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New Day

Solar Power; Police Excessive Force; Campaign Season Heating Up Early. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired April 14, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

[08:30:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think families often think of solar as a technology for somebody else. It's not for somebody who speaks my language or lives in my neighborhood or works at my job, it's for rich people. And that's really not true.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The non-profit grid alternatives install solar panels on homes in low income communities across the country, helping families catch a break on electric bills. But the impact doesn't stop there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's mark out that last two footer runner (ph) as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

CUOMO: The solar panels are installed by volunteers and job trainees. These people can then use their new skills to get a job in the solar industry. Anyone can volunteer. You don't have to live in the community, you just have to be willing to work while you learn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't care if you, you know, don't own any tools or don't know the difference between a phillips or a flat head.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was a naval officer in the nuclear - the Navy nuclear program. I was active duty for about five and a half years and I decided that I wanted to switch to solar engineering. For me, grid alternatives is the gateway to the solar industry.

CUOMO: The nonprofit has installed nearly 5,000 solar systems and trained about 18,000 people.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Our vision really is that as a country we can make a transition to clean power. And we are adamant about making sure that we do that in a way that includes everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Two men dead, one gunned down by a police officer, the other by a reserve deputy. Are both victims of excessive force? What do these incidents say about the need for reform? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:35:48] CUOMO: There are new details emerging in two controversial cases of alleged excessive force by police. We have Tulsa, where a reserve deputy who was 73-years-old is now facing manslaughter charges after shooting and killing a man during a chase. Questions are swirling about why this reserve deputy was in on this type of sting in the first time. And then in South Carolina, Walter Scott's passenger speaking out saying his friend didn't deserve to die when he bolted from the car and was gunned down by Officer Michael Slager.

Let's discuss these cases with somebody who knows the job, retired LAPD Sergeant Cheryl Dorsey. Also a member of the National Coalition of Law Enforcement Officers for Justice.

Sergeant, thank you for joining us.

Let's first deal with the overarching view. We keep being told by people in the law enforcement community excessive force is down, it's at 1 percent or less of interactions with citizenry, things are getting better, but then why do we keep hearing about these cases. Is it just media focus?

RET. SGT. CHERYL DORSEY, FMR. LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Good morning, Chris, and thank you for having me.

So let's say this, if you want to know if excessive force is really down, why don't you ask the people that are the victim of excessive force, because we understand that nothing has changed and now we're starting to see really with our own eyes, thank God, because of the advent of the cell phone, really to what extent excessive force is being used and to what extent officers will go to minimize mitigated and, in some cases, straight out lie about the excessive force, deadly force that they're using.

CUOMO: All right, so you don't buy it. You say it's more about statistical representation than it is about the reality on the ground. So let's talk about the cases. Tulsa is an unusual one, where you have somebody who seems to have been gifted a deputy position. But when you look at this, tell us where a Taser is supposed to be in relationship to a service revolver or, you know, your weapon, and whether this mistake is reasonable to you on any level.

DORSEY: Well, this mistake is absolutely unreasonable on every level. First of all, I don't know if this gentleman is right-handed or left- handed. I think I read something that sounds like he can use either hand depending on what type of a weapon he's using. But, you know, what we have here is, we have a situation where there's a pact mentality at the end of a very high intensity situation, and it looks like there's several young officers already in there handling Mr. Harris. And you've got this guy, Deputy Bates, come running up at the end with a Taser, and, you know, they've allowed him to play cop once or twice a month and he wants to get in there and show the youngsters that he can hang. Taser, Taser, Taser, and then he pulls out his handgun and shoots it. It's unconscionable that he hasn't trained sufficiently to differentiate between a Taser and a handgun.

CUOMO: You don't see it as, this is a cover story and he actually wanted to use the pistol. He says he's sorry right away once it happens but you're saying it's about the training and who's allowed to be in this type of dangerous situation.

DORSEY: I don't think it's a cover story. I can't speak to his heart.

CUOMO: Right.

DORSEY: And so I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt. But what I can tell you is, at 73, he had no business being a part of that as a reserve deputy. When you work a high profile situation like a takedown, a sting operation, those officers, I'm sure, train extensively, the younger ones, together and so I would imagine just being a patrol officer and a patrol sergeant that when the young officers that are working that detail see Bob coming up, or whatever his name is, I can't remember, coming up, they're probably thinking, Jesus, let's just keep him at the back. We'll keep him out of the actual action, if you will, should it happen. But he wanted to insert himself. He wanted to be a part of that and sometimes you have to be careful what you ask for.

