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American Morning
Interview with Don Clark
Aired October 16, 2002 - 07:04 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: Authorities are now hoping that a trail of clues from the sniper's most recent attack will lead to the killer. As you know, the latest victim was 47-year-old Linda Franklin. She was killed Monday night outside a hardware store in Falls Church, Virginia.
Eyewitnesses there describe the suspect as being of Hispanic or Middle Eastern descent. How much does this advance the investigation?
Well, Don Clark, a former FBI special agent, joins us from Houston, Texas this morning.
Good morning, Don. Thank you for being with us.
DON CLARK, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good morning, Paula. Good to be here.
ZAHN: Based on what you think investigators have learned from this last sniper spree, how much closer do you think they are to nabbing a suspect?
CLARK: I suspect, Paula, that they've probably gotten inches and inches closer. They certainly seem to be, from the outside looking in of all of the activity that we saw, with all of the resources coming in, that even before this shooting, there was a great sense of feeling by many people that I talked to that the police were probably getting a little closer.
And now, with whatever information has been provided by these witnesses, it has to move them a little step closer.
ZAHN: I guess the descriptions are quite different from what witnesses have described before, particularly the range at which this guy apparently shot. One witness saying, this time from 40 feet away.
CLARK: Yes, you know, Paula, that's really not uncommon when you get a group of people that witness the same, identical circumstance that takes place, and that's why it is so crucial for the investigators and the profilers and all of the people involved to be so experienced that they can weed through and determine if there are similarities and be able to match those similarities. Because it would just be totally counterproductive if they immediately put out a sketch of an individual and it doesn't meet the criteria of what the person actually looks like.
ZAHN: Is this psychopath slipping up, though, if it is believed that he previously shot from distances of up to 150 feet and beyond that, and this time it was believed from 40 feet?
CLARK: Well, you know, I think what we might be seeing here -- and I don't want to slip on that profiler area there -- but it looks like, to me as an investigator, that perhaps this person has gotten extremely confident. Obviously, a lot of attention has gone to what this person has done, and rightfully so and all due respect to the victims. But he's gotten extremely confident. And sometimes that confidence leads a person to become just a little bit cocky and figure, I can get away with anything. And when that happens, sloppiness takes place, and the likelihood that that giving the police an advantage I think is very good.
ZAHN: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has now authorized the use of military planes to aid investigators. What kind of a difference do you think that will make?
CLARK: I think it will make a significant difference. I think any resource that this country has to bear right now should be considered for use in bringing this person or persons to justice.
We are -- we talk about a war on terrorism. What's going on right now has just as much effect on certainly the area up there and this country. And if we can legally, lawfully use those resources to bring this person to justice, we ought to do it, and I'm very much in favor of it.
ZAHN: There's been a lot of talk this morning on radio shows, and if you look at newspapers, most of them are addressing the issue of the Posse Comitatus law. Isn't it true that the military is limited by this law, particularly when it comes to the restrictions of military personnel being involved from taking part in domestic law enforcement?
CLARK: It is, Paula, very much so, and we worked around that in my career when all of these things became very serious that you have to have resources beyond the capability of law enforcement. Clearly, Posse Comitatus has its place, and we don't want to break any laws to do anything that we designed to make our country very much a democracy.
However, there are legal ways that these resources can be used to help protect this country, whether it's domestically involved or whether it's internationally involved. And we have the people in power in Washington and other places around the country to be able to sort through and figure out the best ways to do that. And if we can do that, we should, and it will not disturb Posse Comitatus.
ZAHN: And what's the best way to lead up this investigation, where you have crimes now spreading in two different states, five different counties, a bunch of different agencies -- local agencies and federal agencies -- involved at this hour? Who should run it?
CLARK: Well, I think it's not so much a matter of who should run it, but you've got to have a central coordinating body, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the local law enforcement and the other federal agencies. But I have to say, the FBI has a reputation of being able to coordinate these activities that go beyond jurisdictional boundaries, and go beyond state and local boundaries, because they've done it in the past. And I think that it may be, perhaps, best to have the FBI coordinating the activities, and that is not at all to say that these other organizations would not be a very integral part of it, information being put in, decision-making being (UNINTELLIGIBLE) by each of these. But you've got to have one centralized body.
Also, if you're talking about using resources, like the military, then you're talking about even a better avenue to coordinate those federal government resources when you're using an entity, the FBI or a similar type organization. So, I think you've got to go with that kind of a structure.
ZAHN: Don Clark, thanks for your insights this morning.
