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New Day

Italian Police Arrest 16 Suspected Extremists; Stage Collapses During High School Performance; Protests Heat Up Over Freddie Gray's Death; Former Baltimore Police Detective Speaks Out about Abuse. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired April 24, 2015 - 07:00   ET

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

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of them was a horrific attack of a border town in Peshawar in Pakistan, more than 100 people killed in a market attack there in 2009, but we're also learning from the police and this is very worrying details for the Italian authorities because they say this group had imported to Italy somebody they describe as sounding like a potential suicide bomber and left in there in Italy plans they say to target locations in Italy.

[07:00:15] And one of those potential targets, worryingly, the Vatican. So you have suicide bomber brought Italy, potential Vatican as target. A large wide-scale, wide-reaching arrest, Chris.

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: I'll take it, Nic.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much, Nic.

CAMEROTA: Thanks so much for that. We want to bring in now Congressman John Delaney. He represents Warren Weinstein's district in Maryland. And we will get to that story about the unfortunate drone strike in a moment.

But first, Congressman, thanks for being on NEW DAY. We want to ask you about this breaking news that we're hearing about these arrests connected to a possible attack on the Vatican. What do you know?

REP. JOHN DELANEY (D), MARYLAND: I mean, I basically know what you know at this point, because I'm getting the information around the same time you are. Obviously, it's incredibly concerning, particularly the suicide bomber angle and the implications that could have on some places in Italy and, as you mention, the Vatican.

So this is just a reminder about the world we're in right now and why it's so important that we work together with our partner nations in combatting terrorism and defeating it all around the world. Because it can be activated anywhere. And it does kind of tie into what's going on with the situation around Warren and our efforts to attack al Qaeda compounds in Pakistan. Because this is obviously all interconnected.

CAMEROTA: And before we get to what happened with Warren Weinstein, I just want to talk to you about that interconnectedness. Because it seems as though either there are isolated incidents that are targeting Christians, or something deeper and bigger is going on. This comes on the heels of the arrests in Paris where two churches

were targeted. We also have heard this week and in the past ten days about Ethiopian Christians being beheaded by ISIS. We know of Egyptian Christians being targeted by ISIS. Do you think that there is something bigger going on in terms of Christianity under attack?

DELANEY: Well, listen, and I think -- and it hasn't been covered as much as it should. The plight of what's going on in Christians in the region with a militant terrorist group is terrible. And even stories about the refugees on the boats and the Christians being thrown overboard, it's story after story.

So I do think there's a larger narrative about Christian persecution in the Middle East among terrorist groups and militant groups and around the world.

CAMEROTA: Yes, I mean, Christian persecution in the Middle East, we have been covering that. But you're right. We're not talking about it sort of nationally. We don't hear the administration talking about it. What is the plan?

DELANEY: Right. Well, look, I think the plan is against all of terrorism, right? Because they're a threat to everyone, Christians and non-Christians obviously. So you know, I think what the administration is focused on is defeating terrorism at the source and, you know, continuing to engage in this unfortunate global war on terror that we're in.

So obviously, that's what the administration's focused on. They're focused on attacking the assets and attacking the networks and defeating them based on what our intelligence tells us where they are.

In terms of this larger narrative around Christians, I mean, I think there's been a lot of discussion in Syria and other places where we're seeing really intense persecution. And we need to be stepping up our aid to some of these people, as well.

So it's both the fighting terrorism angle, and then it's making sure we're providing aid to these people that are just in, you know, dealing with persecution.

CAMEROTA: I'm reading the news bulletin, the breaking news of what's happening today with these arrests in Italy, where the Vatican might have been targeted. It said, "Raids across Italy were targeting 18 people suspected of having links with al Qaeda."

DELANEY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Now, what -- what are we to make of suspects being able to travel through western Europe so easily and being able to arrive in Italy?

DELANEY: Well, you know, it's a security issue, right? What are these countries doing to secure their borders from terrorists entering? Right? I know what we're doing here. You know, what are they doing? And it raises a lot of questions. Now, you know, Europe's a little different, right, because unlike the

United States, which we're somewhat isolated from the Middle Eastern region where a lot of the terrorists are coming from, Europe's connected. There's a lot of borders. It's a little more porous in that regard. It's actually viewed as one economy.

And so it's a little more difficult, but I think it raises very significant questions about what they're doing there. Eighteen of them, and from what I can tell from the reports, they're spread out all around the country.

