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Police: Suspect Sent "Angry" Texts; 1,500 Flights Affected By LAX Shooting; Profiling Suspected LAX Shooter; Boston Celebrates World Series Win; Feds Investigate Teen's Mysterious Death; "Stop And Frisk" Reinstated In NYC

Aired November 02, 2013 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, welcome to the NEWSROOM, the second hour of this afternoon. We have much more straight ahead.

All right, welcome, everyone. Here are the top stories that we are following for you right now. New information surfacing about suspected LAX shooter, Paul Ciancia. Sources telling CNN they found anti-government notes on him after one TSA officer was killed and two others wounded.

And hundreds of thousands of people are partying in the streets of Boston. They are celebrating the Red Sox winning of the world championship title and honoring the city's resilience six months after the Boston marathon bombing. We'll take you there live coming up.

A disturbing picture coming together of the man who allegedly burst into the Los Angeles airport shooting several TSA officers and killing one, the FBI says he is Paul Anthony Ciancia, and he was carrying materials including an anti-TSA rant, and a reference to a new world order, according to a federal law enforcement official.

When shots were fired, people in Terminal 3 scattered, running for their lives yesterday. Cell phone video obtained by TMZ shows the chaos as officers yelled at people to get down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the floor! On the floor now! On the floor!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, don't run!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teo, teo, teo!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the floor!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, guys.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: That was the scene of a stunning and terrifying situation. Police shot the suspect several times in the chest, according to an intelligence source. Our affiliate KCAL and KCBS got the exclusive video, and it reportedly shows the suspect handcuffed to a stretcher. CNN cannot independently confirm who that person is, however. Investigators say the suspected shooter lived in Los Angeles but was from New Jersey.

Chris Lawrence is in Pennsville, New Jersey, where the suspect's family lives. Chris, what are family members, or even neighbors, saying about him?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's the thing, Fred. When you go looking for people who may have known him well, you come up empty. Outside of his family, we've spoken with neighbors. We've spoken with young people who knew the family. No one really seems to have a very close relationship with him. And think about it.

I mean, he lived here. He grew up here his whole life. He just left and moved out west about a year and a half ago. And when I asked one young man, you know, who are his close friends, who are the people that he keeps in contact with, he couldn't come up with really any name.

The young man I spoke to, would see him at orthodontist appointments, but had not even him in about two years since he left for the west coast. And is still really in shock at what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSH PAGAN, FORMER NEIGHBOR OF SUSPECTED LAX SHOOTER: I mean, I haven't had any personal reactions with him. But from what I've seen and heard, he was just a normal person, an everyday guy. You know, friendly. Did this really happen? Did they get the wrong guy? Because if they told me that they got the wrong guy, it would make a lot more sense to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: You probably find that same sentiment in the house behind me where his family has been with police for the last two days now. The family has told police they had no indication that anything was wrong. They say they did not know that he owned a rifle. They say he had no history of mental illness. That he was back here for a wedding just this summer, everything seemed fine. But obviously, something went very wrong out there in Los Angeles to perhaps trigger this outburst -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, thank you so much, Chris Lawrence for that update.

So let's now go back out to Los Angeles where people are mourning the death of TSA Officer Jirardo Hernandez. Today, airport police are wearing black bands in his honor and they will wear them until he's laid to rest.

Dan Simon is live for us right now in Los Angeles. Dan, what more can you tell us about everything taking place there?

DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hi, Fredricka. Terminal 3 still closed. We don't know when it will reopen. As you can imagine, there's a lot of passengers who want to go into the terminal and retrieve their belongings. When this happened, they basically hit the exits and just left everything there.

