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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

Deflategate Decision Discussed; Latest on Illinois Cop Killer Manhunt; Baltimore Police Officers to be Tried Separately. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 03, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

[12:30:03] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And just moments ago, The New England's Patriots tweeted out this picture of Brady doing a fist bump.

Rachel Nichols, got to get you in here from CNN, of course.

So I was not surprised actually that that came out, this notion to appeal. But in the interim...

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: We have talked about it, right, all week.

BANFIELD: Right. And we're also counting down to day one on the field for Brady is next week. Are they going after a stay so that while the appeal actually is in place, things will change and he will have to sit out? I mean it starts to get complicated, but what going to happen next week?

NICHOLS: They haven't said but it doesn't appear they are going to. When you readthrough all of Roger's statement, he talks at the end about wanting to move forward with football while this is being adjudicated. And this is, of course, huge for Tom Brady, who gets to play starting next Thursday. It's huge because at least at the moment no one is taking nearly $2 million in salary away from him.

And, by the way, don't forget Thursday, the NFL season opener is when the Patriots are going to celebrate their super bowl victory. They're going to raise a giant banner at Gillette Stadium. Imagine if their quarterback, Tom Brady, had been not allowed to be in the building for that.

So this is a huge swing and turn of events, of course, though. As we've said, Ashleigh, it's never over. Just when you think you're out, they pull you back in because they are now appealing...

BANFIELD: I think that would stink. I think it would stink if he was there to do his big victory lap and couldn't do it. But at the same time, wouldn't it stink even more, if down the road, after this appeal, if it's reinstated, he sits out four other games. We talked about this yesterday. He sits out four other really, really important games down the season.

NICHOLS: Well, we don't know. And look, this certainly could get turned over on appeal. There's a very high-profile case a few years ago, some of your viewers may remember, a college player, Maurice Clarett, sued the NFL, trying to get into the draft process early. He won at the same federal court level and then he -- it was turned over on appeal.

So the NFL, hey, they could win this case down the road. But these appeal courts usually take six months to a year to make a decision. So we can't assume that just because this could now get pushed off and Brady could lose on his side that he might miss the playoffs, he could be very well be adjudicated next summer.

There's one more thing I do want to read for you, Ashleigh, though. This is the NFLPA's response to the deflate gate ruling today.

Now, they said that, "This decision should prove, once and for all, that our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this commissioner, the authority to be unfair, arbitrary, and misleading," pulling no punches here. "While the CBA grants the person who occupies the position of commissioner the ability to judiciously and fairly exercise the designated power of that position, the union did not agree to attempts to unfairly, illegally exercise that power, contrary to what the NFL has repeatedly and wrongfully claimed."

They're basically saying, "Yeah, we gave you the power. We didn't give you the authority to abuse that power," and this judge he just backed this up.

BANFIELD: Yes. So I just put on my calendar, lunch with Rachel in September 2016.

NICHOLS: Exactly.

BANFIELD: Yeah. Dang, you have made a football fan out of me, girl. Thank you.

NICHOLS: I appreciate it. Absolutely.

BANFIELD: Reminded well of our viewers as well that Rachel is so good at this. She's got a Pro Football Preview. It's coming this Sunday at 3:30 right here on CNN.

And just ahead, an active manhunt still going on for three men suspected of gunning down an Illinois police officer, murder effectively.

Last night, what we thought could be a huge break turned out to be a huge hoax. And guess what? Sending cops on a wild goose chase? That is a felony.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:37:17] BANFIELD: Now, the ever widening and still urgent search for the people who killed the police lieutenant near Chicago. A brief moment of hope but then a lot more frustration because this woman allegedly sent 100 officers flying to a place where she said she saw the men who matched to the description of the killers, but it turns out, Kristin Kiefer, made that story up. It was a wild goose chase, and now she is facing charges because of this.

This is the veteran police officer who was killed two days ago in Fox Lake, Illinois. Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz was a 52-year-old officer.

Listen to the last words Gliniewicz spoke with his dispatcher when he sensed that something was wrong.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

LIEUTENANT JOE GLINIEWICZ: I'll cut near the old concrete plant checking out a two male one white, one black.

DISPATCH: 10-4. Do you need a second unit?

GLINIEWICZ: Negative dispatch. They took off toward the swamp.

DISPATCH: Do you need a second unit?

GLINIEWICZ: Go ahead and start somebody.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Go ahead and start somebody. But after that, there was no more contact with Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz. Other responding officers found him, though. They found him dead. His service revolver was missing.

And as for the suspects, no trace of them. No witnesses either. And so far, at least what we know, no clue as to who they are or where they are.

I want to bring in Tim Williams who has tracked a fugitive or two in his career as a U.S. marshal and director of Interpol in Washington and also Larry Koblinsky, who is professor of criminal justice and also a forensic psychologist.

