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CNN Saturday Morning News

Law Enforcement Analyst Discusses Sniper Investigation

Aired October 12, 2002 - 07:08   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.


THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to turn now to view this story through the prism of law enforcement. For that, we want to turn now to Mike Brooks. He's a former FBI terrorism task force leader and currently serves as CNN's law enforcement analyst.
Mike, good morning.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Thomas.

ROBERTS: We heard there from Charles and Daryn about a Virginia state trooper being right across the way of this shooting. Is the sniper here getting more bold, getting cocky?

BROOKS: Extremely brazen. And as Charles also said, the first shooting, one of the first shootings was right across from a district police station. So I -- it's just -- it's unbelievable to me that someone would actually do this right in front of law enforcement. It's kind of really in your face, I'm going to do what I want to do, and you're going to have to deal with it.

ROBERTS: And the original reports coming out that since this happened right across the way from a state trooper, they were to the victim within about a minute's time...

BROOKS: Right.

ROBERTS: ... and then the started the shutdown, the dragnet, to look for a vehicle or who the sniper could be. How could this person get away? I mean, they really have to know these roads well.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And as Daryn was pointing out, and Charles also, it's right near arteries, you know, easy in, easy out. It's not back in the neighborhood. Even the school in Prince George's County the other day, in Bowie, was right on Route 197, another main thoroughfare between Route 50 and BW Parkway. Easy in, easy out, doesn't want to get trapped back in the neighborhood.

And, you know, so it's -- and doesn't want to get stopped. And so, you know, it's, it is easy in, easy out, and this person knows the area. It's in -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's not that far from Washington, D.C., it's not that far from Montgomery County, you know, in relative terms, it's looked at almost as a suburb of D.C. now.

But this person knows the area and knows what, knows what he or she is doing.

ROBERTS: Yes, as you point out, yesterday we saw the video there of police pulling over white vehicles along the I-95, you know, runway there, and that's right by what they call the mixing bowl, where you can get into Tyson's Corner, where you can get into Washington, D.C., or take 95 in to Baltimore.

The white van, though, that everybody's looking out for, should people not get so concentrated on looking for a white vehicle? They should be pretty much aware of their surroundings right now, because we shouldn't focus so much on this car?

BROOKS: No, from the very beginning they were talking about a white van. First they talked about a large, almost like a delivery- looking truck vehicle -- delivery truck-type-looking vehicle, an Isuzu with a big box on the back. This one, they say, is a truck with a ladder on the top.

It's kind of -- it's really hard, because the shooting is not happening right person to person. This is from a distance away, Someone hears the shot, they see a victim go down, they look around, and these are commercial areas. You know, as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I think their people don't realize how many white trucks and white vans there really are out there.

And so the people look around and they're concentrating on a white van. They have to be vigilant, they have to keep an eye on every car, you know, not just trucks but also cars.

I think a couple witnesses yesterday had pointed out a white van in the area, and that's why they went with the white van. The initial shooting, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) one of the other shootings, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some of the initial lookouts that law enforcement were giving over the radio were pickup trucks, you know, different vehicles that were seen leaving, driving erratically, and none of those panned out.

But they're concentrated on the white truck. But people have to really keep an open mind and keep aware of their surroundings. And not just focus on the white trucks.

ROBERTS: Yes, not to speculate too much, because I know you don't like to do that...

BROOKS: Right, right.

ROBERTS: ... but could the -- this boxy van, the white van, be a red herring?

BROOKS: Ah, yes, I don't know. It -- it's hard to say if it is a red herring or not. But, you know, they can't, people shouldn't just totally concentrate on white trucks. They have to be vigilant, constantly alert, and more so than now. I stopped this morning to get gas on the way here this morning, right off of 75 in Georgia, you know, and I'm looking around myself.

I was just -- I think everybody, no matter where you are, just is, is, is, is scared to death.

ROBERTS: Yesterday as we saw, with all those roadblocks going on. How often do police use that tactic?

BROOKS: Not very often. You know, again, civil libertarians are probably going out of their mind yesterday. But I think we're dealing with a wholly -- whole totally different time right now. I don't think people are going to mind being stopped.

I mean, you talk about the shooting yesterday in Spotsylvania County, and they were having roadblocks all the way up to Fairfax County, 50 miles away, all along 95, 495, the Beltway that's the main road that goes around the Washington, D.C., area, to include Montgomery, Prince George's County, they were stopping every white van that they came across yesterday, setting up roadblocks, and checking people out.

I think people are not going to mind this, because, you know, law enforcement has gotten to the point where they have to do something, and that's, and this is what they have to do.

ROBERTS: And meanwhile, the coalition of law enforcement on this is huge.

BROOKS: Oh, it's unbelievable. This is probably, having been with the metropolitan police 26 years, the last six on the FBI's joint terrorism task force working with other agencies, both state, local, and federal, this is probably one of the biggest law enforcement efforts I've seen in, in, in, in my life, and especially in the Washington, D.C., area.

ROBERTS: All right, our Mike Brooks, talking to us this morning. I'm sure we're going to be talking to you again. We appreciate your insight.

BROOKS: Thanks, Thomas.

