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Chicago police officer had his gun drawn following Chapman; 35- year-old Ashley Olsen's boyfriend discovered her dead in her apartment; Nominees for the 88th Academy awards are out; Ten prisoners from Yemen were transferred this morning to temporary accommodations in Oman; 3:30-4p ET

Aired January 14, 2016 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00] ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But you do see the shooting police officer and he is with his gun drawn following Chapman. And then you see that officer at the intersection. And then once the angle of that camera changes, you do see Chapman on the ground and the other police officer with his foot on top of his body.

Now we got to tell the officer's side of the story here, of course, Pamela. These officers have said that they feared for their lives. That they felt that Chapman turned around and that, you know, they were in fear for their life and he had a black object. Now, that black object was an iPhone box and there was no weapon ever recovered on the scene other than, of course, that iPhone box that Chapman was holding and that was recovered later on the scene.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right. I'm going to talk about this with the civil rights attorney Charles Coleman Jr. He is also a former prosecutor and trial attorney.

The family of Cedrick Chapman pushed for this video to be released as part of a wrongful death lawsuit. The city had long opposed it while court hearings were underway and then sort of did an about face and wanted it to be released as of last night. What do you make of that? Was that the right thing to release it?

CHARLES COLEMAN, JR., CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, Pam, I do think that it was the right thing to release the tape. However, the city's maneuvering around this issue did strikes me as being a lot of PR spin because what they are trying to do or what is seems like Rahm Emanuel's office is trying to do is in lieu of all the police shootings that we have seen, we have seen Laquan McDonald, we have seen Ronald Johnson and now we have seen this Cedrick Chapman's shooting.

With all these things that have happened, his office has taken a terrible hit with respect to police corruption and abuse of force in Chicago. And so, what they are trying to do now is suggest, well, we want to be transparent, we want to be open with the community, but it really sort of seems like what he's trying to do is save face with the citizens of Chicago.

BROWN: And were you able to watch the video that we just showed? COLEMAN: I did. I saw it. You know, as one of the things that some

of the lawyers for the city was arguing is the video wasn't clear and that they wouldn't be able to make out what actually happened. And in his order, the judge was very clear. The judge was very irritated, number one, that the city sort of did this about face. But in addition to that, the judge was also clear that while the video may not be entirely clear, you can certainly see more than what the lawyers from the city of Chicago were trying to suggest would be able to be seen on the video.

BROWN: And the federal judge in this case that you just talked about, he did not mince words calling the city of Chicago's action quote "irresponsible" in this case in a waste of taxpayer's money and the court's time. Do you agree with that?

COLEMAN: Well, I think that when you look at it in terms of what it is judicially economy in terms of how much this cost the city, how much time and resources have gone into not only paying for the lawyers, not only fighting this case in court, but also just the law jam that it creates in the justice system in terms of the judge looking at the case. It's something they should be scolded and reprimanded about because if it in fact it was about transparency, if it in fact it was about the community and Chicago knowing what actually happened, then they could have released any sort of fight and stopped that early on. Instead they wait until the 11th hour and decide at that point they are going to be OK with the video being released. So I do understand the judge's frustrations and in this case I'm inclined to agree. If this was the city of Chicago's position from the very beginning, then from the outset then that should have been they were arguing.

BROWN: Just quickly, and before I go back to Rosa to get Chicago public reaction, do you think, though, that the officers have a case here? Because they say that look, we were running after this guy. He just stole a car. We believed he had a gun and he turned around and we felt threatened for our lives.

COLEMAN: You know, Pam, as a former prosecutor, I can tell you I have seen a lot of different things. And when I look at this video and when I hear the account of what is being said, it's very difficult for me to believe that these officers can articulate that they were in fear of their lives. As this 17-year-old unarmed young black man is running away from them, and he was essentially shot in the back by police who had an opportunity to take aim at him and fire.

So I have a really hard time believing that. And I think when you're looking at it in terms of the law, they have trouble articulating what they saw as a perceived threat to their life that would cause them to un-holster their firearm, draw their firearm and then discharge their firearm to an unarmed young man. We talked about the fact that he thought he had a black object in his hand. They didn't know what it was. It was an iPhone box.

So at the end of the say, I don't necessarily believe that these officers have much to stand on in terms of the shooting. And I agree with the officer in Chicago who suggested that they turn the ruling on this around. This shooting was clearly unjustified.

BROWN: All right. And I want to bring Rosa back in just to get the reaction in Chicago and also learn a little bit more about what the implications are now.

[15:35:07] FLORES: Well, Pamela, I think the implications are very high because in this particular case, not only are we talking about an officer-involved shooting that was caught on tape like we have seen in other cases, but in this particular case you've got an investigator that the independent police review authority that investigates every officer-involved shooting, you have an investigator who was fired because he says that had he was going to deem this particular shooting unjustified and he was asked to change it to justified.