CUOMO: All right, so now we get to the big case that's been making the rounds of South Carolina, North Charleston. There's video that's come out of the officer involved having Tased somebody else who is now suing and saying I should not have been Tased. Is this meaningful to you in understanding what happened with Walter Scott or is this just a different scenario?

DORSEY: Well, it's meaningful in that I said all along that ii knew that when we saw Mr. Scott get Tasered by Officer Slager that that was not the first time that he had done that. You know, you don't come out and kill somebody the first time around. I knew that he was an overly aggressive officer. And so to hear that in 2013 he pulled on man out of his own home and Tased him, and now we hear that he has pulled a man out of a vehicle for, what, a broken taillight, because that's his MO, Tased him.

[08:40:17] And, listen, this is on video. So it's not like the police chief in that department doesn't know that they have an errant officer on their hand. They have been covering up his misdeeds. But guess what? They weren't able to cover up Mr. Scott. And so now they have to do a Pontius Pilot and say, we have a situation here and, Officer Slager, you're on your own.

CUOMO: Washing their hands of him as he gets charged with homicide. Well, one thing is for sure, we are seeing that with more video, which raises the issue of body cameras, the more truth of every situation can come into play.

Thank you very much, Sergeant Dorsey. We appreciate your perspective on this. We'll have you back on NEW DAY.

DORSEY: Thank you so much for having me.

CUOMO: Now, this former law enforcement official, obviously now someone who believes that excessive force is a problem and wants to raise awareness. What do you think? Tweet us @newday or go to facebook.com/newday.

John.

BERMAN: Thanks, Chris.

A full 19 months to go, but already the 2016 presidential race is heating up. We're going to have a look into what no doubt will be the costliest political season ever.

And on a related note, marijuana. The CNN original series "High Profits" tells the extraordinary story of two marijuana entrepreneurs. It's coming Sunday. Here's a sneak peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are parasites. They've got no contribution to the society. They're preying on our community and our kids. And it's going to end badly. We've got exactly $100,000 in cash in the back of his car. I bet there was guys right there in that prison for doing just what we're about to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want the Breckenridge (ph) Cannabis Club to be a household name.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is us pioneering a new industry.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's going after every resort down in Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His plan is brilliant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a big boy operation now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are not the Amsterdam (INAUDIBLE) Breckenridge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely unbelievable to us that this has happened so quickly.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's when the town (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All hell could break loose.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think we have an image to protect.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The powerful and elite (ph) have definitely put the pressure on.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody is playing everyone.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're going to have a target pointed on their back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That is a real threat.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's $2 billion to be had next year. I plan to take more than my fair share.

[08:42:30] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "High Profits," series premieres Sunday night at 10:00.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: That music means the presidential election is here, and by here, I mean 574 days away. But the sparring and sniping is already heating up. This could be the costliest campaign season ever, so how are the strategies shaping up for the Democrats and Republicans? Let's ask two men who know.

Mo Elleithee, the communications director for the Democratic National Committee, and Sean Spicer, chief strategists and communications director for the Republican National Committee.

This is like a cage match. Two will enter and one will leave. Gentleman, thanks for being with us.

MO ELLEITHEE, COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, DNC: Good morning.

SEAN SPICER, CHIEF STRATEGIST AND COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR, RNC: Good morning, John.

BERMAN: So we have had two campaign rollouts this week that conventional wisdom says have both been pretty good. I'm hoping you can disabuse the world of this notion that they've gone well.

[08:50:02] Mo, let me start with you. Marco Rubio, the senator from Florida last night gave a compelling speech about his compelling personal history, he is the son of immigrants, he talked about being the candidate of tomorrow, just 43 years old, and he presented an exciting forward-looking message. Why is that wrong?

ELLEITHEE: Look, Marco Rubio is a great speaker and knows how to give a great speech and it was a well-orchestrated event. The problem is, with the message, he is trying to portray himself as a new leader with new ideas, the candidate of the future, but if you listen to his speech and break it down, everything he talks about is from the past. It's the same old failed economic policies where he has given breaks to the rich and to the big corporations on the back of the middle class, where he's taking away women's health care decisions, where issue after issue, it's a throwback to the broken-down policies that people keep rejecting. I am still waiting for him to show us any indication that he is any kind of new visionary leader.

BERMAN: Sean, have at him.

