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New Day

Protecting Law Enforcement Officers; Three American Heroes to be Honored in Hometown. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired August 25, 2015 - 08:30   ET

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

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[08:33:55] MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, five things for you to know today.

At number one, just an hour until the Dow opens for trading. Futures pointing to a big opening as investors are looking for a comeback after yesterday's massive selloff. This despite another rough day for Asian markets. China now cutting interest rates.

A top Democrat says that President Obama has given Vice President Biden his blessing to run in 2016. There are growing signs that he is likely to jump in and challenge Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination.

Disturbing details emerging now about the man accused of gunning down a Louisiana state trooper. Authorities say that Kevin Daigle may have carried out the murder of his roommate as well.

North Korea and South Korea have reached a deal easing tensions in the area. Officials in Seoul agreed to nix propaganda broadcasts after Pyongyang expressed regret over a land mine blast that injured two South Korean soldiers.

And ISIS releasing pictures, appearing to show the destruction of an ancient temple in Palmyra, Syria. An images show men rolling barrels of explosives into the temple, an explosion and then a pile of rubble.

[08:35:03] For more on the five things to know, be sure to visit newdaycnn.com for the latest.

Chris.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: The Louisiana state trooper killed in the line of duty is the 21st officer to die by gunfire this year. Twenty- one. What can be done to keep law enforcement officers safe? Is this a spike? We're going to talk with former New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly about that and more. Stay tuned.

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CUOMO: Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal orders flags on the government buildings to fly at half-staff in honor of a Louisiana state trooper killed in the line of duty. Trooper Steven Vincent was shot in the head allegedly by a driver he was just trying to help. And his death brings the total number of officers killed in the line of duty this year to 77 and the 21st by gunfire just this year.

Here to discuss is former NYPD Commissioner and ABC News analyst Ray Kelly. He's the author of a new book, "Vigilance: My Life Serving America and Protecting its Empire City."

Tell me about this book, Commissioner Kelly. It's good to have you on NEW DAY, as always.

[08:40:01] RAYMOND KELLY, FORMER NYPD COMMISSIONER: Good to be with you, Chris.

CUOMO: First of all, you're too young to be writing any kind of memoir. You've got too much life ahead of you. But what do we learn in this?

KELLY: This is my first book. Well, this - I think I've been blessed with a lot of great opportunities and experiences in my life. I was in the federal government. I was NYPD for over 40 years. I was commissioner twice. I was in Vietnam. I was in Haiti. So I'd like to have those things sort of memorialized, and that's what this book is - is all about. I think it's a good read and I hope people buy it.

CUOMO: You've been a witness to some of the biggest moments in history. You understand the dynamics of one of the most complex cities in the world. So it's going to be a good read, that's for sure, guaranteed. Objectively stated.

KELLY: Well, thank you.

CUOMO: So let's put your knowledge to the test. Every two and a half days a peace officer loses their life in the line of duty. People say, that alarming. It must be more than ever. What's the reality?

KELLY: Well, it's not more than ever. Actually in the '70s it was higher, considerably higher. But, of course, any law enforcement death is - is one too many. It's up 24 percent in 2014 over 2013. And it's up this year.

CUOMO: Is that a reflection of media coverage? Is that a reflection of cases getting attention. Some people would say in skewed fashion the way Ferguson was covered, Baltimore was covered, even Trayvon Martin. Do you think that is attributing to this or is that just (INAUDIBLE)?

KELLY: I don't know. I think - I think possibly. I think we have to throw that into the equation. We saw two New York City police officers assassinated sitting in their radio car, which was a direct result of some of the coverage that went on (INAUDIBLE).

CUOMO: But by a deranged individual.

KELLY: Well, there's a lot of deranged people out there.

CUOMO: Not a coconscious objective.

KELLY: That's what the police have to deal with. People who are mentally unbalanced, unstable. The police are coming into contact with them usually first. So you can't tell. I mean there - the police are the agency of first resort and last resort when it comes to mental health issues.

CUOMO: Now, you've been instructing me on a certain topic for years and I want you to do it again now. Every time a case comes up with a cop where their discretion is involved in a moment, you always say to me, remember to put yourself in their position. You don't have the training that they have, but every time they come into a situation, they don't know what to expect. It's easy to lose sight of that when we see what seems by common sense as a no-brainer, you didn't need to use force in this situation. But what is it from the perspective of an officer every time you go to a car window, every time you knock on a door?

