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Legal View with Ashleigh Banfield

New Details in Illinois Police Officer Shooting; Examining Evidence from James Holmes Trial; Update on the Family Poisoned by Pesticide While on Vacation. Aired 12:30-1p ET

Aired September 11, 2015 - 12:30   ET

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

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[12:33:22] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: There are new details in the shooting death of a Fox Lake, Illinois police officer.

Sources telling CNN that Lieutenant Joe Gliniewicz was hit by two gunshots. One of them was stopped by the bulletproof vest that he was wearing. The coroner says the other shot was the fatal shot, that it hit Lieutenant Gliniewicz in the torso.

The veteran officer was supposed to retire in August. But he had been asked to stay on just one more month and sadly that was the month in which he was killed.

Joining me now to discuss this, CNN Justice Correspondent Pamela Brown and Former Police Officer and FBI Special Agent Jonathan Gilliam.

So Pamela, if I could start with you just walk me through what some of this reporting has been from the medical examiner about how Lieutenant Gliniewicz died?

PAMELA BROWM, CNN JUSTICE COREESPONDENT: Well, we've been speaking with the medical examiner as well as law enforcement officials, Ashleigh. And what we're been told from medical examiner is that there was one devastating gunshot wound that hit officer Gliniewicz in the Torso. But we're being told from sources law enforcement sources that he was hit twice, as you point out, one of the bullets hit the bullet proof vest that officer Gliniewicz was wearing. And the other came at a downward angle that was the devastating gunshot wound.

We're told that hit him in the torso. And I've been speaking to forensic analyst, Ashleigh. And we're being told that that would indicate the fact that the bullet could go underneath the bulletproof vest and kill Officer Gliniewicz would indicate that this was in very close proximity, that that at close range that the bullet wound, the gun wound came at close range, Ashleigh.

[12:34:58] BANFIELD: So while we're sort of trying to figure out how this happened there's still the issue of whoever did it is still out there. And what are they doing with the Fox Lake group and also the feds who arrived and all the other supporting agencies to find these people because there was this crazy manhunt and now I hear very little

BROWN: That's right, there was this 24 hour two-mile Radius grid search. And then all of a suddenly things shifted very quickly and what we're being told, Ashleigh, well, Fox Lake police are saying "Look we're, we have our federal partners working around the clock."

We're being told some of the federal officials that were there in the beginning in the command post have actually pulled out. And it's really unclear what exactly is going on in terms of the manhunt, in terms of the search.

Fox Lake police will only say that the surveillance videos they had didn't pan out the three suspects -- three people that could have matched the suspects' descriptions, it actually wasn't the suspect. So they basically said all we have to work with now is DNA taken from the scene not matching Officer Gliniewicz was that DNA is being tested and it's interesting too, Ashleigh, the Fox Lake Sheriff's Office sent out the scathing press release yesterday basically, publicly shaming the medical examiner calling him unprofessional for releasing sensitive information and saying that they have not been in touch at all with the medical examiner.

And I have to say I'd cover a lot of law enforcement stories and it's really unusual to see something like that.

BANFIELD: Yeah, I mean I'll just "The Dr. Rudd's actions are completely outside of policy, procedure, protocols and are completely unprofessional.

Let me bring in Jonathan Gilliam on this. A couple things I want to get from you this sort of remarkable, I guess friction between the M.E.'s office and the sheriff releasing the scathing letter that by the way goes a lot farther.

And then this forensics issue where Officer Gliniewicz suffered a gunshot wound to his torso in a downward trajectory. But he was wearing a bulletproof vest. Look I've worn a lot flak vests and they do stop at a certain point. And the torso does include more than just the upper torso, there is the lower torso.

So I'm trying to get from you whether there is mystery or unusualness to the fact that he had a gunshot wound in the torso and was wearing a vest?

JONATHAN GILLIAM, FORMER NAVY SEAL: Let me just say first off as far as the spat between the medical examiner and law enforcement agency is that it should be stopped.

You know, a lot of people when they come out of the military or the law enforcement, they go on T.V. they get in this Twitter wars because they get on Twitter and people have opinions, this is kind of similar to that if the medical examiner...

BANFIELD: Oh this is not Twitter, this is a full release to the media it's ugly, ugly stuff.

GILLIAM: I understand but they don't know how to work in the media. And fact is because these people or law enforcement and doctors. The fact is all this stuff should be held inside it's an ongoing investigation...

BANFIELD: So you believe that does compromise the investigation to hear these details?

GILLIAM: Think that does and also it compromises investigation when you have a breakdown the entire system. And I think that shameful that not only does the medical examiner released it but also that the police then went out and did their own release saying that he is not good, it's one team.

BANFIELD: Now the logistics of the actual forensics and how Officer Gliniewicz died downward trajectory.

