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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Ebola Patient in Dallas Dies; Police Smash Window, Tase Passenger; Unarmed Man Tasered: Excessive Force?; Six Possible Cases of Ebola in Spain; Pentagon: Key City in Syria Likely to Fall to ISIS
Aired October 08, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, good evening. Thanks for tuning in. We begin tonight with breaking news. Another possible Ebola case in Texas on the same day that the first person diagnosed with the disease in the United States has died.
A sheriff's deputy who was in Thomas Duncan's apartment with county health officials is now being examined at the same hospital where Duncan died today.
We're going to have more on this latest possibly case in a moment.
The head of the CDC today offered condolences to Duncan's loved ones and noted that even though more than 3800 people have died from Ebola in West Africa, Duncan is now the face we associate with Ebola. A reminder of what a deadly enemy the disease is and how the health care system has to do everything possible to fight it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM FRIEDEN, CDC DIRECTOR: The three key steps are first thinking of the possibility of Ebola and identifying who may have the disease so that -- second they can be rapidly tested and third, effectively isolated. That's crucial for our response, and the identification, diagnosis and safe care of anyone who may have Ebola needs to be top of mind right now for health care providers throughout the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: In a moment Elizabeth Cohen is going to dig deeper into whether those steps were adequately taken in Duncan's case. But first Gary Tuchman has the latest on this second possible -- and we say possible case in Texas.
What do you know, Gary?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, a Dallas County sheriff's deputy who was one of first responders to the apartment of the Ebola victim is now being treated himself for the possibility of Ebola in the very same hospital where Mr. Duncan was.
It all started this afternoon around 12:30 local time here in Texas, in the town of Frisco, which is 30 miles north of Dallas. This deputy, Michael Monnig, went into an urgent care center saying he didn't feel well. Doctors determined he had some symptoms of Ebola. They also found out he had been in the apartment so they sprung into action.
About nine emergency vehicles immediately came to the scene. An ambulance, a fire truck, other vehicles. His car, the deputy's car was, which is in the parking lot, it was roped off by police tape. Fourteen people were inside the urgent care center. They were told not to leave because of the possibility of contamination. And then he was rushed by ambulance to this hospital.
But, and this is a big but, authorities are saying at this point there is a low risk of Ebola and they say it's because of these reasons. He was never with Duncan. Duncan was already in the hospital when this deputy got to the apartment. In addition, this deputy has never been to West Africa and he doesn't have all the symptoms of Ebola. And finally he is not one of the 48 contacts that medical officials are keeping an eye on here in Texas.
A short time ago the deputy's son spoke out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LOGAN MONNIG, SGT. MICHAEL MONNIG'S SON: He woke up sore, kind of fatigued and had a little bit of stomachache. No fever. No vomiting, diarrhea or anything like that. Just experiencing somewhat flu-like symptoms. Again, my dad being the cautious person that he is just decided to be rather safe than sorry.
We're very just kind of scared. Just want to make sure that he's OK. You know, just waiting to get all the facts and make sure nothing gets blown out of proportion. But we are just waiting to see. You know, make sure he doesn't test positive and we're not expecting him to.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Of the 48 people that medical authorities are keeping an eye on, Anderson, we can tell you none has exhibited any symptoms.
COOPER: Well, I mean, you've got to give kudos for this officer for going in just with an abundance of caution. How long will it take to know definitively whether or not the officer does have Ebola?
TUCHMAN: The authorities are telling us it will take a maximum of 14 days but probably won't take that long. And once again we should emphasize the CDC is saying it and authorities here in Texas are saying it, he's at very low risk for Ebola so that indeed is good news.
COOPER: All right. And that bears repeating.
Gary Tuchman, thanks.
As Deputy Monnig waits to learn if he's battling Ebola, as we mentioned, Thomas Eric Duncan did lose his battle today.
Now as you may know, Mr. Duncan was initially sent home from the hospital with antibiotics or prescription for antibiotics even when they knew he had recently been in Liberia. When I spoke with his partner Louise several times on this program she was begging for help from the United States government for him and had concerns that maybe he wasn't getting the same aggressive treatment that others did.
Now that he's dead the sad question is, was enough done to save his life and was it done on time?
Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thomas Eric Duncan lay sickened in his hospital bed for six days before Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital tried an experimental medication to fight Ebola and his family says he never got a blood donation.
Compare that to NBC cameraman Ashoka Mukpo, also fighting Ebola. He arrived at the University of Nebraska on Monday and doctors immediately gave him an experimental antiviral medication.
Some community leaders in Dallas now questioning the care Duncan received.
TUGBEH CHIEH TUGBEH, LIBERIAN COMMUNITY LEADER: He was turned away from the hospital. He was given an experimental drug at the final hour. His family was locked in an apartment for nine days with toxic materials. So -- and to top it all off he wasn't given a blood clot treatment nor was he allowed to video chat with his own family.
To me there's some discrepancies when we have people that have survived from Ebola in America. Why couldn't Mr. Duncan had survived?
COHEN: Ebola patients Kent Brantly, Nancy Writebol and Rick Sacra all got experimental medications almost immediately. Brantly, Sacra and Mukpo also received blood donations.
DR. IRWIN REDLENER, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: It's important to try various ways of approaching this disease.
COHEN: All this on top of the fact that Duncan showed up at Presbyterian Hospital on September 25th with a fever and stomach pain. He told the hospital he travelled recently to Liberia but still they told him to go home. A huge lapse on the part of the hospital.
He was admitted September 28th missing three days he could have been treated and extending the days he potentially could have infected others.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The thing that should be of great concern is that he was -- that he was discharged from the hospital and sent home and was allowed to circulate in the community.
COHEN: When asked why it took nearly a week to get the experimental medication to Duncan the hospital told CNN, "The care team has been consulting with the CDC and Emory on the daily basis since Mr. Duncan was admitted to the hospital, discussing the possible course of treatment including the use of investigational drugs."
But Duncan's girlfriend Louise Troh isn't satisfied, issuing a statement thanking many people but not his doctors and nurses, and she added, "I trust a thorough examination will take place regarding all aspects of his care."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And Elizabeth joins me now from Dallas.
So there were some delays in treatment. How much of a difference do we know could it have made if Mr. Duncan had gotten care sooner? If he'd been admitted that first day when he went to the hospital?
COHEN: You know, Anderson, we don't have a crystal ball but I know when I was in Liberia doctors who treat Ebola patients couldn't emphasize this enough. If patients get to them sooner rather than later, they have a significantly higher chance of saving them. So for example, getting care at, say, day three versus day -- day six, just those three days they said could make the world of a difference.
COOPER: All right. Elizabeth, thanks very much.
Pastor George Mason of Wilshire Baptist Church was the one who broke the news to Duncan's partner Louise that he had died. He joins me now.
Pastor, thanks for being with us. First of all, how are Louise and her family taking the news? I mean, did they -- when I last talked to her, I mean, she knew he had taken a turn for the worse but did she realize the end was so close?
PASTOR GEORGE MASON, WILSHIRE BAPTIST CHURCH: She really didn't. I mean, yesterday when she heard that the new treatment protocol was being issued her spirits were cheered. She just let out yelp of gratitude to God. And she -- she really was thinking and all of them were thinking that there was a lot more hope and that he was on his way up instead of down. And so this morning when we delivered that news it was really devastating.
COOPER: I'm wondering how focused is Louise now on what could and perhaps should have been done differently. I know you said she was going through the what ifs.
MASON: Yes, she does what everybody does in times like these. I mean, you ask yourself what you could have done differently. You wonder what other people could have done differently. Because this is reality that you just really don't want to have to accept. But we can only live forward. We can't live back ward.
And so while she has to trust that there are people who are going to investigate all of these things and seek justice and make sure that protocols were followed, and while she can get assurances from many of us and public officials about that, she can only live forward.
So we've have been trying to help her to concentrate on the reality of where things are now and how to live by faith and not to focus in that direction solely.
COOPER: And obviously, faith is very important to Louise. She's talked about that with me a lot.
Louise has a son with Mr. Duncan who is now a college student. Obviously our thoughts are with him as well.
What happens now in terms of giving Mr. Duncan a funeral? Do you know if he will be buried in the United States? If he'll be cremated? Obviously there's a concern from a medical standpoint about Ebola transmission even after the patient has passed away.
