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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Why Was Unarmed Teen Shot, Killed?; Cops: Robin Williams Committed Suicide
Aired August 12, 2014 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Breaking news tonight: protests, violence, controversy, they all keep escalating as the mystery deepens in a deadly
police shooting. What did a Missouri cop pump multiple bullets into an unarmed 18-year-old African-American teenager in what critics are calling
an execution? It`s led to protests that were met with teargas and rubber bullets last night.
Good evening. I`m Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.
And take a look at this extraordinary brand-new footage we have just obtained of 18-year-old Michael Brown shortly after he was shot dead, his
body lying there in broad daylight. We only want to show you a little bit, because it`s so disturbing. But we want to give you an idea of what
happened. That`s his lifeless and bloody body, lying unattended in the middle of the street. The video we got our hands on is ten minutes in
length. So we can say for sure that this young man, who was supposed to start college yesterday, was lying dead in the street for at least ten
minutes. Some claim cops left his body there for hours.
Now here is video of his distraught father, arriving at the crime scene to see his son`s body. And you can see the dead teen`s dad is behind
the police tape. And he is there somewhere behind the police tape as he learns his son has been gunned down at the hands of a still unidentified
policeman. And the dead boy`s heartbroken mother is also kept away from her son with
this police tape.
His family says the shooting was 100 percent unprovoked, and they are demanding justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You took my son away from me. Do you know how hard it was for me to get him to stay in school and graduate? Do you know
how many black men graduate? Not many! Because you bring them down to this type of level when they feel like they ain`t got nothing to live for
anyway. They`re going to try to take me out anyway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: This deadly shooting is only getting more and more mysterious as questions mount about why Michael Brown was killed. His
friend says he saw the teen surrendering with his hands in the air when he was shot.
But police officials say Brown attacked the cop and tried to grab the gun. What do you think? Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
And please, join the conversation by going to my Jane Velez-Mitchell Facebook page or talk to me on Twitter. I want to hear from you.
We`re going out to the scene in Missouri in a second. But first out to our fired-up Lion`s Den debate panel, starting with attorney J. Wyndal
Gordon.
Do you have a problem, J. Wyndal, with the teen`s body being left in the street for what some people claim was hours on end?
J. WYNDAL GORDON, ATTORNEY: I have a big problem with that. First of all, they should have -- they should have tried to get him some medical
attention. Who knows whether or not he was fully dead at that period in time? I mean, doctors can do amazing things at this point in time.
And just to have him laying like he was some animal in the street is not only -- not only was it unfair and an injustice in and of itself, but
it was downright cruel and outrageous.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now last night -- excuse me, I`m sorry. Dr. Gabe.
GABE CRENSHAW, PSYCHOLOGIST: I`m saying there`s a segment of police officers throughout this country that see us that way, as just a dog lying
in the street. A thug that needs to be removed from society. It`s just the truth.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So you`re saying it was a mark of disrespect to leave the body on the street that way?
GORDON: Absolutely.
EVANGELINE GOMEZ, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s a crime scene.
GORDON: It`s a cold-blooded scene on a hot street. I mean, that was absolutely disrespectful. And it showed just a lack of care for the
deceased. I mean, at this point in time, you`re dealing with sacred remains, if nothing else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just saw it with Eric Garner...
GOMEZ: It`s a typical crime scene.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: One at a time, please.
Go ahead, Evangeline Gomez.
GORDON: Atypical crime scene.
GOMEZ: It`s a typical crime scene. If the victim would have been white, Hispanic, you would have seen the same thing. I don`t think that
...
GORDON: Who said anything about race?
GOMEZ: Just -- I understand that. In a typical crime scene you will see that type of situation, where they cover the body. The parents or
anyone else, they cannot see them. They can`t access things...
GORDON: But they do -- they use chalk outlines. They use chalk outlines...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they remove the body quickly.
GORDON: Not always do they.
GOMEZ: Not always do they remove the body quickly. And this is a small suburb where they probably don`t have the resources. And they`re
thinking look at this situation. It`s somewhat volatile. We want to make sure we have the experts there.