First to you Tim, if I could, I have heard that the way this could be operating now, unbeknownst to us, is that so many of the officers who are now, and there are 400 or so plus officers who are trying to track these three, will be going to their underworld sources, the drug dealers, the criminals, all of those who they could put the screws to for leads and contacts. Do you think that actually could yield something concrete?

TIM WILLIAMS, FORMER CHIEF INSPECTOR, NY, NJ REGIONAL FUGITIVE TASK FORCE: Yes, Ashleigh. And unfortunately, that's the way it has to go sometimes. But I mean the public is going to play a key role, including the criminal public.

So I think it's -- they're going to have to use every resource possible to get these individuals. This is a terrible tragedy. And certainly, these individuals if they kill a police officer, they are willing to do -- they're desperate and willing to hurt anyone. It's something everyone should be alarmed of.

BANFIELD: Doctor Koblinsky, weigh in here, if you will. Yesterday, one of the officials getting a news conference said that any kind of transfer evidence or DNA evidence that they gathered from the scene of that murder is being expedited through the local labs. But what will that do when we're searching for three ghosts?

[12:40:03] LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: Well, it's very hard, Ashleigh. There are only certain kinds of evidence that can actually give us the name of a suspect. That would be DNA that would be fingerprints.

Now what we have, what we know is there's been an autopsy. We know the time of death. We know that the manner of death was a homicide.

The cause of death has now been established through the autopsy. We know the trap, the trajectory of the bullet or bullets.

We're not sure about which gun was used, was it the service side gun. Or was it the perpetrators gun. But if the bullet is in fairly good shape, you can determine the caliber. You can determine the make and model of the weapon. And, more importantly, if the striations of the markings on the bullet are in good shape, there might be a linkage to some other crime. And that could give us a lead on this gun.

BANFIELD: That could yield certainly valuable information.

Tim Williams, back to you for a moment, a lot of people thought, my god, there are three of them which makes it even tougher to find. But then ultimately, if you're talking about three suspects, you're talking about three suspects with their own three personal networks, three groups of friends and families.

And those friends and families may one of them at one point decide. Enough is enough, there's a dead officer here. Maybe someone will have the moral obligation to say something in those three networks.

WILLIAMS: Ashleigh, you're exactly right. The more people, the more chance that type of thing would happen where someone would come forward or someone will recognize something.

Believe me, if the officers, federal, state, local officers are coming together right now and they are going to stop at nothing to catch these individuals.

BANFIELD: Tim Williams and Larry Kobilinsky, thank you for your insight. We'll continue to update the story as the police update us.

Want to take you now to another story. Look at the crowd that showed up last night for a support vigil in Fox Lake where Joe Gliniewicz that officer, was killed, people paying their respects to the police department and showing their support for Gliniewicz's family.

This is tough to watch, but I want you to see his wife Melodie address the crowd.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELODIE GLINIEWICZ, LT. JOE GLINIEWICZ'S WIFE: It's a very impressive of all of you here as well as all the support and prayers from all over the nation are truly appreciated by me and my family.

We all lost somebody yesterday, a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a mentor, a leader, a role model and a friend and, of course, our brother in blue.

Joe was my best friend, my world, my hero, the love of my life for the last 26 1/2 years. He was my rock as much as I was his rock.

Every night he came home to me. He was the most wonderful, caring, and loving father to our boys. And my world got a little bit smaller with his passing. He will truly be missed by all of us. Thank you, everybody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Melodie with her four sons surrounding her. Lt. Joe Gliniewicz's which his name is on a solemn list, law enforcement officers who've been murdered. 23 men and one woman shot and killed this year, just this year across this country.

And to put that in perspective, these four men were killed in just the last ten days.

Sheriff's Deputy Darren Goforth, shot at a gas station near Houston, Texas. He was 47-years-old. Officer Henry Nelson, killed near Lafayette, Louisiana. He was 51-years-old. Louisiana Trooper Steven Vincent shot when a man who he stopped to help opened fire on him. He was 44-years-old. Lieutenant Gliniewicz killed in Fox Lake, Illinois, this one we have seen too many details, 32-year veteran of the force.

[12:44:33] Here are all of the faces of those 24 officers who were shot and killed this year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: The Baltimore six will no longer be facing trial as a team because a judge ruled yesterday that they must all be tried separately one by one for the death of Freddie Gray. But the charges remain the same. And while they differ from case to case, they're still very serious.

Officer Caeser Goodson Jr. Who was the driver of the van has the biggest battle ahead second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter among other charges. Officer William Porter is the cop who answered Goodson's call to do a check on Freddie Gray in the back of the van. And Lieutenant Brian Rice was one of the officers who handcuff Gray and put chuckles on his ankles.

