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Officer Slams Female Student to Ground; Police Face Recruiting Challenge; Preview of "Videos Gone Viral 2". Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired October 27, 2015 - 10:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:31:34] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

We turn now to that outrage growing over a violent incident inside a South Carolina classroom. A school resource officer caught on camera slamming a black female student to the ground. Then he picks her up and he hurls her at a wall -- the teenager's peers and her teacher watching the whole thing.

Jason Carroll is following the fallout this morning. Good morning -- Jason.

JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you -- Carol.

This incident taking place during a math class. A number of parents there from the community asking a number of questions namely, would you want your daughter treated that way if she refused to leave a classroom? Did the officer do everything he could in his power to de-escalate the situation? The investigation into what happened now well under way.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN FIELDS, S.C. SHERIFF'S DEPUTY: Are you going to come with me or I'm going to make you?

CARROLL: South Carolina sheriff's deputy Ben Fields, seen here, is on administrative duty this morning after his violent takedown of a high school student was caught on camera Monday afternoon. You can see the sheriff's deputy tossing a female student to the ground after she refused to get up from her desk, then throwing her across the classroom floor.

FIELDS: Put your hands behind your back. Give me your hands. Give me your hands.

LT. CURTIS WILSON, RICHLAND COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT: We don't want everyone to rush to judgment but we also feel that the video was very, very disturbing.

CARROLL: According to police, the Richland County student was asked to leave the classroom. When she refused, Fields was called in to arrest her for disturbing class. School officials say the video is, quote, extremely disturbing, and has banned the deputy from all district schools pending an investigation.

The sheriff's department, who's also looking into the matter, says it's still unclear what happened before the camera started rolling.

WILSON: We'll have to look at this in its totality to understand exactly what happened. Is this a pattern? Is this something that he's done before?

CARROLL: The deputy has been the subject of two lawsuits in the last ten years. In 2007 a couple claimed he used excessive force in questioning them about a noise complaint. The husband says Fields slammed him to the ground, cuffed him and began kicking him. But the jury ruled in Fields' favor in 2010.

In 2013 a student claimed Fields falsely accused the teen of being involved in a gang, the school expelling him. That lawsuit is ongoing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you see a video like what we've seen earlier today, it certainly alarms you and makes you a little bit afraid of what is actually happening within our schools.

CARROLL: The deputy has been working for the school district for seven years and was recently awarded the Culture of Excellence Award in 2014 for proving to be what they say was an exceptional role model to the students.

(EXPLETIVE DELETED)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CARROLL: And despite the student there being thrown over her chair and then tossed across the room, we're told she was not injured during the arrest but she does now face a charge of disturbing schools -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Jason Carroll reporting live for us this morning.

Let's talk a little bit more about this with Curtis Lavarello. He's a former school resource officer himself and the current executive director of the school safety advocacy program. Welcome, sir.

CURTIS LAVARELLO, EXEC. DIR., SCHOOL SAFETY ADVOCACY PROGRAM: Thank you -- Carol.

[10:35:00] COSTELLO: So, I know we don't know what all went on in that classroom, but if you were that deputy and you were standing there and demanding something of that student, how would you have reacted?

LAVARELLO: Well, you know, this is an extremely disturbing video, as you heard. And as a resource officer and somebody who supervised resource officers, you know, what's probably even more disturbing is the fact that we saw a pretty routine discipline issue become a criminal issue in just a matter of minutes. There were a lot of strategies that could have been deployed in between there.

The first thing -- again, before you even call the officer is maybe remove the young lady's audience there, the other students and allow them to go to the library or some other area of the school. And then try to de-escalate it one-on-one with her where she doesn't have to do this in front of her peers.

Oftentimes, this scenario has played out hundreds of times in my police career, and it's one that can be handled so simply and it escalated needlessly.

COSTELLO: It didn't even appear that this officer talked with the student, although again, we don't know all that went on in that classroom before the other students started to take out their video cameras or their phone cameras.

LAVARELLO: Absolutely. And that's why training, you know, we train hundreds of thousands of officers across the country that work in schools. And it's such a positive program. It's probably one of the more successful programs, the SRO program, in the country. So, it's disturbing to see incidents like this occur.

And it's something that can be handled relatively simply with training and having school administrators know when to best use a school resource officer. And this does not appear to be the case.