So this was obviously fairly strategic. It sounds like something that's been in the works for a long time. And fortunately, the Italian authorities were able to intercept this before they were able to do anything. But who knows what else is being planned?

CAMEROTA: Congressman, let's talk about the drone program...

DELANEY: Sure.

CAMEROTA: ... that is now in the spotlight as a result of what happened with Warren Weinstein being killed and the other Italian hostage.

DELANEY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: Are you satisfied with the U.S. drone program? Or do you think that it's time to give it a second look?

[07:05:07] DELANEY: Look, I think -- I am satisfied with the drone program as it relates to the mission of what we're talking about here, combatting terrorism, our national security issues. It's been very effective. That doesn't mean we always shouldn't be looking at the standards.

I mean, the standards for an attack that the White House has described and everyone's talked about is this near certainty standard. In other words, if they have a target, they need to be nearly certain that there's no civilians or hostages in this case, you know, at the target. Right? And obviously, there was a mistake here, because I believe in their own minds they reached that standard, but there was obviously hostages there.

So those things need to be looked at. What is our intelligence capabilities in terms of confirming that no one is there? That should be looked at. Are we doing enough? You know, do we have to recalibrate that standard in terms of how we think about it? What's the burden of proof?

But that's a separate investigation. Because listen, this attack that unfortunately resulted in the loss of Warren's life, which is just an utter tragedy based on his story and what the family's dealt with, but if it was done by a manned aircraft, we'd be having the same conversation, which is why didn't we know that he was there?

And to me the bigger question is our overall intelligence operation as it relates to both finding hostages, which is related to whether we know if they're hidden at a place we're intended to target.

I've been very frustrated -- and I know the Weinstein family feels the same way -- that even though really good people were working on Warren's case for the last three years, our inability to find him, our inability to use all the resources we have, both our own resources and leveraging and really forcing our partner nations in the region to help us find these people, is to me where there was a big lapse that needs to be focused on.

CAMEROTA: In fact, I have a statement to that effect from the Weinstein family. It mentions you. I want to end on this note and just read to you what they say about you and the efforts.

"I want to thank Congressman John Delaney," they say, "as well as specific officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their relentless efforts to free my husband. Unfortunately, the assistance we received from the other elements of the U.S. government was inconsistent and disappointing over the course of three and a half years." They are calling for better government assistance...

DELANEY: Yes.

CAMEROTA: ... to victims' families for hostage taking.

Congressman John Delaney, thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on all this breaking news this morning.

DELANEY: Great, thank you.

CAMEROTA: Let's get over to Chris.

CUOMO: All right, Alisyn, breaking overnight. Take a look at what happened at an Indiana high school. One minute it's a concert; the next minute the stage collapses. Dozens of students are on there, performing this fall [SIC] concert. And they literally fall right into the orchestra pit. It wasn't a fall concert. It's obviously spring. But one minute, they're singing. Next minute they fall in. Parents had to come up and literally pull kids out. Dozens were injured.

CNN's Ryan Young is live from Westfield, Indiana. That's where it happened. Ryan, what's the latest on the injuries?

RYAN YOUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chris, you know, that's dramatic video. In fact, just in the last half hour, we had an update about the injuries. We were told the most hurt student, the one that was in critical is no longer in critical. She's in stable condition. She's actually talking, and she's doing OK.

Everyone here, though, is still trying to figure out what happened to cause this collapse.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG (voice-over): Breaking overnight, a frightening scene at a jubilant high school rock concert in Indiana. Nearly two dozen injured, one critically. Watch as, in the final moments of a performance of "American Pie" at Westfield High School, the platform beneath these students gives way. Terrified screams...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God!

YOUNG: ... filling the air as the stage collapses, and the student performers are sent plunging below.

Blake Rice was playing guitar on stage when the platform collapsed.

BLAKE RICE, STUDENT: I was afraid. I was a few feet from falling in myself. So, you know, I definitely wasn't out of the line of danger by any means.

YOUNG: Witnesses describing a chaotic scene.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was the last song and then you just hear this huge bang. And then all the students disappear. What we saw was just traumatizing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, there was this one girl who had, like, nails in her leg. And she was getting taken out on a stretcher.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of people were crying. And people were scared.

YOUNG: Students taking to social media, some updating their condition from the hospital. The city's school superintendent says it's still unclear why this stage collapsed.