GORDON: Experts to prove what? If he`s dead, you remove him.
CRENSHAW: It`s somewhat volatile because they created the situation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Dr. Gabe.
CRENSHAW: It`s somewhat volatile, because they created the situation. I think it is about race. We`re just going to put it out there, and let`s
just get honest and talk about what`s really going on in this country. Here`s just the latest episode of it. And we just witnessed this a couple
of weeks ago.
GOMEZ: We don`t have all the facts at this point.
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go to Mo Ivory and let her speak.
CRENSHAW: But a dead body laying [SIC] in the streets transcends race. Deals more with respect for remains.
MO IVORY, RADIO PERSONALITY/ATTORNEY: You are right that we don`t have all the facts at the time. And one of the reasons why we don`t is
because the police in St. Louis are refusing to interview the very one witness that was there with Michael Brown when he was killed, and that is
his friend who is 22-year-old Dorian Johnson, who they have not yet talked to.
So you cannot say that they are doing everything that they should. They`re not.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hold on a second, because we`re going to get -- we`re going to get. Wait a second. We`re going to get to Dorian`s interview in
a second.
But first I want to talk about some of the fallout from the shooting. Last night was the second night of intense public protest, and cops
responded by using teargas. Witnesses also claim rubber bullets were used against the crowds. At least five people were arrested. That`s on top of
the 32 people who were arrested during Sunday`s protest that also involved some looting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just at the sporting goods store and then looked behind me in the shopping center. There were at least three more
stores being looted at this point. We`re seeing a lot of windows being smashed, people running out with clothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: CNN correspondent David Mattingly live where it`s all happening in Ferguson, Missouri. The father of this teenager have urged
people in this community just outside St. Louise to remain calm and nonviolent. What might we expect tonight, Dave?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the position tonight is the same as yesterday. Police are prepared. They`re not sure what to expect,
and they`re hoping their services will not be needed.
What happened Sunday night with the looting caught everyone by surprise. What happened last night was an event that everyone expected.
But when the crowd did not disperse at the time it was supposed to and after police warnings, that`s when they fired off their teargas to disperse
the crowd.
Tonight they are prepared to do the same thing again if they see anything like that. But again, they`re hoping that this preparation will
not be necessary.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, thank you, and be careful out there. Stay safe there out on the scene.
It is a volatile situation right now. It`s a case that sparked massive protests and teargas being used against some of the protesters
tonight. Tonight, the young man who says he was right there. You just heard Mo Ivory refer to this. He was right there with Michael Brown when
Brown was shot dead, is sharing a very vivid description of what he says happened. Listen to him. And then we`re going to compare it with the
police.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He wasn`t causing any harm to nobody. We had no weapons on us at all. We were just walking, having a conversation.
A police officer squad car pulled up. And when he pulled up, he said, get the "F" on the sidewalk. And we told the officer we was not but a
minute away from our destination, and we would shortly be off the street. We was having a conversation. He went about his way for a about one or two
seconds, as we continued to walk.
And then he reversed his truck, his car in a manner to where it almost hit us. He pulled up on the side of us and tried to thrust his door open.
But we were so close to it that it ricocheted off us and it bounced back to him. And I guess that, you know, got him a little upset.
At that time, he reached out the window. He didn`t get out of the car. He reached his arm out the window and grabbed my friend about his
neck and was trying to -- as he was trying to choke my friend. And he was trying to get away, and the officer then reached out and grabbed his arm to
pull him into the car. So now it`s like the officer is pulling him inside the car. He`s trying to pull away.
His weapon was drawn and he said, "I`ll shoot you" or "I`m going to shoot." And in the same moment, the first shot went off.
And we looked down at him. He was shot, and there was blood coming from him. And we took off running. His weapon was already drawn when he
got out of the car. He shot again. Once my friend felt that shot, he turned around and put his hands in the air, and he started to get down; but
the officer still approached with his weapon drawn and he fired several more shots. And my friend died.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, the attorney for this young man is saying tonight that he offered his version of events. He offered to give a
statement to police, and the police turned him down, which of all the things I have heard so far, I find, if this is true, absolutely outrageous.