KELLY: Yes, look at this case in Louisiana. This trooper said he was there to help. He said, I'm going to get you home. This is what he said. This is all recorded. And he wantonly shot him, killed him and then taunted him when he was - when he was dying on the ground. So this is every police officer's biggest fear. You never know. You don't know what routinized, regular work is going to turn into a tragedy quickly or grave danger facing the - facing the officer. Particularly troopers, by the way, because they're really out on their own. The next trooper may be 20 miles away. And, of course, in this case, we saw where people came in to help and I -

CUOMO: Rare.

KELLY: Probably stopped this individual from killing others.

CUOMO: If the investigation yields what it's suggesting now, that he may have been linked to something earlier. Maybe he was looking for a spree (ph). But the absolute is, the trooper lost their life. The critical pushback is, yes, but they're professionals. They're supposed to assess risk differently than I would. They're supposed to be calmer. They're supposed to be unprovoked. And that doesn't happen enough and it shows a gap in training. Your criticism?

KELLY: No. No. It happens every day. The vast majority of police officers are doing - doing great work. We only hear about the small number of aberrations where police act inappropriate. They're human beings. You can do all sorts of training. But when - when push comes to shove, some people are not going to act appropriate. But that number is very, very small.

CUOMO: What we're -

KELLY: And crime is down dramatically in this country for two decade. I would attribute that basically to smarter policing.

CUOMO: And does that exist at the same time with the need to work on community policing, work on how minorities are treated, work on that fairness and balance and administration of justice?

KELLY: Always. Always. It is always a constant issue because of the nature of policing. Police are called to be the bearers of bad news, to use force, to use deadly force. So it's always a struggle. And, you know, there's always this quest to have the community love the police. Well, that's pretty much unattainable. What you want is mutual respect. You want the community to respect the police and vice versa. It's a tough job.

CUOMO: We see what's happened on the trains. There have been bombings and things in Europe. We've been lucky here, frankly. It makes you wonder why we don't secure the trains like we do the planes unless we're just going to cave to convenience. Is that a fair analysis?

KELLY: It's difficult to secure trains. In New York City, five million people a day travel on the Subway. I mean it's a - it is a major undertaking to do that. It would change the system significantly. Even the - even the, let's say, Amtrak, very difficult to put in a robust security system. It can be done, but it slows everything down. And these things are considered - I think there's baggage checks that go on in Washington in various stations, but it's a - it's a challenge.

[08:45:15] CUOMO: But we have to do more?

KELLY: I'm sorry?

CUOMO: Do you think we have to do more or do you think we have it right?

KELLY: I think we have to look at it more closely. Just imagine this individual, if these three heroes didn't act, he had nine magazines of ammunition. 300 round of ammunition. He could have walked through that train at his leisure and killed literally hundreds of people. So yes, it's an issue that has to be looked at. It's not easy -- All of these things are complex. You have to balance security with operating, keeping New York City open, for instance, other big cities open.

CUOMO: It's a constant balance and that's why the goal of terrorism is to strike fear, to disrupt life.

KELLY: Absolutely. It's all theater. That's what they're looking to do.

CUOMO: Commissioner Ray Kelly, "Vigilance" is the book. It comes out, what, September 8th?

KELLY: September 8th.

CUOMO: Do I get a signed copy? Do I get anything out of this?

KELLY: Absolutely. You're first on the list.

CUOMO: Always good to have your perspective. Good luck.

KELLY: Thank you.

CUOMO: Mick?

PEREIRA: Speaking of vigilance, three young men thwarted that violent attack on a French passenger train. Now these three American amazing young men are getting honored back home. The Mayor of Sacramento will join us to tell us about the hometown celebration that's planned.

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PEREIRA: A heroes' homecoming is in the works this morning for the three young American men praised for preventing a massacre on a passenger train in France.

[08:50:02] Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone and Alek Skarlatos will be honored for their bravery by the city of Sacramento with a big ol' parade.

Mayor Kevin Johnson joins us live from the beautiful city of Sacramento. Good morning, Mr. Mayor. Real pleasure to talk to you. I understand there's even a hashtag, #SacramentoProud.

KEVIN JOHNSON, MAYOR OF SACRAMENTO: Absolutely. We're just so excited and so proud. Once the news spread that the folks involved in stopping a terrorist attack were from Sacramento, there was such an outpouring of support in our community. Everyone came up to me and said we have to recognize them properly. We have to do something fitting. They certainly got the highest honor, the Legion Honor in France, which is recognizing them. They got a call from the President of the United States. And we get a chance to give them a homecoming parade.

