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New Day

Training Dogs for Law Enforcement; Three Cosby Accusers Meet for the First Time; Interview with Lt. Col. Michael Bell

Aired December 02, 2014 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, here we go with the five things you need to know for your new day.

At number one, President Obama is pledging tighter controls on law enforcement in the wake of the unrest in Ferguson. He is calling for the demilitarization of police departments and body cameras for all police officers.

The Lebanese army has detained a wife and son of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. The unidentified woman was reportedly traveling with a fake passport as she crossed from Syria days ago.

The University of Virginia president promising to make sexual assault cases a priority after reported gang rape at a campus fraternity. Teresa Sullivan telling students, quote, "we will repair this wrong."

Former Florida Jeb Bush says he is thinking about a presidential run. He expects to make a decision in, quote, "short order." A new CNN poll puts him third among Republicans, but first if Mitt Romney doesn't run.

And at number five, Secretary of State John Kerry joins NATO leaders in Brussels today to discuss Russia and Ukraine, as well as setting up a rapid response force in eastern Europe. The battle against ISIS is also high on that agenda.

We do update those five things to know, so be sure to visit our website, newdaycnn.com for the very latest.

Right now, though, in today's "Impact Your World," missing person cases are reported far too often. Every resource is critical, especially in those very first hours of the search. Chris has more now on a Florida couple who knows the pain of a missing person all too well and is dedicated to getting search dogs into police departments around the globe.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): When Duke Snodgrass (ph) pictured his retirement, he never imagined it would be filled with these big, floppy-eared dogs. Snodgrass and his wife Angie run a foundation that raises, trains and donates bloodhounds to law enforcement agencies. The couple started the non-profit after their son Cody died in a motorcycle accident. Haunted by the abduction and murder of his aunt, Cody was inspired to become a police officer and work with bloodhounds to find missing people.

DUKE SNODGRASS, STARTED NON-PROFIT THAT TRAINS DOGS FOR LAW ENFORECMENT: Cody and Jimmy, Jimmy was his dog, was just the best of partners. Him and the dog just started making a difference. He was lucky enough he had got to be involved in saving some kids' lives. After we lost him, we knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to put a bloodhound in every sheriff's department.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You got her.

CUOMO: Thanks to the foundation, Canine Deputy Melanie Merritt (ph) has seen how a bloodhound can be a life-saving tool.

MELANIE MERRITT, CANINE DEPUTY: We got called out to a missing 16- year-old, was from out of town, visiting his grandparents. And behind his house is all wooded, swamp area. We ended up tracking for almost three and a half hours. When we found him, he had no shoes, his phone was gone, and the grandfather, he came up and he was crying and he hugged me. And that's the best feeling in the whole world.

SNODGRASS: We know about closure. Now we can help other families put closure through these bloodhounds that Cody loved so much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CUOMO: There are a lot of ways to help make your community a better place and we're going to try and share them to you -- with you as much as we can. And you can find out how to help by going to cnn.com/impact.

All right, so the list of sexual assault accusations against Bill Cosby is certainly growing. We have some of his accusers here to continue our discussion. We're going to ask them what should come next for the comedian.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ALISYN CAMEROTA, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to NEW DAY.

More now with some of the women accusing Bill Cosby of sexual assault. At least 17 accusers have come forward. That is the moment that you're watching two of them meet for the first time, but three of them are here with us live. It's Barbara Bowman and Victoria Valentino, and just moments ago they met Jewel Allison, who is joining us for the first time for this segment.

Thanks so much to all of you for being here.

VICTORIA VALENTINO, ALLEGES SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY BILL COSBY: I would like to be able to say it is my pleasure, but this is not the circumstance you want to call a pleasure.

CAMEROTA: I mean, of course, and I know how emotional it's been.

Jewel, what's it like for you to meet these ladies?

JEWEL ALLISON, ALLEGES SHE WAS SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY BILL COSBY: Right now, for me, it's a healing process. And part of my personal healing involves meeting them. And as I said to them, you know, it stops now. You know, try to get the pain to stop now and begin healing. From this moment on, begin healing.