MASON: It is my understanding that he will be cremated. But again those are medical details and legal matters that I don't have all the answers at hand for. But I know that she is willing for that to happen as is he. And there are no decisions that have been made about final disposition of the remains. We are talking this evening in a little while here at the church. That was to be a prayer vigil for Mr. Duncan and for Louise and the boys, but now it's turning into also a memorial service.
COOPER: It's a nice thing to do. In terms of the family's own health, Louise's health, or her son, who -- the 13-year-old who's with her, her two nephews. You were in the same room as them. I know you couldn't touch them. You had to stand several feet away. How are they feeling health wise? What was it like being there?
MASON: Well, it is one of those things that is an abundance of caution that we stay three feet away and we don't touch and we stand instead of sit and those sorts of things. And that's probably much more than needs to happen under the circumstances because they are still asymptomatic. They get their temperature taken twice day. And so far they're doing very well.
I will tell you that the heartbreaking thing about it was when she -- they received the news. You know, they needed to be able to hold each other. And I'm used to hugging someone in a moment like that. And she fell to the floor in her grief and had to suffer alone in each of our presence. So we were all there together but we were not able to really be together and comfort one another. So this is also a kind of a secondary tragedy, I think, of this case.
COOPER: Yes, you know, and I talked about that actually with Nancy Writebol and her husband. The missionaries who -- you know, Nancy had gotten -- tested positive for Ebola. And that's one of the things she talked about, too, is when she first got the news that she was positive for Ebola her husband tried to hug her and she said, you know, no, you can't touch me. And that isolation has just got to be such -- I mean, the disease is horrible enough. That isolation not being able to have that physical touch from a loved one which has got to be so painful.
MASON: Well, it really is because love makes you want to move toward someone and to embrace them and to share whatever joy or pain that they are sharing. And we are physical human beings. We're body and spirit together. And so not to be able to do so is sort of a break in our human nature. And it really has been challenging to them and to all of us who'd cared for them.
COOPER: And in our thoughts about Mr. Duncan that should be pointed out that he most likely contracted this because he saw a teenage pregnant girl in the area where he was staying collapse on the ground and he went to help her as did many people in that village. And that, I think, should be noted on this day in which he has lost his life. He lost his life because he reached out in a human moment to help somebody else in need.
Pastor Mason, I appreciate your --
MASON: I really think you're right. We have to decide. We have to decide how we're going to tell people's stories, don't we? And I think you're doing a good job saying there that everyone's not a villain or a victim. That sometimes there's actually enormous virtue involved in these stories and while a tragedy did occur people most often act in noble ways and sometimes it cost them their lives.
COOPER: Yes. And I should point out a number of people in that village who helped that young girl, they have also either gotten sick or already passed way.
Pastor Mason, I appreciate all you do. Thank you very much for being with us.
There's also breaking news tonight about the nurse's assistant in Spain who is the first person during this outbreak to be diagnosed outside of West Africa.
Tonight we know her name. Teresa Romero Ramos. There she is with her dog Excalibur. We also know that her dog has been euthanized. According to CDC, some studies have shown that dogs can carry the virus without showing symptoms, although so far no human infections have been linked to dogs.
A quick reminder, set your DVRs so you can watch 360 whenever you want.
Coming up, it is already a common scene at airports in West Africa. Now some passengers at five of United States' busiest airports, one of them right here in New York City, will soon be getting their temperatures taken as well as part of new screening measures to try to contain the Ebola outbreak. That's next.
Also ahead, we'll take you to Liberia, to the front lines, for reaction to Thomas Duncan's death. What people in his home country are saying tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Well, five of the busiest airports in the United States will soon take new steps to prevent the spread of Ebola. The CDC announced the new measures today for screening passengers coming into the United States from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Customs employees will be asking those passengers questions about their health and possible exposure to Ebola and then taking their temperatures. The new screening will go into effect first at New York's JFK airport
on Saturday, followed by airports in Newark, Washington, Chicago and Atlanta. The CDC says more than 94 percent of travelers coming to the United States from the hardest hit West African countries go through those five airports.