MARK KEEN, SUPERINTENDENT, WESTFIELD SCHOOLS: It appeared the cover collapsed in total immediately. We'll produce all the records to the investigators so they can look into it to see what the cause was.

YOUNG: The heart-pounding video's reminiscent of a similar stage collapse at Indiana State Fair in 2011, when a wind gust from an approaching thunderstorm collapsed the roof structure, sending it onto a crowd of spectators. That deadly incident left seven dead and dozens injured.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

YOUNG: Now, the principal here has tweeted that she will meet with her staff this morning. In fact, that meeting's going on right now. Then she will talk with students. They're actually telling some students they can stay home after all the things that have happened here over the last 24 hours -- Michaela.

[07:10:06] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, they're likely going to need the weekend to kind of recover from the trauma of that and probably a little more time. All right, Ryan, thanks for that report.

Meanwhile, protesters in Baltimore blasting and confronting officers overnight in the most heated protests seen there yet. Two people, in fact, arrested as demonstrators demand answers into how Freddie Gray died after being taken into police custody. This as victim's family -- the victim's family, rather, prepares to lay their loved one to rest Monday.

CNN's Joe Johns joins us live with all of the latest.

Hi, Joe.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Two people taken into custody in the protests here in Baltimore overnight. One charged with assault. Another charged with destruction of property.

The commissioner here in Baltimore has said he wants his police officers to allow the free expression of freedom of speech.

The investigation into the death of Freddie Gray continues here in Baltimore. Continuing also are the questions about whether he was strapped into a police van before he was taken away. Because there are concerns that people can be seriously injured in the transport in so-called rough rides.

However, one of the individuals who took video that has sparked some of the protests here in Baltimore, says as far as he's concerned Freddie Gray was essentially wrapped up by the police and contorted out of shape. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw the way they had him folded up. They had him folded up like he was a crab or like a piece of origami. You know what I mean? Like he was all bent up, and they had his knee -- the officer had their knee in his neck. And he was just screaming. He was, I mean, like screaming for life.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Today a coalition of civil rights activists will call on the governor of Maryland to take executive action to address some of the issues that have arisen in the Freddie Gray investigation. His funeral is scheduled on Monday.

Chris, back to you.

CUOMO: All right, Joe, thank you very much.

We have news of a 6.2 magnitude earthquake shaking New Zealand. Intense, intense activity reported. Items falling off bookshelves. Could be a lot worse, though, with that intensity level. Right? Parts of the region also rattled by two aftershocks. There are no immediate reports of major damage or injuries. We'll stay on it.

CAMEROTA: A big update now out of Yemen. Those U.S. Warships sent to the gulf of Aden this week apparently making an impact. Iranian ships suspected of carrying weapons to Houthi rebels have reportedly turned around. The move heads off a potential confrontation with the U.S. and the Saudis, who threatened to search the ships if they docked in Yemen.

PEREIRA: We hear about this kind of thing happening. I don't know if we have the video. Frightening video out of Seattle. Watch this. A light link rail train -- pardon me -- rams into a car on the tracks. You can see the car veer right in front of it. It happened Monday morning, but we're just now seeing the video. The vehicle was dragged several feet, even knocking over a light pole.

What is interesting and miraculous, really, that the train hit the driver's side, but the 50-year-old driver was trapped for about 15 minutes but not injured.

CAMEROTA: Wow.

PEREIRA: Really nailed the driver's side of the car, too.

CUOMO: Got lucky, left-hand turn blind spot.

PEREIRA: Very, very lucky.

CUOMO: You know, when you're making that left-hand turn.

PEREIRA: Did you also notice the absence of...

CUOMO: The gate. But on those city streets like that, if you had a gate every time you go past one, you know, you'd never be able to move.

CAMEROTA: Right. So good that worked out.

All right. Well, there are more protests and a demand for answers in the death of Freddie Gray. We're talking to a former Baltimore police officer who says he resigned from the force because of the abuse that he witnessed by fellow officers.

CUOMO: The big question in politics today is must Hillary and/or Bill Clinton answer questions about big foreign donations to their family foundation? John King will have how deep this may go and why it isn't going away, coming up on "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:17:24] CUOMO: You're about to meet Joseph Crystal. He was a rising star in the Baltimore Police Department. He was made a detective not even two years into the job. Very unusual.

