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CNN Newsnight Aaron Brown
Feds Focus on Taped NOPD Beating; Rains Hamper Pakistan Rescues; Suspected Al Qaeda Letter: Can You Spare 100K?
Aired October 11, 2005 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
AARON BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And good evening again, everyone.
His is the bloody face we see on the sidewalk of New Orleans, but is it also the face of police brutality?
ANNOUNCER: Robert Davis, beaten bloody on the streets of New Orleans speaks out about his ordeal. Tonight, hear from the victim himself, why this man says the police did nothing wrong.
A chilling letter from one terrorist to another, al Qaeda's number two man chastises Abu Musab al-Zarqawi for his terror methods. Tonight, is al Qaeda in Iraq in trouble?
And Anderson and Oprah take to the streets and reveals the lives of America's poor. Tonight, the ghastly truth about how 37 million Americans are living, the conditions will shock you.
Live from the CNN broadcast center in New York, this is NEWSNIGHT WITH AARON BROWN AND ANDERSON COOPER.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening. We've got a lot to cover tonight. Here's what's happening at this moment.
False alarm. It turns out the threat of a terrorist attack on New York's subway was just a hoax. Government sources tell CNN the informant in Iraq who said there was a terror plot was lying. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg defended the city's heightened alert, insisting it is better to be safe than sorry.
You can see the damage brought by heavy flooding in New Hampshire, but it is much worse than a destroyed road. The flooding has claimed at least three lives. Tonight, four other people are still missing. All the victims were from the town of Alstead.
Louisiana's governor says not so fast on casinos in New Orleans. Mayor Ray Nagin says it could help rebuild the city's economy. But today, Governor Kathleen Blanco says she doesn't believe gambling should be the base to bring money and tourists back the city.
And President Bush wraps up a two-day trip back to the Gulf Coast. Today he and an army of photographers following him to Mississippi where he greeted children and toured a newly opened school. Earlier in the day he helped at a Habitat for Humanity construction site in New Orleans.
BROWN: That's what's happening at this moment. We begin tonight with pictures of the president sending one kind of message, pictures of Robert Davis clearly sending another. Mr. Davis was beaten by police and beaten badly in New Orleans. By now, you have seen the tape, no doubt. Tonight, you'll get a chance to really look at the tape, the way a jury might, the way investigators already are.
There is a difference, and as Rodney King taught us, it is not an unimportant difference. That's coming up tonight. So is what Mr. Davis has to say about the incident. First, though, the federal investigation.
Here's CNN's Dan Simon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The highest levels of the FBI have taken an interest in this incident Saturday night on New Orleans' famed Bourbon Street. Sources familiar with the investigation say FBI Director Robert Mueller himself is keeping tabs.
That's because two of the officers involved in the violent arrest of Robert Davis are FBI agents, one of them seen here holding Davis's feet. The Justice Department is examining whether the 64-year-old's civil rights were violated.
RAFAEL GOYENECHE, METROPOLITAN CRIME COMMISSION: It's a black eye for the police department, it's a black eye for New Orleans. It's a national embarrassment.
SIMON: Rafael Goyeneche runs New Orleans' Metropolitan Crime Commission, a nonprofit government watchdog.
GOYENECHE: The question becomes, when did the FBI agent wander upon this scene? What did he see? And what actions did he take?
SIMON: The FBI had more than 300 agents in New Orleans immediately following Katrina to assist local police. About 90 remain. On Saturday, according to the FBI, two of those agents were off duty and merely came across the scene after eating in the French Quarter. They only got involved, says the FBI, after witnessing a struggle.
This man, Calvin Briles, seen here held against a car, says he was a witness. He told CNN Davis never put up a fight.
CALVIN BRILES, WITNESSED BEATING: I really don't even remember thinking. I'm just sitting there looking at this and can't believe what's happening. And like I said, I didn't know what he had done, and then to see the other policeman the camera guy, and then all kinds of officials moved in. And that's the point where I was detained.
SIMON: He claims that when he tried to report the incident, another officer told him to mind his own business, then handcuffed him, pushed him against the car, and then put him on the ground.
FELIX LOICANO, FORMER NEW ORLEANS POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER: It's something that you have to send a message to your officers that misconduct is never tolerated, particularly allegations or misconduct of this magnitude.
SIMON: Felix Loicano served in the New Orleans Police Department for 30 years, heading the same internal affairs unit now investigating the New Orleans officers involved. He says an explosive incident like this can further shake a demoralized city.
LOICANO: You have to send a message to your citizens, and to all the people that will be in your community, that police officers are under control.