Joining me now live is Dr. Seema Yasmin, "Dallas Morning News" staff writer, professor of Public Health at University of Texas in Dallas, and former CDC disease detective, also Dr. Irwin Redlener, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University.
Doctor, thanks for being with us.
First of all, what do you make of these screening procedures at the airports?
REDLENER: Well, I think we're looking for ways to make sure that we've identified as many people as possible. And I think that's a reasonable stab at it. The problem is that it's still not going to be complete. There's still going to be ways that people are going to slip through. There's going to be people asymptomatic who are incubating. And then they're going to get sick after they get here.
But I think we're taking these steps to try to reduce the chances somebody will slip in. So I don't object to them. I don't know how effective they're going to --
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: I mean, I think about, you know, those forms we all get now on airplanes, anywhere that say have you had contact with livestock or agriculture for agricultural diseases. You know, and anybody who wants to try to get through customs quickly is more than likely going to say no, I had no contact.
REDLENER: Right.
COOPER: So a lot of it still doesn't -- other than the temperature still depends on self-reporting. There's nothing that you can do about it.
REDLENER: And not only that self-reporting in a written form. So you're just checking off boxes and everyone -- the people in the business know that the better way to do that, if you could, would be to have a face-to-face, verbal communication with those security questions or these public health questions can be asked directly, and people tend to be much more forthright when it's directly asked, when somebody is standing in front of them.
COOPER: Dr. Yasmin, what's your reaction to the screening plan? I know you were skeptical of whether the U.S. could afford to screen all passengers entering the U.S. It seems like a more targeted plan. Do you think it will be effective?
DR. SEEMA YASMIN, FORMER CDC DISEASE DETECTIVE: I think, Anderson, the key thing here is that it's targeting these five key airports where 94 percent, maybe 95 percent of all travelers from those three areas will travel through. That really makes it a lot more feasible and focus and will cost less than trying to institute just universally across the United States.
And of course, it's adds like another layer of public health intervention. So travelers in those countries already being screened as they exit Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, this just adds another layer of public health screening. So I think it has potential to be effective even if it prevents just one or two people from traveling into the U.S. It would make it very worthwhile.
COOPER: You know, there's been a lot of focus on, you know, whether flights should be stopped from coming in but what about just visas? I mean, you know, Mr. Duncan applied for a visa to come to the United States, as I understand it, from Louise. I suppose that's another point of contact where people could be screened more aggressively. Yasmin?
YASMIN: Potentially, yes. Of course it would depend, though, again whether it's going to be just a paper form that somebody is filling in to get a visa or I forgot to mention we do actually have a face-to- face contact interview with the person. You're really trying to tease out that information and trying to ask people to be very honest in this instance about their exposures, where they've traveled to. So it would depend on just how successfully you could institute that kind of screening.
COOPER: Dr. Redlener, you and I have talked about this before but I think it bears repeating. The kind of the story behind the headlines on all of this is just how budgets devoted to public health, to disaster preparedness have really been slashed dramatically since 9/11. I mean, they rose immediately after 9/11.
REDLENER: Right.
COOPER: Skyrocketed and then they've just been coming down every year since then.
REDLENER: Yes. We're really not good at paying attention to these long term investments that will keep us prepared and safe. And this is really something that hopefully one of the positive things that might come out of this whole episode tragically is going to be an exposure of this cutting back of the funding that we absolutely need to make sure our hospitals are prepared and that our public health departments are capable of having the manpower and the stuff that they need to make sure that the country is as safe as possible.
COOPER: It's like spending on infrastructure. Nobody pays attention to it until a bridge collapses and then suddenly everyone is like, you know.
REDLENER: Yes.
COOPER: Why aren't we paying more on infrastructure? It's the same thing with public health. REDLENER: Exactly the same thing with public health. In some ways
worst, because people aren't even aware of some of the things that need to happen. You know, you cross the bridge every day, you see the corrosion or whatever but it's -- if nothing happens dramatically from the public health crisis point of view, yes, you wait and then suddenly it's a big thing and everybody's up in arms.
The question is, it was wakeup call, but do we hit -- are we going to hit the snooze alarm button there and just get back into complacency. And I'm really hoping that we'll have our -- the administration and the Congress get together and say, we've got to fix this, restore the funding and make sure we're ready for whatever happens next.
