tv Anderson Cooper 360 CNN February 3, 2012 8:00pm-9:00pm EST
8:00 pm
ten years after 9/11. ten years after the patriot act we are still debating how much of our freedom are we willing to give up to maintain american freedom? let us know what you think. tweet me at erin burnett, # out front. anderson cooper starts now. erin, thanks. good evening. we begin with breaking news out of syria. a bloody day, perhaps one of the worst we have seen in many months of conflict. at least 200 people may have been killed in the city of homs in just the past few hours. 200 people killed in the past few hours according to opposition activists in the city. in a moment you will hear from one we talked to moments ago. a brave witness talking about the shelling and bloodshed he says is happening right now. first, video of the latest violence. look at this. we found it on youtube minutes
8:01 pm
ago. [ gunshots ] [ explosion ] [ yelling ] >> shelling and shooting in homs. a fire breaks out. again, at least 200 people killed there today according to activists in the city, including women and children. i spoke to a witness. we're calling him danny. he's giving only his first name but he's showing his face at great risk. listen. danny, what's happening? what's the latest? >> what's been happening, right? >> yes. >> they have been bombarding an area in homs for three hours. they have been bombarding with bombers and tank shells. t-72 tank shills. part of the syrian army defected and the civilians went to
8:02 pm
welcome the syrian army, so they bombarded it randomly with bombs and tank shells. in the first half an hour they've got 40 people dead. now we have about 200 dead all around homs. there are still people under the destruction. we can't move them. all the buildings have been falling over human beings. there are kids dead, women, men dead. we can't get medication in. they are shooting at the civilian cars and trying to get medication in there and we can't help them. now it's happening all around homs. they are bomb bargd us and no one is doing anything. the nato and american league are discussing it while we are being killed. >> you say more than 200 dead in the last hour or two. >> 200 dead in three hours. in the first half an hour, 40 dead. we got the video on youtube. they have been bombarding an
8:03 pm
area in homs with mortar bombs and tank shells. there are civilians under the buildings. we can't get them out. we are trying to get medication and food out and the snipers are shooting at us. i wanted to help. i couldn't. the snipers are shooting. we are being bombarded. >> how random is the mortar fire? they are just indiscriminately firing mortars? >> on rooftops. an hour ago i went on a rooftop to get civilians. 400 meters right over there. went and picked up four civilians. a mortar bomb came on the rooftop of a civilian house. >> we hear in the background -- is that sound coming from the mosque? what are they saying in the
8:04 pm
mosques? >> these are the mosques. they are asking help from god. they are asking help from people saying we want all negative, a positive. we have so many casualties. over 500 casualties. they may not live. we don't know if they will live or not. we need blood. no one's helping us. the u.n. isn't helping t. arab league isn't helping. while they are having a discussion people are dying. >> you're taking a great risk by showing your face. >> i'm not afraid of this regime. if it wants to kill me -- i'm not brave. you should see what people are doing. people are trying to move bodies out of the street. people are getting killed just to remove a body from the street. just to move bodies so they can bury them and they are being killed for moving them. that's bravery. >> where do you take the
8:05 pm
wounded? you can't take them to government hospitals. we have heard time and time for months now those have been taken over by the military and secret police in the hospitals. where do you take the wounded? >> we smuggle the wounded. we smuggle the dead bodies into the area i'm in now which is protected by the free army, but the free army hasn't got heavy artillery. they have handguns. rbj rockets. that's all they have. they can't fight the syrian army. they smuggle them in. we have three field hospitals here. we get the injured people here and try to do our best. we haven't got enough doctors. the doctor gets more than 20 patients in an hour. he needs to have an operation. he needs to be buried. he's going to die. they don't know what to do. these aren't animals dying here. these are human beings being
8:06 pm
bombed by mortar bombs, tank shells. and no one's doing anything about it. we're going to sit here and get killed. there is one message i would like to get out. we are not going to stop. the syrian people won't stop if they kill millions. we'll remember no one did anything. >> why have they launched this bombardment now? >> because the part of a syrian army was on a barricade. part of the barricade defected. i think it was 50 to 60 soldiers. i don't know what they had with them. they defected and ran away to an area in homs. the civilians went down to welcome the free syrian army to thank them for their bravery because the syrian army. when the army found out it started randomly bombarding with tank shells, mortar bombs. it's like they're killing animals. these are human beings. they have been stabbing kids, stabbing women, raping women.