SIMON: The New Orleans police officers say they were under control when they were arresting Robert Davis, one witness now saying that wasn't the case.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Tomorrow could be a critical day in the case. That's when Mr. Davis has his arraignment on those charges of public drunkenness and resisting arrest. His attorney is hoping to have those charges dropped. I don't think that hearing is happening in the regular courthouse. Too much damage there. Court these days is at the train station -- Aaron.
BROWN: That's Mr. Davis' issue. On the three police officers, they were in court yesterday. They pled yesterday. When are they back in court? What's the next stage in their saga through the court system?
SIMON: Well, we know that their trial date has been scheduled for some time in January. But, Aaron, I think here in New Orleans, the court of public opinion has already spoken. People here are simply outraged.
BROWN: They're outraged that the police -- they have already decided after, what, 36, 48 hours, the truth of the matter?
SIMON: They have seen this tape over and over again, and when you talk to people on the street, you know, they come up to you, even though they may not necessarily know we're doing the story, and they will say, hey, we saw that tape and gosh, what those officers did is just terrible.
But, you know, then again, you know, you talk to the attorney for those officers, he said these guys deserve a fair shake and they're going to get one in January.
BROWN: Everybody deserves a fair shake. Dan, thank you very much, Dan Simon down in New Orleans. We talked with the lawyer for the police officers a little bit earlier tonight, and coming up a little bit later in the program, you will hear what he has to say and perhaps view the tape somewhat differently. Perhaps. We'll see.
COOPER: It's interesting, I was talking to a couple of police officers just on the phone today who I've become friends with, and all of them pretty much had the same take on this. I mean, they were all, I wouldn't say shocked by it, but clearly disturbed by it and not making excuses which kind of surprised me.
I mean, often police officers will go out of their way to protect one another. The two officers I spoke to today said, look, these guys were out of line. There's no way to defend it.
BROWN: There are elements of this, without prejudging any of it or too much of it, because I'm about to prejudge some of it, that are clearly out of line. The pushing the AP photographer is clearly over the line. What they seemed to do to this witness is clearly over the line.
But as we learned in the Rodney King situation, as you present cases to juries, and you run the tape not once in its most outrageous form but sort of frame by frame and suck the emotion out of it, it can change the way a jury sees it.
COOPER: And we're going to do that in the next hour here at NEWSNIGHT at 11:00. We talked to a man who testifies many times in police trials, and he's actually going to do that, going to go frame by frame and look at it. And he's a former police officer, he had some real problems, especially with the punching in the back of the head, he says that's just bottom line something you never do. So that's the 11:00 hour.
Now to Pakistan and a very large dose of reality. Millions of people are homeless and hungry, the U.N. is warning of cholera outbreaks. In a lot of places, it is raining, which may trigger mudslides literally on top of everything else. Officials now put the death toll at more than 41,000.
The number of course is going to change. It's almost always does. But whatever the final number, it's going to include hundreds, perhaps even thousands of children. And there is heartbreak everywhere, but every once in a while, even amidst the devastation, even amidst the death and destruction, if you search hard enough, there's also a quiet miracle. You are about to see one.
Reporting for us tonight, ITN's Bill Neely.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL NEELY, ITN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the ruins of Balakot school, they break through the collapsed floors. But what they bring out is a sight beyond sadness. It's a little girl in a green dress, all broken. She and nearly 200 other boys and girls have already been pulled out and lifted away. Their bags and books useless now.
And then, the work begins again.
And the work has paid off. A French rescue team using cameras to probe deep down into the school saw a face. Three-and-a-half days after he was trapped in his classroom, a scared little boy. He's about 15 feet down. Now it's critical the roof doesn't collapse.
Slowly, astonishingly, the boy's limp body is pulled from the hole and handed to his father. No one could quite believe it.
Four other children were rescued like this. Four-year-old Fraz (ph) was too bewildered to eat or drink. Out of 400 children, he is one of the very few who survived.
(on camera): The conditions here for rescuing anyone are getting worse. They think there are still the bodies of 150 children in this school. The last two little girls they pulled out alive, that was 18 hours ago, and even that seems amazing. But the weather is getting much worse now.
(voice-over): The rain lashed down on the bodies of children who had not yet been claimed by their parents. Perhaps because their parents, too, are gone.
Bill Neely, ITV News, Balakot, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: The Pentagon today promised to send another 25 to 30 helicopters for rescue and recovery work in Pakistan. Trucks can only get so far because of the rain and the landslides. Even the choppers are having a tough time with the weather but they fly when they can and they do what they can.