At this point, the FBI says it's still investigating and doesn't know when it's going to reopen Terminal 3. In terms of the investigation, fredricka, we know that this is somebody -- the suspect who espoused anti-government views. He had some information on him, talking about the "new world order," quote/unquote. But clearly, he had it out for TSA agents. But as bad as we saw things, it could have been a lot worse. Listen to what the mayor had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR ERIC GARCETTI, LOS ANGELES: That there were additional rounds of this gunman had. And the fact that these officers were able to neutralize the threat as they did, they were more than 100 more rounds that could have literally killed everybody in that terminal today were not for their actions. There could have been a lot more damage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIMON: Fredricka, one thing that is important to note is that CNN has learned that airport police used to be stationed at TSA checkpoints, but that stopped happening earlier this year. They were there in the aftermath of 9/11. It's not exactly clear why they decided to roam, if you will. They had to be at least two minutes away, or they couldn't be more than two minutes away from a TSA checkpoint.

But it adds a layer of complexity to this case, because if the officers were still at those check points, perhaps they could have engaged the suspect sooner. In other words, he may not have been able to breach the checkpoint and go into the departure area -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And Dan, we also understand a TSA administrator is heading to LAX, but as you point out, whether there be the absence of a police officer there, there have been many analysts who say that security checkpoint leaves people most vulnerable than any other place in the airport, because TSA agents are not armed, and I think a lot of people maybe forget about that, at that security checkpoint, that typically at most airports, there is no one who is armed in terms of security.

SIMON: That's exactly right. But for whatever reason, LAX is one of these airports where you did have armed police officers here, as I said. You had it happen right after 9/11. And for all these years, you had armed police officers at the checkpoints, and then January/February of this year, I'm told, is when it stopped happening, and it's not clear why.

WHITFIELD: Dan Simon, thank you so much. Keep us posted as you learn more answers. Appreciate it.

So six months after that marathon bombing ripped Boston apart, the city is now uniting today in shear jubilation. More than 1 million people have lined the streets to celebrate the Red Sox World Series win. You've been watching the live images all morning long. You know, it's really not just about sports. It is about Boston's strength.

Alexander Field joining us live now along the parade route, where we're looking at live pictures, where it looks placid and calm, but now they're boisterous and people were really excited. What's happening right now?

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Fred, you can see some of the fans are still on Boylston Street, but a lot of them have moved further up the parade route to have a chance to wave to the team members and see those duck boats pass by. The boats came up Boylston, where we're standing now. The crowd erupted.

A million people expected to line the parade route. The parade started at 10:00 over at Fenway Park. It will end around 1:00 when those duck boats take a plunge into the Charles River. But the most moving part happened on Boylston Street at the finish line for the Boston marathon. We'll all remember the twin blasts that happened not far from here back in April.

Well, today, the Red Sox World Series champs decided to pay tribute to all of those who survived in the attacks and all those lost. Johnnie Gunz, he is an outfielder. He is the clubhouse leader, the guy who started that Red Sox beard trend, and he is the one who paid honor today. He got down. He put the World Series trophy right on the finish line, and took off his cap in a moving salute.

It was important to a lot of fans who came out here today. That was the moment they were hoping to see, the moment they were waiting to see, the city is, again, celebrating much more than baseball six months later they are celebrating a comeback -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Wow, lots of symbolism, indeed. All right, Alexander Field, thank you so much. Appreciate it.

All right, the New York man called the "Subway Vigilante" after he shot four youths in 1984 is facing charges for allegedly selling marijuana to an undercover police. Police say Bernard Goetz, remember him, he met a female undercover officer and Union Square Park on Friday and agreed to sell her marijuana. Well, they say he picked up the drugs from his apartment and then was arrested after the $30 exchange.

All right, flight delays and security concerns after a shooting at LAX, but how are passengers across the country dealing with the delays? Nick Valencia is live for us at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta checking on all of that.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred, I'm outside Atlanta's airport to tell you about how yesterday's incident at LAX has caused ripple effects throughout the United States. I'll tell you what to expect if you are traveling later today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Many passengers, air travelers across the country had their flights delayed after the shooting at Los Angeles International Airport yesterday. More than 1,500 flights were affected by the deadly shooting. Nick Valencia is live for us at the world's busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta. Nick, does it appear as though things are back to normal for everyone else, as flights were affected yesterday?

VALENCIA: This is the world's busiest airport, but it doesn't seem that way today. Travel, we're told, by airport officials is lower than usual. We asked if these cancellations or limited passengers at the airport had anything to do with the incident at LAX. They said impact here. They don't expect it to be any further than it has been.