COOPER: Dr. Yasmin, I want to ask you about something particular about the Spanish nurse. And before I even say what it is, people are going to say, you know, how can you even ask this question because so many people are dying in West Africa? But I ask this question because when people hear that this Spanish assistant's dog was euthanized in Spain, it's beyond -- I know there were big demonstrations in Spain about that, about euthanizing the dog.
But just as a reservoir for this virus, is that a real potential reservoir for the virus. Can dogs and pets carry it?
YASMIN: They can, Anderson. And there was study done by CDC in 2001 and 2002 when there was an outbreak of Ebola in Gabon. And at that time they found that dogs were coming into contact with infected humans.
The dogs would actually carry the virus themselves without showing any signs of infection. They wouldn't even get sick. But what the researchers did find is when the dogs excreted things that the virus was found in those excretions and potentially they could be spread to humans but the researchers could not say for sure that transmission could occur from dogs to humans.
COOPER: Dr. Redlener, I appreciate you being on. Dr. Yasmin as well.
As always you can find out more on this story and others at CNN.com.
Just ahead tonight, more on tonight's breaking news. What people in Liberia, Thomas Duncan's home country, are saying tonight about his death.
Also ahead, the moments leading up to a violent confrontation. Take a look at this tape during a routine traffic stop. New details about the officers accused of using excessive force. It was all caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We're going to have more on the Ebola crisis coming up but first new details tonight about the police officers accused of using excessive force during a traffic stop in Hammond, Indiana.
We've learned it isn't the first time some of them have faced such charges. We first told you about the story last night. The car's driver said she was rushing to see her dying mom when she was pulled over for not wearing her seatbelt. Two kids and another adult were also in the car. The situation escalated. It was caught on video.
This is the moment that everyone is talking about. It wasn't easy to watch. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you going to open the door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you say somebody is not going to hurt you? People are getting shot by the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That was crazy. That is horrible. This is horrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: What you saw isn't the whole story.
CNN's Susan Candiotti talked to the driver today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A chilling end to a 13-minute standoff between an Indiana family and Hammond, Indiana, police. It starts with a simple traffic stop in broad daylight. Police pull over driver Lisa Mahone and her front seat passenger for not wearing seatbelts. She was on her way to the hospital to see her dying mother. The way she was pulled over she says scared her from the start.
LISA MAHONE, ACCUSES POLICE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: He's going from the left to the right. I'm like, my god, I don't even know which way to pull over because he's pulling me over like I robbed a bank.
CANDIOTTI: Before the cell phone camera rolls Mahone hands over her license for a possible $25 seatbelt ticket. But things go downhill, she says, when her companion Jamal Jones doesn't have an ID and reaches in the backseat to grab a ticket with his name on it. Police say that move makes them worried about their safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out of the vehicle.
MAHONE: This is crazy.
CANDIOTTI: Mahone calls 911. By now her 14-year-old son in the backseat is rolling video sitting next to his 7-year-old sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out of the vehicle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the phone, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Step out of the vehicle. You need to step out of the vehicle.
CANDIOTTI: Mahone stays on the line with 911.
MAHONE: I feel like my life is in danger.
CANDIOTTI: Jones still won't budge.
JAMAL JONES, ACCUSES POLICE OF EXCESSIVE FORCE: They had their weapons drawn. I felt to protect my family I should have stayed in that vehicle and not moved.
CANDIOTTI: About a minute later, Jones still not moving. A supervisor steps closer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you say somebody is not going hurt you. People are getting shot by the police.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the ground.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Police also have a dash cam video and audio recording made by another officer at the scene. That video has not been released.
(voice): The mayor stands by his 200-member police force, 20 percent of his air forces are minorities. In statement the police department says the officers were following procedure by not keeping his hands in plain sight and going into a backpack. Officers' safety was threatened.
The officer who smashes the window is identified as Lieutenant Patrick Vicary. Records show he's been sued twice for excessive force. In 2007, court paper say, the plaintiff suffered permanent brain injury. The case was settled.
In 2008, a family accuses the same officer of pointing guns at them, battering the mother and putting a choke hold on a child during a traffic stop. That family also settles out of court.