And I`ve got to go back to Mo Ivory, because you raised this issue.
IVORY: Jane, I can`t even begin to understand on any level how the one eyewitness that can tell the other side of the story would be denied
the opportunity to give that story to the police.
The attorney of Dorian went to the police department in Ferguson and offered up his client to give the information that he knew. And the police
department said, "No, thank you. We don`t need that story." I can`t even begin to understand how, one, that could be due process or how that could
even be legal in a murder investigation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I want to bring in Lisa Lockwood, investigator, author of "Undercover Angel." I think it may be also -- if true -- that`s
what his attorney is claiming and he`s a well-known attorney who is a former city official in the region.
It`s stupid on the part of the police if true, because everybody is now seeing his version of events and other people could choose to
corroborate his version of events based on what he said if they wanted to be helpful to -- I mean, that`s possible. I just think it`s very, very bad
on many levels not to take the statement, Lisa, of a key witness who was standing right there when it all happened.
LISA LOCKWOOD, INVESTIGATOR: He absolutely should have been in the police department and a statement should have been given. Any witness on a
crime scene is taken into protective custody, so to speak. And they`re interrogated. They had an opportunity to even put him on a polygraph if
they felt that he was just trying to corroborate the story to protect his friend.
GORDON: Well, the reason...
LOCKWOOD: My issue is this. You have -- have a police officer who appears from this version to be the aggressor in the situation. Not only
was he shot at close range; when he was fleeing, he was shot. I`m going to be very, very interested in finding out where the other bullets landed on
this individual, if they were indeed in his back as he attempted to flee.
Well, Dorian`s story...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Before we say anything else, let me -- let me reveal the other side of the story. And then we`re going to continue the debate.
OK. Again, this key witness claims that he went to cops to offer his version of events. But he says cops said, "No, we don`t really want to
take your statement."
Instead, here is the story as told by the police chief, and again, it`s 100 percent different from what you just heard form that key English-
speaking witness.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The genesis of this was a physical confrontation. Allegedly pushed the police officer back into the car where he physically
assaulted the police officer. It is our understanding at this point in the investigation that within the police car there was a struggle over the
officer`s weapon. There was at least one shot fired within the car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, going to J. Wyndal Gordon, there are a lot of contradictions here. The police say the first shot inside that car didn`t
hit anyone. That young man says that first shot hit someone, and it sounded like he was saying the cop and that he saw blood.
GORDON: It is the whole typical -- the three D`s I call them. Deny, discredit and destroy. This is part of the cops` playbook when they have a
shooting.
I do not believe that -- for one second that there was a physical confrontation with that police officer. This young man was perhaps trying
to get away from the grasp of this police officer`s talons around his neck. And as a result of that, he tried to flee, and when he couldn`t flee
because he continued to be shot, he surrendered, and at that point that police officer just executed him right there in the street. In cold blood.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So much lighting up -- OK, I`ll give you a chance to respond. Then I`m going to go to Facebook. Let me go to Facebook right
now.
Amber on Facebook, well, she says, "Looting and tearing down buildings in your community is going to prove what point?"
Andre on Facebook says, "When is it going to be enough? Police, stop killing our kids."
Chris on Facebook: "There is no reason for the rioting and looting. It helps nothing."
Josephine on Facebook: "Why was this young man shot and no one helped?"
We are just getting started.
And later in this broadcast, breaking news about the stunning loss of Robin Williams. We`re going to talk to somebody who knew and worked with
the legendary comedian as we learn more about his apparent suicide using a belt, police say.