GILLIAM: Sure.

BANFIELD: ... wearing a vest so you have to sort of picture if you will how this might actually play out?

GILLIAM: I actually brought a vest here and what you see is when you have a vest...

BANFIELD: OK, that makes sense now.

GILLIAM: Yeah, when you have a vest on. There's a huge unprotected area right here more often than that when law enforcement officers killed wearing a vest it is either they have their arm up which would indicate a struggle or it comes in some type of an angle but normally from the side and the round can carry through in this way.

And law enforcement I'm telling you, it's inevitable, you could shoot a bad guy 15 times. And they won't die, an officer can get two shots, one hits body armor, the other travels behind it and the officer dies.

BANFIELD: So no big mystery then...

GILLIAM: I don't think that's a mystery at all.

BANFIELD: ... that one of those shot. And then the downward trajectory, I've been in enough trials to know that if you do get a suspect and you can get height on that suspect comparable to the officer that's somewhat helpful but it is not definitive.

GILLIAM: Well, what it tells me is the potential for struggle was there because either this person was tall, I'm not sure of the height of Officer Gliniewicz. But the chance of him if there were three people, and he was in a struggle for them to get his weapon and while he is struggling shoot down to him could potentially give some evidence that there was a struggle going on.

BANFIELD: What -- and, you know, what our Producer Scottie -- out Director Scottie just mentioned, what if he's on the ground?

GILLIAM: That's exactly I mean as long as they're wrestling around, you're going to see a downward trajectory. He could have been on his knees, he could been on the ground or just bent over in any case once this vest opens up and the officer has his arms up this potential for a round to go through this way is high.

BANFIELD: So distressing and equally distressing whoever may have done this is still out there. And if there are three that are still the ones who are being sought after, two white men, one black man, we know nothing else.

GILLIAM: Let me say this one thing, two white man, one black man, that's what he called in. But we still don't know and they should be looking on these cameras because the potential is that those people just walked away and somebody else hit him.

[12:40:04] So they need to look at anybody that could have been in that area and on those cameras at that point.

BANFIELD: Frustratingly though, there were three on a camera that fit that description and that have been ruled out. Those people unfortunately, you know, well, fortunately for them but unfortunately for the investigation, it didn't pan out.

Jonathan Gilliam, thank you.

GILLIAM: Yeah.

BANFIELD: And thank you for the illustration that helps a lot. And Pamela Brown as well, excellent reporting from you, thank you.

Coming up next, James Holmes now locked away in prison, for the rest of his life, no chance to ever get out.

And while he sits there for his crimes, we are getting a look at some of the shocking evidence that the jury was forced to look at and I say "forced" because no one ever wants to see these images.

That story next.

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BANFIELD: Now that James Holmes is locked away for life for one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. We're getting our first look at some of the horrifying evidence that the jury saw and deliberated over as they decided whether he should live or die for his crimes, his crimes of course murdering these 12 people and then hurting sometimes terribly 70 other people.

Based on the evidence, the jurors found Holmes was not insane. But instead of the death penalty they decided he should get life without parole.

[12:45:06] Yesterday, we gave you a first look inside the booby trapped apartment which was nothing short of miraculous, just the lengths that he went to kill more people, likely police officers who would come looking for him.

But today, we got something else that was in that courtroom factored into that jury's decision and it is the pictures from inside the theater. Remember, that jury had to look at this evidence for months, months and months. And take a look at what they had to deal with. We do want to warn you that some of these pictures may be disturbing.

But this is the Aurora Theater where James Holmes opened fire facing all those people. Those are the seat cushions, the yellow is the fabric ripped apart by the force of the bullet, foam just bursting out of those seats, where blood-stained floors everywhere as well. Bloody napkins and popcorn that innocent moviegoers had strewn across the floor as these terrified people dropped everything, ran for their lives, some of them succeeding, some of them failing.

Here's an image of the AR-15 that was used by James Holmes to exact his hell. That gun jammed, thank God.

You can also see to the right of it and to the left of it the pink flip-flops, pink flip-flops that someone that night was wearing and lost in the hell trying to escape.

And here's another picture showing the number of weapons that Holmes brought with him, he had a shotgun, he had a pistol, here's Holmes' car in the parking lot, Colorado district attorney releasing these images to the public.

Again, this was a death penalty case so the more knowledge Americans have of these cases and the evidence the better. If you want to take a life, you better know exactly what happened.

Checking our top stories now, the House of Representatives have just voted down a measure that would approve of the nuclear deal with Iran and they passed a measure preventing the lifting of sanctions.

A lot of there don't worry because both of these are just symbolic. They were symbolic shows of opposition and congress doesn't have the vote to actually block that deal nor to even send an opposition bill to the president's desk.