So far, they say there is more plainclothes officers, even if we can't see them. They say security has been beefed up. We talked to passengers all morning, all morning long through the early part of the afternoon, and we've gotten mixed reaction, Fred. Some passengers, as you'll hear are a little more nervous than others.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: You're traveling back home to Dallas, and you got here early, why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did. We were afraid there might be a little holdup from the incident in L.A. and so, we decided to come through, in case security was long.

VALENCIA: What have you seen? Have you seen more security out here than normal?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I saw your truck and a couple of K-9 trucks, so I did see some extra security, yes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: I mentioned, it is slower than a normal day here on Saturday. Lines are very short. Just did a tour inside the terminal, about 15 minutes to get through the security lines, TSA officials say it usually takes about 20 minutes. So it's going to go a lot faster than usual, and you can tell me behind the ticketing and check-in, not a lot of cars, though.

There was certainly an impact yesterday. I did speak to an Atlanta police officer who said that there was a brief crisis situation here as details emerge from what happened at LAX, but that is over now. And things are seemingly back to normal at Atlanta's airport -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Nick Valencia, thank you so much.

So questions are still surfacing about any signs that may have led up to the actions of the suspected LAX shooter, Paul Ciancia. Investigators say he had no history of mental illness, and Ciancia's family didn't even know he owned a gun. So what might have happened? Former FBI agent Tim Clemente joining us now. Of course, you know, good to see you, Tim.

TIM CLEMENTE: Thanks for having me, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: So many pieces are being put together to figure out if there were any signs leading up to what happened, and if so, what should have been noticed, what should have been taken note? So as the FBI gets involved with this investigation, what are some of the things they'll be looking into?

TIM CLEMENTE, FORMER FBI COUNTERTERRORISM AGENT: Well, obviously, they'll be collecting all of the physical evidence and trying to build the federal case against Ciancia. They'll be looking at his mental status. I mean, what his associations were. Is this -- you know, is he part of an organization that may have led him to do this? It doesn't appear that way.

It appears like he's a lone gunman, probably mission-oriented in nature, which means that he's on a task, and he believes that he's doing something to either rid society of some ill or correct some, you know, misdeed that was done to him.

Typically, these mass shooters are in the age range that he fits right in -- late teens into their 20s -- which is a period of time when a lot of personality disorders can exhibit themselves. And he may not have exhibited anything prior, but it doesn't mean that he doesn't have a mental illness that he's suffering from.

WHITFIELD: And even our own Chris Lawrence talked to people who knew and know him, and they say that he -- his behavior seemed normal, he was at a wedding, he is seen social recently. The only thing that seemed to be alarming was in recent times -- and we don't know if that's days or weeks or months -- he did text a little brother some sort of disturbing message.

We don't know what that message is publicly. But how might FBI members or federal law enforcement agents try to extrapolate that kind of information -- whether there was any kind of signs that someone else could have put together to prevent something like this from happening?

CLEMENTE: Well, I think we have to look at what are his associations? I mean, I don't know how close he is to the roommates he had there in Los Angeles. Apparently, he is somewhat disconnected from his family, just by distance if nothing else. And I did read about that text that he sent to his brother, which may have had -- may have exhibited some suicide ideations in it, and he was distressed by society, culture, didn't like the Los Angeles area.

Maybe he had no outlet for this. Maybe he had no one he could talk to, felt separated from his family. And if there was some kind of a mental disorder, it just caused him to further and further build up these injustices. You know, these are commonly referred to as "injustice collectors," somebody like James Holmes in Colorado, where he feels he was personally slighted in some way.

His mission in this case, Ciancia is the TSA, going through the terminal, and literally asking, "are you TSA," and the individual that he passed, and if they said no, he moved on. These are the things that the FBI will dig into further and further and look at this guy's life and see, you know, on turn did, un-turn every piece of evidence that can lead to -- not necessarily a motive, because the motive may be TSA agent took his nail clippers six months ago.