8:07 pm
no one's doing anything. this isn't a game here. this is a reality. this is going on. all these pictures on youtube of women being raped, people being burned, it's real. this is not a game. this is actually going on. there is much more we don't know about yet. the government is hiding so much more. we don't know half of what's going on yet. >> danny, stay safe. thank you for talking to us. as we sit here safe tonight in your home and wherever you are watching this, this is happening in syria in homs now. let us know what you think. we're on facebook, google plus. i'll be tweeting tonight. up next a mother's plea for justice for her daughter killed in a car crash involving a serial drunk driver who was pardoned by mississippi governor haley barbour, pardoned as this guy sat in jail after his fourth dui arrest. and a new twist in upstate new
8:08 pm
york. a new come has come forward saying she's suffering from the same strange ticks that resemble tourette's syndrome as girls in high school in that same area are. we'll talk it over with dr. drew pinske. that can be taken with or without food. that's why my doctor recommends citracal maximum. it's all about absorption. on my journey across america,nds citracal maximum. i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. my high school science teacher made me what i am today. our science teacher helped us build it.
8:09 pm
♪ now i'm a geologist at chevron, and i get to help science teachers. it has four servo motors and a wireless microcontroller. over the last three years we've put nearly 100 million dollars into american education. that's thousands of kids learning to love science. ♪ isn't that cool? and that's pretty cool. ♪ since ameriprise financial was founded back in 1894, they've been committed to putting clients first. helping generations through tough times. good times. never taking a bailout. there when you need them. helping millions of americans over the centuries. the strength of a global financial leader.
8:10 pm
the heart of a one-to-one relationship. together for your future. ♪ ♪ ooh baby, (what) can i do for you today? ♪ [ female announcer ] need help keeping your digestive balance? align can help. only align has bifantis, a patented probiotic that naturally helps maintain your digestive balance. try align to help retain a balanced digestive system. try the #1 gastroenterologist recommended probiotic. align.
8:11 pm
linda smith's daughter charity was just 18 years old. that's her. she was in college, a talented artist with with big dreams. charity died when her car hit a truck on a gravel road. you can see how bad the crash was. fault is still being investigated. the truck wasn't damaged much. the man behind the wheel wasn't seriously hurt but he was drunk. his name is harry bostwick, a former irs investigator. he was arrested for driving under the influence after the crash. it wasn't the first time he was caught drunk driving. it wasn't his second or third. it was his fourth drunk driving arrest. what makes this so stunning is he was pardoned by haley barbour, the outgoing governor
8:12 pm
of mississippi. he was sitting in jail after the fourth arrest when the governor signed the pardon. this is the third d.u.i. arrest. he was pardoned for a felony d.u.i. he pled guilty to in 2010. here is the officer who arrested him the third time. >> there was an open bottle of wine in the front seat. there was an open bottle of champagne on the front seat with him. he had a large cup that was full of red wine. >> his blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit. this was his dui arrest in one year. for the first arrest he was sentenced to a year of house arrest and four years in an alcohol abuse program. a year after his third arrest he applied for the pardon. some of his high profile friends wrote letters to the governor on his behalf. one prosecutor wrote, harry no longer drinks alcohol. the parole board recommended he
8:13 pm
got the pardon. seven days later he slammed into charity smith's car as she pulled onto a hoi. it is still under investigation. we have asked governor barbour to explain how he could have pardoned a guy who was sitting in jail after his fourth dui arrest after an 18-year-old girl was dead. so far the governor hasn't been willing to talk to our program. they say they didn't know about the fourth dui. the governor hasn't explained why the parole board or his office didn't do a last-minute check of the record before signing the pardon. on another cnn program, on john king's program here's what barbour said about pardons in general of more than 200 people including four convicted killers. >> the power of pardon in the state is to give people a second chance who have repented, been rehabilitated and redeem themselves. >> repented, rehabilitated, redeemed.