Here's CNN's Satinder Bindra.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SATINDER BINDRA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They've come from the war in Afghanistan, eight U.S. helicopters here at the Rawalpindi's Chaklala air base near Pakistan's capital to help the country with its largest ever relief operation. Captain Brandon McCray is a 26-year-old Black Hawk pilot from Ft. Worth, Texas. On Tuesday, Captain McCray loads up his Black Hawk and takes off for a 40-minute flight to one of the worst affected areas in the mountains of Kashmir.
CAPT. BRANDON MCCRAY, U.S. ARMY: However you know we can help out, I pray we can do that and help these people out tremendously.
BINDRA: When Captain McCray's helicopter and the others land in the mountain city of Muzaffarabad, Pakistani soldiers are waiting for them.
(on camera): It's absolutely critical to get these tents and bags of flour to hundreds of thousands of survivors in Pakistan's remote areas. Many people there have been complaining they haven't eaten a proper meal in days and at this rate they say they may not be able to hold on for too long.
(voice-over): Rihasa Khan (ph) has broken both his legs. The Americans will take him back to the Pakistani capital for treatment. His family will remain here. "Three of my daughters are injured," he says. "They're in hospital. My wife is also injured." Many of the wounded are young children. Most were hurt when their schools collapsed on them. The critical element in these missions is the weather. Many sorties have had to be canceled because of heavy winds and rain. Rihasa Khan gets out just before the weather turns nasty.
"Allah bless the Americans," he says. "They've been very kind. I want to thank them for that." Less than an hour after we began our journey, it's time to turn back. A lightning fast mission that will have to be repeated for many days and weeks to come.
Satinder Bindra, CNN, Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: There are so many stories coming out of Pakistan right now. I just want to show you this piece of video that we saw in the piece before, in Bill Neely's piece. This is just remarkable to me. If you look closely, it is a little boy captured on Vibrascope, which is what the rescuers insert on a long pole, a television camera and a long pole. And to see that little boy alive in a camera like that is, I mean, something rescuers never get to see.
BROWN: And what must that little boy have thought about his life and whether there was going to be a life? And, it all changed in a few minutes. That's a great shot.
COOPER: Yes, it is.
BROWN: One more time, there he is.
COOPER: Imagine after, you know, spending 24, 36 hours alone in this debris and all of a sudden, suddenly, this camera pokes through and you're alive. It's an incredible moment.
Still ahead tonight on NEWSNIGHT, the fight for the right over the nomination of Harriet Miers and why the left is left in a very strange political place, to say the least.
And the politics of Washington seem tame by comparison. Details on a political fight in Taiwan and the rest of the day's headlines when we return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Tonight, reading into a special letter sent to Iraq from al Qaeda to al Qaeda. The subject is terror and U.S. intelligence officials are reading it tonight word for word.
So is CNN's David Ensor.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAVID ENSOR, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Senior U.S. intelligence officials call the 6,300-word letter from al Qaeda's number two man to its leader in Iraq chilling because of how calm, clear and well-argued it is. The letter, which a senior official says he is absolutely confident is genuine, predicts, quote, "the Americans will exit soon from Iraq." And says, "things may develop faster than we imagine."
But in the letter, Ayman al-Zawahiri is clearly worried that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, with his televised beheadings of hostages and attacks on Shiite Muslims could lose what he calls a media battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims.
"The populace who love and support you will never find palatable the scenes of slaughtering the hostages," Zawahiri warns. It is the language, says a senior U.S. intelligence official, of an al Qaeda elder to an occasionally hot-headed field commander, language President Bush had seen before he spoke last week.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is cowardice that seeks to kill children and the elderly with car bombs and cuts the throat of a bound captive and targets worshippers leaving a mosque.
ENSOR: In the letter, Zawahiri is strongly opposed to Zarqawi's attacks on Shiites in the Iraq, to the many car bombs and attacks on mosques. "Is the opening of another front now in addition to the front against the Americans and the government a wise decision," he asks.
The letter, dated two days after the July 7th terror attacks in London makes no mention of them and pleads for more information. Zawahiri clearly feeling cut off. He describes difficulties he and al Qaeda are facing over a dozen times, says the real danger to him comes from Pakistani army operations in the tribal areas and asks Zarqawi whether he could spare $100,000.
JOHN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: I would think Zarqawi is reading this letter a bit skeptically. I mean, it's coming from a guy who's remote from the situation, who's asking for money, who confesses that he's having difficulty with communications and other things, while Zarqawi is probably full of himself, feeling he's the field commander, he's running troops.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ENSOR: A senior U.S. official said the letter is being released now because it would no longer hurt ongoing operations or compromise sources and methods that the U.S. intelligence service has. The American public and the world, the official said, should be fully informed about the enemy -- Anderson.
