Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Where`s the Taser?; Cop Guns Down Unarmed Man; California Judge Slashes Child Rapist`s Prison Sentence. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired April 09, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, North Charleston, where graphic video surfaces after a 33-year-old white police officer,
Michael Slager, pulls over a 50-year-old black man over a busted tail light. By the time it`s all said and done, the driver 50-year-old, Walter
Scott, is face down dead in the dirt from five gunshot wounds to the back, all gunshots from behind, the police officer insisting Scott was fighting
him for his police Taser.
But it`s all caught on video. There is no Taser struggle. We have the video. Did 33-year-old white police officer Michael Slager gun down a 50-
year-old black man in cold blood?
Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, we obtain the chilling police dispatch call. What does it reveal?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shots fired. Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Was there a struggle over the Taser that you saw? Were they fighting over it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) about the Taser (INAUDIBLE) I saw that he was trying to get away of a Taser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He grabbed my Taser. Gunshot wound, looks like the chest, to the right thing (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That from NBC.
And we go live., Orange County, where a California judge hears horrific facts where a 3-year-old toddler girl wanders into a neighbor`s garage,
where he sits playing video games. Inexplicably, he rips down the 3-year- old`s pants and anally rapes her! When the toddler hears Mommy calling, he jams his hand over her mouth so she cannot be heard.
Breaking news now. Superior court judge M. Mark Kelly (ph). slashes the child rapist`s sentence, claiming, quote, "He did not intend to harm the
girl," that he, quote, "Inexplicably became sexually aroused," but did not intend to harm the child, that this case, quote, "does not compare to a
situation where a child predator preys on an innocent child."
Really? A three-year-old girl is raped in a garage and that`s not a child predator preying on an innocent child? Tonight, we want justice for that
toddler girl, and we want Judge M. Mark Kelly off the bench!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rohanna (ph) was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years to life. The judge said that the sentence would be cruel and
unusual punishment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The charge is -- is sexually penetrating a child under 10. And it`s a -- it`s a -- it`s a heinous crime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Live to North Charleston, graphic video surfacing of a 33-year-old white police officer, Michael Slager, pulling over a 50-year-
old black man over a busted tail light. When it`s all said and done, the driver, 50-year-old Walter Scott, is face down dead in the dirt, five
gunshot wounds to the back and ear, all gunshots from behind.
In the last hours, we obtain the chilling police dispatch call. What does it reveal?
Justin, let`s roll it from the top before we go live to the scene. This is what emerged. Take a look at this in full.
Now, look at this. Look at this. The officer -- Officer Slager approaching Mr. Scott, who is face down in the dirt. We obtain that
dispatch, what he is saying. Now, keep watching. In a moment, I`m going to show you this in slow motion so we can better determine what exactly is
happening.
Now, on the incident report, both Officer Slager and his backup, Officer Habersham, claim they did CPR. That didn`t happen. Keep looking. Now,
where is the officer going? Where is the officer going? He`s jogging. Why is he jogging? What`s he doing?
Keep looking. He picks something up off the ground. He picks something up. Here comes Habersham. I think that`s Habersham. Take a look. Here
comes Slager, back to the body of 50-year-old Mr. Walter Scott. He`s got something in his hand. What is it? It`s not his gun. Is it his Taser?
[20:05:09]What happened? Where`s the Taser now? Did Habersham see what happened? Did he know? Was the Taser planted beside Mr. Scott`s body? In
the last hours, we obtain -- nobody`s doing CPR that I see, nobody. Right now, they`re looking through Mr. Scott`s pockets. Nobody is doing CPR that
we can tell. Nothing. That is not true.
I want you to hear the dispatch that we`ve just obtained. And I`m hearing in my ear, just joining us, the attorneys for Mr. Scott`s family. Take a
listen to this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
OFFICER MICHAEL SLAGER: 223 dispatch, chasing on foot down Craig Street, black male, green shirt, blue pants
DISPATCH: Black male, green shirt, blue pants down Craig Street. All units (INAUDIBLE) emergency status using T23 (ph), chasing on foot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where are you at now?
SLAGER: (INAUDIBLE) running down Craig Street. (INAUDIBLE) Turn right down (INAUDIBLE) driveway, though the pawn shop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) heading that way now.
I`m at Rivers and the pawn shop. Where are you at now?