8:14 pm
harry bostwick had three dui arrests, one felony. he was supposed to be in an alcohol abuse program. he swore he wasn't drinking. his connected friends also said that. he was drunk when the truck slammed into charity's car. rehabilitated? obviously not. governor barbour, we would love you to come on the show and answer questions. at least we think you owe charity's answers some questions. linda smith, charity's mom joins me now. linda, first of all, how are you holding up? >> as best as i can. >> i know you feel your daughter has been forgotten in all of this. what do you want people to know about her? >> first of all, i know everybody just reads a name on a piece of paper. she's not just a name. charity was a person, a beautiful person. a smart, intelligent person who had her whole life ahead of her. she loved life she loved her
8:15 pm
art. she loved to write. you know, she was planning on -- she should be in college right now. >> that was her dream to go to college. >> getting her degree, yes. she should be there now. working on her degree. and living and loving life. >> when you first heard that harry bostik was pardoned, what went through your mind? >> i was just upset. i mean, i didn't understand it. >> had anyone from the governor's office called you? >> no. no. no one. >> their office said he wasn't aware of the fourth dui charge which was the charge involved and related to your daughter's
8:16 pm
death when he pardoned bostik. do you believe him? >> surely he wouldn't have done that. i mean, if someone already has three and if you know there is another one, how could you? how could you do that? >> so he was sitting in jail on that fourth dui charge when he was pardoned. at this point -- >> yes. >> what can be done in your eyes to bring some justice to this? >> take his pardon back. he should have never been pardoned. >> when you think of him now
8:17 pm
free with his record wiped clean. what do you think? >> i have to believe that justice will be served. i have to. >> have you ever said anything? have you ever seen this man? have you ever said anything to him? >> no. no. i have never talked with him. >> is there anything you would want him to know? >> not right now. maybe at a later time. >> mm-hmm. >> to the governor, what would you want the governor -- governor barbour to know? >> if i could talk to the governor? >> yeah. >> i think he should have been more thorough in what he did.
8:18 pm
somebody didn't do right. i know i'm not the only person who is feeling this. there's other mothers and fathers that are struggling with the same thing. and they are probably going through the same thing. you know, how did it happen? >> how do you get through each day? >> it's not easy. look, my daughter, i know she was 18. but she always told me she loved me every morning and kissed me and i did her the same. this was every day. i miss my child. and i want her to come home.
8:19 pm
but that will never happen. i will never have her again. i have bad days. >> you just have bad days? >> yes. i miss my child. i love my child. i want her back. >> linda, i'm so sorry for your loss and for now having to go through this. is there anything else you want people to know? >> you know, i know we all make mistakes. there is nobody perfect. but when haley barbour said
8:20 pm
everybody deserves a second chance, my baby didn't get no second chance. now she's not here. >> well, linda -- >> she's not here. >> -- i wish you strength and peace in the days ahead. >> thank you. >> it is such a heartbreaking story. ed lavendera has been digging on this and joins me from mississippi. how did this happen? was there no mechanism to make sure the parole board and justice system were in contact? >> it doesn't appear there was. the way this all unfolded is last summer, harry bostick began gathering letters. he was interviewed by the parole
8:21 pm
board. that appears to have been wrapped up by september. the parole board voted 3-2 to recommend him for a pardon. all of the paperwork was mailed to governor barbour's office. that appears to be the end of it from what we have been able to tell. it was a week later that this terrible accident happened and charity smith was killed. between the months of october, november and december into early january when harry bostick was pardoned there was never a mechanism in place that went back and double checked that everything was still okay and harry bostick was in jail and according to the governor's office and the parole board they had no idea he was there and he walked out of the jail. spoke with the sheriff who said he had no idea the pardon was coming and he had to let the guy walk out of jail. >> is it possible he could be held culpable in the crash that killed her daughter and if so could he be arrested for that?