A second officer involved in this incident was also sued in 2003 for offensive contact. The outcome is unknown. Neither officer could be reached by CNN. Now another family is suing the city accusing officers they went too far. Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: All right, I want to bring in our panel, Attorney Areva Martin and also CNN legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Mark O'Mara.
Mark, what's your take on this? Was smashing the window and tasing the guy necessary or excessive use of force?
MARK O'MARA, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's easy to place blame almost on one side or the other. The police are supposed to be trained to minimize conflict and try to deal with it and do away with the animosity that exists. But we can't deny that when blacks interact with cops there is problems as we see it and maybe these micro decisions we make, these almost biases that happened. When they ratchet up to the point that's when it gets violent.
I have to say you have to listen to a police officer. When he says give me your information, give it. If he says get out of the car, you have to listen to the police officer and then deal with it through the proper avenues with the police department. You can't make the decision that a cop can't lose in a battle on the street.
COOPER: Areva, do you agree with that? Sunny Hostin last night, she was very adamant and she believed race somehow played a role in this. The people in the car are obviously African-American and the officers were not.
AREVA MARTIN, ATTORNEY: I believe you need to follow the police instructions, but the problem, Anderson, is we have too many of these cases involving African-American men and white police officers.
When African-American men are seemingly doing nothing wrong, committing very minor crimes, if crimes at all, death happens or excessive force, beatings happen.
We saw the young man in New York who is running and perhaps had marijuana on him and he gets beat in face, hit with a pistol by the police. We have the Gardener case in New York.
We have too many of these cases so African-American men feel like they are under siege. So yes, they should listen to the police, but when they listen they can end up dead.
COOPER: But specifically in this case, what do you think should have happened? On the police part, Areva, but also on the man who wouldn't get out of the vehicle and show ID.
MARTIN: I think it was excessive to break the window and tase the man in front of his girlfriend and his kids. They told the man they needed to' identification. The identification is in the back of the car. Perhaps they could have asked him to pass the backpack out the window.
The wife or girlfriend is on the phone talking to 911. What are the chances to be a gun in the car if she's calling the police herself? They didn't even search this vehicle for a gun after all of these talks about them being concerned about there being a gun in the vehicle.
So I can't even really believe what the police were saying in terms of them fearing that there was a gun because they didn't search for a gun.
COOPER: Mark, you're obviously no stranger to the cases that revolve around questions of race. How is there any way know whether race was factor in this? You talk about micro decisions that are made. O'MARA: It's very difficult. You can't look at this and say there's a racial issue. But we do know and the reality cannot be denied that if there was a white family, the chances are much less that it would have ended up with a broken window and the type of event that happened here.
There are those micro vices that we bring to the forefront. Cops have to be better trained on it and the African-American community has to be better trained on it as well because we know that's the beginning of a situation that always gets worse on the situation.
COOPER: Areva, when you hear about, you know, Susan Candiotti reporting previous allegations of misconduct against some of these officers, one in particular. Is it fair to infer anything from that when they have probably made many stops without incident over the years?
MARTIN: I think it's fair to infer that there needs to be a lot more training for these police officers and I question why that particular officer who has had two serious charges against him is still working for that police department.
We have seen a city council member in that city call for and question the training of his own officers. I think beyond the technical training of the police officers, Anderson, we have to talk about the sensitivity training about race, African-Americans as well as the police officers.
Police officers have to understand what's the mind set of that black man sitting in that car when guns are drawn in aggressive nature? I heard on the tape where there's a request for a supervisor and he use a curse word in responding to the man as he's asking for a supervisor. So lots of issues there that needs to be addressed.
COOPER: All right, Areva Martin, appreciate your perspective. Mark O'Mara as well, thanks as always.
Up next, we have more breaking news in the Ebola crisis, more people in Spain, the number is now at six may have the disease. A live report from Madrid is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: More breaking news tonight. The Ebola crisis we're now learning six people have been admitted to a hospital in Madrid including the nurse's assistant we've been telling you about who is the first person to contract Ebola outside of Africa.
Again, a total of six people now hospitalized. The nurse with a confirmed case is in isolation. There's new and troubling information tonight that she may have been exposed to Ebola when she touched her face while taking off her own protective suit.