SLAGER: 223 to dispatch. Shots fired! Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser.
DISPATCH: (INAUDIBLE) 223, shots fired, he grabbed your Taser, subject is down at 9:38.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 34 copy. I`m en route. 223, are you 10-4?
SLAGER: Everyone`s 10-4 except the suspect. (INAUDIBLE) gunshot wounds looks like to the chest, to the right thigh. Unresponsive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I copy. Make sure the scene`s secure.
SLAGER: It is. Located another gunshot wound to the buttocks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Now, I want to show you what we slow-moed -- slow-motioned -- for you. This is -- now, did you just hear Officer Slager said "He grabbed my
Taser"? Those were his words, "He grabbed my Taser."
Can we see that video that we got in slow motion, please? Let`s roll that right now. Look at this. There`s the Taser. Look at that. Nobody
grabbed the Taser from him. Look at this. Is that the Taser?
We also have for you where Officer Slager -- what is that? Where Officer Slager has the Taser in his hand. As Mr. Scott is running away, he seems
to fire it.
When you get that ready, Justin, let me know.
Straight out to Polo Sandoval, CNN correspondent on the scene in North Charleston. Polo, tell me what`s happening.
POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I tell you what, Nancy, many of these new developments and these new details it`s -- in spite of all of that, we
still have that very lingering question, which is how did the situation on Saturday escalate so quickly and so drastically, as you mentioned there.
All of this started really with a simple traffic stop for a tail light, and then really, in a matter of moments, before you know it, those shots were
ringing out, and of course, Mr. Walter Scott was dead.
So as investigators work to ask that question, or rather to find an answer to that question, the people here also want to know that. But today, we`re
also learning new information about likely what may have happened on that day.
One of my colleagues, Brian Todd, actually paced the distance between the location of that traffic stop and where Walter Scott fell after those shots
rang out, a total of approximately 246 yards from point A to point B. So now the main question -- what happened during that potential pursuit?
GRACE: With me on the scene in North Charleston, Polo Sandoval. We`ll go right back to you, Polo, but I`m being joined right now by Mr. Scott`s
family`s lawyers, Justin Bamberg and Chris Stewart are joining us.
Gentlemen, thank you for being with us.
JUSTIN BAMBERG, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIM`S FAMILY: Thank you.
CHRIS STEWART, ATTORNEY FOR VICTIM`S FAMILY: Thank you.
GRACE: First let me go to you, Mr. Bamberg. I was just showing the viewers where we slow-moed -- slow-motioned -- what happened and played the
dispatch. We`ve just obtained the dispatch, where Officer Slager is calling in on his radio, his shoulder radio what`s happening.
Now, number one, I want to ask you guys -- Mr. Bamberg, did Mr. Scott actually have a busted out tail light? That`s my first question.
BAMBERG: At this time, I cannot confirm that the tail light was or was not working. We have to first take a look at the vehicle and take a look at
the light and test it, so I cannot say--
GRACE: Where`s the car?
BAMBERG: -- for certain right now.
GRACE: OK. Where`s the car?
BAMBERG: The car I believe has been delivered from SLED. We just have not had the opportunity to go look at it.
[20:10:03]GRACE: OK. So are you telling me it was impounded, Mr. Bamberg, the car was impounded by police?
BAMBERG: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: OK. Next question. So we`re on hold with that. I`ll throw this to you, Mr. Stewart. Do you know if Mr. Scott has any Taser marks on him?
STEWART: It was confirmed from speaking with the coroner that he did show a Taser mark on him, and I think another partial Taser mark, which shows
that the Taser didn`t get a good shot. It didn`t actually make a shot with both prongs into the body, which shows why he was able to keep running
after the Tasering.
GRACE: Right. You know, you know what`s baffling to me? All of it is, Mr. Stewart. But for Slager, Officer Slager, to say "He grabbed my Taser"
-- and I`m showing the viewers right now. I wish you guys could see it. There are the strings. Slager has the Taser in his hand. Scott did not
grab his Taser.
And that`s so significant to me, Mr. Stewart and Mr. Bamberg, because -- because Scott did not have the Taser, he posed no threat to other people.