8:22 pm
>> it is possible. essentially what will happen is those first two misdemeanor dui charges you spoke about earlier haven't gone away. it's the third one. this fourth charge, we are still waiting on what a grand jury will do and what the formal charges will be. assuming that happens, the fourth one would be the third one and he would have to go through the legal process on that. obviously it changes dramatically what the potential sentence could be if that, indeed, does happen. he hasn't been indicted yet. he's presumed innocent. that's still making its way through the legal process. >> ed, i appreciate you staying on it. thank you very much. coming up, a town with women suffering ticks. not just teenagers now. the latest on what a town in new york is facing. and lance armstrong getting good news about the investigation into whether he
8:23 pm
used performance enhancing drugs. we're paying for all spill related clean-up costs. bp findings supports independent scientists studying the gulf's environment. thousands of environmental samples have been tested and all beaches and waters are open. and the tourists are back. i was born here, i'm still here and so is bp. [♪...] >> announcer: with nothing but his computer, an identity thief is able to use your information to open a bank account in order to make your money his money. [whoosh, clang] you need lifelock, the only identity theft protection company that now monitors bank accounts for takeover fraud. lifelock: relentlessly protecting your identity. call 1-800-lifelock or go to lifelock.com today. one of the best things about state farm is our accessibility.
8:24 pm
oh, yeah? [ chris ] you can call us 24-7, get quotes online, start a claim with our smartphone app. you name it, we're here, anytime, anywhere, any way you want it. that's the way i need it. any way you want it. [ man ] all night? all night. every night? any way you want it. that's the way i need it. we just had ourselves a little journey moment there. yep. [ man ] saw 'em in '83 in fresno. place was crawling with chicks. i got to go. ♪ any way you want it ♪ that's the way you need it ♪ any way you want it ♪ [ smack! ] [ smack! smack! smack! ] [ male announcer ] your favorite foods fighting you? fight back fast with tums. calcium rich tums goes to work in seconds. nothing works faster. ♪ tum ta tum tum tums
8:26 pm
let's look at some of the other stories we're following. susan hendricks has a 360 bulletin. >> a better than expected jobs report today. 243,000 jobs added last month, dropping the unemployment rate to 8.3%, the lowest level in three years. the justice department clearing lance armstrong of using performance enhancing drugs. prosecutors say they are closing the criminal probe without
8:27 pm
filing charges against the seven-time tour de france winner. they offered no explanation for the decision. armstrong denies using the drugs and said he's gratified to learn of the decision. the susan g. komen foundation apologizing for cutting funds to planned parenthood. they are reversing the decision and restoring the money. word came after lots of angry protests. rescuers on cape cod are rushing to save the lives of 100 beached dolphins. over 80 already died. no word on what triggered the mass beaching, but weather, pollution and the dolphins' social structure are possible causes. >> and one arkansas couple picked up a diamond in the rough which turned out to be a rare near perfect gem. after a trip to the jewel cutter it is now worth more than $21,000. >> wow, cool. >> pretty neat. ahead, new medical developments in a story in upstate new york as a
8:28 pm
36-year-old woman comes forward with the same tourette's-like symptoms as a group of teenagers. and a teacher in california accused of taking bondage photos of students in the classroom, little kids, and other things we can't even talk about. why did it take over a year for police to arrest him and why is he still collecting a pension that taxpayers in california are paying for? we're keeping them honest ahead.
8:29 pm
8:30 pm
and then treats day after day... well that's like checking on your burgers after they're burnt! [ male announcer ] treat your frequent heartburn by blocking the acid with prilosec otc. and don't get heartburn in the first place! [ male announcer ] one pill a day. 24 hours. zero heartburn. [oinking] [hissing] [ding] announcer: cook foods to the right temperature using a food thermometer. 3,000 americans will die from food poisoning this year. check your steps at foodsafety.gov.