But first, much more on the shooting death of unarmed teen Michael Brown and the fallout, the protests, the teargas, the questions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This community outraged and demanding answers for what some believe was an unprovoked attack on an unarmed teenager.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No justice, no peace!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stop the killing!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We ain`t through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was just at the sporting goods store and then looked behind me in the shopping centers; at least three more stores being
looted at this point. We`re seeing a lot of windows being smashed, people running out with clothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Along with that unfortunate incident and massive protests in the suburb of St. Louis, there`s a huge controversy over how
this victim has been portrayed by some media outlets. People are outraged over the use of one particular photo, which -- this one, which shows him
holding his hands in a certain way. And folks say it makes Michael Brown look like a gangster when, in reality, we want to stress Michael has no
gang ties, no criminal history at all, and was actually supposed to start college just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was a good kid; he was a cool kid. He wasn`t no troublemaker. He was always quiet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He wasn`t a drug dealer. He was supposed to start school. You took that from him. Y`all got his blood on y`all`s
hands.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to my exclusive guest, Gerard Fuller, a very close friend of Michael Brown, the dead teenager.
Now, I know you`ve known him for a while. And I want to get your reaction. The police claim that Michael struggled with the officer and
went for his gun. Do you see your friend doing something like that, Gerard?
GERARD FULLER, FRIEND OF MICHAEL BROWN (via phone): No, I really don`t. I don`t know. That`s not him. I cannot see that at all.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Did he ever get into any kind of trouble, because we have done some checks, and we find absolutely no criminal history. You
know, there are some, there`s an alderman who claims people are wondering how did this all start?
So somebody said, well, they were jaywalking which kind of dovetails with what the young man who was the witness with Michael Brown said, that
they were in the street. Somebody else, another alderman said, "Well, there are allegations that they were stealing, chewing gum and cigarettes."
Now, he`s about to start college yesterday. Do you see him risking everything to do that?
FULLER: No, not at all. That`s -- that`s not Michael. That`s not Mike. That`s not Big Mike. That`s not him. What the police are trying to
say, that`s not him.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: How would you characterize your friend, who is now deceased? How would you describe him?
FULLER: He`s a loving and a caring person. He always cares about others. Like, if you don`t have it and if he`s got it, he`ll help you out.
In kind order (ph).
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And did he get into fisticuffs or, you know, did he have a tendency to get into confrontations with people?
FULLER: No, not at all. I never -- I never witnessed that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to bring in another exclusive guest, Raquan Smith, an acquaintance of Michael Brown. You went to the same high school.
And recently you graduated. He graduated. And he came up and shared his joy over having graduated with you. Tell us about that, Raquan.
RAQUAN SMITH, CLASSMATE OF MICHAEL BROWN (via phone): Yes, well, this was like at graduation. And I was getting ready to leave. Everybody was
preparing to leave. And I seen [SIC] him; he seen me. And he kind of walked over. We shook hands. And he was like, "Man, we made it."
And I agreed. I was like, "Yes, man, we finished," you know, like this is the end of, like, a hard, hard journey. Like, it was a terrific
accomplishment, what we just went through. We normally -- you know, our school, just went through all the barriers, we did everything. And, you
know, something like that happened. It was terrible.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I want to go back to our panel for a second. Thank you, gentlemen, both for sharing your experiences as a friend of this
now dead teenager.
J. Wyndal Gordon -- maybe I should direct this to Dr. Gabe, psychologist. I think what`s unfortunate, what we just heard somebody say
on Facebook is that those who took it over the top with their protests, and it devolved into some looting really dishonored this teenager, who by all
accounts, we know he has no criminal history, was about to start college, did not do the kinds of things that people -- some of the people did in his
name.
CRENSHAW: Yes. Well, that`s true, Jane. But there is a psychological explanation for that. It`s a gestalt term. We call it
retroflection. And I really sort of believe it`s collective retroflection.
And what that means is you actually go inward. What you should -- what you would do to others you actually do to yourself. And so
essentially, you find yourself -- we see the looting. We see the vandalism, et cetera, and it appears to be the criminalizing -- the
criminalized behavior. And of course, that justifies what has happened to Michael, because you just sort of used one brush stroke for the whole
group.