He`s not a fleeing felon. This whole thing is a ruse!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And that`s the thing, Nancy. That`s why it`s such a tragedy, is he manufactured this entire story. He had to cover the fact
that he just shot a man five times in the back after taking eight shots. And the best way to do that is to say he grabbed for a weapon. And he said
Taser because, obviously, he was busy using his gun.
GRACE: You know, everyone, I want to warn you this is graphic video of Mr. Walter Scott being shot down.
You know, back to you, Justin Bamberg and Mr. Chris Stewart, attorneys for Mr. Scott`s family. Mr. Bamberg, it`s also so upsetting on another level.
Mr. Scott is a 50-year-old grown man. You know, he`s a father of four. And here he is in the position of having to run from this basically rookie
cop. He`s been on the force five years -- a grown man having -- a 50-year- old man having to run from a 33-year-old cop.
Over what? I mean, can we even confirm, Mr. Bamberg? What do we know about the alleged tussle that ensued between Slager and Mr. Scott? What do
we know? What happened?
BAMBERG: There are still a lot of questions that have yet to be answered, but what I can say is this. Based on knowing the way that the Taser
operates and where the prong marks were on the body, I believe that in fleeing, Mr. Scott had the jump -- i.e., he was far enough in front of the
officer, at which point the officer may have tased him, which Mr. Scott would have then maybe fallen to the ground, given the officer an
opportunity to jump on top of him, at which point the video kicks in.
And then we see Mr. Scott, in attempt to get away from being tased, turn, unarmed, and run away from the officer. As you noted, Mr. Scott was 50
years old. He was -- the officer was much younger. In all reality, he could have, had he chosen to, run him down, but instead, chose to shoot
eight times and take Mr. Scott`s life.
GRACE: Well, another issue -- to Justin Bamberg and Chris Stewart, the lawyers for Mr. Scott`s family. Again, thank you for being with us.
Why else would Mr. Scott be running? He does not have a felony history. Yes, he owes some child support. But who in their right mind is going to
run from a cop over child support back payments? Really? I wouldn`t run from a cop over child support!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, I think that`s why the witness summed it up perfectly in the interview he did on TV last night. When asked that same
question, he said, I think he was running because the guy was trying to Taser him.
GRACE: Right. Now, that`s something--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So he was running because--
GRACE: -- you`d run from. You`re darn right. Now, that`s something that you`d run from. If a cop whips out a Taser, of course he would run.
Everyone, in the last moments, we have gotten ahold of the police dispatch. Now, remember, Slager is stuck with this. He cannot change his story out
of this. This is what he is married to because this is what he said at the time. What does it reveal? Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SLAGER: 224 dispatch, shots fired! Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser.
DISPATCH: (INAUDIBLE) 223. Shots fired. He grabbed your Taser. Subject is down.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:19:30] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video of a police officer shooting a man as he runs away.
DISPATCH: Shots fired. He grabbed your Taser. Subject is down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Feidin Santana says before he started recording, there was a struggle.
FEIDIN SANTANA, WITNESS: The police had control of the situation. Scott was trying just to get away of the Taser.
SLAGER: He grabbed my Taser!
SANTANA: I believe he trying to just get away of the Taser, that he never used the Taser against (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is from NBC, what you just saw.
[20:20:00]Everyone, tonight, we have obtained the dispatch audio. Now, this is what Officer Slager is married to. He`s stuck with this. He
cannot change his story away from what he said in the audio.
Joining me right now, in addition to the Scott family lawyers, Justin Bamberg and Chris Stewart, Glenn Smith is with us, crime reporter with "The
Post and Courier." Glenn Smith, what can you tell me about the allegations that Slager dropped this Taser beside Mr. Scott`s body?
GLENN SMITH, "THE POST AND COURIER" (via telephone): I mean, certainly, from the tape, you can see him walking over, picking something up and
walking back towards the body. And you can see him releasing something. Whether that is the Taser, that`s not been conclusively proven. But it
certainly looks suspicious.
GRACE: With me, Justin Bamberg and Chris Stewart, lawyers for Mr. Scott`s family. Mr. Bamberg, what do you think is so significant about the audio
dispatch that we`ve obtained? I think it`s very significant because Slager is married to that. He can`t get away from what he said on the shoulder
radio at the time of the incident.
BAMBERG: Yes, ma`am. Essentially, what was confirmed via videotape, he essentially confirmed out of his own mouth. And that is that he was not
telling the truth.
