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Ferguson Officials Search For Missing AR-15 Assault Rifle; Is Shawn Parcells A Fraud?; Not Everything On Sale On Black Friday

Aired November 27, 2014 - 15:30   ET

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

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Bottom of the hour. You're watching CNN. I'm Brooke Baldwin.

Ferguson officials are now searching for a missing AR-15 assault rifle they believe was stolen from a police car during the height of Monday night's riots and protests. It was apparently taken from one of the two patrol cars you see here, was torched. Police telling CNN it was locked up when it was removed. And you know, it is incidents like this, they say, that are exposing tensions between federal and local officials over police response to the protests, period.

Let me go to Washington to our senior political correspondent, Brianna Keilar.

Brianna, what do you know about the back and forth on this one?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. There is a lot of tension, because what you had was this unified command, a coalition, really, of law enforcement. You have St. Louis city police, St. Louis county. Missouri highway patrol, under that, you have Missouri National Guard fitting in there. And that is who all was in charge on Monday night.

Certainly a lot of federal oversight. So you're hearing from local officials now. They say that because of the scrutiny that they've been getting from the federal government and a pressure to take what they describe as a softer touch, that's part of the reason why you saw this violence really get out of hand on Monday. And it was certainly much more than expected. You had ten cars, ten police cars that were damaged or destroyed. That AR-15, which is a serious weapon, that's a semiautomatic rifle, and the rack that it was in, in this police car, were stolen.

But at the same time, when you hear from the federal government side of things, they're saying, you know, not exactly true, because we're not saying that they should take us off for approach. That's not what we told them to do, not what we trained local officials to do. We were talking about smaller policing tactics.

But at the same time, there is this back and forth. You've seen the federal government get involve in training and definitely in the scrutiny with the justice department investigating and the attorney general and President Obama weighing in on what we saw this summer. Really aggressive police tactics by those police there. BALDWIN: You know, I think it's also important to point out the

context. I think Anderson did a great job of this when all of this was sort of happening Monday night after the grand jury decision came down. The fact that, you know, the fire set to cars and the looting, this was one concentrated part of Ferguson, right? I mean, according to St. Louis city police, this was not pervasive throughout this city.

KEILAR: That's right. And you saw different police, I guess, installments dealing with different parts of the city. St. Louis city police, they really didn't see that violence that we certainly focused on, because that's the real trouble spot. That was really St. Louis county police that was seeing those issues.

And you also hear from a lot of officials, local and federal, who say there were just some people in Ferguson who came prepared to cause trouble. And you know, you couldn't really stop them. Certainly, some of them. They were sort of hell-bent on making problems.

BALDWIN: OK. We'll see you later today, right? Are you doing sit room?

KEILAR: Yes. That's right. See you at 4:00.

BALDWIN: See you then, Brianna Keilar. Thank you very much.

Meantime, was the man who helped perform an autopsy on Michael Brown qualified to do it? Questions swirling about his credentials. CNN has tracked him down and this is how he responded to one of his critics. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He has. Holy (bleep)! Excuse my language. But I've got emails to prove him and I going back and forth can the fact that he ignores me. He's a (bleep)!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: We will play you his full response, coming up. Don't miss it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: In the Michael Brown case, questions are swirling about a man who served as an assistant on one of the autopsies on Michael Brown's body. A CNN investigation raises new concerns about Shawn Parcell's qualifications.

CNN's senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen, has more on Parcell's past -- Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Brooke, the Ferguson, Missouri, case created a media star out of an assistant pathologist. But a CNN investigation shows that he may not be exactly what he appears to be.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COHEN (voice-over): Out of the death and violence in Ferguson, Missouri, this summer, a turn to be a media star for a man named Shawn Parcells.

SHAWN PARCELLS, ASSISTED IN A PRIVATE AUTOPSY OF MICHAEL BROWN: First of all, I'm professor Shawn Parcells.

COHEN: He dazzled with details on the private autopsy of Michael Brown.

PARCELLS: Two gunshot wounds to the head, indicating that Mr. Brown was bending over as they were coming down.

LAWRENCE O'DONNELL, MSNBC ANCHOR, THE LAST WORD: We're back with Shawn Parcells, who assisted in the autopsy of Michael Brown.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Now Shawn Parcells.