A part of speaking out is a part of that healing process, which is why I decided to come forward. It was about me. It wasn't about him. It was about what was best for me. And even though it's extremely scary, it's extremely heart-wrenching, it had to be. When you tell the truth, it really does set you free. I never understood what that meant until now. You do find -- you acquired a newfound freedom. You feel lighter here. And I urge any woman -- see, this is a global problem.

CAMEROTA: Well, yes, sexual assault is certainly a global problem and victims feeling silenced is certainly a problem.

ALLISON: It's a global problem. Yes.

CAMEROTA: But the amount of alleged victims of Bill Cosby's has also been stunning. There are 17 that CNN know of, and, Barbara, how does it make you feel to know that you were the person who started the latest floodgates. After the comedian made his joke, you wrote a piece for "The Washington Post" and then other women came forward.

BARBARA BOWMAN, ALLEGES SHE WAS RAPED BY BILL COSBY: It's an amazing feeling because my main objective was to speak directly to the women of the 13 initially to encourage them to have the courage to come out. It was really, really scary. I was -

VALENTINO: It is scary.

BOWMAN: I really felt like I was out in the wilderness all by myself. And one of the things that I kept saying over and over again was, if I could help one woman -

VALENTINO: Just one.

BOWMAN: Just one, then I've done my job. And I did have an expectation that I would be able to get that message out. But I had no idea how powerful it really was going to be for these women, and other women that are all still off the record. But these women are so beautiful and they're real and we're here. And I don't know that they would have been sitting here if maybe I hadn't have pioneered that journey.

VALENTINO: Well, I have to agree with you. I've heard the allegations of years ago. I would be walking out of the bathroom on my way out the front door to go to work and I would peripherally hear it because I leave CNN on for my dog while I'm gone.

CAMEROTA: Big fan.

VALENTINO: So, you know, and I would hear it and I would say to my daughter, you know, I should get ahold of that person. I should find out who that person is and maybe lend my voice. And then something in me just twisted and I just - I couldn't relive it. I couldn't do it. And then this time it was a whole different ball game because I think, first of all, I think I had grown and evolved and I think with the Internet and social media, we have a voice that's heard round the world instantaneously.

BOWMAN: Yes.

VALENTINO: Nothing can be swept away into the shadows anymore.

ALLISON: And for years, I thought that I was the only one. I kept this as a secret, inside of my soul, although I initially did come out and tell a lot of friends. The night it happened I told my - I told someone. I spoke about it. But fear is what kept me silent. I was just --

CAMEROTA: Fear of what?

ALLISON: How -- a multitude of reasons. Afraid no one's going to believe you. Afraid society is going to victimize you all over again. This is a very personal issue for women, you know, when you're talking about being violated sexually. You don't want to go around reliving this over and over again in the public's eye.

CAMEROTA: No.

ALLISON: But it wasn't until maybe about -- approximately 10 years ago that I began to realize I wasn't the only one when I ran into a girlfriend of mine. And, you know, just by accident, that we modeled together and she is -- has not come forward yet, but she came forward to me in her kitchen, in her home. We had our children with us. We kept them in the front of the house and she and I lost track of time in the kitchen sharing stories. And I told her, you must never tell anybody what you said to me. This is for us to keep quiet. And now I'm saying --

CAMEROTA: And you felt that way then.

ALLISON: Yes, now I'm saying to her -

VALENTINO: We were conditioned to feel that way.

ALLISON: And I feel guilty. I feel horrible.

BOWMAN: That's right.

CAMEROTA: Right.

ALLISON: Yes, we're -- you're raised to, shhh, don't talk. But not only that, we have -- women have a - we have a history globally of being punished severely and penalized for speaking out.

VALENTINO: Right. That's right.

CAMEROTA: And all of you, at one time or another, were told, keep this quiet, it will ruin your career.

VALENTINO: Absolutely.

CAMEROTA: Don't mention anything.

BOWMAN: That was the premise -

ALLISON: That - yes.

BOWMAN: Of what went down.

VALENTINO: That's right.

CAMEROTA: And I know that now you all want some --

BOWMAN: And fear for our lives, too.

CAMEROTA: What does that mean, fear for your lives?

BOWMAN: Well, I was afraid for my life. I was - I was looked at directly in the eye by Bill Cosby and said, I had better never, ever see your face or hear your name again. And I listened.

