all Police Explorer posts are law enforcement Explorer Posts throughout the nation. There's a program for youth across the country from ages 14 to 21 who are interested in a career of law enforcement.

The program really teaches the Explorers anything from law enforcement, be it a traffic stop, first aid training, building searches, domestics, et cetera, everything basically. And it will truly give them the opportunity to see if this is what it's like.

And events like this will truly alter the opinions of some, but for me it truly makes myself want to become a police officer more and more and fulfill his important work and continue in doing what he did.

COOPER: He was your mentor in the program?

ARBAY: Yes, that's correct.

COOPER: It's interesting. I mean, you clearly want to be a police officer. And this doesn't deter you in any way?

ARBAY: Absolutely not. It actually makes me want to become a police officer more because of this. Truly, it just -- what happened today is unbelievable. When I heard the news, I didn't think it was going to be him. I thought it would have been him apprehending the suspect. I didn't think it would have been the other way around.

And when I heard it, I was devastated. My school was in a lockdown. I immediately burst into tears. I just couldn't believe what I was being told. It was truly -- it was heartbreaking for me, my Explorers, the community, everyone.

COOPER: He had been on the force for a long time. Did you get the sense that he that he loved being a police officer?

ARBAY: Oh, absolutely. He loved it. He truly loved it, being -- going up through the ranks, he loved it. He really did. He loved his job, loved what he did. The people loved him. The people loved what he did. He's very well known through the communities.

Truly, his job, what he did for the police department, the community, it's -- words cannot describe how much he loved that job.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Coming up next, we will take you to Baltimore, because a judge there getting ready to rule during this pretrial hearing in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray. Hear what happened in the courtroom as protesters there gathering outside.

[15:10:07]

Stay with me.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: This is CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

To Baltimore, we go. A judge today denied motions to throw out charges against the six police officers accused in the death of Freddie Gray, the charges ranging from murder and manslaughter to second-degree assault. Not a one of those officers was in court today. They all waived their right to appear.

Meantime, outside that courthouse, emotions running high, protesters, activists demonstrating, calling for justice. Police did make one arrest, we're told, though thus far it has been a peaceful day there. Freddie Gray died in April while in police custody.

[15:15:02]

Jean Casarez has been inside that courtroom.

The judge, we know, thus far today hearing these two motions, you know. We know that the trial will go forward. It will be prosecuted by the state's attorney, Marilyn Mosby. What can you tell me about what's going on right now?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, they are in session. This might be a long one, because the other motion to be heard today was in regard to those six defendants, those six former police officers, should they be tried together? Should they be split up? Should they get individual trials, tried in groups?

And this means more and more juries, right, from this community conceivably, a jury of their peers. The judge is not allowing people to e-mail out, so we don't know where they are in argument, but we do know the judge was allowing as much time as either side wanted because this is really the right to a fair trial, right, in its fullest definition.

But this morning, very important arguments, and we do know, headline, the trial will go forward. And the trial is set at this point in October, the defense arguing that the charges here should be dismissed because of the state attorney, Marilyn Mosby, because of how she conducted herself and that she should be recused, and the judge finding no fault in her, saying that the charges were filed, statement of probable cause was read on the steps by Ms. Mosby and that was perfectly fine.

The judge did say that she became an advocate at one point, saying no justice, no peace, reciting what the protesters had said. The judge said that wasn't her place to do that, but at this point trial going forward. She will prosecute along with her team. Next week, same time, same place, they are going to argue venue. Should this trial or trials take place right here in Baltimore, or is the jury pool too tainted?

Were they a part of so much of this in May that they can't render a fair and honest decision for the six defendants? Brooke, we will have to wait and see what happens there.

BALDWIN: We will wait and see what happens next week and more importantly too what is happening right now in the building behind you. Jean Casarez, for now, thank you.

And just a note to all of you watching, I will speak live with a couple of local lawmakers in the middle of all of this, the protests there in Baltimore, how they expect that reaction to look going into this evening and what's happening there in the city.

Next, breaking news, developments out of San Antonio, Texas, area, the local sheriff responding moments ago to a shooting caught on camera, this video raising serious questions about what led to this man's death, but could a second video not yet released by police shed new light on the story? We have a live report on that next. And happening right now, Vice President Joe Biden is speaking in Miami amidst speculation, growing speculation, about a potential presidential run. We will discuss. Stay here with me.