But I can see what happens. That there`s a level of resistance that we see from the crowd because they`re tired. We keep seeing it over and
over and over again. This is not a new phenomenon. This has continuously happened in this country for decades, for a century, even. We can go all
the way back to Jim Crow; we can come to the `50s. We can do with hanging. We can look at the civil rights movement, which is a large part of why
there ever was the advent of that, is because of what we`re still looking at and we`re still fighting right now.
And so it`s very easy to look at the victims and say, "Ah, there you go." See, that`s why kids like Michael is shot and gunned down by a police
officer because, you know, this is just symptomatic of a larger problem. And we can see it all play out when one of them goes down. We see the
criminalization happen, and it comes out.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: When we come back, we`re going to ask some questions. Why have we not been able to get our hands on a police report? Why do we
not know the name, the identity of the officer who fired the fatal shots?
There are many other missing pieces to the puzzle. The autopsy is done. They refuse to say how many bullets struck this young man. Why?
Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CRUMP, ATTORNEY: That`s why people are so outraged. That`s why people are frustrated, because they say, "Yet again, one of our
children executed before he even becomes a man."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRUMP: They were supposed to release the name of the shooting officer. And now they say for safety concerns, even though they haven`t
illustrated any direct threats against this individual officer, they say they`re not going to release the name. Well, that doesn`t give the
community confidence. That doesn`t make it transparent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: They haven`t released the name of the shooting officer, the officer who fired the fatal shots. We know he`s a six-year
veteran. Witnesses said he was a white police officer. And we know that he`s on paid administrative leave tonight, being paid despite all of this.
Evangeline Gomez, criminal defense attorney, I find that odd. I understand there are safety concerns. But withhold it? This shooting
occurred on Saturday. It`s now Tuesday night.
And also, the medical examiner, she announces, "Well, the autopsy`s done. But we`re not going to release how many gunshot wounds."
GOMEZ: Well, Jane, it`s all very easy to understand. The reason why is because there`s an investigation that`s ongoing. You have the FBI that
allegedly is there. You have the county that`s doing its investigation. So the investigation is not over. They don`t have to release this
information.
The police have also alleged that there were social media threats that were made against someone who was thought to be the officer. And the
police department, if it wants to avoid a lawsuit by this police officer who`s the suspect in this case, is not going to release his or her name
because there are family members. And guess what; what is the point --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I get your point.
GOMEZ: -- but Jane what is the point of releasing the name?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The point is to establish the facts. J. Wyndal Gordon, shouldn`t we know how many bullets hit this young man if the
autopsy is done? Shouldn`t we have the police report? Shouldn`t we have the officer`s name?
J. WYNDAL GORDON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We should have the police report, we should know how many bullets were shot. But this is all
common. This is what they do nowadays. They hide the autopsy reports from the families. They don`t give the family any information.
Even though this is a huge public interest concern, they choose to take this information and not disclose it and cause more mental anguish to
everybody involved. I mean this is not right. Our legislators need to get on top of this to change whatever it is they`re doing. There needs to be a
law that allows disclosure of the autopsy report to the family members and to those involved.
The fact that this is an ongoing investigation has nothing to do with it. The autopsy report isn`t going to change today or tomorrow once it`s
done. Once it`s done, it`s done. But this is what they do --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: We are going to --
GORDON: -- in every big city across the city.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you J. Wyndal Gordon and our entire panel. We`re going to stay on top of this story. Every detail we will bring you.
Up next, brand-new, very disturbing, sad details in the apparent suicide of superstar Robin Williams.
So many great characters: Mrs. Doubtfire and so many others. We`re going to talk to a famous fellow comic who knew him well. And we`re also
going to bring you the very latest details, which are very disturbing.
Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 63-year-old had a long history of alcoholism and drug addiction but was recently battling severe depression according to
his media representative, entering a 12-step rehab stint in July in order to maintain his sobriety. His sudden death leaving Hollywood and fans
stunned.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Robin Williams, dead of a suspected suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Struggles with addiction led Williams back to rehab.
LARRY KING, TV HOST: What happens in rehab?