SPICER: Well, I think Hillary Clinton's rollout this week was the wag the dog of political announcements. It was great stage craft, but there really was not a ton of substance behind it. The biggest issue that's facing Hillary Clinton is American people don't find her honest and trustworthy, and we saw that with this faux van ride that she's taking, which is sort of like -- last week she was on a G6, this week she's in a 6-cylinder VAN and thinks that people are going to forget that she hasn't been in touch with the average person in some time, out there giving $200,000 speeches, having one set of rules for her and another for everyone else. I think the idea that you are getting in a van and going across the country is great, and again, as far as the rollout itself, it's the same thing as she did when she ran for the Senate in 2000, down to literally calling it the Scooby Van. There's the theater piece of it and the Hollywood production piece of it, but the substantive piece of it she just lacks. The reason that they rolled out the way they did is that they have a huge problem connecting with average everyday working Americans.

BERMAN: Mo, what do you make of that? How can Hillary Clinton say she is the right candidate for 2016 when she has been at this for so long?

ELLEITHEE: Look, I think the past couple of days and frankly, the past couple of weeks have been very telling about the way I think both parties and candidates on both sides -- and look, I fully expect that Hillary Clinton will have a primary opponent and that there will be a competitive Democratic primary --

BERMAN: I don't know if you can see, Sean is scoffing at you right now. He is laughing --

SPICER: I'm more laughing.

(CROSSTALK)

BERMAN: You are. You were laughing at the notion that there will be a competitive primary.

ELLEITHEE: It's not the first time Sean has ever laughed at me, and I am happy I can amuse him, but I do think that's true. I do think there will be multiple candidates on both sides. But this is what I think is interesting, if you look at the last few weeks and days, the Republican candidates and perspective candidates, all they are talking about is Hillary Clinton. If you listen to Secretary Clinton and you listen to the other potential Democratic candidates, they are out there talking about everyday Americans and talking about how to move the needle forward to help make sure that more people can work their way into the middle class, and once they get into the middle class, that they can thrive. That's the difference. They are talking about her. She and the rest of the Democrats are talking about everyday Americans.

BERMAN: Sean, he has a point right there. If Senator (INAUDIBLE) barely a candidate in the Republican primary and he spends a big chunk of his speech talking about someone who is not even the Democratic nominee, why focus on Hillary Clinton? Why not focus on what he is going to?

SPICER: Okay. Let's be real. I mean, I know that they put out a statement praising Linc Chafee as a potential primary challenger to Hillary Clinton, but if that's who they believe is going to have a competitive primary, that speaks volumes as to how weak Hillary Clinton really is. But let's get back to it. Yes, we've had tens of thousands of people go to stophillary.gop and sign the petition, which is great. But the other hand, when you listen to whether it's Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Rand Paul or some of the others that are potentials, they are talking about the future, they are talking about the vision for America. Hillary Clinton represents everything that has already happened, scandal, I mean, no one is excited about Hillary Clinton. She has near perfect name identification around the country, and when you look at the recent polls that came out, she is upside down and her favorability has gone from 67 percent when she left office as secretary of state, down to the high 40s, because the more people are reminded about Hillary Clinton, the more they don't like her --

BERMAN: Sean, I don't have the numbers here on my fingertips, but I think the entire Republican field is basically underwater as well. I mean, Americans basically don't like politicians. I mean, I think that's fairly true, Mo.

ELLEITHEE: Yeah, no, I think there is absolutely a disconnect between the American people and Washington, and that's why you see the Democratic candidates out there talking about everyday Americans and talking about how to help the middle class, whereas the Republicans, if you want to talk about -- all these Republicans say they are different and new and the wave of the future, and I can take Mitt Romney's stump speech from 2012 and superimpose it over any of these guys and it would be no different. Their vision for the future is a throwback to policies that have failed, whereas the Democratic party has been moving us forward.

[08:55:10] BERMAN: Mo Elleithee, Sean Spicer, excited to get both of your perspectives here. Thanks so much for being with us. Glad you are both smiling at the end here. Chris?

CUOMO: Segue. When you feel it on the inside, it will show on the outside. A lesson not just for the politicians, but a promise of The Good Stuff. Wait until you see what is happening at prom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CUOMO: (INAUDIBLE) If she likes the song, we play it. Time for The Good Stuff. California salon owner, Snooki Rico, the name is good enough.

MICAHELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Great name.

CUOMO: What makes Snooki muy rico is that for the past six years, she has been giving free makeovers to kids who are sick with cancer so they can feel great about going to prom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SNOOKI RICO, CALIFORNIA SALON OWNER: These are my heroes. Really. You know, just to see these kids go through what they go through. It's just amazing to see how they are still standing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: The girls say they feel strong on the inside and it makes all the difference to have it show on the outside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer when I was about 11 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel gorgeous. I never put on makeup, but when this came on, I was like, wow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CUOMO: And you are gorgeous.

PEREIRA: Yeah, you are. That's really powerful. Way to go, Snooki.