CAMEROTA: And, Barbara, what do you want to have happen now? I know we've talked about the statute of limitations and you want that to be changed. What's the action that you want to take now?

BOWMAN: I'm not really sure. I'm just - I'm just looking at some of the options that I do have. So much has unfolded since this began. There --

CAMEROTA: A mere three weeks ago.

BOWMAN: A mere three weeks ago, yes.

CAMEROTA: And, Victoria, what do you want to hear Bill Cosby say?

VALENTINO: Well - I think an apology would be a joke, frankly. I could - I would love to hear him grovel in front of the cameras, but I wouldn't believe it for a minute.

ALLISON: (INAUDIBLE) -

VALENTINO: I think it would just be, you know, a desperate move for public --

CAMEROTA: Sympathy?

VALENTINO: Sympathy, and to salvage what's left of his reputation and his career.

CAMEROTA: So if there's nothing he can say, what do you want to have happen?

VALENTINO: Well, I think it's already happening. People are distancing him from --

ALLISON: Shame and scorn and humiliation. VALENTINO: Yes, and - yes.

ALLISON: And dealing with his addiction.

VALENTINO: Yes, well, fungus grows in the dark, and when light is shed on it, it shrivels up, dries up and it goes away, and I don't want any more women to be victimized by him ever.

ALLISON: Or anybody else.

VALENTINO: Or anybody else.

ALLISON: Anywhere in the world.

VALENTINO: But we start here.

ALLISON: Yes, yes.

VALENTINO: We have to start here.

ALLISON: It's bigger than him. It's a global problem. I've been studying this, you know, the past two days or so, all night, not sleeping. But, for me, being a woman of color, the pain is perhaps magnified, because part of my not wanting to come out and say anything was oh my god, I don't want to destroy the positive images that were created in such a wonderful way on television for black people.

CAMEROTA: Yes.

ALLISON: So still, every day I'm feeling all this pain in my chest because this is heartbreaking me. I wish he would come forward. I wish he would be part of the healing process for us, for women globally, for himself, for his family, for me, for my family. I wish he would come forward and begin to acknowledge something, and also help the millions of other women all over the world, you know, with different help centers. There's a lot of healing that could be done that we all can be a part of at this point.

CAMEROTA: And as you said, the healing starts now, when you all met and embraced you said, this stops now. The pain stops now.

ALLISON: It's very, very powerful message.

CAMEROTA: That's a really powerful message.

ALLISON: It's extremely deep wounds, but the bleeding has to stop now, enough already.

(CROSSTALK)

CAMEROTA: And hold your thoughts, because we want to invite everyone at home. You can of course join the conversation, you can let us know what you think should happen to the legendary comedian. We want to hear from you on our Facebook page, you can find me on Twitter @alisyncamerota. You can also go to facebook/newday. Ladies, it is a pleasure to talk to you. Thank you for sharing your personal stories with us.

VALENTINO: Thank you very much.

CAMEROTA: We will watch what happens next. It's nice to see you all feel so empowered now together, strength in numbers.

BOWMAN: Thank you.

CAMEROTA: Thank you so much for being on NEW DAY. Let's go over to Chris.

CUOMO: That was really something to see. It really was.

We're also going to talk to you this morning about these demands for change around the country, about police shootings and how they are investigated.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Okay, that was a big issue in Ferguson, not the first time it has been. We're going to speak with a man whose son was shot and killed by police. He got a new law passed in his state to stop it from happening again.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO (on camera): So in 2004, there was a traffic stop in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and it led to the police shooting death of unarmed 21-year- old Michael bell. The police department launched an investigation and cleared themselves of all wrongdoing. It took 48 hours. The district attorney then declined to prosecute.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (voice-over): Since then, Michael's father worked tirelessly to get a law passed so that outside investigations are done after police shootings in his state.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

CUOMO (on camera): It was something that was hard to get done, but may be a remedy that could suit the rest of the country very well. That dad is retired Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bell, and he joins us now. Colonel, it is good to have you on the show. I'm sorry it is for this reason, but I know that this has become a larger cause to you.