COOPER: David, any idea where the letter came from? How did they get it?
ENSOR: They won't say how they got it. And that's a very delicate subject that they don't want even to describe in any way. I gather they have had it for a bit of a while, certainly before the president spoke last week. And you did see the reference in the letter to Zawahiri saying his biggest concern was Pakistani troops moving in the tribal area. That is where U.S. intelligence has said they thought he is and this letter seems to suggest that is where he is.
COOPER: And they seem to have no doubt that this is authentic?
ENSOR: They say they're absolutely sure from multiple different intelligence sources that it is authentic, that it is a letter from Zawahiri to Zarqawi. Now they do say they're not sure whether Zarqawi got the letter.
COOPER: All right. Interesting. I mean, because it's strange that he would say that he's having money trouble or that he would say, you know, he's having problems from Pakistan authorities trying to hunt him down. It would seem to give away certain aspects of location and certainly the operational capabilities.
ENSOR: Well, remember, this is not a letter he expected to be made public, this was supposed to be a very private missive. And in fact, there is some fairly embarrassing stuff in it about his concerns about the problems with the al Qaeda effort and his concerns that Zarqawi is making mistakes. So it was not supposed to become public but now it's out and we have it.
COOPER: All right, David, thanks.
BROWN: Thank you, David. Iraq continues to make news, that's one of the other stories of the day. We are joined by Erica Hill in Atlanta tonight.
Good evening, again, Ms. Hill.
ERICA HILL, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: And good evening to you, Mr. Brown.
And that is the top story at this hour. Four suicide car bombings just four days before the country's constitutional referendum. At least 50 people were killed, dozens more wounded. Today's bombings took place in three primarily Sunni towns.
In South Carolina, a controlled blast. There you go. More than a ton of explosives used to bring down a section of the old Pearman Bridge in Charleston. It is one of two to be replaced by a new eight- lane bridge that will cost more than $600 million. The bridge had dominated the city skyline for nearly four decades.
In Half Moon Bay, California, the world championship pumpkin weigh-off. The prize goes to Joel Holland of Washington State. His winning squash topping the scales at 1,229 pounds. The prize, $5 a pound. That's about $6,000. Not bad.
And in Taiwan, another brawl in parliament, of course. It all started when representatives of the ruling and opposition parties got the chance to tell each other how they really feel. The fight was over new bill to set up an independent media watchdog.
BROWN: It's always our fault.
COOPER: Yes. You know, that's a good fight, I've got to tell you, but it does not beat my, you know, all-time favorite pound for pound best fight was Zhirinovsky versus Saveliev, March, Duma, in 2005. I mean, that was a fight for the ages. It was a Don King production. It was an amazing fight.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: As Donald Rumsfeld would say, democracy is a messy business but it just has to play out in its own way.
Looks a bit like the Hopkins (ph) High School Student Council meetings sometime ago.
(LAUGHTER)
BROWN: Thank you, Ms. Hill.
Up next on the program, she likes the boss, the boss likes her, even the opposition doesn't have too many things to say. So why is the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers in such trouble, if it is?
And later, a conversation with a man in the eye of the latest controversy in New Orleans. His take on the police beatings might surprise you.
This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: The personal notes of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers are being made public this week, and while they may not reveal much of her judicial philosophy as many would like, they do make one thing clear, Miers is a fan of President Bush and she's not shy about letting him know it.
CNN's Joe Johns has been reading the notes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We don't know much about Harriet Miers yet, but we did learn something new today. She knows how to give a compliment, especially when the recipient is her boss.
Back when she ran the Texas Lottery Commission and served as personal attorney to then-Governor George Bush, she sent him frequent notes. "You're the best," said one. "The state is in great hands," said another. Then there's the birthday card with a puppy on the front and the words "you're the best governor ever."
That Miers charm seems to have worked on Democrats, too.
SEN. HARRY REID (D-NV), MINORITY LEADER: I haven't known her a real long time but I found her to be very personable, very genuine.
JOHNS: Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid actually suggested Miers to the president at a meeting back in September. And his warm words all but guaranteed Democrats won't try to block her, much to the dismay of some conservatives who want to see her go down.
(on camera): The Democrats' leader has said he likes her. And that seems to make a difference to the administration. Should it?
MANUEL MIRANDA, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: Well, that's sort of the -- like the kiss of the godfather. Clearly, he wasn't particularly -- I don't think Harry Reid was being particularly honest in that.
JOHNS (voice-over): This is Manny Miranda, a behind-the-scenes mover on judges for the hard right and a former top aide to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He thinks Democrats are being nice to Miers because they like the division her nomination created among Republicans.