8:32 pm
tonight, we have been reporting on this medical mystery for a couple weeks. more than a dozen teenagers who do kbo to the same high school in upstate new york have developed strange ticks that resemble tourette's syndrome. all but one of the teens are girls. health department and school officials have ruled out any environmental cause. they conducted air quality and mold tests, released the results. some of the girls were diagnosed with conversion disorder, a physical response to stress, sort of mass hysteria, but many of the girls and their parents aren't satisfied with the answer. erin brockovich believes a chemical spill may be the cause. now a 36-year-old woman who lives in the same town has developed the same ticks.
8:33 pm
as a teenager marge fitz simmons hung out where the chemical spill happened. she worries what it would mean if it turns out a toxin is to blame. listen. >> at this point i have to have faith in my doctors. all the lab work and cat scans and mris i have had done have come back within range, within the normal range limits. so if it ends up being environmental -- then does that mean i don't have hope of getting better? you know? these are thoughts that go through my head. >> dr. drew pinske has been following the story and a joins me now. i don't understand this. are you surprised by this new person, this new information that a woman in her 30s has now apparently come down with
8:34 pm
similar symptoms? >> not necessarily. this could still be conversion. many of the folks having this reaction we are finding that there is a common thread, a significant trauma in their background. the woman with me suffered severe trauma. now we are trying to connect the relationship amongst the women to understand how this thing may have spread. conversion disorder can have medical issues that are contributing to it, precipitating it, making it more likely to occur. the fact that it's being called conversion doesn't rule out environmental influences. those are continuing to be pursued aggressively. in the meantime the provisional diagnosis of conversion gives the doctors in the vicinity something to work on. most are getting better. >> explain conversion disorder. i find it fascinating. it's also called mass hysteria. one person starts it and others join in? >> right. the salem witch trial is one of
8:35 pm
the most dramatic examples of this. there are examples all over the world. we chronicled it on my program. the different reports in the last few years, it's rare but certainly not unheard of. conversion itself, a single person developing physical manifestations because of a psychological or psychiatric state is not at all uncommon. we have to remember, brain and body are connected. sometimes when stress is excessive, it comes out through physical symptoms, ticks and seizuring and blindness or paralysis. those are not uncommon manifestations of conversion. >> why would the fact that one person gets it and other people get it? it opens up the idea in other people's minds? >> yeah. i don't think anybody really can answer the question. why this place at this time, what was it that made it possible for it to spread the way it did? as an internist i ran the
8:36 pm
department of medicine at a psychiatric hospital for a long time. one of my jobs was when somebody came in with a symptom that was supposed to be psychiatric was to make sure there was not a con come nant or precip naitating medical issue. as we were following the story we found this trichloroethylene story that may have a cautional link. >> what does getting better mean? how long could they have symptoms like this for? >> there is various treatment depending on the patient suffering from this. approximately half the girls are maintaining treatment with a neurology group in their vicinity near their hometown. it seems to be getting better with supportive care, family interventions. whatever that patient may need. it gets better with placebo and time by itself. if it's conversion.
8:37 pm
that woman you heard the interview with, the older woman -- in her 30s. she was corned it could be a toxic influence. she's right. a toxic hit on the central nervous system is a far more grave issue than conversion disorder. >> appreciate it. thanks. >> thank you. >> up next, days of mourning giving way to new violence in egypt. why protesters blame the government for the deadly soccer riots. and a california teacher accused of taking hundreds of lewd photographs of little students over several years. images so disturbing we can't show you on tv. he's facing charges. taxpayers are still paying his $4,000 a month pension. we're keeping him honest.