Now that organization, the head of that organization is appointed by the mayor of Chicago. Now after the Laquan McDonald shooting and the release of that video, the head of that organization resigned. The mayor asked him to step down. So that is one part.

So if after this video is shown and IPRA continues to investigate and they figure out perhaps if they figure out that Lorenzo Davis, that investigator who was fired was actually in the right, that has huge implications.

Now, we can't forget that aside from this, two of Chapman's accomplices were charged with murder in this particular case. Even though the officer was the one that fired the shots, these two accomplices were ten blocks away and they were charged with his murder. And they pleaded down to a lesser charge.

So you have all of these other bits and pieces, Pamela, to this particular case that I think that the stakes are a lot higher because of the implications. Implications not only legally but also politically.

BROWN: Especially in the wake of the Laquan McDonald video that was released a couple months ago.

Rosa Flores, Charles Coleman Jr., thank you both so much.

COLEMAN: Thanks, Pam.

BROWN: And still ahead, an American woman killed in Italy under bizarre circumstances. And now police say they have their man and a slew of DNA evidence. The latest on that investigation, up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:41:23] BROWN: An arrest has been made in the bizarre death of an American woman living in Italy less than a week, after 35-year-old Ashley Olsen's boyfriend discovered her dead in her apartment. Investigators have linked DNA found in her apartment to a suspect.

CNN's Randi Kaye joins me live from New York.

So Randi, who is the suspect and how did they connect him to her death?

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Pamela. The suspect's name (INAUDIBLE). He is an Italian actually living in Italy. Italian police say he is a 27-year-old illegal immigrant from Senegal, actually. Investigators believe that Ashley Olsen met him at the Monte Carlo nightclub where she was until about 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. on Friday morning.

They believe that they left there together, then went back to Olsen's apartment. And now here's where things get confusing. Investigators are saying they did have sex and it was actually consensual. She was not apparently sexually assaulted. After all, the chief prosecutor saying that investigators found the suspect's DNA in Olsen's apartment and on her body. He said they found a condom and as well as a cigarette at Oslen's house along with his fingerprints. And also, they are saying that when he was arrested, he actually had her cell phone but he had put his own sim card inside the cell phone. So this is all pretty strange.

And one other really important note here. She apparently had two fractures to her cranium. So investigators think now that that may have happened accidentally while having sex and that the bruises and marks on her neck were not from strangulation after all, but they think they might have actually happened during the suspect's efforts to e revive her. So still so many questions and so much sadness to her friends, back home in Florida where Ashley Olsen grew up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACI KELLY, ASHLEY OLSEN'S FRIEND: I can't imagine what she went through. You know, no one deserves to go through that. So whoever did this to her I hope that they get what's coming to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: So - go ahead, Randi.

KAYE: I was just going to talk a little bit about her boyfriend. I mean, they haven't officially charged him, though the prosecutor has said that he was a strong alibi. So they haven't officially cleared him yet, I should say. But the two of them had apparently argued and then he couldn't reach her for a few days so he went over to her apartment. The land lady let him in. And that's when they found Ashley Olsen's body.

The land lady told an Italian magazine that her boyfriend desperately tried to revive her but she was already dead.

BROWN: So Randy, I just can't get out of my head what you said before that essentially police are saying that perhaps this so-called suspect actually tried to save her life rather than kill her. Is that right? Did I understand her correctly?

KAYE: Yes. Initially, they thought and that's what they have been saying all along that she was murdered. They are calling it a homicide investigation. But now they are saying that she may have. This is just a theory they are work on that they may have had consensual sex after all. There's some suggestion that she asked him to leave because she does have a boyfriend and that he pushed her and somehow she had fallen to the ground and that's when she got these fractures to her cranium. And that's when he apparently tried to revive her, at least that's the theory that they are working on right now. No charges yet in Italy for him, but he has been arrested.

BROWN: Bizarre and very sad story.

Randi Kaye, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Up next, ten more detainees transferred out of Guantanamo today. Now, less than 100 remaining at the notorious prison that President Obama wants to close for good. I asked the attorney general Loretta Lynch if we can expect these prisoners on U.S. soil.

Plus, nearly 40 years after his first and only Oscar nomination Sylvester Stallone gets a bid again for the same role. We will look at the chances that Rocky Balboa takes home the statue.

And the controversy over who was not nominated for an academy award. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:49:29] BROWN: The nominees for the 88th Academy awards are out, and the list is full of big time Hollywood snubs and surprises. Fresh off his first ever Golden Globe win sliced alone gets first Oscar nod in 39 years and for the same role, Rocky Balboa, this time in the box office smash "Creed." Also still basking in the golden glow Leonardo Dicaprio and his team from "the revenant." They lead the pact of 12 Academy award nomination. Add to that comedian and actor Chris Rock makes a return appearance as host, his first back since 2005.

