tv U.S. House of Representatives CSPAN October 1, 2009 5:00pm-8:00pm EDT
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i'm anderson cooper, every hour we reveal one of our top ten cnn heroes from 2009. from boone, north carolina meet doc henley from his wine to water program he provides clean sustainable water to thousands worldwide. i'll be back in an hour with our next top ten cnn hero. at 11:00 p.m. start voting for the cnn hero of the year who will win $100,000. and we have our own true heroes on "prime news" gripping stories of people stepping in, risking their lives to save complete strangers.
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two off-duty police officers rescue a girl from a man now accused of molesting her in a public bathroom. and amazing video, a boy trapped in a burning building and a man hears desperate screams for help, breaks windows and pulls the little guy to safety. a jaw-dropping report claims a police squad car was on the scene as a wild mob beat a teen to death, vicious attack. kids swinging 2 by 4s but did officers do nothing to stop them? this hour, the chicago police department launches an internal investigation. you're part of the show, always love hearing from you, call in, the number 1-877-tell-hln or shoot us an e-mail or text us at hln tv. start your message with the word "prime." it's your chance to be heard. >> controversy, opinion, your point of view. this is "prime news." welcome once again this is "prime news" i'm mike galanos. major developments in the haleigh cummings case. the last person to see the
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5-year-old is avoiding police now talking about misty, even skipped town. misty croslin cummings back in florida after what we believe was a nasty blow-out with her new husband, ron, hey leigh's dad. cops want answers, we all do. why won't hey leigh's step soedz mom come clean? always seems to be the question. joining us to talk about it: t.j., get us up to speed here, misty back. give us the low down. where was she? >> she was in orlando with her friend a day or between and went to the universal theme park and spent a few days in and around that area and then i spoke with misty just last night and, also, with her mother-in-law, teresa nieves and said the two got together for the weekend, ronald and misty, let junior get away
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from the hubbub which goes on with people snooping for stories in the area. one came back a day early and she came back a day later. since then the police have held open an open invitation for her and extended that once again, anytime she wants to, she's welcome to come in and get that time line straightened out. >> okay. was there a nasty fight her and ron and that's why she hightailed it to orlando or was this a planned sflip help us out with that, t.j. >> well, my sources tell me it was a planned trip, but there are other conflicting stories out there that say, yeah, a fight did take place. i will tell you that during this period of time, a pond was being drained and tensions were high. no one knew if a child was in the pond being drained near polatka. a lot of people were calling the home, stopping by, a lot of raw nerves and other friction going on, too. remember, her brother, tommy croslin, was serving -- in jail on $50,000 bond for theft of a
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gun and he had just made mention that he didn't believe she was home the night the baby disappeared. that factored into a lot of the hubbub that was around that household at that time, too. >> okay. let's -- heyley's grandmother was on nancy grace show last night and called the family dysfunctional. let's listen to some of that. >> to me, it's a very dysfunctional family and that's the best way i can describe that. one minute, they -- you know, they say one thing and then the next minute, they call and say, well, i was sorry. you know, i didn't mean to say that and we'll do better next time so. i just don't know what to think of the whole thing. >> again, that's ron's mom. stacey kai zer, i think she nailed it dysfunction is putting it mildly isn't it? >> i think it is. what it sounds to me is a family that doesn't take good responsibility for their actions and make change when they're supposed to. >> let's get a call in, guys,
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jennifer is with us from florida. your thoughts here. >> caller: hi, mike, i love your show, thank you. >> thanks, jennifer. okay. >> caller: okay my theory is there on haleigh cummings, i do believe misty took haleigh and junior to the party, okay. this is very parallel to the casey anthony case. >> you are thinking the partying was a part of that with little caylee and casey, as well, huh? >> caller: yes, sir. >> okay. >> caller: this is where the young mothers, it's a growing trend. they're children so they can party. >> you're not the only one that believes that theory, jennifer. thanks again for the call. t.j., let's backtrack a bit and clarify for us but backtracks but get the viewers up to speed. >> let's do. >> the theory there was a party misty took the kids to or at least haleigh.
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what do we know? >> this comes from a letter our radio station received through a private investigator -- from -- now in that, she makes reference to a signed statement by a guy named joe and it's all about this statement that she alludes to in all of her letters that state that there was supposedly a party where haleigh was taken, along with junior and misty was with nene and a few other people at a guy named chad's house. the baby allegedly ate oxycontin, died, allegedly put into a black bag and was dumped in a pond. well, a pond was drained, of course, but whether or not that has any relevance to the letter or not, but that is the story that's been going on. please, folks, they haven't found a dead child, they are still looking for a live one. >> exactly that. we'll continue after the break and take more of your calls, comments, questions, theories on this, the number 1-877-tell-hln.
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i got up because i had to use the bathroom but i didn't make it to the bath room. i seen the kitchen light on and i walked in the kitchen and the back door's wide open. i didn't know about haleigh then, until i seen the back door open and then i go in the room and she's gone. and that's all i know. is when i woke up, when i went to sleep, she was there and then when i woke up, she was gone. >> all right. there's misty croslin cummings, again right after little haleigh went missing, it's hard to believe she's again gone almost eight months now. we have our experts and are taking your phone calls. amanda from south carolina, go ahead.