8:38 pm
the other office devices? they don't get me. they're all like, "hey, brother, doesn't it bother you that no one notices you?" and i'm like, "doesn't it bother you you're not reliable?" and they say, "shut up!" and i'm like, "you shut up." in business, it's all about reliability. 'cause these guys aren't just hitting "print." they're hitting "dream." so that's what i do. i print dreams, baby. [whispering] big dreams. [ male announcer ] a simple gesture can spark romance anytime. and when it does, men with erectile dysfunction can be more confident in their ability to be ready with cialis for daily use. cialis for daily use is a clinically proven low-dose tablet you take every day
8:39 pm
so you can be ready anytime the moment's right, even if it's not every day. [ man ] tell your doctor about all your medical conditions and medications and ask if your heart is healthy enough for sexual activity. don't take cialis if you take nitrates for chest pain, as this may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. [ man ] do not drink alcohol in excess with cialis. side effects may include headache, upset stomach, delayed backache or muscle ache. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than 4 hours. if you have any sudden decrease or loss in hearing or vision, stop taking cialis and call your doctor right away. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor if cialis for daily use is right for you. for a 30-tablet free trial offer, go to cialis.com.
8:40 pm
8:41 pm
a california elementary school. mark berndt, a 30-year teaching veteran is behind bars tonight in los angeles county accused of lewd acts on a child. not one but many he's accused of taking at least 400 bondage photographs of students in his 3rd grade classroom. at least 400 taken over a five-year period from 2005 to 2010. they show what some call in-class sex games. the images are so disturbing we certainly can't show them on television. we don't even want to go into details of what went on in the pictures. for 23 students between 7 and 10 have been identified. at least ten others they are trying to identify. this investigation began in october of 2010 when a photo technician at a cvs drugstore told police he found disturbing images of kids blindfolded. three months later in january of 2011 school authorities were
8:42 pm
contacted and removed him. then he tried to fight the firing and eventually just resigned from his teaching job at school so he could keep his pension. because he wasn't fired he was able to do that. he gets to keep his nearly $4,000 a month pension and health bcht benefits. the sheriff's department said allegations were made against him also nearly 20 years ago. prosecutors decided not to press charges because they determined there wasn't enough evidence to prove a crime had occurred. decades later there are charges, serious charges and investigators say he took advantage of the students. >> the children felt this was a game. they didn't realize they were being victimized. they thought they were being blindfolded and gagged as a game. >> it went beyond blindfolding and gags. tonight there is another troubling case at the same school. another teacher was arrested today at the same school.
8:43 pm
this man, 49-year-old morton springer. he's accused of fondling two 7-year-old girls in a classroom. the alleged attacks happened in the past three years, again, at the same school. joining me now is the superintendent of the los angeles unified school district. i guess the question on everybody's mind is how could this have happened on school premises in a classroom. >> that's why we are investigating it. that's why we are working with the police to try to understand that and how it could have happened over that period of time. >> if you viewed the charges against the teacher as grave enough to warrant being fired right away, should parents have been alerted what was going on at the school for more than a year. >> when the police tell you to act and do a certain thing, we follow that. the police were clear that we were not to be involved in the investigation. we followed everything to the letter of the law they directed
8:44 pm
us to do. >> what's amazing to me though is this guy still gets a pension. i mean, he gets lifetime health benefits, nearly $4,000 a month as part of the pension. that's a pension california taxpayers, even the alleged victims' families are paying for. >> it's o ee's outrageous. the law should be changed. in california there are other cases that raise the question you raise. i happen to agree with you. >> even while the guy was fired he was able to challenge the firing and resign which allowed him to keep the pension. i have read studies about how hard it is in california to fire bad teachers, not just teachers who have doan committed a crime like this but terrible teachers out there. for you, do you want to see the change? is that one thing you would like to see change? >> absolutely. there are two other parts of the
8:45 pm
law which make no sense to me whatsoever. in a case like this where someone is clearly being investigated for either being involved in drugs and narcotics or being involved in any kind of criminal act involving a youth that investigation should take place when they are not being paid. the second part is that when a person in california, the superintendent and the board recommend the person be terminated they are not the last say in the process. there is a process involving an administrative law judge and a panel of three teachers who make the final decision. >> so other teachers are deciding and the administrative law judge, whether or not a fellow teacher gets fired. >> that's correct. >> i mean, obviously that's just a system that's not tenable. there have been so many cases. i remember reading about a california case of a teacher who told a kid who attempted suicide that you couldn't even do that