GRACE: And what about it? To you, Mr. Stewart. I want to hear your thoughts on that because when he says on the dispatch "He grabbed my
Taser," we see that that`s not true, which means there`s no reason for this entire confrontation.
STEWART: Yes. It`s significant. And it`s pretty telling on what his thought process was because he knew he just killed someone and he knew he
just used his service weapon.
The only other way that he could possibly get out of this mess is to say that Mr. Scott had reached for something else that could be deemed lethal
because he knew Mr. Scott wasn`t armed. So of course, he had to say his Taser. And when he realized he doesn`t have the Taser on the body, he went
and decided to try and put the Taser near his body.
GRACE: I want you to listen to this dispatch, the 911 dispatch. And then what about the police cruiser dashcam video? What does it reveal? Listen
to this 911 call.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SLAGER: 223 dispatch, chasing on foot down Craig Street, black male, green shirt, blue pants.
DISPATCH: [inaudible]. Black male, green shirt, blue pants down Craig Street. All units (INAUDIBLE) emergency status using T23 (ph), chasing on
foot.
SLAGER: (INAUDIBLE) running right down Craig Street. (INAUDIBLE) Turn right down along the driveway, though the pawn shop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) heading that way now.
I`m at Rivers and the pawn shop. Where are you at now?
SLAGER: 223 to dispatch. Shots fired! Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser.
DISPATCH: (INAUDIBLE) 223, shots fired, he grabbed your Taser, subject is down at 9:38.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 34 copy. I`m en route. 223, are you 10-4?
SLAGER: Everyone`s 10-4 except the suspect. (INAUDIBLE) gunshot wounds looks like to the chest, to the right thigh. Unresponsive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I copy. Make sure the scene`s secure.
SLAGER: It is. Located another gunshot wound to the buttocks.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taser, Taser, Taser!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:27:54]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Michael Slager said there was a scuffle over his Taser and that he felt threatened.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve all seen the video. We do know the truth now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walter Scott is turning and running away from the officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have watched the video, and I was sickened by what I saw.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, new developments in the shooting of an unarmed man, 50- year-old Mr. Walter Scott, by a 33-year-old white officer, Officer Slager, Slager now charged with murder. But could it all have been prevented?
To crime reporter with "Post and Courier" Glenn Smith -- Glenn Smith, is it true that Officer Slager had another Taser complaint in 2013?
SMITH: Yes.
GRACE: What happened?
SMITH: Yes. He responded to a call at a guy`s house, a burglary call, showed up. A guy came to the door in boxer shorts. He was Pulled outside.
He was tased. He filed a formal complaint with the police department over that. They investigated, found no signs of obvious wrongdoing and they
exonerated the officer.
I saw today where the fellow has retained an attorney and is now pushing forward to, you know, go with that complaint once again.
GRACE: Everyone, is this the Taser? We don`t know. But I guarantee you this much, we`re going to find out. Did Slager plant the Taser beside Mr.
Scott`s body? And if so, why? It makes it all, the whole scenario, look even more nefarious.
Stacey Newman, it`s disturbing because in 2013, this same officer had another Taser complaint. Now, listen, on behalf of police officers, you go
into a scene, you don`t know what`s going to happen. You don`t know when you come to a burglary complaint, for instance, if people in there are
armed. You don`t know what`s going on. You don`t know if you`re in danger.
Look, he`s got the Taser in his hand! There`s the string right there! Scott did not wrestle the Taser away! He did not, quote, "grab" the Taser.
The shooting was senseless!
Back to the 2013 incident, Stacey Newman. So let me understand this. Slager goes to a burglary complaint. A man comes to the door as part of
the investigation. Is it true the man -- I mean, he`s in his own home. He`s got on a T-shirt and underwear. He comes to the door, and what
happens?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:31:14] GRACE: Scott did not wrestle the Taser. He did not, quote, "grab the Taser." The shooting was senseless.
Back to the 2013 incident, Stacey Newman. So let me understand this. Slager goes to a burglary complaint. A man comes to the door as part of
the investigation. Is it true the man -- I mean, he`s in his own home. He`s got on a T-shirt and underwear. He comes to the door and what
happens?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: He was actually awakened out of his bed and said when he cracked the door to find out what was going on they
were saying they`re investigating a burglary. They think he`s a suspect. He`s saying it`s not me, it`s not me. Won`t open the door.
