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American Morning

Death in Custody

Aired December 02, 2003 - 09:16   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.


ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some are questioning the officers' actions. Joining us from Cincinnati, Juleana Frierson of Cincinnati's Black United Front.
Mrs. Frierson, thanks very much for being with us this morning.

As you look at this tape, do you believe excessive force was used by these police officers?

JULEANA FRIERSON, CINCINNATI BLACK UNITED FRONT: The tape is especially troubling. It's troubling that a minute and a half is missing from the tape. And you have to wonder what happened during that time to precipitate what then escalated. The tape --

The tape begins...

COOPER: Well, actually, let me just stop you right there. I can tell you the chief of police says that that is basically how the tape was made, that when the blue lights of the police car are on, the tape is on. They turned off the car, they turned off the lights when they got there. The tape automatically shut off, and then they used a remote control device to turn it on when things got hot. Do you buy that?

FRIERSON: Well, no, I don't buy it, it's very convenient. It's very convenient that the tape begins where Mr. Jones, who is now dead, lunges at the police. You have to still ask what happened prior to that, what happens during that one minute and 37 seconds. And we fought for many changes in this police department. One is we have the mobile cameras running at all times. So that's the initial question.

The second question then comes back to what happened initially. This was a medical emergency. The paramedics were called because Mr. Jones had passed out on the grass of a restaurant. This was not even a criminal act. Nothing illegal had been done. This person needed medical assistance. The paramedics then called the police because -- quote -- "They said he was being a nuisance," not disorderly, not belligerent, not committing any criminal act, but simply being a nuisance.

When you look at the beginning of the tape, you see Mr. Jones standing there all alone bothering no one. So what happened to get to where it went? And then when you look at the police hitting this man, 40 times, something is wrong with that. Where is the mental health response team? We fought for that procedure to be put in place. They said that one person was on a burglary call? Then something is wrong with that procedure. Where was the taser guns? COOPER: Well, they're saying...

FRIERSON: Everything we've fought for over the past few years were not utilized. And what we have is another black man dead in Cincinnati.

COOPER: In this case -- well, let me just interrupt you, in this case, they say the police did not have taser guns with them, and also that the subject was described as acting strangely by people at the White Castle restaurant, and I guess also by officer or paramedics who first responded to the scene.

But what a...

FRIERSON: I suggest you listen to the 911 tape. It does not say that. The 911 tape from the employee in the White Castle restaurant says the man is passed out on the grass. She was requesting medical assistance initially.

COOPER: Right. And initially, I guess he then woke up from whatever state he was in, and that is when the police were called based on what the paramedics felt at the time. Let me ask you, as you look at that tape, what a lot of the police we've talked to have said, is, look, they're intentionally not hitting Mr. Jones in the head. It is disturbing to see anyone being hit with a night stick, being prodded like they did, but they intentionally were not aiming at his head. They say that is a sign of good police procedure.

FRIERSON: I don't think have you have good police procedure when it takes 40 hits to subdue someone. Again, as we've fought in the past to put in other procedures to prevent another death at the hands of the Cincinnati police. Why did the police not wait for backup who, if you look at the tape, were one minute away. Why, if you have a gentleman that's 350 pounds, and if he is acting strange, and backup is one minute away, why would you not wait for the backup when this man was not committing any criminal act?

COOPER: All right. We're going to leave it here. A lot of investigations, I believe three right now going on.

FRIERSON: The complete tape, I would tell you though, is on channel -- cincinnati.com. And you can see the raw footage. And you see the police standing there for three minutes while the man dies. That's also a question.

COOPER: All right, Juleana Frierson, we appreciate you joining us this morning. Thanks very much.

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 December 2, 2003 - 09:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Some are questioning the officers' actions. Joining us from Cincinnati, Juleana Frierson of Cincinnati's Black United Front.
Mrs. Frierson, thanks very much for being with us this morning.

As you look at this tape, do you believe excessive force was used by these police officers?

JULEANA FRIERSON, CINCINNATI BLACK UNITED FRONT: The tape is especially troubling. It's troubling that a minute and a half is missing from the tape. And you have to wonder what happened during that time to precipitate what then escalated. The tape --

The tape begins...

COOPER: Well, actually, let me just stop you right there. I can tell you the chief of police says that that is basically how the tape was made, that when the blue lights of the police car are on, the tape is on. They turned off the car, they turned off the lights when they got there. The tape automatically shut off, and then they used a remote control device to turn it on when things got hot. Do you buy that?

FRIERSON: Well, no, I don't buy it, it's very convenient. It's very convenient that the tape begins where Mr. Jones, who is now dead, lunges at the police. You have to still ask what happened prior to that, what happens during that one minute and 37 seconds. And we fought for many changes in this police department. One is we have the mobile cameras running at all times. So that's the initial question.

The second question then comes back to what happened initially. This was a medical emergency. The paramedics were called because Mr. Jones had passed out on the grass of a restaurant. This was not even a criminal act. Nothing illegal had been done. This person needed medical assistance. The paramedics then called the police because -- quote -- "They said he was being a nuisance," not disorderly, not belligerent, not committing any criminal act, but simply being a nuisance.

When you look at the beginning of the tape, you see Mr. Jones standing there all alone bothering no one. So what happened to get to where it went? And then when you look at the police hitting this man, 40 times, something is wrong with that. Where is the mental health response team? We fought for that procedure to be put in place. They said that one person was on a burglary call? Then something is wrong with that procedure. Where was the taser guns? COOPER: Well, they're saying...

FRIERSON: Everything we've fought for over the past few years were not utilized. And what we have is another black man dead in Cincinnati.

COOPER: In this case -- well, let me just interrupt you, in this case, they say the police did not have taser guns with them, and also that the subject was described as acting strangely by people at the White Castle restaurant, and I guess also by officer or paramedics who first responded to the scene.

But what a...

FRIERSON: I suggest you listen to the 911 tape. It does not say that. The 911 tape from the employee in the White Castle restaurant says the man is passed out on the grass. She was requesting medical assistance initially.

COOPER: Right. And initially, I guess he then woke up from whatever state he was in, and that is when the police were called based on what the paramedics felt at the time. Let me ask you, as you look at that tape, what a lot of the police we've talked to have said, is, look, they're intentionally not hitting Mr. Jones in the head. It is disturbing to see anyone being hit with a night stick, being prodded like they did, but they intentionally were not aiming at his head. They say that is a sign of good police procedure.

FRIERSON: I don't think have you have good police procedure when it takes 40 hits to subdue someone. Again, as we've fought in the past to put in other procedures to prevent another death at the hands of the Cincinnati police. Why did the police not wait for backup who, if you look at the tape, were one minute away. Why, if you have a gentleman that's 350 pounds, and if he is acting strange, and backup is one minute away, why would you not wait for the backup when this man was not committing any criminal act?

COOPER: All right. We're going to leave it here. A lot of investigations, I believe three right now going on.

FRIERSON: The complete tape, I would tell you though, is on channel -- cincinnati.com. And you can see the raw footage. And you see the police standing there for three minutes while the man dies. That's also a question.

COOPER: All right, Juleana Frierson, we appreciate you joining us this morning. Thanks very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com