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American Morning

Interview of Bernard Kerik, New York City Police Commissioner

Aired November 26, 2001 - 09:26   ET

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

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The terrorist attacks on September 11th made national heroes out of some New York city officials whose names were seldom heard outside of Gotham. Among them, Bernard Kerik, New York City's police commissioner. To many, he was a tower of strength amid the chaos. Standing shoulder to shoulder with his boss Mayor Rudy Giuliani. He will be leaving his post at the end of the year, when a new mayor takes office.

Kerik written a book called "The Lost Son," and -- he joins us now. Delighted to have you with us. We know how busy you are these days.

BERNARD KERIK, NEW YORK CITY POLICE COMMISSIONER: Good morning.

ZAHN: Why did you write the book?

KERIK: I -- I've been talked to a number of times over the last several years to write a book about a number of things I've done, and I wanted something that would inspire other people that -- that had grown up sort of like me, and also something for my kids. You know, to learn about their history, and where they came from, and where I came from.

ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about where you came from. What do you want to tell us about your mother?

KERIK: My mother -- my mother and father were separated and divorced when I was very young, and my mother had custody and I was sort of abandoned by her when I was about three and a half. And I hadn't heard from her since about that age, and later on she died in 1964, and I never knew it until later in my life when I was about 17 or 18. As I began to write the book, I went back to research my childhood, her life, at which time I found out that she had been murdered, in 1964, and the murder went uninvestigated, and as a result I started an investigation with the Ohio state authorities.

ZAHN: And at the point that you involved yourself in this investigation, you learned things about your mother you never knew about.

KERIK: Yeah --

ZAHN: How hurtful was it to find out that your mother -- had been a prostitute, that that's the way she had to make a living? KERIK: It was -- it was difficult. It was hard. You know, it was heart wrenching to go back and hear things that I -- I never knew, learned things that I was unaware of. But it also gave me insight as to why she did some of the things she did, why she left -- she had an extremely difficult childhood, and it just goes to show you, you know, those things in your early years lead to -- can lead to really bad things later.

ZAHN: But they didn't crush you. And -- and you found about many of these things in your own adulthood. For -- for the kids out there who are struggling, who come from dysfunctional families, who have financial problems, what is the message that you want to send?

KERIK: Don't ever stop trying. Don't give up hope. You know, set your sights on a goal and work toward them. Right now, you know, a number of people are looking to the book and saying it's very inspirational for adolescents. You know, I think the book is very inspirational for people that grew up like me. Grew up kind of wild, and sometimes unsupervised. And with a little hard work, little luck, some right guidance by the right people, you -- you can -- you can do pretty well for yourself.

ZAHN: If you hadn't ended up in law enforcement, do you think you'd probably be sitting in prison right now for having committed some horrible crime?

KERIK: My stepmother -- my stepmother used to say when -- I remember when I was appointed as correction commissioner -- she told someone, "I always thought he was going to wind up behind bars, but I never knew what side it was going to be on." So, with the right guidance, I done okay.

ZAHN: Before we let you go this morning, I -- I can't imagine a more cataclysmic way for anybody to end their reign as the commissioner of a major metropolitan police force. As you get ready to leave office, share some of your reflections on what you experienced on September 11th. Can you erase any of those images from your mind?

KERIK: No, I don't think anybody ever will. The images of the towers being hit. The towers falling. People jumping from the buildings. The faces of the family members of the 23 cops that I lost, trying to talk to them. Those are things that I will never forget. Ever.

ZAHN: And have you allowed yourself to think about the vulnerability you were exposed to that day. You and the mayor came very close to losing your lives that day.

KERIK: Yeah, a couple of times. You know what, but you don't -- I really haven't thought about it. I try not to think about it. We had a job to do, we tried to do the best we could. The mayor, you know, he worked best under -- in a crisis situation, and his leadership, I think, got the city through an enormous amount of pain that day. ZAHN: And then, whoever would have thought that several months later, you'd experience the tragedy of the downing of this American Airlines flight?

KERIK: The -- the downing of that flight, it really demonstrated to the entire city and to the country the comeback of the police department and fire department. Within 24 hours, New York City was almost back to normal. Prior to September 11th, I don't think that would have been the case. It's a changed world in policing and security, and emergency service now.

ZAHN: December 31st ends your reign as commissioner of New York, what are you going to be doing January 1st, besides maybe taking a long nap?

KERIK: Take a nap. I'm going to sleep for a couple weeks. I have no idea. I'm just going to sit back, relax, and enjoy my kids.

ZAHN: Well, we should make the assumption you will end up on the right side of the bars, right?

KERIK: No, this time, yeah. Absolutely.

ZAHN: Do you think you'll end up with security work, or do you want to try something different?

KERIK: There's a number of things, a number of options I'm looking at. Some security consulting, and you know the book -- maybe some more things on the book -- book front.

ZAHN: Well, I know journalists are not supposed to take positions on stories, but you certainly know that the nation stood behind you and the mayor as we endure this horrible, horrible tragedy.

KERIK: Thank you.

ZAHN: You represented us well. Good luck to you. Will you come back and talk to us when you figure what you do with the next chapter of your life?

KERIK: Absolutely. Absolutely.

ZAHN: And, once again, Bernard Kerik's new book is called "The Lost Son: A Life In Pursuit of Justice."

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