But that all changed after he testified against two officers in a case that involved beating a suspect. He says after that, he endured a pattern of abuse that eventually forced him to resign. Since that, Crystal has filed a lawsuit against the Baltimore Police Department, claiming that the department didn't protect him from retaliation the way it should have.

Joining us now for insight into the current situation is former Baltimore police detective Joe Crystal.

Joe, thank you for coming forward. Appreciate it.

JOSEPH CRYSTAL, FORMER BALTIMORE POLICE DETECTIVE: Oh, thank you for having me, sir. It's a pleasure. Good morning.

CUOMO: So you are part of a police situation. You hear noises. You go in, you see what you believe is excessive force. You later find out that the suspect is injured. You decide to do the right thing. What did you believe the right thing was?

CRYSTAL: Well, it was simple, sir. The right thing to do was to report the incident. Unfortunately, it was my supervisor at the time that was involved in the incident. So I did the next best thing. I went to a supervisor within my division to report the incident. And when I did that, I was told simply if I were to snitch or that basically I would be -- my career would be over. His exact words to me were, "If you snitch, your career's done. And if you talk to internal affairs, they're going to make you rat."

CUOMO: Help us understand, because that sounds like the criminal mindset at play. So this is the police department. So help us understand the culture. What was wrong with you snitching when you were telling your brothers and sisters on the force that, "Hey, what I saw is bad for all of us. What I saw was not the law. It was breaking the law."

Why didn't anybody buy that? What was their response?

CRYSTAL: Well, there were very few people that did support me in it. I feel that, you know, somewhere along the line in that department, that we took a wrong turn. That, you know, as a cop I'm a strong believer that being a cop is not a right. It's a privilege, sir. And we need to hold ourselves above reproach. And what happened that night was wrong for any man, for any person, doesn't matter if you were a cop or not. So what happened was wrong.

And I remember talking to, at the time, the FOP president and telling him what happened. And he told me, you know, "The reason people are mad at you, Joe, is because this is blood in, blood out." To me that's gang terminology. At that point we're not being cops. At that point, what we're doing is we're putting ourselves down to the level of the people we're trying to, you know, protect the citizens from.

CUOMO: And explain -- Joe, explain what blood in, blood out means and what the expectation of your fellow officers was.

[17:20:03] CRYSTAL: Well, "blood in, blood out" is a term used in a lot of different gangs. You know, it means once you come in here, you're in for life. What happens in the family stays in the family. You know, you don't ever go against your family, you know. And that's basically, you know, in a very abbreviated term, what that means.

Most of the people in the department wanted me to keep quiet. I remember I put in for an assignment one time, and I was specifically told that, even though I've done the work to get the assignment, that I wasn't going to be given that assignment, because I snitched on my last sergeant. If I wanted to work there, I had to be able to do things in the gray area.

So me having to tell you, which I believe is the most important thing for any officer to have, what I was finding out was that they were basically looking at that like that was a detriment.

CUOMO: And they did the obvious ugly things to you. They shunned you. They put a dead rat on your car. But they also went as far as, when you were on the job, you didn't get backup when you thought you needed it. Is that true?

CRYSTAL: That's true. Two separate occasions, sir. One time I was involved in a foot pursuit with a felony drug suspect. And despite calls, people in my own squad didn't even show up.

CUOMO: Now, do you believe that the department -- or do you have any reason to believe that the department is different now than it was when you were there?

CRYSTAL: No, sir. And I think that, you know, what I personally believe, sir, is the way that they handled my situation. The mayor and the police commissioner, Commissioner Batts, sent a horrible message not just to the community of saying we don't want cops that speak the truth of brutality and what happened here, but they also sent that same type of message to the officers, that if you speak of brutality, we're going to get rid of you.

The officer -- one of the officers, the sergeant that was convicted in my case, I left the force in September of this year -- they allowed him to retire with full benefits after being convicted of a jury in Baltimore City January of 2015.

CUOMO: You testified at trial, and the jury came back with a conviction in that case is what you're referring to.

CRYSTAL: Yes.

CUOMO: You're saying that still they let him retire the right way, as opposed to someone who had disgraced the department.

So what does all this understanding do to what you're learning about the current situation with Freddie Gray? Do you know any of those officers? Or do you have any insight into, you think, what's going on right now within that department in terms of investigating its actions?

CRYSTAL: Well, first of all, I only knew one of the officers for a short brief amount of time. I think it was less than a month, if I remember correctly.