ROBIN WILLIAMS, ACTOR: What happens? You dry out.
You don`t know about real loss because it only occurs when you love something more than you love yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "Good Will Hunting", the role that brought him his one and only Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
WILLIAMS: It`s the golden dude.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Even while tackling his serious roles, Williams never stopped being funny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The king of improv, comic genius.
WILLIAMS: You like me. You really like me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But off-screen, Williams was struggling with depression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The brain disease is what took him away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, shocking new details in the heartbreaking death of superstar Robin Williams. Just hours ago, investigators held a
news conference to announce they believe the gifted comedian used a belt to commit suicide. The actor was discovered by his personal assistant
yesterday morning inside a bedroom in his northern California home hanging from that belt wedged between a closed closet door and the door frame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. KEITH BOYD, ASST. CHIEF DEPUTY CORONER: Mr. Williams` personal assistant became concerned at approximately 11:45 a.m. when he failed to
respond to knocks on his bedroom door. At that time, the personal assistant was able to gain access to Mr. Williams` bedroom and entered the
bedroom to find Mr. Williams clothed in a seated position unresponsive with a belt secured around his neck with the other end of the belt wedged
between the closed closet door and the door frame.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So very sad. Cops say Robin Williams was last seen alive at around 10:00 p.m. Sunday night when his wife went to bed. At an
unknown time later that night, Robin went to another bedroom in the house. The next morning, his wife leaves the house at 10:30 in the morning
thinking Robin is still sleeping.
But by 11:45, Robin`s personal assistant is worried and after knocking and getting no response, enters the room to a horrifying discovery, Robin
unconscious, not breathing, hanging by the neck. The assistant frantically calls 911. But it`s too late. He`s pronounced dead at the scene.
And now cops say the manner of death is consistent with asphyxia due to hanging. But it appears it might not have been Robin Williams` his
first suicide attempt. According to police, the actor had slash marks on his wrists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOYD: The inside of Mr. Williams` left wrist had several acute superficial transverse cuts. A pocketknife with a closed blade was located
in close proximity to Mr. Williams. The pocket knife was examined and a dry red material was located on the -- excuse me -- blade of the knife
which appeared consistent to dried blood.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to Mike Walters, TMZ news manager. You`ve been all over this story. What do you know about whether or not
there was any kind of suicide note?
MIKE WALTERS, TMZ NEWS MANAGER: Well, Jane, I can tell you that we spoke to family sources who tell us that he didn`t leave a note. He didn`t
leave an e-mail. He didn`t leave any kind of word as to why or how deep his depression had gotten or what brought him to this point.
I can tell you that I did break a story on tmz.com on July 1st that he had entered a place called Hazleton in Minnesota. After 20 years of being
sober, receiving some treatment in 2006, Robin had gone to the facility. But at the time his representatives were very clear with me, "Mike, look,
this is not because he fell off the wagon," although he suffered from alcohol and cocaine use back in the day. This was not what was going on
here. He just needed to be recommitted to his sobriety. He needed to clear his head and get somewhere for treatment.
And at the time, Jane, I thought, you know, putting himself out there and going into a treatment facility, I felt like there was more to the
story. And I`ve spoken to people the last day and a half that were with him right before he entered that facility and they say, you`re exactly
right, he was in a deep, dark depression. One person put it to me, Jane, when they saw him right as he was coming in he looked like he should have
been in treatment way before last month. Like I said, that was only weeks ago -- very, very, very tragic ending to that story.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, Mike Walters, news manager at TMZ. Such a sad story.
You know, Robin Williams was very brilliant and very courageous. He talked openly about being an alcoholic and a drug addict in recovery for
many years.
Check out this comedy skit from Mr. Happy Productions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAMS: You know what I`m talking about? Peruvian marching powder -- the devil`s dandruff. Nice thing, though cocaine -- what a wonderful
drug. Anything that makes you paranoid and impotent, give me more of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, the actor originally got sober around 1983 because he was about to have a son. And his good friend and fellow actor
John Belushi had died from a drug overdose. Robin Williams stayed sober for 20 years approximately. But he fell off the wagon and went back to
rehab in 2006.