COHEN: Even here on CNN, he's appeared in the media time and again as a forensic pathology expert. We know he assisted Dr. Michael Baden in the private autopsy commissioned by Michael Brown's family. Baden said he was a good assistant.

Parcells is not a doctor. We know he calls himself a forensic medical consultant, a medical investigator and a professor. But is he what he says he is?

So you call yourself a professor?

PARCELLS: Yes.

COHEN: Where are you a professor?

PARCELLS: I'm an adjunct professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas.

COHEN: But that, as far as we could tell, isn't accurate. We contacted Washburn University. They say, while he has spoken to nursing students, he's not now, and never been an adjunct professor there.

COHEN: Washburn University says that's not true.

PARCELLS: OK, I have a contract that states that it is true.

COHEN: Can you show us that contract?

PARCELLS: I can.

COHEN: But he never sent us that contract showing he was an adjunct professor. He later said it was proprietary.

DEPUTY GRANT GILLETT, MISSOURI SHERIFF'S OFFICE: I see him as a fraud. I mean, that's the best word I would say to describe Shawn Parcells to me. COHEN: How about you?

DEPUTY DUSTIN JEFFERS, SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Manipulator.

GILLETT: Very good con artist, is the way I'd put it.

COHEN: In Missouri, deputies sheriff Grant Gillett and Dustin Jeffers said Shawn Parcells performed an autopsy procedure in a criminal case without a doctor present.

So he presented himself as a pathologist, as a medical doctor?

GILLETT: That is correct.

COHEN: And he seemed believable?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very well. Yes.

COHEN: I mean, you two are both experienced law enforcement officers, and even you were duped?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

COHEN: The deputies say without a medical doctor's signature on Robert Forrester's autopsy report, it's not valid.

It's been more than two years since the crime. Can you move forward with the prosecution?

GILLETT: We cannot move forward with that case at this time at all.

COHEN: Why not?

GILLETT: Because the autopsy was not performed legally, so we cannot use any evidence found from the autopsy in a court of law to be used, to prosecute any suspects on the case.

COHEN: That means, according to the deputies, Bobby Forrester, suspected of killing his grandfather, was set free, and he went on to beat up his grandmother. Shawn Parcells says he never told the deputies he was a doctor.

PARCELLS: If they want to think I'm a doctor, that's their issue. People assume stuff all the time, and they may never action. It's bad that they're assuming and they never ask.

COHEN: Parcells, who has a bachelor's degree, says he's supervised by medical doctors, but sometimes they're not present when he performs an autopsy procedure.

So you do autopsies where there's not a pathologist or an MD anywhere in the room?

PARCELLS: At times. Sometimes the pathologist is there and sometimes they're not.

COHEN: You're not an MD.

PARCELLS: I'm not an MD.

COHEN: But it's legal for you to be cutting up bodies, taking organs out, making observations?

PARCELLS: Yes.

COHEN: This, even though a letter on his own company's letterhead states unequivocally, that during each and every forensic autopsy conducted, the attending pathologist is present at all times.

We always have the attending pathologist present and directing the autopsy examination.

And if you think that's shocking, the owner o of this funeral home says Parcells promised to arrange for an autopsy on the remains of an unidentified body, but didn't show up for more than a week. Maggots appeared. And where's that body now? Phelps county deputy Coroner Lenox Jones would love to know. He says he's not heard from Parcells in more than a year. When we asked Parcells where's the body, we got a barrage of obscenities.

Lenox Jones says he's never heard back from you.

PARCELLS: He has. Holy (bleep)! Excuse my language, but I got (bleep) emails to prove him and I'm going back and forth and the fact that he ignores me. He's a (bleep)! You want to be truthful? He is a (bleep). And I'm sorry to cuss like this on your cameras, but this particular case pisses me off.

COHEN: Parcells added that the coroner can pick up the body from his morgue in Topeka anytime.

So with coroners and law enforcement so angry, why haven't they gone after him?

Dr. Mary Case, chief medical examiner for St. Louis county, says prosecutors might be worried. She says some of them may have used his autopsy reports to get convictions, convictions they don't want overturned.

DR. MARY CASE, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER FOR ST. LOUIS COUNTY: It could be a problem for that prosecuting attorney if that prosecutor has prosecuted somebody based upon Shawn's findings. Of course, that's a problem.

COHEN: For the prosecutor.

CASE: For the prosecutor.