[12:50:10] And those two, they face the same charges, the most serious of which is involuntary manslaughter.

Officer Edward Nero and Officer Garrett Miller were both involved in Gray's arrest after that bike chase and their most serious charge is second-degree assault.

And finally their sergeant Alicia White, she checked on Gray's condition in the van. And allegedly saw that he was unresponsive and did nothing to help him, and for that charge she is facing involuntary manslaughter.

Criminal Defense Attorney Alex Sanchez joins me live now from New York.

So Alex, effectively, not one big extravaganza with all six of them in the courtroom and all their attorneys, one each presumably one after the other drip, drip, drip, coverage, media. How does this bode for the first person, the third person, and the sixth person who would face trial if it's in that community?

ALEX SANCHEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you have to understand that the most significant feature of this case is that it represents the concept that when it comes to criminal trials it's basically every man for himself.

Now, usually cases are tried jointly, but the only reason why this case has been separated into separate trials is because the judge determined that one trial of one defendant is going to an unfairly impact another defendant.

And so usually a defense attorney, one of the defense attorneys here or most of the defense attorneys probably made an application that they want to have an independent trial from everybody else.

Now the person that is tried last has a greater advantage over the people that are tried first because he could order all the transcripts of the trials. He knows what the investigators are going to say. He knows what the police are going to say, and then he's that with defense attorney who is the fifth in line or sixth in line has a greater advantage because of all the knowledge that he has, and he could use those transcripts to impeach the same officers that testified previously.

BANFIELD: I get you. But I'm going to counter that by and the community is either outraged or elated by whatever the results have been one, two, three, four, and five, and you have a poisoned jury pool.

SANCHEZ: Yeah, well, you know, that's one of the arguments made by the defense attorneys in this case was that they wanted to have this case either moved out or they wanted to have the prosecutor removed completely because of such inflammatory statements. And you're right about that. But I think more likely that what will happen here is that the community is going to start to get tired of these particular trials. I mean, after the third, fourth trial. I think their attention is going to begin to wane. It's the first trial that's going to have the most significance.

BANFIELD: All right Alex. We're going to watch what happen.

Thank you for that. Appreciate it. Nice to see you again.

SANCHEZ: Sure. BANFIELD: I want to take you now to the story of a little boy, a boy who is now putting a face to the Syrian refugee crisis like you've never seen before.

I want to show you a picture of his proud father. He's on the left in the red shirt, his brother is on the right. But his family's hopes for a new future have been dashed. Those two boys are dead. But might their death change something massive across the world in how we look at what's happening in their country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:57:03] BANFIELD: It is the image you will not be able to get out of your head. If you haven't seen it already, and I have to warn you it is incredibly upsetting.

A boy, just 2-years-old, lying face down, his head to one side on a beach in Turkey, a tourist spot, a spot where I've been.

He was one of 12 people who drowned trying to flee the war in Syria.

I'm going to show you the photo, but be careful. You can see here he's wearing a red t-shirt and blue pants and little shoes with Velcro straps. His family was trying to get to Canada but their application was rejected in June. And so instead, they tried another way, by boat, attempting to cross from Turkey to Greece, and this is the end result.

That is Aylan Kurdi, that's his name. He drowned along with his big brother Galip and their mother Rehan. In all, 12 of them, 12 of those people died yesterday including eight children on that boat.

And today we learned four Syrian citizens who are responsible for that boat and suspected of human trafficking have now been taken into custody.

This is 2-year-old Aylan on the left in better times, his brother Galip on the right. The way their family would certainly want them to be remembered and here they are with their dad.

And when you're taking a picture of little kids, they tend to smile and it's hard to get them to open their eyes, they squint, because that's what little boys do when they're happy. They hold hands of their dad.

Now it is the hope of so many around the world that first photo that we showed you that was so awful will, in fact, stir as much change as it does emotion because these boys represent 4 million people, 4 million who have fled Syria just looking desperately for help.

Their father summed up his grief this way when CNN spoke with him by phone today. He said, "I don't want anything else from this world. Everything I was dreaming of is gone. I want to bury my children and sit beside them until I die."

CNN continues now with Wolf. BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN: Hi there. I'm Brianna Keilar reporting from Washington. Wolf Blitzer is off today.

Up first, what we wouldn't give to be a fly on the wall, right?

Donald Trump meets this hour with the chairman of the Republican National Committee at the meeting that takes place as the new poll shows Trump is increasing his support among rightly Republican voters the Monmouth University poll shows, Trump at 30 percent. That is a new high.

[13:00:02] He's followed by Ben Carson who's at 18 percent. Jeb Bush tied with Ted Cruz at 8 percent and they are followed by Marco Rubio at 5 percent.