And then as you just heard from Mike Walters, this summer he went back to rehab again but insisted, "No, I haven`t slipped, I haven`t started
using. I just want to maintain my sobriety."
I want to bring in somebody who knew Robin Williams, who worked with Robin Williams -- Andy Dick, actor, comic. You and I share something in
common. I`m a recovering alcoholic with 19 years of sobriety. And I know that you`ve been in rehab numerous times.
Did you ever get a sense of this kind of intense sadness existing behind the incredible wit, the genius of Robin Williams when you worked
with him, Andy?
ANDY DICK, ACTOR: Well, first of all, you have 19 years of sobriety. Congratulations.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.
DICK: I have 17 rehabs under my belt. And what I would get from Robin, he kind of hid it from me. I could see his sadness in his acting.
Because he could touch -- I can`t speak for other people -- but he would touch my heart with almost every character he played, even if it was Popeye
or Peter Pan or Mrs. Doubtfire. He had his finger on the pulse of people and his own soul. I think that he, like me, and I think that`s why we
bonded well, is he felt too much, too much. I believe there is such a thing as feeling too much. And then maybe by the end, he just was like,
I`m over it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I mean the sensitivity can bring on sadness.
DICK: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: If you are very sensitive and you care and he did care. He went --
DICK: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: -- and did so much public service work. He gave so much to people who were suffering.
DICK: Yes. And this is a crazy thing for me to say, but I have said this on a number of occasions. I say -- I don`t know what people are -- I
can already hear the backlash. But pick up a drink before you pick up a gun or in his case a belt and that sounds weird and crazy. But I`m so sad
because he was only 63. And you know he could have worked up until he was 93.
I mean look at all the people that do. Don Rickles and Dick Cavett and all these greats. That`s a weird thing to say but I have to go on
record.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Everybody`s entitled to their opinion. And Andy Dick, thank you for sharing your story and speaking so honestly and openly
about your times in rehab. You know, Robin Williams spoke freely after his struggle with drugs and alcohol. He was in rehab just a few weeks ago.
His publicist insists that he checked himself in not because he had relapsed on alcohol or drugs but because he wanted to focus on staying
sober.
He was reportedly as you just heard at a Minnesota facility. He stopped by a local Dairy Queen. Here`s a photo from the person in that
Dairy Queen. And look at his face and his body language. A lot of people have studied this photo and say, he looks sad. And you have to wonder if
he was really grappling right there with the sadness and the depression that might have ultimately killed him.
I want to go out to Jennifer Gimenez, recovering addict and owner of soberbook.com. You know, to a lot of people, it doesn`t make sense that
you would go into rehab without having suffered a relapse just to maintain your sobriety. But we don`t know, as somebody else said, when you`re Robin
Williams, you can pretty much do what you want. And they might change the rules to accommodate you, especially if you`re suffering. What do you
think about all of this, given that you have experience also with rehabs?
JENNIFER GIMENEZ, SOBERBOOK.COM: Well, Jane, I have to say, this is such a sad tragedy. It`s such a sad, dark day, you know. The fact that
somebody who had moved so many people in so many different, wonderful ways and let us feel emotions, you know, is now dead because he was in so much
pain. Regardless, somehow there was darkness, there was a lot of issues going on with Robin that we don`t know about that he did go into treatment.
Maybe it was a med adjustment -- I don`t know. Maybe he did relapse. I`m sure that we will know later on as the toxicology report comes out.
But I think that, you know, people must have been concerned that he actually ended up in treatment. The sad thing here is that he hid it --
that pain, that darkness, this one is hitting me so hard.