PEREIRA: So we know that one of the fellas, Anthony, is from Sacramento, in fact, he's going to Sacramento State University studying kinesiology. We know the other two fellas both have military background, one having returned from the National Guard Service. These young men met in middle school at a Christian school. It just shows you that heroes can come from wherever in our society. Can they not?

JOHNSON: Absolutely. If you think about it, that an amazing story. These three young men went to middle school together. In fact, two of them went to elementary school together. They lived next door to each other. They go to high school together and now many years later they're sight seeing in Europe, one for the first time. And for them to be put in harm's way and actually put their lives on the line, I mean, they make us believe in what's good, they make us believe in each other. They make us believe in a sense of possibility. It's just an amazing story. There's a buzz in the air in Sacramento because these are Sacramentans making us proud.

PEREIRA: And then sometimes we're called for a higher purpose. Sometimes we just are minding our own business and there is something that we just have to do. Tell me what you've been seeing around town. We've been hearing rumors of people wanting to make donations to a scholarship for Anthony, we've been hearing that there's some talk of the military, perhaps honoring these three young men, this big parade today. Tell me what else you're hearing around Sacramento about these three heroes?

JOHNSON: I think, to your point, Michaela, they're men of faith. Opportunities present themselves. And they just acted. They did what they thought they should instinctively do. They're the type of young men that wanted to fight for the underdog and not let anybody be taken advantage of. They believe in justice and fairness. And this was an example.

So when you're around Sacramento, you've got high schools and marching bands and drum lines, the military, law enforcement, public safety, everybody is trying to figure out how can we show them our appreciation? The president of the Sac State University, we're all going to partner together with our elected officials. We have a lady named Susan Peters here. We're all going to get together with the governor and show them our proper appreciation. I think there will be scholarships and foundations and a lot of things will come out of their heroic efforts.

PEREIRA: You're absolutely right, Mr. Mayor. If things had not gone that way, these three men and that British national that we spoke to earlier on our show, if they had not intervened, as well as the other people on board the train, there would be dozens and dozens of communities in mourning. It seems only fitting that we should be celebrating the fact that they were able to save lives. I understand you had a chance to speak to these young men's families. Tell us about those conversations.

JOHNSON: It was an emotional conversation for me. I got a chance to talk to some of the family members, the fathers of two of them in the last day or so. As fathers, they said, we weren't surprised. That's just who they are. They believe in trying to make a difference and standing up for what's right. And they looked at it as just their natural duty and responsibility and when you hear one of the fathers say to me that he could not believe that it was his son making a difference to avert something that could have been a massacre on a train with 500 people, I mean, this is what you hope that your son does. Two of them are in the military, which you mentioned earlier. One of is a strong man of faith. They believe firmly that they were just doing what they were supposed to do and the families weren't surprised, honestly.

PEREIRA: Were the moms a little bit shaken, though, by the fact that this - you know, I mean, this is a terrifying situation to be confronted with a gunman who is bent on destruction. I can imagine that with that great pride was also a little bit of like oh my goodness, sort of a gut-wrenching thought that this was a terrible act that they stepped in and prevented.

JOHNSON: One of the fathers told me that immediately when it happened, Alex called him, he was on the phone talking to his father. His father was like listening to the story quietly. And said, OK, thank you, seems like you did a great job. And then got off the phone and like holey moley, did this literally happen and was that my son?

[08:55:03] And the other thing the father shared that was interesting is that they just acted, like a knee-jerk reaction. They see something negative happening, one charges him and he knew that the other two --

PEREIRA: They had his back.

JOHNSON: -- would have his back. And they weren't going to chicken out because that's the kind of relationship they had.

PEREIRA: Mayor Kevin Johnson, we are joining in #SacramentoProud. We are as well. Thank you so much for joining us today. We wish you well with that homecoming ceremony today. We surround those young men in our appreciation and love as well. Thanks for joining us.

JOHNSON: Thank you. We're proud and grateful.

PEREIRA: Yeah. We sure are. #Grateful, too. We'll add that. Alisyn, Chris, that's going to be an amazing day today.

CUOMO: Boy, it sure is. That was a great interview, too. Thanks for that, Mick.

So what's the difference between a genuine hero who saves lives, like the guys we were just talking to, and the rest of us? Guess what? That's the subject of "The Good Stuff."

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CUOMO: We don't want "The Good Stuff" to turn into the bad stuff because we'll be late giving the show over to Carol in the "NEWSROOM." But we just want to remind again about Christopher Norman, the British national who lives in France, all the heroism that happened that saved those people on that train. Three Americans, Christopher Norman, another American of French descent who is still in the hospital, and another Frenchman. They all worked as a team. We want to remind you that.