GRACE: Well, now, whoa, whoa. Right there, Stacey. Practically everybody who gets arrested says, it`s not me, it`s not me. So I need to get to
where the impropriety comes in. What happened then?
NEWMAN: Well, then that`s when this man says Officer Slager kicks the door in, grabs him, Tasers him. Him and another officer drag him outside. And
that is when he was Tasered again. And the man was saying it wasn`t me. I wasn`t the suspect. He files a complaint. And as we see, Slager was
exonerated.
GRACE: OK, I need to understand another thing, Stacey. According to what I have learned, and I want to make sure this is correct, is it true that in
that 2013 incident the man in his underwear and a T-shirt awoken from bed comes out, he gets tased. The man is down in the dirt just like Mr. Scott.
And then they -- he`s crying for his mother. A grown man.
Stacy, what happens then?
NEWMAN: Well, the mom gets up. She hears her son screaming. She runs out. There is a whole to-do on this whole thing. He`s dragged down
actually for questioning but he`s released and it turns out he is not the suspect.
GRACE: That`s the end of it, Stacey. He`s not the right guy. And a complaint was filed. And it just went away. That 2000 Taser complaint
just went away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:54]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SLAGER, FORMER NORTH CHARLESTON POLICE: Shots fired. Subject is down. He grabbed my Taser.
MATT LAUER, HOST, THE "TODAY" SHOW: Was there a struggle over the Taser that you saw? Were they fighting over it?
FEIDIN SANTANA, WITNESS: No. I saw that he was trying to get away of the Taser.
SLAGER: He grabbed my Taser. Gunshot wounds, looks like to the chest, to the right thigh. Unresponsive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You just saw a video from NBC`s "Today" show. I want to go -- unleash the lawyers. Joining me tonight, Daryl Parks, who as you know the
lawyer for Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown families. Famed defense attorney Yale Galanter out of Miami, former OJ Simpson lawyer. And high
profile lawyer out of Atlanta, Parag Shah, author of "The Code."
Welcome, gentlemen.
To you, Daryl Parks, what`s so significant in my mind about this 911 call is he`s stuck with that. That`s his voice. Those are his words claiming
he, Mr. Scott, grabbed my Taser. When clearly right here we can prove it. I`m sure a prosecutor can. He still has the Taser his hand. Slager has
the Taser. So there is no justification for the shooting at all.
DARYL PARKS, ATTORNEY FOR TRAYVON MARTIN FAMILY: Well, without question, Nancy, we see there is no threat to the officer going on in this case. And
it is very serious that we see this officer using his radio to talk simultaneously with the dispatcher when we see there is no threat to the
officer at that time. That followed by the fact that this officer certainly walks back to the original spot, picks something up off the
ground, then takes it to the spot --
GRACE: And look, we`re showing the Taser wire right now, Daryl.
PARKS: Yes.
GRACE: Yale, Parag, look at that right there.
OK, go ahead, sir.
PARKS: Without question he goes and he puts it back there. This is -- you know, gives a viewpoint to really look at something we don`t normally get
to see. You get to see an officer who clearly saying something totally different than what actually happened. Something that we don`t really get
to see in American culture too much but always (INAUDIBLE) the kind of work that we do, we see this all the time when people come to us but we can`t
prove it. We`re so glad to this bystander had a camera and recorded this simultaneously.
Without question this would have been swept under the rug. But thanks to this very good citizen who thought enough to take out his cell phone and
catch this video so that the world could see that this poor gentlemen never had a chance. Shot down like a dog in the streets.
GRACE: You know, Yale Galanter, before when I would see movies where cops were bad and they planted weapons, I would go, you know, that`s not true.
That didn`t happen. You know I deal with 10,000 cops every day as a prosecutor and I don`t believe it. What`s so upsetting about this is not
what happened to Mr. Scott alone. That is of course the paramount issue here. But revealed what we believe to be the Taser being planted. So it
could back up what he said on his 911 shoulder radio, Yale.
[20:40:01] YALE GALANTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, you`re right Nancy. I mean this is a stand on law enforcement all across the country because as
former prosecutors, we -- you know, we always believed police officers when they would come in for case filing.
GRACE: Right.