So we're not looking for a typical motive where somebody assaulted my wife and I'm going to after this in vengeance. This is a man that probably has a personality disorder that is exhibiting itself now in this mass shooting.

WHITFIELD: Of course, Tim Clemente, all of the information important, because it certainly hurts -- helps investigators in averting the next potential --

CLEMENTE: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: -- incident, or try to further piece together what took place. We do understand that he is still in custody. We don't know if he is in a physical place where he can actually talk or get any information -- give any information to investigators because we know he is still being hospitalized. But, Tim Clemente, thank you very much for your insight on this information. Appreciate it.

Let's talk about victories -- both on and off the field, a Boston marathon survivor explaining why the Red Sox victory is a big step in her recovery.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Right now, the city of Boston is celebrating a victory that transcends sports. A more than million people have been lining the streets to not only revel in the Red Sox's World Series win, but they're also celebrating the city's strength in the wake of the marathon bombings. Alexandra Field has more on the victories on and off the field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): National champions. The Boston Red Sox and national treasures, the marathon bombing survivors, after more than six months, they are celebrating victories together.

HEATHER ABBOTT, BOMBING SURVIVOR: It felt like, you know, we were a city that had such a tragedy happen and we were able to kind of be resilient and heal over the course of the baseball season coincidentally.

FIELD: Back in April, the Sox were coming off a last-place finish in their division last year, and the city of Boston had just taken a devastating hit. After a pair of explosions near the marathon finish line, Heather Abbott lost part of her leg. She had just left the game at Fenway, a planned return would help her heal.

ABBOTT: I practice in physical therapy.

FIELD: While she was still using a wheelchair to get around, Abbott accepted an offer to go back to the ballpark.

ABBOTT: When I threw out the first pitch, and I had just left the hospital, you know, that was really a big deal for me.

FIELD (on camera): And you can now say you pitched for the World Series champs.

ABBOTT: I guess I did.

FIELD (voice-over): Over and over again, the team invited Abbott and other survivors home. Most memorably for a tribute alongside James Taylor during the seventh inning of the second World Series game.

ABBOTT: You know, it felt like they were very supportive of us, and I think, you know, at least I felt supportive of them in return.

FIELD: Abbott had come a long way during the baseball season with her new prosthetic leg she could now walk onto the field. As for the Sox, after 93 losses last year, they were now playing for the World Series championship.

ABBOTT: You know, it kind of felt like we were going -- moving along now with the Red Sox, going along the way, as they were continuing to improve their season as well, and the whole Boston Strong, you know, mantra kind of stuck.

FIELD: In six games, Boston's team proved its strength, winning the series.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Boston -- the marathon, you know, all of that stuff, it's bigger than us.

FIELD: In six months, Abbott showed the world how strong she is.

ABBOTT: To know that, you know, only six months have gone by, and I'm pretty much totally independent and have, you know, a few different legs that I can use, and started running again. You know, I think for me, that's -- that's an important success to celebrate.

FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: His family believes he was murdered. The body of 17-year- old Kendrick Johnson was found rolled up in a gym mat at his school, and now a federal investigation is under way. Ahead, we'll talk to our legal guys about the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We're staying on top of two big stories this is morning. New information, surfacing about suspected LAX shooter, Paul Ciancia. Sources tell CNN that Ciancia had anti-government and anti-TSA notes on him at the time of the shooting. The FBI says three TSA officers were shot during the rampage. One of the officers was killed, and right now -- On the other side of the coast, hundreds of thousands of people showing that they are Boston Strong. Fans are packing the parade route, celebrating the Red Sox win of the world championship title, and honoring the victims and survivors of the Boston marathon bombing. We'll bring you all of the latest developments throughout the morning and afternoon.

But first, major developments this week for the family of Kendrick Johnson, he's that Georgia teen found dead inside a rolled-up gym mat at his high school gym in Valdosta. Federal authorities are now investigating the circumstances surrounding his death.

CNN's Victor Blackwell and his producer, Devin Sayers, have been on top of the story for more than six months now. Here is the latest look of the developments in the case.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): After months of rallies and protests, an announcement that the family of Kendrick Johnson hopes will lead to what they consider to be justice.