LT. COL. MICHAEL BELL, UNITED STATES AIR FORCE (RET), SON WAS SHOT AND KILLED BY POLICE: It has become a larger cause, and thank you for having me on your show. And before I answer any of your questions, I'd like to reach out, just ten miles south of here about two years ago a Lieutenant Brian Murphy took 14 shots protecting people of color at the Sikh temple, and even though I lost a son, I want to go out and say that there are good officers out there, and they do a fantastic job many times protecting our kids. CUOMO: I have interviewed him. He is remarkable. The fact that he

made it through that type of assault at point blank range, most of those shots, is proof that he is here for a bigger purpose and I know that he represents that for everybody every day. So thank you for pointing that out, sir. November 9th, 2004. Ten years ago, but to you I'm sure it is like yesterday. What happened when your son lost his life?

BELL: Well, you know, during your promos you kind of showed, my kid was driving home. He pulled up in front of his house, an officer confronted him, started making some accusations without cause, ordered a sobriety test without cause. My son was like, I know my rights. He gets handcuffed, he gets tased. There's four officers on the scene, an officer mistakenly believes my son has his gun.

He calls out on additional officers, walks up, puts his gun, puts it right to my son's temple, right here, fires a deadly shot. In fact, if you listen to the dash cam video, you can actually hear Michael's mother scream immediately when the shot occurs. Within 48 hours, before they even took all the eyewitness statements, before crime lab reports were in, there was no DNA or fingerprints on any gun or holster. They accused, you know, my son of doing this. They cleared themselves of all wrongdoing. I, as an Air Force officer - -

CUOMO: They basically said - - Colonel, they basically said that your son was asking for it, he tried to take their gun. He was non- compliant and they were just doing what they had to do in this situation.

BELL: That's what they said, but you know, there were five eyewitnesses, and it was under a spotlight, and it was completely wrong. My kid had never even fired a gun in his whole life, and to think that he'd even be grabbing for someone's gun at that moment in time. We had to bring in additional investigators and we had found that the officer who had screamed he has my gun had done what was called a mistake of fact, and he had hooked his gun on a broken car mirror and caught it on some cables. But, instead of the police department coming out and acknowledging that this had occurred, they went into a cover up of how my son died and what the cause was.

CUOMO: Now, part of what took your pain in a different direction was a black man coming up to you and saying, if they can shoot a white boy like a dog, imagine what we deal with, and that resonated with you on some level, and you wanted to change how the system works. Is that true?

BELL: I - - That is a true statement, it happened in a park not very far from here. But I knew that if a blond-haired, blue-eyed boy can be shot under a spotlight and there's five eyewitnesses, and his father is a retired Air Force pilot, understands the system with the credentials and resources to get this done, and if I can't get anybody to listen to me, then nobody is getting listened to out there. The Hispanic boy, the African-American boy, the Asian boy, they're not being heard. Those families are just living with the pain and living with the current system. CUOMO: How confident are you that the solution is outside, or special

prosecutors, or investigative bodies to look at the crimes. Not crimes, these shootings?

BELL: In the Air Force, if there's a mishap and people lose their lives, the United States Air Force sends an outside team. In the aviation industry, when there's a crash, the national transportation safety board sends in a team. They have experts in the field, they look at it, and then say what went wrong here, and how can we prevent this from happening again? That's not happening in law enforcement.

So we created a three-part law. Number one - But we only got part two passed, but the three parts are this. And, number one, let's make sure that an officer was in a clear frame of mind when he decided to pull the trigger, let's make sure that there's no alcohol or any other substance in his bloodstream. Number two, let's have investigators who know how to investigate, but have no ties with the department involved, have them come in and do the investigation, lead the investigation and give those results to the district attorney. And lastly, we ask for an independent review by law professionals, just not law enforcement. We got the second part passed, we're going to go back for part one and three. The state of New Jersey right now is asking to get part two done. That's what we're moving towards.

CUOMO: Lieutenant Colonel Michael Bell, thank you for putting purpose to your pain, and it is a great suggestion to have out there and we'll stay on this and we'll talk to you more about it. Thank you, sir.

BELL: Thank you so much for having me on your show.

CUOMO: Alright, there's a lot of news to tell you about this morning, so let's get you to the "NEWSROOM" with Carol Costello right after this break.

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