(on camera): Do the Democrats have you guys between a rock and hard place on this?
MIRANDA: Well, they have us in a place that's indescribable and unimaginable. The bottom line is that the president made a decision that we could never have imagined.
JOHNS (voice-over): In the curious politics of the Miers' nomination, conservatives like Miranda hope the Democrats try to shoot her down but fear they won't. Adding confusion, a powerful voice in evangelical circles, Dr. James Dobson of Focus on the Family, first hinted he had secret information that makes him comfortable supporting Miers, but now says it has all been made public.
DR. JAMES DOBSON, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY: Harriet Miers is an evangelical Christian, that she is from a very conservative church.
JOHNS: Democratic strategist and former House Judiciary Committee counsel Julian Epstein says his party is consent to sit back and watch the show.
JULIAN EPSTEIN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: There's an old saying that you never shoot a guy who is getting ready to commit suicide. The Republicans right now are in a meltdown.
JOHNS: If Miers goes through and it turns out bad for the right, it won't be the first time. In 1953, GOP President Dwight Eisenhower nominated Earl Warren to be chief justice of the United States. Warren became an icon of the left. Eisenhower called it, "the worst damn fool mistake I ever made."
Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: And still to come on the program tonight, the tale of the tape: the beating caught on tape in New Orleans. We'll talk with Robert Davis, the man police beat to a bloody pulp, and we'll talk with a lawyer for the Patrolmen's Union in New Orleans, representing all sides. Also tonight, Oprah takes on poverty in America and I join her. The show is tomorrow, we'll preview a bit tonight: "The Invisible Lives of America's Poor."
This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, without splitting hairs here, there are, broadly speaking, two possibilities where the beating of Robert Davis is concerned. Either New Orleans police were justified or they weren't. The problem is for all its power the footage of Mr. Davis being beaten only answers a single question. Was Mr. Davis beaten? The answer is, yes, and badly.
But what happened before the tape was rolling? What happened after? And at what point, if any, did legitimate force become brutality? Not only do different people come to different conclusions, we suspect they literally see different things on the tape.
We urge you tonight to look at the tape carefully as we go. In a moment, Mr. Davis himself. First, Frank DeSalvo, who is the lawyer for the patrolman's union in New Orleans. We spoke with him a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Mr. DeSalvo, it seems to me you're making the argument that the lawyer for the police union or the lawyer for the officers ought to make which is that what they did was perfectly appropriate. I must say, when you look at the tape, in total, it does not appear that way. What are we missing?
FRANK DESALVO, ATTORNEY, POLICE ASSOC. OF NOLA: Well, did you really look at it in total or did you look at what's been -- what you've been televising?
BROWN: No, sir, I actually looked at it in total.
DESALVO: Well, you should televise the whole thing because, obviously, they were trying to arrest a man, he was up against a wall, and he was resisting. And what happened before that was not on tape and what happened there was he was so intoxicated -- he says he doesn't drink so it was probably drugs -- that he stumbled into a police horse. For his own safety, he had to be subdued.
BROWN: Sir, do you know as a matter of fact that he was either drinking or on drugs?
DESALVO: Well, what do you mean as a matter of fact? Can I prove it at this point?
BROWN: Yes, sir.
DESALVO: Well, not at this point but I will before this is over. BROWN: How will you be able to prove that?
DESALVO: With witnesses. We're getting calls from people who were there, independent people, who saw what happened, are shocked by what happened and what's being televised.
BROWN: Everybody seems to be getting calls from witnesses a the this point. We have seen the accounts of a couple witnesses who, in a general way -- and I admit it's a general way -- seem to support Mr. Davis' argument that he was excessively beaten on.
DESALVO: Well, let's see what they do when they get under cross- examination.
BROWN: The chief of police -- perhaps you have heard this, I'm not sure. Here's what he had to say about it when we asked him about this last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WARREN RILEY, SUPERINTENDENT, NOPD: We hope that we don't have many incidents like this at all. However, when we do in fact have incidents, we will take swift and decisive action, and in this particular case, there was video, which gave a clear depiction of our officers using force beyond what I describe force that was beyond what was necessary in this incident on the video.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Seems to me, sir, the operative phrase there is force beyond what was necessary.
DESALVO: Well, you know, I've been doing this for 30 years, since 1975 I've been representing police officers. This is the first time I have seen a chief of police come out immediately after an incident without a full investigation and make a statement like that.
I don't understand why he made it. I don't understand what he had to gain by doing it. But it was clearly without due process. These people were suspended without pay, without a full investigation. And that's sad. That's really sad.