As far as, you know, the incident goes, you know, from what I believe, sir, is again that the commissioner and the mayor sent a horrible message by, you know, not supporting me when I went through that. It was well-documented what I was going through. And they just decided that, hey, it's easier to get rid of somebody that discusses brutality.

In this department as an officer, we need to have accountability for our actions. That's not just the officers, sir, on the ground. That's at the top. I feel the mayor may have made a bad decision on who she put as our focal point to set the example, when Commissioner Batts has a history of not supporting officers in similar situations like I was from the time he was in California.

CUOMO: Joe Crystal.

CRYSTAL: So that's the type of message. Yes, sir. I heard in a...

CUOMO: Finish your point, Joe.

CRYSTAL: I heard in a recent interview, sir, Commissioner Batts say he wanted to get to the bottom of this incident. And, you know, the first thing that came to mind is if something did go awry in the Freddie Gray situation, why would any officer -- how is any officer going to come forward after the way they treated me and they got rid of me for coming forward about brutality?

CUOMO: Joe Crystal, thank you for coming forward with your perspective. And good luck going forward. You've got a lot of life in front of you. Hopefully, you're able to do new things. Thanks for coming on NEW DAY.

CRYSTAL: Thank you, sir. Appreciate your time.

CUOMO: Mick.

PEREIRA: All right, Chris. Should Hillary Clinton testify before Congress about her e-mails and about Benghazi? It's the latest showdown in the Democratic presidential candidate is facing. John King will take a look, "Inside Politics."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:27:53] PEREIRA: Breaking news that we are following, a major terror bust in Italy. Officials say the suspects may have been considering the Vatican as one of their targets. More than a dozen have been arrested in the terror sweep. Wiretaps show some suspects in contact with supporters of Osama bin Laden.

CAMEROTA: About two dozen students recovering after being hurt in a stage collapse at an Indiana high school. The frightening scene was caught on video, as you can see, the floor gives way during a performance, sending students into the orchestra pit below. The cause of that collapse not yet known.

CUOMO: All right. So you remember the Delaware police officer lip syncing to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off"?

CAMEROTA: How can we forget?

CUOMO: It was mostly delivery. Well, his name is Officer Jeff Davis. And he's back. And he's got a partner this time. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OFFICER JEFF DAVIS, DELAWARE POLICE OFFICER (SINGING): Marry that girl, marry her anyway. I'm so fancy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CUOMO: I feel like I want to save these guys from this, but they're

obviously enjoying it.

CAMEROTA: That's so great.

CUOMO: The other guy is Demetrius Stephenson, obviously another officer. And they're lip-synching to a mash up of hit songs, including "Rude" and "Fancy."

PEREIRA: Songs you know very, very well.

CUOMO: Yes. Yes, I just don't have the moves. Demetrius has got good moves. A lot of head moves going on.

PEREIRA: Less is more with him, right?

CUOMO: Well, he's stuck in that car. These are big men we're talking about. He's got his seat belt on. I don't know what they're doing on the job exactly.

CAMEROTA: They love their job. That's what they're doing. This is enthusiasm about the job.

PEREIRA: You know someone else who brings enthusiasm, and often dance moves, to his job?

CAMEROTA: Who's that?

PEREIRA: Mr. John King. "Inside Politics," who's been away from us, but now he is back, and we're so glad. We missed you terribly.

JOHN KING, CNN HOST, "INSIDE POLITICS": I am back. I'm in the chair. Saw our good friend Frank Buckley out in (UNINTELLIGIBLE) yesterday.

PEREIRA: I miss hanging out with him.

KING: He misses you very much, but he's glad that you're...

PEREIRA: My former co-anchor.

CAMEROTA: So nice.

KING: ... star of screen and stage here.

All right. Let's get "Inside Politics." Back to you guys in a few minutes. A very busy day. With me to share their reporting and their insights, Jackie Kucinich of "The Daily Beast"; Robert Costa of "The Washington Post."

A lot to cover on this latest controversy about the Clinton Foundation and whether it will impact the Clinton presidential campaign. "The New York Times" the other day had a very good story. If you hasn't read it, folks, go online and find it. About at the time the United States was making a deal with Russia to allow Russia to expand its control of uranium. Bill Clinton is getting contributions from Canadian businessmen who are involved in the deal to the Clinton Foundation.