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[15:22:00]

BALDWIN: Authorities investigating the deadly officer-involved shooting of a man near San Antonio, Texas, say there is a second video of the incident. The sheriff in Bexar County says the second tape shows the suspect, Gilbert Flores, holding the knife in his hand. That video has not yet been made public, but the sheriff just last hour spoke out and said a thorough investigation is indeed under way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN PAMERLEAU, BEXAR COUNTY, TEXAS, SHERIFF: The important thing is to get this right. It's important to get this right for the Flores family. It's important to get this right for the deputies involved. It's important that we get this right for all of our community and nationally.

And that's what we are endeavoring to do to make sure that we're able to get all of the evidence, all of the facts, review those, put those pieces together, so that we have a clear view of what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We referenced that second video a second ago. We have all seen that initial video that was released taken across the street by a man who happened to be in the neighborhood grabbing a bite to eat. In that video, it shows Flores with at least one hand, this is the freeze-frame, one hand raised up in the air, so we will show you that particular video right now.

I just want to warn you the images are disturbing. That is that one video again, the second video not yet released. We can also tell you today the FBI is weighing in. They are investigating with the civil rights probe now open.

Let me go to my colleague Sara Sidner, who is live in San Antonio.

And, Sara, what can you tell me about the second video, the one that hasn't been released? How does it differ from the one we just showed?

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We have not been privy to see that video, but we have talked to both the district attorney and we heard from the sheriff today about that video. We also talked to a source about the video.

Everyone has said it is from a different angle, and when we asked directly to the district attorney, he said, yes, you can actually see where both hands were. So we now know from the sheriff herself of Bexar County that the suspect's hands were up at the time that he was shot. Now, what she says, in looking that video herself, because we asked

her, did you view that second video yourself? She said yes. She says she believes, not in certainty, but believes that the suspect did have a knife in his hand. Certainly said there seemed to be an object in his hand.

[15:25:12]

Now, that video, Brooke, is being sent to the Texas Department of Public Safety, so that it can be enhanced. So, they are going to zoom on it -- and also so it a it can be slowed down. As you heard the sheriff say, we want to get this right.

We now know that the FBI is also investigating in this case, looking to see if there are any civil rights violations. They talk about this video. All of the people we have talked to who have looked at the video saying that both videos are very disturbing. And when we asked the sheriff what was it that disturbed you the most, what bothered you, she talked about the fact that his hands were up.

And that is a very, very big sign that somebody may be surrendering. We do not yet know that in this case. We do not yet know what was being said by the officers the suspect in the case. We do know there was a long drawn-out scenario that happened before this, with police chasing after the suspect, playing a bit of a cat-and-mouse game.

And one more nugget that we got from the sheriff today. And that is that, in fact, one of the officers did use a Taser, but it turned out that the taser, the probes on that Taser did not connect with the suspect. And that's why the Taser, the non-lethal force, didn't work, because the probes didn't actually touch the suspect. So, that explains why it didn't work on the suspect initially -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Had not realized that. Thank you for that.

What about this lengthy confrontation that apparently is part of the second video? What was confrontation over? Do we know as far as language, what threats were made? Do we know anything of that nature?

SIDNER: We do not know what was being said, but police did come out early on and reiterated today that they -- he had some sort of a weapon in his hand at some point during the beginning of all this, that they were called out to the house because of a domestic dispute that involved him and his wife and their newborn child.

And so the child, we understand, is actually 18 to 20 days old, not 18 months old, so a very young baby. They said they were called out to the house. We have also heard the dispatch video, which said that he actually was the one that called police out to the house and police were worried that perhaps he was trying to do -- be killed suicide by cop.

So, there's a lot of details that the police are going over, looking at. And now the FBI is also looking into this case, trying to determine if there was any wrongdoing on the part of the officers. The district attorney said this decision that he will make and his team will make will be swift once they get all of the investigative tools and all of the investigative information from the sheriff's office. We're not sure exactly when that's going to happen -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. OK. Sara Sidner, for now, thank you very much in San Antonio, Texas.

Coming up next, CNN amending the criteria for the highly anticipated Republican debate in a couple of weeks, which may open the door for one candidate in particular. We will bring in Jake Tapper, who, by the way, is moderating that debate at the Reagan Library. We will chat with Jake about that coming up.

Also ahead, Vice President Joe Biden speaking right now in the battleground state of Florida, fueling speculation about a possible presidential run. We will get Tapper to weigh in on that as well.

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