BROWN: One more question or perhaps more, but one that I'm sure of. There is a ...
DESALVO: You sound like a lawyer.
BROWN: No, I just play one on TV occasionally. There is a shot when this is all over of a very bloody Davis, a very bloody street. He has clearly been pummeled pretty badly.
DESALVO: That's an assumption you are making. That's an assumption you're making.
BROWN: Well no. Actually not. The assumption would be whether it was justified or not. There's no question that ... DESALVO: That's incorrect.
BROWN: There's no question he's bleeding.
DESALVO: Where was he bleeding from?
BROWN: I have no idea.
DESALVO: Where was he being struck? Was he being struck where he was bleeding from or bleeding because he was brought down to the ground as he was resisting arrest and hit his face on the cement? That's where he was bleeding from, and none of your -- none of your -- videos show him being struck in the face.
All the blows were struck behind the neck and at the shoulder area trying as taught in police procedure to bring a resisting person's arm back around to cuff him. That's police procedure. Now, if you saw something different, then you're either seeing what you wanted to see or you're seeing what you were told you should see, but that is if you take that video and look at it frame by frame, you're going to see what I saw.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And that will be the basis of the defense that Mr. DeSalvo will put on for the three officers who have been charged now with misdemeanor battery. You will hear from Mr. Davis right after the break, his side of the story.
And then later in the hour, why more Americans say they're engaging in risky sex, even if it ends up killing them. We'll take a break first. This is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Well, a moment ago you heard Frank DeSalvo say if you've only seen the tape of Robert Davis being beaten, you haven't seen everything, you don't know everything. That's one side of the story.
There is, of course, another side, and it belongs to Mr. Davis himself. We talked with him and his attorney, James Bruno, a little bit ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: Mr. Davis, you said that you were out on the street the other night. You were concerned about curfew. You approached police officers. Is it possible that in the way you were walking or in the way you were talking, you might have appeared intoxicated.
ROBERT DAVIS, BEATING VICTIM: No, I don't drink. It's that simple. I have not had any alcohol at all, period, and that question has been asked a multitude of times. And the response is still the same. I do not drink. Period.
BROWN: And I assume, if I ask you if you had used drugs that night, you will say no to that too, right?
DAVIS: Also.
BROWN: Was there ever a time after they took you to the holding cell or took you to the hospital when they gave you a breathalizer test or took a blood test that would provide scientific evidence as to whether or not you were intoxicated?
DAVIS: No. In fact, during this whole -- I was never told that I was under arrest. I never knew the charges which were against me. I never was read my rights as a citizen of this United -- of the United States. I don't -- I had a difficult time just trying to survive the blows that were coming from all directions.
BROWN: What would you say precipitated their action on you? Do you remember what you said, what they said just before it got out of hand?
DAVIS: Okay. I asked the officer on the horseback who was black, what time the curfew was for. OK?
BROWN: Uh-huh.
DAVIS: I -- after that occurred, this other officer intervened and I had told him that he was being rude, discourteous and unprofessional. And I left the scene at that moment to go to the store which was near, very nearby. And before I could get to the store, I was attacked.
BROWN: Have you seen the tape of that, by the way?
DAVIS: No, I haven't. I have not seen the tape. I have no idea what's on the tape.
BROWN: Do you believe that in any sense you resisted arrest or resisted the police officers?
DAVIS: At no time -- I was sucker punched and thrown against the wall.
BROWN: Uh-huh.
DAVIS: I did not even see the person because my back was turned to him.
BROWN: The lawyer for the police officers, the police union or the police association, they certainly don't deny that they hit you but they deny that they hit you in the face. They said they hit you in the back and the shoulders as is procedure and whatever injuries you suffered to your face was the result of a fall. Is that even remotely possible?
DAVIS: No. I'm laughing because it's really comical. I mean, if you could see my face and I don't know, Mr. Brown, if you can with this shot.
BROWN: Yes.
DAVIS: I'm -- it's totally black. I mean, it is not even remotely connected to my complexion. It is black. And there was no way I could have fell and got this.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: It's -- this is a multi layered story in a lot of ways, I mean it's an element of race and all sorts of things, but in any case we have more from Mr. Davis in the second hour of the program tonight.
COOPER: And it's also fascinating how everyone looks at this tape and sees something different. We're also going to talk to an expert witness and a former police officer who testifies in these kinds of trials and he is going to go frame by frame with this tape and tell us what he sees.
And the first thing that jumps out at me when the lawyer for the police talking about it's procedure to punch people in the back of the head. This man testifies it is absolutely not procedure to punch people in the back of the head. In fact, that's the first thing they teach you, it is just too sensitive of an area. You can kill someone easily that way.