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>> caller: hi, mike. i love your show. >> thanks, amanda. >> caller: first, i'd just like to say i don't understand how the police have cleared ron cummings of any wrongdoing. if you look at his actions since haleigh's been missing, they just seem very strange to me like first crystal said he was violent and she had to leave her relationship. then, he married misty and he seems to support her story even though there's obvious inconsistencies. >> right. t.j. back in on this, amanda thanks for the call. he was at work, right, when little hague leigh went missing he was at work. does that pretty much end it for him or still suspicious around him. >> -- as far as actually clearing, that was a little premature. right now, he's just at the bottom of the list. from what law enforcement has told us and we've been able to find with independent investigations, he was at work and actually had to stay until 3:00 and work overtime at the
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pdm plant where they build girders for bridges. >> right. let's brick stacey kaiser back in our psychotherapist. police say they have talked to misty at least 30 hours, still no consistent time line. that was right after little haleigh went missing. still inconsistent stories. how will she finally come clean and tell what she knows? do you see her cracking? she's 17. i mean, how do you finally make her come clean here? >> well, it's definitely an issue that she's 17 years old because she doesn't have those adult thinking skills a lot of us have even though she is leading a very adult life. part of what i think is going to happen is they are going to have to come up with enough evidence or she's going to have to get an overwhelming amount of fear or pressure from it her family to come clean. otherwise, she's just going to hide and run like she's doing right now. >> t.j., what are investigators doing to try and put the pressure on misty? >> so far, her brother's been in jail on a high bond for theft of
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a gun. he earned his way into jail but with that high bond certainly kept him there and able to have some, let's say discussions with law enforcement agencies and, of course, that turned over his jailhouse statement that he didn't believe she was at home that night because he went down to check on the trailer. now, mom is in jail on a forgery charge, in tennessee waiting extradition to satsuma. and that's $100,000 bond. it will be reduced in court. a bail bondman can't come get her. when she comes to florida she'll be welcome to speak about the disappearance to the police, as well. so pressure all over the place. >> you're right. stacey, t.j., we appreciate it. coming up an honor student we continue to follow this, viciously killed south side of chicago, a good kid, he had a promising future. he just got caught up in the middle of a wild street fight. >> this was vicious, you know, i mean how do you just come out and decide that you're going to attack somebody with a 2 by 4,
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where are they so angry and full of venom you would consider doing something like that to another human being? >> that's his great aunt so grief has just gripped this family obviously. police are investigating fellow cops. a squad car was spotted near the scene. could there have been an officer right there who did nothing?
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. welcome back to "prime news." a family in turmoil mourning the loss of a 16-year-old honor student ruthlessly beaten to death in chicago. could police have prevented you? first, the video we are about to show is very disturbing. a week al, he walks into an all-out riot ashsts me lay. you will see one of these young men in red grab a 2 by 4 and dare yon gets blindsided and gets punched after that. you're going to see that here
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and beaten mercilessly after that. hours later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. fourteens arrested and cops looking for three more suspects now chicago police launch an internal investigation trying to find out whether a squad car was near the scene. did any officers witness the fight and do nothing to stop it? we also want to bring it back to the core of this, why we do the story. a 16-year-old with a promising future is dead. he and his family lived a simple yet happy life, they tried hard, a mom, his mom single parent lived four hours away but kept him in school in chicago because of an honors program to it have a better education. the family saved two years to have a computer, so he could have a computer. he loved it. he was on his way to having a bright future panning now no longer with us still trying to make sense of this one. call in with your thoughts 1-877-tell-hln. joining us to talk about it the reverend jesse jackson who spent time with the family monday and also tia hardemen.
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fighting that fight to stop stories like this. we always hope this is the last like this. reverend jackson starting with you, how is the family holding up? mourning the death of a child yet the focus of a community and a nation is is on them, how are they holding up? >> well, lots of pain. they're holding up well because they are basically a religious family and when these crises come your way you tend to become more insol lated than isolated but this is a advantagery, of course is an awful thing. my concern what has made it a big deal, it's on tv. were it not he would be just another statistic. last year the feature story of this drama, a lot of them what blair hope, an innocent young man killed on the bus. and so, we must go more systematic itly and guarantee our children safe passage. in 1957 in little rock, president eisenhower guaranteed safe passage.