CNN international correspondent, Isa Soares joins me now on the phone from Madrid. So these new patients, what do we know about them? They're not confirmed, correct? ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Correct. What we know is one is being -- that person and another person have left. Two have left. Those have been given the all clear. Two others have come in, two doctors and a male nurse.
Now all coming in with varying symptoms and they are being closely monitored. They are not quarantined in any sort of way. They are being monitored to see if they have Ebola because they've been dealing with the missionary who died here. They are being very careful -- Anderson.
COOPER: I mean, it's alarming, the nurse's assistant, she now believes that she may have contracted it while removing part of her protective outfit that her gloves may have brushed her face or she may have touched the outer part of her garment, correct?
SOARES: Correct. That's exactly what we heard today. What we're hearing basically if she said, according to the doctor the hospital that she now thinks perhaps that she touched her face as she was taking the suit off that had gloves and could have touched her face.
It was hours early before we heard of this, she had told a leading paper here that she couldn't think of how she contracted Ebola and many nurses who were protesting here tonight outside the hospital perhaps suggesting that she may have been coaxed and pressured to blame herself so the government and some of the health system don't look so bad. The lapses don't look so bad on the government side.
COOPER: There's also been a big controversy in Spain about the killing of the nurse assistant's dog. What specifically did authorities give as a reason for killing the dog?
SOARES: This is a huge story here in Spain. The protests outside the apartment didn't want the see the dog being put down, some 30 people protesting not allowing them to get into the apartment complex. The authorities said the government and health authority said right from the beginning they want to put him down.
Because they feared that perhaps he could have caused Ebola and being extra careful not knowing whether Ebola could be passed from human to animal. They are being extremely careful.
Protesters on the treat and some saying this is taking extreme measure. Perhaps they could have taken the dog and monitored him and test the dog instead of putting him down.
COOPER: We're seeing that protest now. Isa Soares, appreciate the update. Thank you.
Just ahead with key Syrian city on the brink of falling to ISIS, blunt words from the Pentagon about what the airstrikes can and cannot accomplish.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: President Obama met with top defense and national security officials, the focus of their talks Ebola and ISIS. Tonight, despite airstrikes by the U.S. and its Arab allies, the besieged Syrian city of Kobani is said to be on the brink of falling to ISIS.
Gun battles, explosions rocked Kobani today. A truck bomb driven by ISIS fighters exploded near the city center. At a news briefing, Pentagon spokesman, John Kirby gave a blunt assessment about the effectiveness of the airstrikes.
Here is the exchange he had with our chief national security correspondent, Jim Sciutto.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: How do you deny ISIL the safe haven without taking back that territory?
REAR ADMIRAL JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: The long term fixes, and we recognize that, is going to be competent ground forces that can retake territory from them. We've been nothing if not brutally honest about the fact that there's a limit to what military power is going to do here.
SCIUTTO: Hearing the public in effect for the fact that not just Kobani, but other Syrian towns will fall over the long haul of this air campaign until you have those competent forces on the ground?
KIRBY: I think we should be stealing ourselves for that eventuality, yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Jim Sciutto joins me tonight. So Jim, Kirby downplayed the importance of Kobani, but if ISIS wins the city, it certainly would be a strategic victory for them.
SCIUTTO: Not strategic very visible, you know, this is playing out in front of television cameras, posted there on the Turkish-Syrian border. In fact, U.S. officials have said to me, that is the only reason we are paying attention to it.
And that's why I pressed the Pentagon today, I said, well, is it any different for any of the other Syrian towns and cities under assault from ISIS and they said, in effect, no.
And I think that will be a very visible and difficult setback for the coalition to face as we all watch this play out in public if they can't gain back that ground and ISIS gains more ground in Syria despite the air campaign.
COOPER: And the admiral also reiterated that it can't be won with airstrikes alone. That they are going to have to rely on local ground troops in Syria, It could take years to get the rebels up to fighting speed.
SCIUTTO: That's right. And a minimum a year just for 5,000 rebels and when you think of the scale of ISIS's presence there, but all the other groups that are playing out there, 5,000 is not a lot to be relying on far down the line.