BROWN: Somewhere there's a book, a New Orleans police training manual that's going to say what the procedure is. And when this gets before a jury and it will get before a jury at some point, that book will matter, also.
COOPER: So, a lot more on this in the next 15 minutes or so, the top of the hour. Erica Hill, headline news, joins us right now with a look at the some of today's top stories. Erica, good evening.
HILL: Hello again. It is round two for "New York Times" Reporter Judith Miller. She is scheduled to make a second appearance tomorrow before a federal grand jury in Washington to investigate the disclosure of a CIA agent's identity.
Now, Miller, of course, spent 85 days in jail for contempt of court before released last month. She testified the two weeks ago that the source that she'd been protecting was Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, Scooter Libby.
In New Orleans, Louisiana's governor, Kathleen Blanco, is urging caution in reaction to a proposal that would increase the number of casinos in New Orleans as a way improve the city's economy. The proposal came from New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, last Friday, but Blanco says she doesn't believe gambling should be a base for the city's economy.
Currently, Louisiana law allows one land-based casino in New Orleans. Nagin wants to bring that number up to seven or eight.
New York City, where a terror plot turns out to be fake. New York City beefed up its police presence in the subways after an informant from Iraq said a subway attack was being planned. Well, now the government, government sources, that is, tell CNN the informant was lying. Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is criticized by some for overreacting to the threat, said he would have taken the same approach again to protect his city.
And according to a new sex survey, two thirds of Americans had unprotected sex while under the influence of alcohol. The survey by Zanqwee (ph) also found 19 percent have had more than 25 sexual partners.
Some of the other findings here, 15 percent of Americans have actually paid for sex. That one a little bit surprising to me.
COOPER: Are you looking at me or are you look at Aaron, when you --
HILL: I wasn't looking at anybody.
BROWN: I was totally shocked by that.
HILL: Not looking at either one of you.
BROWN: I was completely shocked/
COOPER: I appreciate that, Erica. Thank you for your sensitivity on the issue.
BROWN: Not sure if it's higher or lower, but I was shocked.
They are students in exile, the children of New Orleans, back to school, long way from home. We'll take a break, from New York, where all is pure.
(CROSSTALK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: This is going to be a year to remember for the boys and the girls of New Orleans west. It will also be a year to forget. Many of the 300 kids were at the Superdome or the convention center, now they're back in school with their same teachers and but one difference, they're a very long way from home. Here's CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The skyline of Houston, Texas, as viewed through the school bus window. Another day for students in exile.
(on camera): Do you guys miss new Orleans?
CHILDREN ON BUS: Yes!
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Texas flag may fly outside their school, but the name of the school is New Orleans West. A place specifically for Louisiana children evacuated for Hurricane Katrina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sixth grade, what year are you going to college?
CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM: 2012.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventh grade, what year are you going to college?
CHILDREN IN CLASSROOM: 2011,
TUCHMAN: This K-8 charter school is run in conjunction with the Houston school district, but it's part of the national, Knowledge is Power program, which emphasizes structure.
CHILDREN: You got to read, baby, read.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We knew it would be a good thing for the kids of New Orleans to be together in one school, with teachers that were actually teaching them in New Orleans. So the idea sounded great.
TUCHMAN (on camera): So you started this school from scratch?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We started this school from scratch.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): In addition to the academics, these youngsters, almost all of whom lost their homes, deal with what they have been through, by writing their thoughts about what they saw back home, and reading essays about their experiences.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A bully (ph) killed a man in the Superdome. The guard -- I mean, the man took the gun out the guard hand, shot him in the leg.
TUCHMAN: This 11-year-old boy wanted to tell us about his 30- year-old cousin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was trying to save a little boy out in a hurricane, and, the boy was saying, help. And he went in the water.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Your cousin?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And he has drowned.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): It's not just the children who have lost their homes. It is also many of the teachers, and the principal, whose school in New Orleans was also destroyed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just being around the kids and the teachers, it's made it much easier.
TUCHMAN (on camera): This school was built in 1926, but was shut down last year due to declining enrollment. These children of New Orleans, starting their new lives, have brought this Houston school back to life.
(voice-over): But it's only supposed to stay this way for a year. It's expected the students will return to New Orleans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, (INAUDIBLE). How was y'all's day?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fine.
TUCHMAN: Angela Banks and her children are in a temporary apartment in Houston. Angela likes the atmosphere at New Orleans West she doesn't want it to ever close.
ANGELA BANKS: I love the school. It is the dream school.