COHEN: So no one wants to go after him?

CASE: No one has. No one has, to this point.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PARCELLS: Now, a county in Missouri did file a complaint with the state's medical licensing board, saying they expected a pathologist to be at the procedure. But instead, Parcells did it on his own. The board closed the case without taking any action, and they wouldn't tell us why -- Brooke.

BALDWIN: OK. Elizabeth Cohen, thank you.

We also need to point out that Parcells insists that the Forrester death investigation was, his words, was doomed from the start, because the dead man's body was embalmed prior to the autopsy and the sheriff's department never turned over records they needed for the autopsy report to be completed.

One final note, the sheriff's office says Parcells never, ever asked for such records.

Are you about to head out and brave the cold and the crowds to snag some thanksgiving day and black Friday deals? Yes? Before you do, we will let you know what is worth the hassle and if it's better to just wait.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Maybe this is part of your family tradition, maybe you just love waiting for the deals for hours and hours. As you get ready to head out to start your holiday shopping, have a little advice to help you save a little bit of money, maybe some sanity as well. Take a look. Here are some things you probably should not -- should not -- buy at the black Friday sales.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: Black Friday is all about deals. But not everything is on sale. Looking for a new treadmill to burn off your holiday excess? Don't buy it on black Friday. Deal news says you'll get a deeper discount on exercise equipment in December.

Want a big screen TV? Forget black Friday. Think super bowl weekend. The consumer electronics show is in January. The super bowl is in early February. Retailers are looking forward and moving out the old stuff.

And it's getting chilly -- gloves, hats, scarves, winter gear is a big part of black Friday promotion. But, if you're looking for the best deal, you've got to wait for the winter clearance sales starting in January.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: If you are thinking about waiting until cyber Monday to shop, we have advice on that as well, which is the better day to buy? Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE REPORTER: It's a bargain hunter's dilemma. Shop on black Friday or cyber Monday. If fighting the mobs at the mall isn't your idea of a good time, Cyber Monday is for you. The Monday after thanksgiving is all about scoring deals online.

Last year, sales totaled $2.3 billion, up 16 percent from 2012. Black Friday endorses that. In-store sales the day after thanksgiving were $9.7 billion. But which day has the better bargains? Deal news says if you're looking to score on clothing, shoes and beauty, cyber Monday reigns supreme. Looking for a laptop, you won't find a better deal than on black Friday?

So who wins the black Friday versus cyber Monday smack down? Depends on what you're shopping for.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So maybe you love shopping, maybe it is seeing with your family. I know with my family, especially on certain holidays, we all like to go out and go to the movie together.

So coming up, we'll tell you which films that critics are loving. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: After you have eaten all that good, holiday turkey, most people go shopping or you go to the movies. The question is, which one?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I started this work I'm killing Germans in Africa. Now, I'm killing Germans in Germany.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had it all.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were a movie star, remember?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is this guy?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He used to be birdman.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I like that poster.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are entering into the most dangerous country on earth. Kim Jong-Un's people believe anything he tells them, including that he can speak to dolphins or he doesn't urinate and defecate.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And tell me my man doesn't puke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Brad Pitt, Michael Keaton, Seth Rogen, James Franco, just some of the stars blowing up on the box office this holiday season.

Here to help us sort it all out and make sure we are seeing the right film, Michael Musto, columnist with out.com. With me on thanksgiving day --

MICHAEL MUSTO, COLUMNIST, OUT.COM: And I'm happy to say there are no turkeys at the Cineplex this weekend. All good stuff.

BALDWIN: Cane we just -- let's begin with Brad Pitt, Brad Pitt in "Fury."

MUSTO: "Fury" is kind of a routine formula was film. It is his World War II film. His wife Angelina has a World War II kind of directed "Unbroken" coming out at the end of the year. "Fury" is griddy film in which Brad is an army sergeant who leads a troop against the Nazis and learned that was is how -- we knew that already. But it's a decent war film if you like that kind of thing.

BALDWIN: How is he?

MUSTO: He's always good. I think he is one of the best movie stars. And (INAUDIBLE) I see doesn't disgrace his self either.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: I'm really excited. I just saw the preview to the Steven Hawking film and I mean, also just the whole back story when he's young and when met his wife and how she stands by him.

MUSTO: The theory of everything.