You look across the border in Iraq where you have hundreds of thousands of troops on your side, Kurdish and Iraqis, and even there they're not pushing back ISIS very quickly.
COOPER: Also, we've seen Apache attack helicopters being used in combat. I understand military U.S. advisors are now working directly with Iraqi troops rather than just that command centers, is that right?
SCIUTTO: That's right. When this started, they were confined to what they call jock operation centers in Erbil, protected territory in Northern Kurdistan and in Baghdad, again protective territoy.
But I was told today that they have now moved down to the brigade level. They are not on the front lines, but they are closer to the Iraqi troops and Kurdish forces that are fighting ISIS every day. I'm told that's still in and around Baghdad and Erbil, but it's much closer than they have been before.
COOPER: All right, Jim Sciutto, appreciate it. Thanks, Jim.
Up next, CNN's newest host joins us for a preview of his new show. That's Mike Rowe. We'll check in with him live from Kentucky for details on the news series "SOMEBODY GOT TO DO IT." It debuts in a few minutes right here on CNN. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Welcome back. In just a few minutes here on CNN, a new series debuts called "SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT" hosted by Mike Rowe. Now in each episode, Mike shows us everyday people doing some incredible jobs.
In tonight's first episode, Mike goes behind the scenes at a popular Las Vegas show at the Wynn Hotel. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE ROWE, CNN HOST, "SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT" (voice-over): Forget about backstage. This is understage except it's more complicated than that because the stage is always changing elevations. Sometimes it's out of water. Sometimes it's just below the surface.
Other times it is way down toward the bottom. It's like cave diving if the caves are constantly moving. Guess who's going in the water.
(on camera): This is Chris.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mike. Thanks.
ROWE: Essentially my life will be in your hands for the short term.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Mike puts on a wet suit and takes a big dive. He joins us now with more on the new show. So Mike, first of all, welcome. This is part of the program we're usually do a segment called "The Ridiculist." So let me just start out by asking, what's the most ridiculous thing that happened while shooting your show?
ROWE: That's a great question. Since we're talk about this specific episode. I'm said the moment where the PR guy said if you want to we can let the big fella lift you out of water 40 feet in the air and drop you.
When the cameras are rolling and somebody asks you a question you kind of feel like a smuck if you said no and the other you're in a wet suit falling through the sky like a lawn dart.
COOPER: I got to ask you, why are you standing in front of the wall of garbage right now?
ROWE: Because we haven't stopped shooting in like the last six months. We've been on the road going all over the country meeting people. This wall of garbage belongs to a guy that's been a friend of mine for a long time. He's kind of a self-appointed custodian of the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers and some of the America's waterways. He gets the garbage out of here because nobody else will do it. It's been incredible to watch him work.
COOPER: He's a CNN Hero of the year. He's a great guy. Where do you get your best ideas from? I know you have a Facebook page. A lot of your ideas come from Facebook. People just telling you, you should meet this guy.
ROWE: That's the most important part of the show. It's like three degrees of Mike. We have a production company and we look for stories. Thanks to Facebook, people call me directly and contact me directly and say look, I got neighbor. I got a friend, I got pal.
You've got to see what this person is doing. Those stories have turned out to be amazing and guys like Chad that I happened to cross paths with years ago and sort of made a note and said if I ever have chance to do a show that features people like him doing work like this, I'd like to come back and give it an honest look.
COOPER: In your episode you go to a hair museum. What's hair museum?
ROWE: Right. This is a perfect example. We were in Kansas City shooting one show. When we got done I hopped on Facebook and said America, I'm in Kansas City. If you know anybody in the zipcode who has to do, let me know.
We got thousands of suggestions and one of the top ones was you have to meet Leila. She runs a hair museum in a strip mall. I've never heard those words in the same sentence. We meet her and she's dedicated her life to preserving geneology through hair.
COOPER: Mike, I look forward to the show. Thanks so much for being with us. Say hi to Chad for me. ROWE: It will be on in mere seconds.
COOPER: That's right.
ROWE: Thank you.
COOPER: That does it for us. We'll see you again 11 p.m. Eastern for another edition of 360. Now the premier of Mike's new show, "SOMEBODY'S GOT TO DO IT."
