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American Morning
Michael Jackson Claims Police Abuse
Aired December 29, 2003 - 08:08 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.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Now to the interview from last night.
Not only does he deny the sexual molestation charges against him, Michael Jackson says he would, quote, "slit his wrists before he would ever hurt a child."
In his first interview since his arrest, the pop star telling CBS' "60 Minutes" that he was mishandled and manhandled by authorities when arrested last month in Santa Barbara County.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: Once I went in the rest room, they locked me in there for, like, 45 minutes. There was doo-doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and it stunk so bad that one of the policemen came by the window and he made a sarcastic remark.
He said, "Does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?"
And I just simply said, "It's all right. It's OK." So I just sat there and waited.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: His claims of police abuse last night, the only true news that came out of that interview. Frank Buckley now tracking it the day after, live in L.A.
A lot of reaction to this from last evening, Frank. Good morning.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Jackson also said that his treatment during the booking process also resulted in a dislocated shoulder. Jackson claimed he was in pain and could barely raise his hands.
If so, it must have been a delayed reaction, because immediately after his arrest, Jackson was seen waving to cameras and to fans who had gathered in Santa Barbara when he turned himself in.
Meanwhile on the allegations against him, Jackson again denied that he sexually abused the alleged victim, who was 12 years old at the time. But he reiterated his view that it's OK for a 45-year-old man to share his bed with a child who is not his own. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKCSON: If you're going to be a pedophile, if you're going to be Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. But I'm not.
That's how we were raised. And I didn't sleep in the bed with the child. Even if I did, it's OK. I slept on the floor. I gave the bed to the child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now Tom Sneddon, the district attorney for Santa Barbara County, had no reaction to the "60 Minutes" interview, but in the past, he and other county officials have said Mr. Jackson was not mistreated when he was booked on suspicion of child molestation -- Bill.
HEMMER: Frank, this interview was done as you mentioned earlier on Christmas night. What's been the reaction from the defense attorney, Mark Geragos, given the airing last evening?
BUCKLEY: Well, you know, it's interesting because most defense attorneys will tell you that it's not good strategy to have your client, a defendant in a criminal matter, speak to the media, because there's no upside to that.
But in a case like this, the other school of thought is, this is a high profile case, you know there are going to be many stories about this. A lot of the publicity is going to be negative.
And the other school of thought is that you use classic crisis management. That is get out in front of the story, tell your side of the story as often as possible.
And in this place Michael Jackson wasn't challenged very vigorously by Ed Bradley, the correspondent, on "60 minutes," and Michael Jackson was, in fact able to get out his side of the story on the program.
HEMMER: Frank, thanks. Frank Buckley in L.A.
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 29, 2003 - 08:08 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, ANCHOR: Now to the interview from last night.
Not only does he deny the sexual molestation charges against him, Michael Jackson says he would, quote, "slit his wrists before he would ever hurt a child."
In his first interview since his arrest, the pop star telling CBS' "60 Minutes" that he was mishandled and manhandled by authorities when arrested last month in Santa Barbara County.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL JACKSON, ENTERTAINER: Once I went in the rest room, they locked me in there for, like, 45 minutes. There was doo-doo, feces thrown all over the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and it stunk so bad that one of the policemen came by the window and he made a sarcastic remark.
He said, "Does it smell good enough for you in there? How do you like the smell? Is it good?"
And I just simply said, "It's all right. It's OK." So I just sat there and waited.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HEMMER: His claims of police abuse last night, the only true news that came out of that interview. Frank Buckley now tracking it the day after, live in L.A.
A lot of reaction to this from last evening, Frank. Good morning.
FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Bill.
Jackson also said that his treatment during the booking process also resulted in a dislocated shoulder. Jackson claimed he was in pain and could barely raise his hands.
If so, it must have been a delayed reaction, because immediately after his arrest, Jackson was seen waving to cameras and to fans who had gathered in Santa Barbara when he turned himself in.
Meanwhile on the allegations against him, Jackson again denied that he sexually abused the alleged victim, who was 12 years old at the time. But he reiterated his view that it's OK for a 45-year-old man to share his bed with a child who is not his own. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAKCSON: If you're going to be a pedophile, if you're going to be Jack the Ripper, if you're going to be a murderer, it's not a good idea. But I'm not.
That's how we were raised. And I didn't sleep in the bed with the child. Even if I did, it's OK. I slept on the floor. I gave the bed to the child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BUCKLEY: Now Tom Sneddon, the district attorney for Santa Barbara County, had no reaction to the "60 Minutes" interview, but in the past, he and other county officials have said Mr. Jackson was not mistreated when he was booked on suspicion of child molestation -- Bill.
HEMMER: Frank, this interview was done as you mentioned earlier on Christmas night. What's been the reaction from the defense attorney, Mark Geragos, given the airing last evening?
BUCKLEY: Well, you know, it's interesting because most defense attorneys will tell you that it's not good strategy to have your client, a defendant in a criminal matter, speak to the media, because there's no upside to that.
But in a case like this, the other school of thought is, this is a high profile case, you know there are going to be many stories about this. A lot of the publicity is going to be negative.
And the other school of thought is that you use classic crisis management. That is get out in front of the story, tell your side of the story as often as possible.
And in this place Michael Jackson wasn't challenged very vigorously by Ed Bradley, the correspondent, on "60 minutes," and Michael Jackson was, in fact able to get out his side of the story on the program.
HEMMER: Frank, thanks. Frank Buckley in L.A.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