CLARK: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: And thank you for taking our early-morning wake-up call, that time difference there. Thanks for dropping by.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
Aired October 16, 2002 - 07:04 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Authorities are now hoping that a trail of clues from the sniper's most recent attack will lead to the killer. As you know, the latest victim was 47-year-old Linda Franklin. She was killed Monday night outside a hardware store in Falls Church, Virginia.
Eyewitnesses there describe the suspect as being of Hispanic or Middle Eastern descent. How much does this advance the investigation?
Well, Don Clark, a former FBI special agent, joins us from Houston, Texas this morning.
Good morning, Don. Thank you for being with us.
DON CLARK, FORMER FBI SPECIAL AGENT: Good morning, Paula. Good to be here.
ZAHN: Based on what you think investigators have learned from this last sniper spree, how much closer do you think they are to nabbing a suspect?
CLARK: I suspect, Paula, that they've probably gotten inches and inches closer. They certainly seem to be, from the outside looking in of all of the activity that we saw, with all of the resources coming in, that even before this shooting, there was a great sense of feeling by many people that I talked to that the police were probably getting a little closer.
And now, with whatever information has been provided by these witnesses, it has to move them a little step closer.
ZAHN: I guess the descriptions are quite different from what witnesses have described before, particularly the range at which this guy apparently shot. One witness saying, this time from 40 feet away.
CLARK: Yes, you know, Paula, that's really not uncommon when you get a group of people that witness the same, identical circumstance that takes place, and that's why it is so crucial for the investigators and the profilers and all of the people involved to be so experienced that they can weed through and determine if there are similarities and be able to match those similarities. Because it would just be totally counterproductive if they immediately put out a sketch of an individual and it doesn't meet the criteria of what the person actually looks like.
ZAHN: Is this psychopath slipping up, though, if it is believed that he previously shot from distances of up to 150 feet and beyond that, and this time it was believed from 40 feet?
CLARK: Well, you know, I think what we might be seeing here -- and I don't want to slip on that profiler area there -- but it looks like, to me as an investigator, that perhaps this person has gotten extremely confident. Obviously, a lot of attention has gone to what this person has done, and rightfully so and all due respect to the victims. But he's gotten extremely confident. And sometimes that confidence leads a person to become just a little bit cocky and figure, I can get away with anything. And when that happens, sloppiness takes place, and the likelihood that that giving the police an advantage I think is very good.
ZAHN: Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has now authorized the use of military planes to aid investigators. What kind of a difference do you think that will make?
CLARK: I think it will make a significant difference. I think any resource that this country has to bear right now should be considered for use in bringing this person or persons to justice.
We are -- we talk about a war on terrorism. What's going on right now has just as much effect on certainly the area up there and this country. And if we can legally, lawfully use those resources to bring this person to justice, we ought to do it, and I'm very much in favor of it.
ZAHN: There's been a lot of talk this morning on radio shows, and if you look at newspapers, most of them are addressing the issue of the Posse Comitatus law. Isn't it true that the military is limited by this law, particularly when it comes to the restrictions of military personnel being involved from taking part in domestic law enforcement?
CLARK: It is, Paula, very much so, and we worked around that in my career when all of these things became very serious that you have to have resources beyond the capability of law enforcement. Clearly, Posse Comitatus has its place, and we don't want to break any laws to do anything that we designed to make our country very much a democracy.
However, there are legal ways that these resources can be used to help protect this country, whether it's domestically involved or whether it's internationally involved. And we have the people in power in Washington and other places around the country to be able to sort through and figure out the best ways to do that. And if we can do that, we should, and it will not disturb Posse Comitatus.
ZAHN: And what's the best way to lead up this investigation, where you have crimes now spreading in two different states, five different counties, a bunch of different agencies -- local agencies and federal agencies -- involved at this hour? Who should run it?
CLARK: Well, I think it's not so much a matter of who should run it, but you've got to have a central coordinating body, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the local law enforcement and the other federal agencies. But I have to say, the FBI has a reputation of being able to coordinate these activities that go beyond jurisdictional boundaries, and go beyond state and local boundaries, because they've done it in the past. And I think that it may be, perhaps, best to have the FBI coordinating the activities, and that is not at all to say that these other organizations would not be a very integral part of it, information being put in, decision-making being (UNINTELLIGIBLE) by each of these. But you've got to have one centralized body.
Also, if you're talking about using resources, like the military, then you're talking about even a better avenue to coordinate those federal government resources when you're using an entity, the FBI or a similar type organization. So, I think you've got to go with that kind of a structure.
ZAHN: Don Clark, thanks for your insights this morning.
CLARK: Thank you, Paula.
ZAHN: And thank you for taking our early-morning wake-up call, that time difference there. Thanks for dropping by.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.