COSTELLO: Well, it's just sort of ironic that he won this award as a role model for students and then this happens. How do you -- I don't know -- how do you marry the two?

LAVARELLO: Well, it's hard to say. And I was glad to see -- you know, I'm familiar with the sheriff's department there and I know they've been recognized in their efforts in school resource officers' programs in the past, so I was happy to see that, you know, Sheriff Lott is asking for an outside independent investigation by the Department of Justice and the FBI. But, you know, it's hard to sit back and know all the factors that are going into this case right now this early out.

But again, the -- just the outward appearance of this right now appears, why would you even involve a school resource officer, somebody that can make a criminal arrest on an issue that should have been left in the school discipline arena?

COSTELLO: Curtis Lavarello -- thanks for your insight.

LAVARELLO: You're more than welcome.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, police under heavy scrutiny and it's having a major impact on those considering putting on a badge. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:42:04] COSTELLO: In just a matter of hours, President Obama

will call for tighter gun control when he addresses a group of police chiefs in his hometown of Chicago. The President's speech comes just one day after the FBI director, James Comey, appeared to soften his comments that police officers feel under siege because of a Ferguson effect. He later softened those remarks.

But some police departments have actually taken a hit since Ferguson when it comes to recruiting new officers. The Los Angeles police department is ramping up its social media campaign to try and change the perception of the department and get more young people to join the force.

CNN's Kyung Lah follows along with one African-American recruit who was determined to become an officer.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The Los Angeles Police Academy where the next generation of cops learn how and when to fire, high-speed pursuit tactics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and cuff him up.

LAH: And takedown moves on armed suspects.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Suspect, put your hands up.

LAH: A tough job, yet recruit officer Asia Hardy longs to wear the badge, even if others around her don't support her career choice.

ASIA HARDY, LAPD RECRUIT OFFICER: I think that is not as easy for the -- you know, for our family members or our friends to actually accept the profession that we're going into just because of the perception that African-Americans have towards law enforcement.

LAH: A perception affected by high-profile officer-involved shootings from Ferguson, Missouri to North Charleston, South Carolina to Cincinnati, Ohio.

Outrage, leading to high-profile targeted killings of police officers. The fallout seen across the country as police departments struggle to attract new officers. In Philadelphia, the number of police recruits has dropped 47 percent in 2014 compared to 2008. Since 2013, New York, the country's biggest police force, applications are down 18 percent. In Los Angeles, 16 percent.

Lieutenant Aaron McCraney joined the LAPD at another tough time for cops, the Rodney King era. He's now in charge of trying to convince future cops to join.

When you go out and talk to recruits, potential recruits, are you hearing them mention news events?

LT. AARON MCCRANEY, LAPD RECRUITMENT SECTION: Sure. It's one of the first questions. They want to know, ok, why should I be a police officer when all of these bad things are going on? Why should I put myself at risk?

LAH: Coupled with relatively low pay and tough entrance exams and that chance that they could be hurt or killed. This is a hard sell, especially for women and minorities but not for Asia Hardy. She wants to improve not just her community, but how others view her and her brothers in blue.

HARDY: Despite all of the backlash that law enforcement is getting this is a personal choice of mine. This is my passion. So I'm seeing this forward, despite everything that's happening right now.

[10:45:04] LAH: A number of the police departments we spoke with say it's not just public perception affecting the applications it's also the job market as well as the economy. They say these things are cyclical and they hope this is the bottom.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, remember this, a soldier rescuing a man from a burning car? You're going to see it. We're going to get the entire story from this real-life Captain America next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:49:59] COSTELLO: Heroic rescues, inspirational moments and heart-warming stories all caught on tape. Make sure to join CNN tonight for premieres of "VIDEOS GONE VIRAL 2", a special report taking you behind the scenes of some of the world's most popular videos. Here's a peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Durham, North Carolina, a windy stretch of road that's notorious for speeding.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I heard the explosion I knew it was a bad car accident immediately.

PHILLIPS: Two cars collide head-on. Three people are trapped. Lucky for these neighbors, Army Captain Steve Voglezon is there to help.

ARMY CAPT. STEVE VOGLEZON: The car was upside down and smoke was building, and I reached inside (inaudible) he was hanging from the seat belt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Steve reaches down and yanks him up out over, because the car is on its side. And then we carried him down the road.