MICHAEL MOORE, U.S. ATTORNEY FOR THE MIDDLE DISTRICT OF GEORGIA: At this time, however, I am of the opinion that a base exists for my office to conduct a formal review of the facts and investigation surrounding the death of Kendrick Johnson.

BLACKWELL: U.S. Attorney Michael Moore supported by the FBI will soon head to Valdosta, Georgia to conduct a federal investigation into the death of 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson.

MOORE: I will follow the facts wherever -- wherever they lead. My objective is to discover the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hallelujah!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Jesus.

BLACKWELL: Kendrick's grandmother watched at announcement on a portable TV on the street corner where the family continues its eight- month sit-in, demanding answers.

BARBARA ENGLISH, KENDRICK JOHNSON'S GRANDMOTHER: I'm so happy and I know we trust in the Lord and we just had been down here rallying for 32 weeks for nothing.

BLACKWELL: The Johnson family never believed the local sheriff's explanation that Kendrick suffocated after squeezing his 19-inch shoulders into the 14.5 inch center of a rolled gym mat to reach for a shoe in the middle of a school day.

BENJAMIN CRUMP, JOHNSON FAMILY ATTORNEY: His parents have always maintained that their son was killed. The only question we want to know so why they are covering up for whoever killed their son.

KENNETH JOHNSON, KENDRICK JOHNSON'S FATHER: I believe, indeed, that he was murdered.

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, CNN'S "THE SITUATION ROOM": Do you have any idea who may have murdered him?

JOHNSON: No, I don't. That's what we wanted to get the truth.

BLACKWELL: CNN has been reporting on this case for months, uncovering details of the sheriff's investigation. Like why these shoes found yards from Kendrick's body were not collected as evidence and how this blood stain got on this wall in the gym and why investigators never found whose blood it was.

BLITZER: And you don't believe there was a thorough investigation by local authorities, Mr. Johnson?

JOHNSON: No, I don't.

BLACKWELL: In a statement to CNN the attorney for the Lowndes County Sheriff's Office writes in part, while Sheriff Brine has every confidence that his officer's investigation was handled with the necessary diligence to assure that all leaders were examined and exhausted. He welcomes the U.S. attorney's further review of the case. On Wednesday, a judge ordered Lowndes County Sheriff's Office to hand over its full investigative file including never before seen surveillance video from inside the gym where Kendrick died.

ENGLISH: We have to continue to fight on until justice is done for K.J.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So Victor Blackwell joining us now. So the federal investigators said they are going to gather all evidence trying to get to the truth, and of some of the evidence you were able to display, just virtue of videotape and testimony, you have blood on the wall. But then, his cause of death was suffocation. So what has been the explanation of the blood, the origin of the blood, if his body showed no blood?

BLACKWELL: The sheriff's office believes the blood has nothing to do with their case. They say it appears to be old blood. This is a gym and students injure themselves. But we looked at this case file, and the longest stream of blood on this wall is 17 inches. I mean, these impacts -- there's chipped paint on this wall, six impacts that were counted here. So the idea that this is something that would have been there for some time, the family just doesn't believe.

WHITFIELD: And the investigation is not just about what happened here with Kendrick Johnson.

BLACKWELL: No.

WHITFIELD: But the federal investigation also entails investigating the authorities, the local authorities, that investigated the case?

BLACKWELL: Yes, they're going to go back in and review their case file. Now, the U.S. attorney was clear to say that he's not going into this prejudiced of anyone else's investigation, but he does want to review all of their information and parallel that, and the FBI will be doing their own investigation and talking to everyone and looking as much evidence as is still available.

WHITFIELD: The body will be exhumed again?

BLACKWELL: If possible. The FBI lab might want their own autopsy because the state did one, the independent pathologist did one, and maybe they want to look at the body that they find that the others haven't.

WHITFIELD: All right, Victor Blackwell, thank you so much. We're going to talk more about this with our own legal guys, Avery Friedman, a civil rights attorney and law professor in Cleveland, and Richard Herman, a New York criminal defense attorney and law professor joining us from Las Vegas. Good to see you, gentlemen.