8:46 pm
right and making fun of him essentially. that guy kept his job. >> you know, we have thousands of phenomenal teachers, but in the cases like this, the law has to be changed. >> several of this person's former students reported him in the 1990s for inappropriate conduct in the classroom. one said he tried to grope her while two others said he appeared to be fondling himself during class. one was told by a counselor at the time that, quote, it's not very good to make stories up. she said it was our imagination. it was never talked about again. were those earlier allegations not taken seriously by your district? >> apparently so. i have not spoken to that person. clearly as only recently as a year in this job. we are looking into every administrator who ran the school over that period of time. everybody in charge of the school. everybody who gave advice to the
8:47 pm
school to try to understand exactly what could have happened. >> police have now just arrested another teacher in the same school as this teacher who was taking the photographs. >> that's correct. we were there this morning. the information came forward to us yesterday. we turned it over to the police. he was arrested today and i trust will be successfully prosecuted. >> i believe he's accused of attempting to molest two girls around 7 years old. is that connected to this other guy who was taking the pictures? >> it was a separate set of students and a separate type of incident. whether they are connected i don't know. >> how do you reassure parents that their kids are safe? >> by doing the very things we do. when this administration finds an individual who crosses the line, who break it is sacred trust of having a student in
8:48 pm
their care, we will remove and fire them. >> i appreciate you being on. we'll continue to follow this. thank you. >> thank you, sir. >> let's get a different perspective on this troubling case. children's advocate and disability rights attorney joins me from los angeles. does it sound like this 1994 allegation against the teacher were handled properly? >> not at all, anderson. i'm really concerned about the fact that the allegations made by the students earlier in the 1990-1991 school year were not apparently a part of the 1994 investigation. so you have students complaining about this teacher as early as 1990-91 saying he's fondling himself. he's involved in inappropriate activity before the students but no one takes them seriously and that's not a part as far as we know today of the investigation. >> the district attorney's office said there wasn't enough evidence back then to justify charges being brought and if you
8:49 pm
can't bring charges you can't fire the guy, can't get rid of him. >> i have a real problem with that, anderson. the school district is not held to a criminal standard. so the school district doesn't have to have criminal charges before it can say, you know, we have concerned about you being in the classroom. we don't think you're fit, that you're going to be appropriate. ultimately the school district has a responsibility to keep children safe. just hands down, unequivocally that's their responsibility. the system has failed these kids. >> isn't that one thing -- we just talked to the superintendent who said, i would like to fire teachers more easily, but it's not up to the superintendent. they have to go through the review panel of fellow teachers and the school districts spend money trying to get rid of a few bad teachers and often are unable to do that. >> there is something wrong with a system that says we can't do anything except warehouse teachers. we take them out of the
8:50 pm
classroom, put them in a district office and go through months of hearing and investigations. here are the kids, the most vulnerable people in society. parents entrust their kids to the school. professionals who are supposedly vetted and who are supposed to protect and teach. it's not acceptable to say, you know, my hands are tied. >> it's incredible to me that this teacher will continue to get his pension and the superintendent says his hands are tied. there is nothing he can do keeping him from cashing in. health benefits the rest of his life and pension. $4,000 a month. >> talk about creative lawyering. i would like to see a lawyer make the argument that this guy should not receive the benefits because he was being paid to teach. now we know he wasn't teaching. he was doing everything except. there is a provision that says
8:51 pm
you gained the benefits fraudulently, you are not entitled to them. we should keep an eye on this. there may be creative lawyering that makes it possible for him not to receive the benefits. >> could the school district be liable from the parents of some of the kids that this teacher was able to stay in the classroom and abuse kids for years? >> absolutely, anderson. we are going to see lawsuits. we'll see parents filing lawsuits saying there was negligent supervision. there wasn't proper investigation of complaints made by students in the 1990-91 school year and they were put on notice that his conduct was reprehensible and he was a danger to kids. we'll see lots of civil lawsuits filed. >> it's an unthinkable case. but the fact they have now arrested a second person in the same school, whether or not it's directly related is stunning.