GALANTER: We want to believe the people who wear the uniform and have a badge. And this really discredits police officers all across America
because now people will have doubts whenever a law enforcement officer gets on --
GRACE: And what is so casual --
GALANTER: -- and comes to the defense of another law enforcement.
GRACE: You know, somebody sitting here in the studio with me.
To Cheryl Dorsey, retired LAPD police sergeant. Believe me, Dorsey knows what we`re talking about, what police face in the field every day.
Cheryl, somebody just told me sitting here on the set, when the police officer walks by, it is like he`s holding his hand straight down and just
kind of drops the Taser. You know, just very casually just drops it. And I don`t understand how the other cop doesn`t see what`s going on?
CHERYL DORSEY FORMER LAPD POLICE SERGEANT: Well, you know, I don`t know that he didn`t see it. But certainly that`s what he needs to say to make
sure that he says out of this lawsuit that`s coming. So this Officer Slager understood that he needed to create a record, an audio record of
this bad doing that he just -- this I unjustified murder of this man so that`s why --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So why wouldn`t you ever use a Taser?
With me Cheryl Dorsey, retired LAPD police sergeant. What is the protocol for Taser use? I mean I`ve been pulled over for -- what? I don`t know
what, taillight before. Running a stop sign, something. They didn`t Taser me. All right. Why does it go from a busted taillight to a Taser? What
is appropriate use of a Taser?
This guy, Cheryl, this guy Slager had taken all these tests in Taser use and then made a 100, an A-plus-plus in every test. What happened? When
are you supposed to use a Taser.
DORSEY: I think we have a situation of contempt of cop here. Officers are taught to escalate and deescalate force. You use that force necessary to
overcome the resistance. We have no resistance, we seem to have an officer whose not in very good shape and can`t run down a 50-year-old man. What he
did was over the top and unnecessary. And he needs to speak to every use of force that he used during this incident. The Taser and each and every
round must be justified.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:47:05] GRACE: Live, Orange County, a California judge hears horrific facts, where a 3-year-old toddler girl wanders into a neighbor`s garage.
He is sitting there playing video games. Then the neighbor rips down the girl`s pants and rapes her. The toddler hears her mommy looking for her.
What does he do? Jam his hand over the toddler`s mouth so she cannot be heard.
Breaking news right now, Superior Court Judge M. Marc Kelly slashes the child rapist`s sentence claiming the pedophile-sex predator did not intend
to harm the child. He anally raped her. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a heinous crime.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Web page is popping up, calling for the resignation of Judge M. Martin Kelly, in response to the sentence he handed
down to Kevin Rojano-Nieto.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the law is very clear that the sentence is 25 to life for this crime. And I think it will be very hard to make --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to the Orange County elected district attorney, Tony Rackauckas.
Tony, I cannot believe a sitting judge, this judge, M. Marc Kelly, actually slashed the mandatory sentence on a child rape. What was his thinking?
TONY RACKAUCKAS, ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, he said that the penalty was disproportionate to the crime in his due. And so he did that.
He basically -- obviously it`s not something within the discretion of the court to give a sentence less than the mandatory sentence --
GRACE: I can`t believe. And you know what else, Tony, I`ve looked over several of his rulings in the past and he has a predilection to cut the
sentences of child rapists and sex offenders.
Unleash the lawyers in addition to Tony Rackauckas, with us Susan Moss, New York, Yale Galanter, Miami, Parag Shah, Atlanta.
Weigh in, Sue Moss.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: How dare this judge say that a grown man taking his penis and putting it into a 3-year-old`s anal
cavity is not a violent, a heinous act with total disregard --
GRACE: Awful.
MOSS: -- for what this child is going to suffer in the future. The fact that this guys doesn`t get the fact that this child is going to carry this
throughout her entire life, is going to affect her relationships with other people, it`s going to affect her safety and security of being home is
outrageous.
When you rape a child who`s 3 you get the full penalty. There is no excuse. This thank god is being appealed.
GRACE: Parag Shah, did you know that the little girl told her mother later that she was hurting and complained of pain in her little behind? And the
mom looked and saw tearing and raced her to the hospital? OK. How can an anal rape on a 3-year-old girl, while his holding his hand over her mouth,
so the mommy cannot hear her on the other side of the garage door, how can that not be a violent crime?