PHILLIPS: Steve drags a second person to safety and the jaws of life rescues the third -- a heroic act, indeed. But it's what Steve is wearing that triggers this Internet sensation.

Why do you think this video went viral?

VOGLEZON: Because of the T-shirt. It was the T-shirt.

PHILLIPS: Not because you actually saved people from burning cars.

VOGLEZON: No, no.

PHILLIPS: You think it's just the T-shirt?

VOGLEZON: I think it's the T-shirt.

PHILLIPS: Captain Voglezon was wearing a Captain America T- shirt.

VOGLEZON: It was just a funny coincidence. You just can't make it up.

PHILLIPS: It really is the perfect story.

VOGLEZON: It is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: That is so -- that is so awesome -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: You can't make it up, Carol. You cannot make it up. And here's the best part, right, he was so humble about it and such a sweet soul, yet so tough. And here's the funny part, Marvel, you know, saw the video go viral. He has a whole room filled with action figures, T-shirts, bumper stickers, comic books. I mean he's like the poster child for Marvel.

But on a serious note, you know, I asked him if he can wear the T-shirt and he said no he can't put it on because, you know, the victims are still going through rehab. They all survived but it's emotional for him. He can't wear the T-shirt. So he just holds on to it.

COSTELLO: Oh, what a sweetie. What a sweet guy. Wow.

PHILLIPS: I know.

COSTELLO: Who else did you profile that impacted you?

PHILLIPS: Oh my gosh. I'll tell you, I'm so excited about this hour because you're going to cry, you're going to laugh, you're going to be on the edge of your seat.

One very memorable little girl -- lacey parker. She's my little cheerleader with Down syndrome. Her story is remarkable. I mean, she had five birth defects as a little girl and she was born with Down syndrome, yet her mom and dad, they were fighters. She was a fighter. We did a little -- well, you're actually seeing here. We

surprised her. She made the cheerleading squad at school but we surprised her with a tryout with the Atlanta Hawks and, of course, she made the professional cheerleading squad as well. You're going to love meeting her.

COSTELLO: I can't wait. Kyra -- I can't wait. I really can't wait. Thank you so much for being with me this morning.

PHILLIPS: You bet -- Carol.

COSTELLO: That special report "VIDEOS GONE VIRAL 2" airs tonight at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:57:42] COSTELLO: Checking some top stories at 57 minutes past, a district attorney in Oklahoma says 25-year-old Adacia Chambers intentionally drove her car into a parade crowd on Saturday, killing four people. Chambers made her first court appearance yesterday via closed-circuit video. She faces four counts of second degree murder. 17 injured people remain in the hospital, four of them in critical. Chambers' bond is set at $1 million. She'll be in court next time November 13th.

General Motors is announcing a recall of 1.4 million cars. The reason: leaking oil put them at risk of catching fire. Most of the cars had already been recalled, but more than 1,300 caught fire after the dealer repaired them. So, GM says even the repaired vehicles need to return for work under this new recall. For more information, you can go to the Website recalls.gm.com.

In South Asia the death toll continues to rise following Monday's earthquake. More than 300 people are dead, nearly 2,000 more injured. While the quake's epicenter was in northeastern Afghanistan, most of the deaths are across the border in Pakistan. Officials say they're still trying to gauge the scale of the devastation.

United Airlines has issued an apology for a blunder that echoed across social media. 29-year-old D'Arcee Neal had just landed after a five-hour flight and was told by flight attendants to remain seated until they could bring the disabled man a wheelchair. Neil who has cerebral palsy says he waited 30 minutes until he felt he had no choice but to crawl to the exit.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

D'ARCEE NEAL, DISABLED PASSENGER: I had told them that I had to use the bathroom. I told them two or three times. He asked me why I couldn't use the bathroom on the plane. Obviously, having cerebral palsy, I'm not able to stand, so that's virtually impossible. So, yes, at that point I asked him where my wheelchair was. He said it was on the jetway. I said, ok, I'm just going to leave.

You know, it was interesting because I expected them to ask me, how can we assist you, like what is the best way. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right. But they didn't ask that? Right.

NEAL: No, they didn't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Neal says he's had similar ordeals with other airlines and United is the very first to apologize and to vow improvements.

Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello.

[11:00:01] "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN HOST: A new Republican frontrunner folks. For the first time in months, Donald Trump is pushed from the top spot nationwide -