Wow, it's an extraordinary case. I know you agree on that. Georgia authorities at one time concluding that no foul play, case closed, and then, now, a federal investigation. So, Richard, what's the impetus in your view for this new investigation, new evidence, evidence collected, not treated properly? What's your view?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, Fred, the perseverance of the family to continue to pressure the authorities to look into this, it's a hard pill to swallow when they say your teenage son is found rolled up in a mat dead, a seemingly healthy young man. You look into this investigation, and there are so many issues of contaminated crime scene.

The fact that when the second autopsy was done, there were no organs in his body, his fingernails were gone, seemingly to look for DNA. There are a lot of problems with this case, Fred. It will take an overwhelming set of facts and evidence to overturn the initial finding of the accidental death. Unless they find a cover-up there, the feds have no jurisdiction. They have no --

WHITFIELD: Why is that in your view, Avery?

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: I don't agree with that.

WHITFIELD: -- problems with the case leading up to what happened, the crime, you know, if there was indeed a crime.

FRIEDMAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: In and after itself, because you have the coroner's report that said suffocation, he did this to himself. And now you have the investigation of, you know, foul play, and then you've got the treatment of the body, the treatment of the evidence after the fact. So, Avery, where does the federal investigation begin?

FRIEDMAN: Well, the federal investigation is different than the local investigation. I have to say, when you have 1,900 hours of videotape before the incident, and you close an investigation in 24 hours, Fredricka, that suggests a pretty pretzelized prime -- subprime investigation. I'm thrilled the Department of Justice is involved there. Let me tell you something, even if the Department of Justice fails to proceed with this, they're going to do the investigation, the FBI will do that.

That's still going to force local authorities to look into this more deeply. I don't believe for one second that Kendrick Johnson died of suffocation in an upright gym mat. I mean, that's just -- it doesn't make any sense. So the good news is, number one, you had a steadfast family. Number two, you had courageous journalists that continued to press it, and it crescendos to the press conference by the Department of Justice this week. And I think you're going to find evidence, and I think this thing is going to be busted wide open.

WHITFIELD: Wow. It is a fascinating case. Sadly it has come to this, too.

FRIEDMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Your heart does break, Richard, as you said at the top, for the family unimaginable loss.

All right, Richard, Avery, thanks so much. We're going to see you again. We'll talk about this other case, New York police apparently now can indeed stop and frisk. And it's a controversial policy that some say amounts to racial profiling. Richard and Avery are back with that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Police in New York City can stop and frisk again. A federal appeals court has block add lower court ruling that said the policy is unconstitutional. Critics say the stop-and-frisk law amounts to racial profiling. City officials disagree, and insist the practice has cut crime. As Deborah Feyerick reports, the controversial policy is one issue city residents are weighing as they prepare to vote in Tuesday's mayoral election.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): New York City today is a far, far different place than it was 30 years ago. This is Times Square now. This is Times Square back in the '80s and '09s when crime was rampant, and racial tensions were high.

ANNOUNCER: Bill De Blasio voted to take 5,000 cops off our streets.

FEYERICK: In a campaign ad, the Republican candidate for mayor, Joe Lhota warns those days could return under his Democrat opponent, Bill De Blasio.

JOE LHOTA (R), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I believe that Bill De Blasio and his approach to public safety is reckless.

FEYERICK: De Blasio says on the issue of public safety, civil rights are at stake, and that it's time to end the city's more aggressive policing strategies like stop-and-frisk.

BILL DE BLASIO (D), NEW YORK MAYORAL CANDIDATE: We can be safer, in fact, if we take the foundation, the core of what we have, and build upon it, a better working relationship between the police and community.

FEYERICK: Lhota is backed by his former tough on crime boss, Rudy Giuliani, who along with Michael Bloomberg, are the mayors credited with reducing crime, cleaning up the city, and making New York a good place to live. And yet, Lhota remains nearly 40 points behind De Blasio, in the more progressive positioning himself as the anti- Bloomberg.