A developing story out of Baltimore where Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- Blake has made a big announcement, she says she's not planning now to run for reelection. Not going to do it.

In a news conference earlier this morning, Mayor Rawlins-Blake said that political campaign would take away from her city's ability to focus on the recovering from Freddie Gray's case.

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STEPHANIE RAWLINS-BLAKE, MAYOR BALTIMORE: There's much more work to be done and the last thing I want is for every one of the decisions that I make moving forward at a time where the city needs me the most to be questioned in the context of a political campaign.

We need to move forward on police community relations -- plan to bring more federal resources to our city. We need to focus on being one Baltimore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Mayor Rawlins-Blake took office back in 2010 when the Former Mayor, Sheila Dixon, was convicted of embezzlement and resigned.

CNN have learned investigator have met with James Blake after the NYPD officer tackled him and arrested him a tennis star all in a case of mistaken identity.

The New York police commissioner says the department is also taking a closer look at the officer who did that tackling and reviewing that officer's disciplinary history.

Meanwhile, New York's mayor Bill de Blasio is apologizing to Blake in an exclusive interview with our affiliate New York 1.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL DE BLASIO, NEW YORK: I want to apologize to him on behalf of the city of New York. This shouldn't have happened and he shouldn't have been treated this way. And I think it is a reminder of why we have to continue to make reforms.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Coming up next, how could such a horrible thing happen?

A family on a vacation in a resort somehow poisoned by a dangerous pesticide and the shocking change it has had on their lives and the lives of their children. You will not believe what's happening.

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[12:52:53] BANFIELD: A family vacation goes horribly wrong. And we're getting new details on an investigation into something you can only say is so troubling.

This family of four fell gravely ill while they were at a resort on St. John. They were poisoned by a pesticide that is not approved for indoor use in the United States.

And that was six months ago. You might think they've been getting better, convalescing, far from it, so far from it.

Sara Ganim is here to tell us just how bad this family is still faring.

I thought that, you know, time would heal some of these issues for this family. But walk me through this.

SARA GAMIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Six months, this has been absolutely devastating to this family, the boys, teenagers, they can't sit up, they can't walk by themselves, they can't feed themselves.

The father who at least has progressed a little bit, he can speak but it's very, very labored, very difficult for him to speak. The boys were in comas, Ashleigh, for weeks. And doctors who I've talked to said that the chance of recovery, you know, of them recovering to a point of functioning, a full recovery, is very slim at that this point. But this may be as good as they get which is absolutely devastating.

I mean their lawyer told me, for example, that they know what's going on, that's the scary part of this, is that they just can't translate that into movement.

BANFIELD: This is the nerve damage that's been done.

Just remind our viewers, if you would. And as I recall this, this was a Terminix subcontractor doing this sort of...

GAMIN: No.

BANFIELD: No, not.

GAMIN: In this case this was Terminix itself, corporate branch of Terminix in the USVI.

BANFIELD: Oh, a branch of Terminix in the U.S. Virgin Islands, OK.

GAMIN: Yes, absolutely. And they -- according to the EPA and investigation so far, this was not the only time that used this stuff.

Now, what we've found out in the last couple of months is that this is a restricted gas and we all knew that. But because it's restricted, when these people buy it, when the pest control companies buy it, they're supposed to fill out a form with the EPA that explains that they're going to use it for the proper reason.

And in this case the branch manager did not fill out those forms properly and the distributor, which is supposed to keep them on file, did not file with the EPA.

[12:55:04] BANFIELD: I mean OK, all that is horrible. And what's maybe even more horrible is the fact that they would use this in a residence where there were people and kids vacationing.

Did the family get any notification whatsoever that there was any kind of treatment going on anywhere in their building?

GAMIN: Absolutely not. And on top of that, there's supposed to be a warning agent. So it's similar to natural gas. So there's an artificial odor that's supposed to be added to it so when you walk into the room...

BANFIELD: You have a fighting chance.

GAMIN: You know, this is dangerous, I should not in here, I should not breathing this because this is an odorless gas that you otherwise wouldn't know that you're breathing in and there was no indication.

According to the family lawyer, that warning agent was not used. I also just have to tell you quickly, Ashleigh, what Terminix has said about all of this. There's an ongoing investigation and say that "All of us continue to have this family in our thoughts and prayers. We are cooperating with the authorities and conducting our own thorough investigation."

Of course the Department of Justice is also conducting an investigation and the EPA. And we did get some new details over the last couple of hours actually that show from the EPA that six weeks after this family was -- had fallen ill, the levels of this toxin were still very dangerous inside that villa. That's how bad this was.

BANFIELD: Well this story is not over. Sara Ganim, thank you for that. I appreciate it.

And thank you everyone for watching. My colleague Wolf Blitzer, starts right after this break.

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