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American Morning

New Development in Series of Ohio Highway Shootings

Aired February 03, 2004 - 08:16   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.


SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a new development in the series of Ohio highway shootings that have terrorized residents and puzzled authorities, as well. In the last week, calls have been made to 9/11 by a man who says he is responsible. Since May, there have been 20 random shootings, one of them fatal, on or near Interstate 270, just south of Columbus.
Former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moos led the hunt for the D.C. snipers.

His book about the experience is titled "Three Weeks In October."

And he joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. to talk about the Ohio investigation.

Nice to see you, Chief Moos.

Thanks for being with us.

It's always nice to have you.

CHARLES MOOS, FORMER MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND POLICE CHIEF: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Are you surprised that they've released the audiotapes of these 9/11 calls or do you think that was the right strategy?

MOOS: Well, I think any time you have an opportunity to share information with the public, the police and the community working together certainly has proven to be successful in many, many cases.

O'BRIEN: So you think the goal here should be to get the community on board helping as soon as possible, as much as possible?

MOOS: Yes. I mean it takes a combination of the police and the community, along with also interaction in the police -- state, local and federal agencies. So cooperation and communication always seems to be helpful.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, while the authorities were urging the person, the person responsible, to call the special tip line, when a caller did come in, this is what the operator on the tip line said, "Whatever, whatever, whatever. You just want attention, don't you?" It sounded actually a little bit peeved that she had to waste her time on the phone with this person.

Do you think that that's a completely misguided strategy? MOOS: Well, I think, obviously, the call taker made an error, it sounds like, and call takers are used to getting the facts and maybe they need to understand that in this kind of case they might want to ask open-ended questions, allow an opportunity for the caller to talk. It's different than their normal tasks, but certainly they should have been more open to listening to the individual that called.

O'BRIEN: Authorities in Columbus, Ohio said they learned from your mistakes in the D.C. sniper shootings.

What do you make of that?

MOOS: Well, you know, certainly, you know, nothing is ever perfect. And so if people did learn things, then I hope that they use them to their benefit, even though I want to stress that, you know, no case is exactly like another case. And so the strategies, while similar, will be different. And it is more of an art as opposed to a science.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, they say that they learned from your mistakes of releasing information too early, given that it's been 20 shootings since May, it doesn't sound like -- to learn from your mistakes in a shooting that was solved -- shootings that were solved in three weeks, it seems a little premature for them to say that they've learned from your mistakes, wouldn't you think?

MOOS: Well, again, I don't know the specifics that they're trying to address. But I will say that, you know, giving information is a delicate area. But the more people have from a community standpoint, I think the more they feel like they're able to participate and the more that they feel like something is being done. And so with community policing, cooperation, I think, is really the key. And I hope that that's not something that they have chosen to shut down.

O'BRIEN: The police say that they'll only answer questions on Friday. They wouldn't take any questions about these 9/11 calls. They said their rule is they only answer questions on Friday.

Do you think that's unwise to do when you have an investigation? I mean one life has been lost here.

MOOS: Well, again, I don't know the driving force behind that. But I think cooperation and communication -- and you never know when something is going to break. And so to lock yourself into some specific time could be a delicate thing because, again, depending on what happens, you may find yourself needing to interact with the media, interact with the community. So, again, openness is far better than trying to keep secrets.

O'BRIEN: Former Police Chief Charles Moos joining us this morning.

Thanks for being with us.

Nice to see you, as always. MOOS: Thank you.

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 February 3, 2004 - 08:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: There is a new development in the series of Ohio highway shootings that have terrorized residents and puzzled authorities, as well. In the last week, calls have been made to 9/11 by a man who says he is responsible. Since May, there have been 20 random shootings, one of them fatal, on or near Interstate 270, just south of Columbus.
Former Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moos led the hunt for the D.C. snipers.

His book about the experience is titled "Three Weeks In October."

And he joins us this morning from Washington, D.C. to talk about the Ohio investigation.

Nice to see you, Chief Moos.

Thanks for being with us.

It's always nice to have you.

CHARLES MOOS, FORMER MONTGOMERY COUNTY, MARYLAND POLICE CHIEF: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: Are you surprised that they've released the audiotapes of these 9/11 calls or do you think that was the right strategy?

MOOS: Well, I think any time you have an opportunity to share information with the public, the police and the community working together certainly has proven to be successful in many, many cases.

O'BRIEN: So you think the goal here should be to get the community on board helping as soon as possible, as much as possible?

MOOS: Yes. I mean it takes a combination of the police and the community, along with also interaction in the police -- state, local and federal agencies. So cooperation and communication always seems to be helpful.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, while the authorities were urging the person, the person responsible, to call the special tip line, when a caller did come in, this is what the operator on the tip line said, "Whatever, whatever, whatever. You just want attention, don't you?" It sounded actually a little bit peeved that she had to waste her time on the phone with this person.

Do you think that that's a completely misguided strategy? MOOS: Well, I think, obviously, the call taker made an error, it sounds like, and call takers are used to getting the facts and maybe they need to understand that in this kind of case they might want to ask open-ended questions, allow an opportunity for the caller to talk. It's different than their normal tasks, but certainly they should have been more open to listening to the individual that called.

O'BRIEN: Authorities in Columbus, Ohio said they learned from your mistakes in the D.C. sniper shootings.

What do you make of that?

MOOS: Well, you know, certainly, you know, nothing is ever perfect. And so if people did learn things, then I hope that they use them to their benefit, even though I want to stress that, you know, no case is exactly like another case. And so the strategies, while similar, will be different. And it is more of an art as opposed to a science.

O'BRIEN: At the same time, they say that they learned from your mistakes of releasing information too early, given that it's been 20 shootings since May, it doesn't sound like -- to learn from your mistakes in a shooting that was solved -- shootings that were solved in three weeks, it seems a little premature for them to say that they've learned from your mistakes, wouldn't you think?

MOOS: Well, again, I don't know the specifics that they're trying to address. But I will say that, you know, giving information is a delicate area. But the more people have from a community standpoint, I think the more they feel like they're able to participate and the more that they feel like something is being done. And so with community policing, cooperation, I think, is really the key. And I hope that that's not something that they have chosen to shut down.

O'BRIEN: The police say that they'll only answer questions on Friday. They wouldn't take any questions about these 9/11 calls. They said their rule is they only answer questions on Friday.

Do you think that's unwise to do when you have an investigation? I mean one life has been lost here.

MOOS: Well, again, I don't know the driving force behind that. But I think cooperation and communication -- and you never know when something is going to break. And so to lock yourself into some specific time could be a delicate thing because, again, depending on what happens, you may find yourself needing to interact with the media, interact with the community. So, again, openness is far better than trying to keep secrets.

O'BRIEN: Former Police Chief Charles Moos joining us this morning.

Thanks for being with us.

Nice to see you, as always. MOOS: Thank you.

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