8:52 pm
>> wake-up call, anderson, for school districts all over the country to take note of this. these kids need the adults. they need protection. we have to do better. >> areva martin, i appreciate you being on. >> thank you. my pleasure, anderson. >> let's get some of the other stories we are following. susan hendricks is back. >> we start in egypt. the health ministry said two people were killed and more than 1 4r 1,400 injured in clashes. reports of lax security at the deadly soccer game riot led to new protests. the united nations has declared an end to famine conditions in somalia citing rain and humanitarian efforts. still people need assistance. in colorado, blizzard conditions shut down miles of interstate and cancelled hundreds of flights.
8:53 pm
parts of the area could get up to two feet of snow before it starts tapering off tomorrow morning. dare devils soared over a circus tent in sarasota performing on a trapeze on a helicopter. why not? the circus said the only thing holding him up is his own strength and maybe his hair. anderson? >> have a good weekend. coming up, not familiar with one little piece of baseball jargon and all hell breaks loose here. the ridiculist is next. ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance.
8:54 pm
have 46 grams of whole grains... mmmm. ...and a touch of sweetness. you'll be delighted to discover how good they taste. get your free sample of quaker oatmeal squares on facebook. and here's what we did today: supported nearly 3 million steady jobs across our country... ... scientists, technicians, engineers, machinists... ... adding nearly 400 billion dollars to our economy... we're at work providing power to almost a quarter of our homes and businesses... ... and giving us cleaner rides to work and school... and tomorrow, we could do even more. cleaner, domestic, abundant and creating jobs now. we're america's natural gas. the smarter power, today. learn more at anga.us.
8:55 pm
8:57 pm
time for the ridiculist. tonight we are adding my knowledge of sports or lack thereof. took heat from our executive producer. on last night's show i had a conversation with fran townssend. she used a baseball analogy and i got lost. >> the answer may be it's a brushback pitch, a signal to the israelis about how strongly we don't want them to do this and pull us in. >> a brushback pitch? >> yes. >> that's leaking something -- >> it's not leaking something. >> we are committing this publically and making it more difficult for them to -- >> how have i never heard that phrase before? i like it. >> big deal. i didn't know what a brushback pitch was. i was a political science major. i thought it was a political insider term. how do i know fran is getting all sporty on me. i'm not the star pitcher on the cnn baseball team. i can't be the only person in
8:58 pm
america who's never heard of a brushback pitch. i'm still not clear on it. it's not like we'll send our best producers out to demonstrate or something. oh, we did? >> the brushback pitch. the idea is to throw toward the batter's head without hitting the batter's head. the purpose? intimidation. ♪ >> to be honest i wasn't paying attention until they played the music. that's the only thing that got me interested. i have been informed the brushback pitch is called chin music which is weird. now i know what it is and i will never make the mistake again. in my defense it was a baseball analogy. clearly basketball is my area of expertise. >> honestly, i know nothing about basketball. all i know about is politics.
8:59 pm
>> okay. that was pathetic. that's not even close. >> 5 million dollars for a bracket from the first ncaa tournament? is that a lot? i don't know what that is. >> i don't know who the hoop is or the ball. i'm confused by the analogy. i'll let it go. i don't know anything about sports. >> that was one of my favorite interviews. i was talking to sarah palin's spokesman at the time. i have learned a few things about sports since the last clip. by that i mean i have watched "hard knocks" on hbo and i saw "moneyball" which was also good. i'm getting tired of being made fun of so i'm committing myself to educating myself. as a matter of fact, why wait? i'll do it this sunday. 6:30 or 7:00 in the evening on sunday, i'm going to park myself at the new york public library for four hours to
327 Views
IN COLLECTIONS
CNN Television Archive Television Archive News Search Service The Chin Grimes TV News ArchiveUploaded by TV Archive on