TUCHMAN (on camera): All of the things that happened during the hurricane and after the hurricane made you feel very sad about New Orleans?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And made you not want to go back there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And now you want to stay in Houston?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have it right.
TUCHMAN: I have it right?
(voice-over): The students of New Orleans West are being taught they can rely on their teachers for help, and the teachers are relying on them right back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: And this is the principal's destroyed school in New Orleans. You can see on the door it says "work hard, be nice." Exactly what we saw on the girls' t-shirts in Houston. This right here was the water line. I'm standing on a stoop. Right now looks like about 5 feet, but if you get up the stoop, it's 6 feet of water in this neighborhood. Totally destroyed this school.
There's a lot of work to be done here. It seems to us very unlikely that they could be able to open up the beginning of next year. This whole neighborhood here, still deserted, totally dark, no one around at all.
But a lot of life at the school in Houston. When it opened last Monday, 150 students were there. Now, there are 300 students eight days later. The only qualifications to go to that school, to be an evacuee from New Orleans and to be between kindergarten and eighth grade. Anyone is allowed to come who meets those two criteria. Back to you.
BROWN: You have it right.
Still ahead tonight, how Anderson and Oprah spent the day. Not one of those celebrity puff pieces, isn't it? No? It's not, OK. A great story, this, coming up.
So is this. What Martha Stewart was saying to Larry King, that's coming up in our next hour.
Also, is it science or science fiction? Changing the weather.
We take a break first. From New York, this is NEWSNIGHT.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The poor, the hungry, the abandoned. Hurricane Katrina gave us all a stark reminder of the depths of poverty in the country.
COOPER: Yeah. The truth is, though, America's poor are often invisible. We don't really see them on TV. We don't see them in our lives.
Earlier this week, I went on location with Oprah in Detroit and in Chicago to do a special report on the lives of America's poor. You can see the whole report tomorrow on "Oprah." Here's some of what we talked about.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: That was very hard for me to believe -- obviously I do -- that 70 miles from Chicago, people don't have running water.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People don't have the necessities for everyday living.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have to be resourceful to survive.
WINFREY: If your husband leaves, or if there is a divorce, or there is a disability, who's going to take care of your kids?
COOPER: Absolutely.
WINFREY: How are you going to get daycare and all of that?
COOPER: And then if you do get a job, I mean, there are all these terrible...
WINFREY: What it takes to pay for the kids.
COOPER: There are all these terrible choices you have to make. It's the cold calculus of survival.
There's a safety net. When you -- when you don't have money in the bank and when you don't have a family who loves you or who can care for you, the only place to fall back on is the street, and the street is pretty damn hard.
WINFREY: Yeah. Or you have a family who loves you, but they're in the same situation that you are in.
COOPER: Absolutely.
WINFREY: Yeah. Most Americans are two paychecks away. Two paychecks away. You miss two paychecks, and not have anybody to fall back on, and you, too, could be on the streets.
COOPER: Yeah. And once you fall, it is very hard to get back up. If you're mired in depression or you're mired in whatever the issues are.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: There's a lot more in the "Oprah" edition tomorrow. In fact, some video I think we are going to show you as part of the time I spent with two homeless people in the streets of Detroit. The truth is that that's the side of poverty we do see, the homeless people on the street. The reality, of course, is far more complex. So many single mothers are homeless with their kids because of a bad breakup or a few bad choices or simply a couple of bad breaks. They have found themselves struggling to regain their footing. We'll talk to a lot of them tomorrow.
BROWN: It's just always -- what's so sad for me is how many people live so close to the margin.
COOPER: It's incredible, yeah.
BROWN: Where you're just one -- I mean, literally a broken leg, I mean, a stumble.
COOPER: We talked to one woman who, after 17 years of marriage, her husband left her. She went into a depression, very quickly lost her job, then got kicked out of her apartment, and wound up sleeping in a van with her four kids in a park all summer long. And finally, you know, took her months to kind of get out of depression. She finally was able to get some help and, you know, is still -- is still struggling pretty hard.
BROWN: Well, all that and more on "Oprah" tomorrow.
In the hour ahead tonight, there is pain in the world, and there are questions as well. We'll bring you up to date on the rescue effort in Pakistan. A look at where another one, another earthquake, might strike. Perhaps in this country. A gentle reminder here, it doesn't have to be California, not by a long shot.
Also tonight, what Robert Davis had to say about the beating at the hands of the New Orleans Police Department. You may be surprised by some of it.
And later, what Martha Stewart has to say about getting out of jail, as opposed to getting into jail, I guess. Taking off the bracelet and making another fortune or two. All of that ahead in this hour of NEWSNIGHT.
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