[20:50:15] PARAG SHAH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t think anyone is disagreeing with you that this was a horrible act. But when it comes to
sentencing, you look at all mitigating factors. You look at whether the person is a sexual deviant, whether he`s a pedophile, whether there`s a
risk of recidivism.
GRACE: Right there. Excuse me. Bethany Marshall, to have sex with a 3- year-old child?
SHAH: Their psycho evaluation --
GRACE: Wouldn`t you say that`s sexual deviant?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": I so disagree with the attorney here because in the judge`s ruling, he writes that the
little girl wanders into the garage, that the perpetrator did not seek out or stalk the victim, but when the victim came into the garage a sexual urge
came over the perpetrator as if somehow just as if by magic he got sexually excited by this 3-year-old little girl and then sodomized and raped her. I
wonder about the psychology of the judge that he would just say that a young man has this urge that comes and goes and that doesn`t mean he is a
pedophile or that he will strike or offend again.
And Nancy, the fact that he anally raped him -- raped the little girl, he chose the anus rather than the vagina means that he has two perversions.
He`s a pedophile and a sadist which suggests a high rate of recidivism.
GRACE: The only thing we can do now is to sign a petition. It`s got to be people in that jurisdiction to get this judge off the bench.
But right now, CNN Heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAGGIE DOYNE, CNN HERO: Most 28-year-old girls my age have a very different reality. A lot of engagements and, you know, first babies. I
mean I took a very different path.
After high school, I decided to travel around the world with my backpack. In Nepal, for the first time, I really saw the effects of civil war and
children and women suffering. And it changed me. There was one little girl, she was standing in a heap of garbage. And she said, "Namaste,
Didi." That means hello, sister. That was the beginning. I called up my parents and I asked them to wire me over my $5,000 of babysitting money.
Time to get up. Morning.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Good morning.
DOYNE: We started with the home. And then we built a school. We select children who without us would not be able to go to school. A lot of them
are begging on the streets.
You`ve got it.
We have created one of the top performing schools in the entire region for 350 children. And 50 of those kids live in our home.
Our first priority is to keep a child with their family. And then in the severe case of a child who really has nobody, they come in to live in our
home.
When you walk in the front gates of Kupila Valley, you don`t see suffering. You see healthy, laughing, thriving kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:35] GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Sue Moss, Yale Galanter, Parag Shah. With me, psychoanalyst Dr. Bethany Marshall and talk show host,
KABC, Jim Rupe.
Jim, there`s got to be a way to fight back against this judge who allows a prison sentence slashed on a man who rapes a 3-year-old girl. Tell me
about the petition, Jim Rupe.
JIM RUPE, TALK SHOW HOST, KABC: There`s two efforts. One is there`s an effort to get him to resign. But secondly, there`s a petition as of
yesterday, 21,000 signatures on it. They need 90,000 signatures within a 160-day period.
GRACE: How do I find it?
RUPE: I`m sorry, say it again?
GRACE: How do we find it? How do we find it? The petition.
RUPE: There`s a -- well, there`s a petition on Change.org, if you go to that Web site.
GRACE: Change.org.
Sue Moss, Yale Galanter, Parag Shah, Bethany Marshall -- Sue Moss, how can the anal rape of a 3-year-old girl not be a violent act? And how can this
judge say he didn`t mean to harm her?
MOSS: It`s absolutely impossible. Firstly, when this poor girl comes into the garage, he locks the garage door. Then he pulls down her -- his pants,
pulls down her pants. He does this heinous act. But it doesn`t stop then. When you can hear the poor girl`s mother calling out for her, he takes his
large man hands, puts it over this 3-year-old`s face and just makes sure she does not say a word.
With that amount of force, that`s yet another crime. Finally, finally, this little girl is able to escape. But there`s kidnapping. There`s
assault in addition to the sodomy.
GRACE: This judge has to go and this man has got to stay behind bars.
Let`s remember, American hero, Marine Lance Corporal Jeremy Sandvick Monroe, 20 years old, Chinook, Montana. Purple Heart. Combat Action
Ribbon. Loved playing guitar. Jam sessions and poetry. Parents, Melissa and Marty, five siblings.
Jeremy Sandvick Monroe, American hero.
And happy birthday to South Carolina`s Kathy Evans. Loved classic movies, lunch with friends. Happy birthday, Kathy. Isn`t she beautiful?
Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