And joining me to talk all things Hollywood, Kim Sarafin, senior editor at In Touch Weekly."

So Kim, "the Revenant" has only been out a week and it's leading the list of nominees. I feel like I may need to go see that. And Rocky Balboa could actually get an Oscar, is that right?

[15:50:21] KIM SARAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: Yes, exactly. "The Revenant" obviously people are talking about this 12 nomination. It leads the pact. And Leonardo Dicaprio you have to talk about this because Leonardo Dicaprio is fantastic in this movie as in every movie he pretty much does. But finally his fifth nomination for Oscar. It looks like this one, he will finally get that very well deserved Oscar. I don't think anyone -- although it's a competitive category, I think Leo is the only one we're talking about to win best actor for this role. Where, you know, there are so many stories about what he had to endure to play this role. You know, the condition, the weather conditions, getting sick. And it's a really -- it's a hard movie to watch if you go see it, but it's worth watching through some of the harder parts to get through because it's a fantastic movie.

BROWN: And it seems like a lot of times when the actors or actresses win it's after they've gone through some big transformation or hardship to get the role. So wouldn't be surprised. And Sly Stallone up for an Oscar 35 years after he's in the same role. This must be unusual, right?

SARAFIN: Yes. This is Sylvester Stallone's Oscar to lose basically. Certainly another competitive category in the best supporting actor category, but playing Rocky Balboa again in this movie "Creed," forty years basically after he first started the franchise. And you just heard at the Golden Globes when he won standing ovation from his peers in that room. And then even at the announcement this morning applause around the room for him getting this nomination. So I really think -- I don't think anyone really has a chance for this. And he really deserves it. He plays the same character, but now he's the aging mentor trying to help a young Boxer. And it is just -- it's a great Hollywood story. And Hollywood loves these kind of stories too.

BROWN: Well, there's another big Oscar headline out today. And of course that is the lack of diversity in this year's nominees. Not the first time this has happened as we know just last year the hash tag Oscars so white hit social media. And critics have brought it back this year. When Chris Rock last hosted there were four African- American nominees, rock also wrote an essay in 2014 for the Hollywood reporter that said Hollywood has a, quote, "race problem." The Academy's highly publicized push for more diversity not working? Because, you know, there's been all this criticism. They say they're going to change it, but this year it doesn't seem like that's the case.

SARAFIN: Yes, exactly. It's trending again this Oscars so white hash tag. And there were definitely movies and actors that could have gotten nominated. Out of the 20 acting nominations all 20 actors that were nominated are all white. You know, Will Smith for "Concussion" left out. Egis Alba for "Beast of no nation" left out. Even that the ten -- there are ten spots for best picture, but only eight movies nominated. So they did snub movies like "Straight Outta Compton" which could have certainly got a nomination. That would have been nice to see that.

So, yes, again, we saw this last year. (INAUDIBLE) was David passed over last year. So it is kind of disappointing. It's nice when we see "12 years a slave" win, but you know, it's just not continuing. And I think people would like to see that diversity.

BROWN: Would not be surprised if Chris Rock calls attention to that when he hosts.

Kim Sarafin, thank you.

SARAFIN: Thanks.

BROWN: And we'll be right back after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:38:49] BROWN: The prison at Guantanamo Bay now holds fewer than 100 detainees. Ten prisoners from Yemen were transferred this morning to temporary accommodations in Oman. This comes on the heels of the state of the union address in which President Obama reiterated his desire to shut down Gitmo. I sat down with attorney general Loretta Lynch in an exclusive interview and I asked her about the feasibility of that mission.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: The president reiterated his desire last night to shut down the prison at Guantanamo. By the end of the year are we going to see a portion of the Gitmo population imprisoned in the U.S.?

LORETTA LYNCH, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Well, the president has made that a priority and certainly has been a priority of this administration for the reasons he set forth last night. Guantanamo is a tremendous recruiting tool for terrorists who seek to do us harm. And certainly the administration is working within the current statutory regime to make sure that we can reduce that population. And I believe the president looks forward to continuing a discussion with Congress on the best way to resolve that matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: Lynch was visiting a jail in Boston where she met with current and former prisoners as we see here in this video about a justice department's funded reentry program to help prisoners reintegrate into society. And she also told me she is working to combat radicalization in U.S. prisons.

Well, that does it for me. "The LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.

Thanks for being here with us.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, Pam.

ISIS claiming another Paris-style terrorist attack.

"The LEAD" starts right now.