BLASIO: After 12 years of Mayor Bloomberg, it's time for a real change in this town.

FEYERICK: De Blasio has promised to close the money gap between New York City's rich and New York City's poor. New York has a poverty rate of about 21 percent. A disparity De Blasio calls a tell tale of two cities. Lhota who served as the budget director, says his desire to raise taxes on wealthier New Yorkers to fund his universal pre-k programs for the poor underscores De Blasio's lack of financial experience.

LHOTA: New York City is the highest tax municipality in the United States of America. We cannot afford to increase taxes.

BLASIO: We know early childhood education is the difference maker. We know it is the most effective investment we make in education.

FEYERICK: De Blasio ran Hillary Clinton's first Senate campaign and served most recently as the city's public advocate.

(on camera): You've had a small staff. What qualifies you to run a $70 billion budget?

BLASIO: I've been in public life in this city almost 25 years now.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Lhota, the son of a police officer, is the first in his family to go to college and is a self-made millionaire.

LHOTA: It's the first time I ever run for elected office.

FEYERICK (on camera): Is it daunting?

LHOTA: It's a challenge.

FEYERICK: You're ahead in the polls. Is this a slam dunk?

BLASIO: Nothing is a slam dunk. You have to run scared.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Both men trying to embrace the positive legacies of their predecessors, while trying hard to set themselves apart. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE) WHITFIELD: So let's bring back the legal guys to weigh in on the stop-and-frisk policy, Avery Friedman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in Las Vegas. OK, so, gentlemen, so right now, the stop-and-frisk policy is still legal to use in New York, even though a federal judge ruled it unconstitutional, a reminder to people, an appeals panel said they had a problem with the judge right now, not the law. So, Avery, is this the end of the challenge of the law?

FRIEDMAN: No. The Court of Appeals basically said the trial judge engaged in an appearance of impartial -- or partiality so it's going to a different federal judge. I think the order remains in me effect. In fact, the Court of Appeals has not resolved the question, 200,000 stop-and-risks without any reasonable suspicion. That ruling stands, and my prediction is that the three-judge panel ultimately, Fredricka, will affirm that. The only thing that's on hold is a new judge and the remedy. Stop-and-risk, as it's been found, is unconstitutional.

WHITFIELD: So, Richard, this is your backyard. You know, lots of criticism of the policy. How does the judge's removal of this -- from this case help bolster perhaps the use of the law?

HERMAN: Well, it's astounding that they removed the judge from the case. That's for starters, Fred, a lot of issues here. If the Democrat wins for mayor, the appeal will go down the tubes, they will dismiss the appeal, and her ruling will stand.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: In any event, Fred, 685,000 stop-and-risks in 2011, basically 10 percent of those leading to arrests and convictions. Fred, about 95 percent are done against black and Hispanics in New York. Now, despite the lowest ratings in New York for crime --

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

HERMAN: -- murders and crime during that year, stop-and-risk was viable, approved by the Supreme Court. And here, there are many issues, and Avery mentioned the one big one, the court said the judge basically directed certain attorneys to file the case so it would come before her, because she's been outspoken on this issue and felt that the law was disproportionately applied to blacks and Hispanics, made her ruling.

I don't know how it's going to pan out. I think the election's going to determine it. It was a brave ruling from her and I have to tell you, Fred, she is a wonderful, very, very bright judge. I've been before her many times. So it's just astounding that they would make this type of finding with --

FRIEDMAN: Which suggests we agree it will be affirmed. We agree that it will be affirmed. It's unconstitutional.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll talk again about this, because we know the case is not over. Just totally unrelated, also, Richard, unrelated to this case, but topical, nonetheless, you were caught up in the mayhem at LAX at the time of the shooting in Terminal 3. Where exactly were you yesterday? And what did you experience? And we're glad you ultimately made it to Las Vegas. What happened for you?

FRIEDMAN: Glad he's OK.