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 October 12, 2002 - 07:08   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: We want to turn now to view this story through the prism of law enforcement. For that, we want to turn now to Mike Brooks. He's a former FBI terrorism task force leader and currently serves as CNN's law enforcement analyst.
Mike, good morning.

MIKE BROOKS, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Good morning, Thomas.

ROBERTS: We heard there from Charles and Daryn about a Virginia state trooper being right across the way of this shooting. Is the sniper here getting more bold, getting cocky?

BROOKS: Extremely brazen. And as Charles also said, the first shooting, one of the first shootings was right across from a district police station. So I -- it's just -- it's unbelievable to me that someone would actually do this right in front of law enforcement. It's kind of really in your face, I'm going to do what I want to do, and you're going to have to deal with it.

ROBERTS: And the original reports coming out that since this happened right across the way from a state trooper, they were to the victim within about a minute's time...

BROOKS: Right.

ROBERTS: ... and then the started the shutdown, the dragnet, to look for a vehicle or who the sniper could be. How could this person get away? I mean, they really have to know these roads well.

BROOKS: Absolutely. And as Daryn was pointing out, and Charles also, it's right near arteries, you know, easy in, easy out. It's not back in the neighborhood. Even the school in Prince George's County the other day, in Bowie, was right on Route 197, another main thoroughfare between Route 50 and BW Parkway. Easy in, easy out, doesn't want to get trapped back in the neighborhood.

And, you know, so it's -- and doesn't want to get stopped. And so, you know, it's, it is easy in, easy out, and this person knows the area. It's in -- (UNINTELLIGIBLE) it's not that far from Washington, D.C., it's not that far from Montgomery County, you know, in relative terms, it's looked at almost as a suburb of D.C. now.

But this person knows the area and knows what, knows what he or she is doing.

ROBERTS: Yes, as you point out, yesterday we saw the video there of police pulling over white vehicles along the I-95, you know, runway there, and that's right by what they call the mixing bowl, where you can get into Tyson's Corner, where you can get into Washington, D.C., or take 95 in to Baltimore.

The white van, though, that everybody's looking out for, should people not get so concentrated on looking for a white vehicle? They should be pretty much aware of their surroundings right now, because we shouldn't focus so much on this car?

BROOKS: No, from the very beginning they were talking about a white van. First they talked about a large, almost like a delivery- looking truck vehicle -- delivery truck-type-looking vehicle, an Isuzu with a big box on the back. This one, they say, is a truck with a ladder on the top.

It's kind of -- it's really hard, because the shooting is not happening right person to person. This is from a distance away, Someone hears the shot, they see a victim go down, they look around, and these are commercial areas. You know, as (UNINTELLIGIBLE) I think their people don't realize how many white trucks and white vans there really are out there.

And so the people look around and they're concentrating on a white van. They have to be vigilant, they have to keep an eye on every car, you know, not just trucks but also cars.

I think a couple witnesses yesterday had pointed out a white van in the area, and that's why they went with the white van. The initial shooting, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) one of the other shootings, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) some of the initial lookouts that law enforcement were giving over the radio were pickup trucks, you know, different vehicles that were seen leaving, driving erratically, and none of those panned out.

But they're concentrated on the white truck. But people have to really keep an open mind and keep aware of their surroundings. And not just focus on the white trucks.

ROBERTS: Yes, not to speculate too much, because I know you don't like to do that...

BROOKS: Right, right.

ROBERTS: ... but could the -- this boxy van, the white van, be a red herring?

BROOKS: Ah, yes, I don't know. It -- it's hard to say if it is a red herring or not. But, you know, they can't, people shouldn't just totally concentrate on white trucks. They have to be vigilant, constantly alert, and more so than now. I stopped this morning to get gas on the way here this morning, right off of 75 in Georgia, you know, and I'm looking around myself.

I was just -- I think everybody, no matter where you are, just is, is, is, is scared to death.

ROBERTS: Yesterday as we saw, with all those roadblocks going on. How often do police use that tactic?

BROOKS: Not very often. You know, again, civil libertarians are probably going out of their mind yesterday. But I think we're dealing with a wholly -- whole totally different time right now. I don't think people are going to mind being stopped.

I mean, you talk about the shooting yesterday in Spotsylvania County, and they were having roadblocks all the way up to Fairfax County, 50 miles away, all along 95, 495, the Beltway that's the main road that goes around the Washington, D.C., area, to include Montgomery, Prince George's County, they were stopping every white van that they came across yesterday, setting up roadblocks, and checking people out.

I think people are not going to mind this, because, you know, law enforcement has gotten to the point where they have to do something, and that's, and this is what they have to do.

ROBERTS: And meanwhile, the coalition of law enforcement on this is huge.

BROOKS: Oh, it's unbelievable. This is probably, having been with the metropolitan police 26 years, the last six on the FBI's joint terrorism task force working with other agencies, both state, local, and federal, this is probably one of the biggest law enforcement efforts I've seen in, in, in, in my life, and especially in the Washington, D.C., area.

ROBERTS: All right, our Mike Brooks, talking to us this morning. I'm sure we're going to be talking to you again. We appreciate your insight.

BROOKS: Thanks, Thomas.

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