BALDWIN: Theory of everything. It is really of the story of a relationship of he and his wife, played by. He is played Ed Redman (ph). The wife is played by Felicity Jones. It is a quality with a capital (INAUDIBLE) Oscar bait film. Some people think it is too Oscar baits. But Steven Hawking, obviously, is really into physicist. He comes down with a motor neuron disease that's devastating and extremely challenging. He has to relearn a lot of things just to communicate in the world. And it is about that and about the challenges imposes on the relationship with wife who becomes pretty much a caregiver. And also (INAUDIBLE), as we all know, he dumped her for the nurse. It is always better on the corner.

BALDWIN: Spoiler alert. Michael Musto --

MUSTO: No. This is real life.

BALDWIN: We know the story. I'm curious, when you say Oscar bait, what does that mean?

MUSTO: Well, it has the glow of dignity that seems to cries out for academy award nominations. Fortunately, it is also very good.

BALDWIN: It is very good so perhaps it is indeed warranted. Michael Keeton, where has he been?

MUSTO: I don't know but he is back and he is brilliant. I never knew he was capable of something like birdman.

BALDWIN: Birdman. What is it about?

MUSTO: It is a fantastic film. Michael Keaton plays a has been action star, remind you of anybody, who is seeking credibility through a play on Broadway and it's about the narcissism and the (INAUDIBLE) but it also involves --

BALDWIN: Wait. They are narcissistic and (INAUDIBLE)? Get out of here.

MUSTO: They are horrible people, Brooke. Stay away -- except for Brad Pitt.

BALDWIN: I kid.

MUSTO: But it also involves magical realism and Michael Keaton's character levitates and likes people do crazy things or maybe where he hallucinates -- maybe he is hallucinated. Whatever the case, it is a brilliant innovated film by Alejandro (INAUDIBLE) who did Bravo. So one of the best, to me, this and boyhood are the two best so far of the year.

BALDWIN: So potential --?

MUSTO: And he is a revelation. Edward Norton is a revelation as narcissistic actor. Naomi Watts, Emma Stone, lot of nominations coming here.

BALDWIN: Where has Michael Keaton been?

MUSTO: He was in remission. I mean, it happens. Show business is up and down, you know. But the public loves nothing than gathering around and watching somebody regroup and rise up like a phoenix. It's going to happen to me someday.

BALDWIN: Of course, it will. You need to come back and you can say where you when.

Benedict (INAUDIBLE), he is everywhere.

MUSTO: He is.

BALDWIN: He is like the man of the hour. I ran into him at the CNN Heroes. He presented an award last week. And you know, everybody is buzzing about this guy as if you're a huge Sherlock Holmes' fan. You know exactly who he is.

MUSTO: And it looked like his movie career wasn't going to happen when he play the 'Little League" (ph) guy. But guess what, "imitation game," Academy award nominations, all the way around. He plays Alan Tour (ph), the real-life guy who cracked the Nazi code. Big year for World War II movies.

BALDWIN: Apparently. MUSTO: He pretty much knows the guy who ended World War II. Winston

Churchill will gave him credit for that. He saved millions of lives. He was a genius. He also was socially awkward and may have had Asperger's (ph) and he was gay at the when it was extremely illegal in England to be gay. So the movie deals with the fact that he can crack all his secrets, but he's holding his own secret. And he and Kiera Knightly are both really fantastic.

BALDWIN: Love her. Finally, you have Seth Rogen and James Franco doing a film about Kim Jong-Un of North Korea, why first of all?

MUSTO: That's not opening yet. you are going to have to wait for this one.

BALDWIN: Give me the tease.

MUSTO: It's like the same people who did "this is the end." Remember that hilarious apocalyptic comedy? Franco and Seth Rogen play people who do a tabloid TV show very different than this one. This one has dignity and class. They --

BALDWIN: Thank you.

MUSTO: You're welcome. They actually go to North Korea to interview Kim because it says Kim is a fan of their tabloid show. No big surprise.

BALDWIN: OK.

MUSTO: And then the CIA re-route them to actually assassinate Kim. This is controversial already in Korea. They are condemning the film which means I want to see it.

BALDWIN: OK. I know when I see it. (INAUDIBLE) want to talk about what they want to get involve with it in the first place. Michael Musto, thank you so much, out.com.

MUSTO: Comedy is danger.

BALDWIN: Come back.