HERMAN: It was a planned day. Fly in, in the morning, take the meetings, and fly back at 3:00. We land at 9:20, Terminal 3, "the" terminal, we get out, picked up, as we're leaving the airport, floods of police cars are now coming to the airport. I couldn't believe it. I said, this is Los Angeles? I thought I was back in New York.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

HERMAN: Anyway, we live, we get out, and the texts start come on my shooting, CNA, shooting Terminal 3, and we just came in. We just landed. We just missed it by 10 minutes. We kept calling the airline. What's up? What's up? Of course, the airlines, the early flights are cancelled, but we'll be on in the afternoon. That was not the case. We ended up having to rent a car, drive back 5-1/2 hours, rush hour on Friday, had to get back last night for --

FRIEDMAN: You made it. You made it.

HERMAN: We made it.

WHITFIELD: A close brush for you, but we are glad that you -- you made it and everything is okay. Of course, our hearts still go out to the family members --

HERMAN: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- of the TSA worker who did lose his life in that.

HERMAN: That's right. Yes.

FRIEDMAN: That's right.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much. Good to see you, Richard and Avery.

HERMAN: Make some room next week, Fred.

WHITFIELD: What's that?

HERMAN: Make some room next week.

WHITFIELD: That's right. You are coming to the house, right here. We look forward to that. I can't wait to see you guys. Thank you so much. The legal guys here every Saturday here on the air. But this time, they'll be right here in the Atlanta studio next weekend, always tackling the most intriguing legal questions of the day, night, week, you name it. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Toronto's mayor says he will not resign. Even though police claim they have found a videotape reportedly showing Rob Ford smoking a crack pipe earlier this year. Two news agencies said they saw footage of him doing drugs. Senior international correspondent, Ivan Watson, has more -- Ivan.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford featuring prominently in a huge, more than 400- page report published by Toronto police this week after their investigation into drug-related gang activity and it's important both for what it says and doesn't say about Mayor Ford.

For example, in the section investigating allegations he was caught on camera smoking crack, detectives have learned the following -- and then, the report shows ten pages blacked out of completely redacted information that we're not allowed to see. Now, in a press conference, after the publication of the report, Toronto's police chief implied that the crack-smoking video is very real.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF BILL BLAIRK, TORONTO POLICE: We have recovered a digital video file, which is consistent with that which had previously been described in various media reports.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: Fredricka, parts that have not been redacted show the mayor behaving very erratically. He's photographed in front of what police describe as a crack house, with three men alleged to be drug gang members, two of whom were later shot last March, and one of them died in that shooting incident.

Mayor Ford was also repeatedly seen with friend and sometimes driver, Alexander Liesy, who has been arrested on drug and extortion charges. In surveillance video, Ford is shown meeting Liesy, and getting out of the car and urinating near a school where he also threw a bag containing Vodka bottles and McDonald's receipts into a nearby dumpster.

The evidence police later recovered. Despite a lot of questionable behavior, some supporters who are often referred to as the Ford- nation, they're still standing by their man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rob Ford's a good man, a great politician.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would take Rob Ford over anybody else I can think of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The mayor isn't formally being charged with any crimes, yet. And while he says he won't resign, who knows what the fallout will be if and when this controversial video is ever released to the public -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right, incredible story. Thank you so much, Ivan Watson.

We'll have much more of NEWSROOM right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESTELLA PYFROM, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I grew up in the segregated south. I actually started picking beans at age 6. But my father, I used to hear him say, if you get a good education, you can get a good job. So we knew that education was important. In today's time, many of our children don't have computers at home and low-income families don't have transportation to get to where the computers are. Kids who don't have access to computers after school will be left behind.

My name is Estella Pyfrom, at the age of 71. I took my retirement savings to create a classroom to bring high-tech learning to communities in need. All right, let's get on board and start reading. It's a mobile learning center. Are you ready to get on the computers?

We want to do what we can do to make better for all, adults, as well. I see the bus as being able to bridge that gap between technology and the lack of it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She helps me by having one-on-one attention, and if I don't get it, she'll help me with t I look forward to it a lot.

PYFROM: How are we doing here? It's not just a bus. It's a movement. We're going to go from neighborhood to neighborhood, keep making a difference.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: We have much more straight ahead in the CNN NEWSROOM and it starts right now.