And seeing Andy on screen here, it`s like -- I know him very well. And it`s just -- it`s scary because there are so many people out there that
do suffer from depression. There are so many people out there that do suffer from alcoholism and drug addiction and --
(CROSSTALK)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you know, Jennifer, what occurs to me -- and I want to bring Michael Billy in because you`ve had your own battles with
depression and alcoholism and have worked as a comedian. You know, let`s say he was depressed. I know a lot of times when somebody suffers from
depression, the doctors will give them anti-depressants. And I do read and hear in personal anecdotes that sometimes those backfire and they actually
can make somebody suicidal.
I wonder -- and I have absolutely no knowledge of this whatsoever -- if that might have been something that happened. We don`t know. We won`t
know until the toxicology reports. In other words, what I`m saying, not a slip, not going out drinking or doing illegal drugs but having a doctor
say, here take these anti-depressants and then a small percentage of people it boomerangs and has the opposite effects and makes them suicidal.
MICHAEL BILLY, TV/RADIO HOST: Absolutely, Jane. Only speaking from my own experiences, but you know, similar to Andy I`ve been in rehab
multiple times. As many alcoholics know, they`ve been treated a multitude of different ways, you know, from medication to behavioral therapy. And
medication certainly does have its benefits. But I hope that we can shed light on a dark corner of the room which is how to take the steps to
prevent this type of thing.
When this headline passes next week and we`re talking about something else or in a few weeks or a month, can we keep the discussion going on
teaching our children to have better coping skills, behavioral skills, learning how to meditate, to center themselves. Things we know can help
children and adults learn better coping skills for their everyday life.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: On the other side, we`re talk to a friend of mine, Jeffrey Gurian, who`s a comedian and founder of comedymatterstv, he also
worked with Robin Williams. We`re going to talk to him about what was behind that genius, what was behind that razor-sharp, fast wit. Was it
this deep sadness?
Stay right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, ACTOR: We`re mourning the loss of such a great man. And he was also a friend. I admired him. He`s -- you know, he`s a
legend. He`s unbelievable.
ANTONIA BANDERAS, ACTOR: Shocking, sad. Yesterday we had a superstar. Today, unfortunately we have a legend.
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR: He`s gone way too soon. He was very talented. And we`re all going to miss him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY GURIAN, COMEDYMATTERS.TV: Just say a statement about what tonight means to you?
WILLIAMS: It`s very humbling. It`s great for me to be around people who give so much. It`s important to make sure that they`re taken care of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s my special guest interviewing Robin Williams. Straight out to comedian and founder of Comedy Matters TV, Jeffrey Gurian.
Jeffrey, you worked with Robin Williams. Did you ever get a sense of what was behind the facade? What was ailing him? Why he was depressed?
GURIAN: First of all, comedy is a very strange thing to do. To want to go out on stage and make strangers laugh with things that you think are
funny is a tremendous amount of pressure. You`re always seeking approval. Robin had an amazing talent. You could tell just by the magnitude of the
response to his passing he affected people all over the world.
But sometimes when you`re so into being other people, he would do so many characters, it`s almost the sign that you`re not comfortable being
yourself. His mentor kind of was Jonathan Winters, who was the same type of rare performer. Talent like that comes along once in a century. And
Jonathan Winters seemed to suffer with the same bipolar disorder that Robin suffered with.
And I think it`s just -- it`s a lot of pressure -- always seeking approval. Going out on stage and, you know, outside validation doesn`t
seem to work. You couldn`t get more success, more love, more appreciation for your talent than someone like Robin Williams had. And I think that`s
what is so unsettling to people.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Andy, we only have 30 seconds. Do you agree that there was not comfort in his own skin?
GURIAN: Yes.
DICK: When he`s on stage it does seem like he`s manic and bipolar. He was also super real and super humble. But I do agree with him saying
the outside -- seeking the approval of others. We have to remember that his show had just gotten canceled. And I know from experience a number of
shows, I went into a two-year funk after "The Andy Dick Show" got canceled. I`m surprised I survived that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m sorry we`re out of time. You know, thank you for your thoughts. We have no knowledge that he has any bipolar or had any
bipolar. But I think people were referring to the manic nature of his performances, which were genius.
He will be missed. What an incredible talent. What a terrible loss.
END