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and so, -- this year we're on the road to out-distance those numbers. this is a state of emergency. while we are fighting for the olympics, which is a big deal for all of us here in chicago, we are going to guarantee our gues guests olympic security which must apply to the host as well as the guests. >> i want to show folks numbers to put this in perspective what reverend jackson is talking about, talking about a real war zone here, he mentioned. 37 teens killed in the school year last year. 17 illinois soldiers killed in iraq and afghanistan in those wars from 2001 to 2009. so, you can almost make the parallel there that a soldier is safer in iraq and afghanistan than a teenager in chicago. talking about soldiers fighting from illinois. those numbers are heart breaking, when a child, a young man like this can't walk home from school safely. >> those numbers are vm heart
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breaking. i got a chance today to it look at another video on the beating and there was another blow he took while he was laying down. i think that was the blow that really took his life and it was just so tough to it take a look at that particular footage and it's rough out here but the numbers like jesse jackson was talking about, there's a war zone here in america. for example, throughout america every year you have an average of 11,000 to 12,000 homicides by gunfire somebody killed by gang violence throughout the nation and when you compare america to other countries like new zealand, they only had like 60 homicides for the whole year. >> yeah. these numbers -- >> okay. >> tio, let me ask you, let's talk about whether or not there was the presence of a police squad car there? what do we know about that? we know it's investigated internally by chicago plils. what do you know on that front. >> i know this much there was a lot of talk about a police car being present by jodi weiss will take care of it as relates to the police department, concerned
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about finding out what happened. if it there was a police car present the police officers should have got out the car and put or sirens or something maybe tried to disrupt the crowd in kind of way to get the young people to disperse. >> get some help and get things going. that's a big question when we talk about the numbers from last year, will a stronger police presence help? i want -- let's listen, cnn's gary tuckman had a chance to talk with a city alderman who represents people in darrion's people where 13 of the 37 teens were killed from her district last year talking about can you get more cops out there? let's listen. >> have you stood up on the city council and said, we need more police? >> oh, yes, we do that every year. >> and what happens. >> every your in our council. we are all about getting more police officers but we are losing police officers to atrugs and have addressed this -- >> why don't you say we need "x" number more. >> that's what i'm saying.
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>> why doesn't it happen, that's what i'm getting at. >> that would need to be addressed to my superintendent. >> tough one to answer. reverend jackson, is that the answer, more police in these areas, stronger presence? >> not necessarily. for example, you have -- you know, a community where children walk past a state-of-the-art school called a military academy that's about one-fifth full. if those kids went to school where they live at carver high as opposed to coming by bus that would radically reduce the attention between the two communities, for example. secondly, we must revive the ban on assault weapons. most kids are killed by this rapid gunfire. as was suggested. >> reverend. >> we lost about 5,000 soldiers in iraq -- >> reverend, we've got to take just a quick break. we'll continue this conversation on the other side. stay with us.
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news" on hln, jon goslin telling the now "kate plus eight" film crew stay out you are not wanted anymore saying the show is not good for the kids. that's a new one. i agree the show should be off the air but what about his motives? come on, they cut him out of the show so it's like, hey, like a little kid taking the ball and going home, you're not playing at my house anymore. we'll tell you the latest in just a bit. but now this, i love the heroic stories, we deal with the bad and want to call out and celebrate the good on this show, as well. we have dramatic video for you, a young boy pulled from a burning apartment in the bronx
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by a neighbor, 33-year-old horia cretan, he heard a man screaming and his grandson was inside. he didn't think twice. sprang into action scale ad fireescape and pulled the 4-year-old boy from the flames. >> i can't imagine how strong the kid is. no, he couldn't breathe. i just held his head up and put my hand underneath his break so he could breathe better. i felt him, he was faint but all right and i protected him with the curtain because they were throwing glass from on top of the stairs but he's fine. >> thighs job. thankfully the little guy is expected to recover and cretan took a different leap of faith during an appearance on "good morning america" strike while the iron is hot. he proposed his girlfriend, promising his girlfriend there will never be a dull moment. you have to agree on that front. we applaud him. another story for you, incredible when we hear people stepping up to do the right thing. another example in georgia, two
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off-duty police officers came to a teen girl's rescue at a state park. they confronted this man, he's charged with aggravated child molestation. and accused of cornering a 13-year-old girl in a woman's restroom. it could have been much worse if it weren't for the two women you're about to it meet. joining me to talk about this the two ladies that jumped into action sarah thomas also with us ruth stringer, lieutenant with the de kalb county sheriff's office. ladies, first off, great job. and sayer remarks let me start with you, you go there for a hike, by chance and you notice this guy, right? what made you suspicious about him. >> that's exactly rye. we actually noticed him after coming down the mountain and there was something about him that just seemed off. with the training we get, you learn to trust your instincts and the moment we saw him, something definitely seemed off. he was watching females as they passed by and just paying a little bit too much attention.
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>> did you think to yourself, all right, i've got to keep an eye on this guy? >> absolutely. >> okay. how long did you watch him? you did lose sight of him at some point. >> i actually stayed and watched him for about 20 minutes after we passed by him. there's a parking lot right next to the bathrooms, we stood out there about 20 minutes. >> when did he go into the women's bathroom, do you know? is that when you lost him. >> he actually walked up the hill a little bit and that's when i lost him. >> ruth, you had to confront this guy. what happened? tell your side of the story. >> well, i went up to the mountain to run that day. it was a rainy day. i'm not exactly sure what made me go out to the mountain. i entered the women's restroom and, again, i don't know why because i did not have to use the rest room. when i entered the restroom, i noticed a male's lower legs and feet sticking outside the first stall. i also heard the muffeled i'll say distress sounds of a child. at first, i didn't know it was a
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child. when i realized it was a child, i thought maybe it was a father helping a little girl. >> right. right. >> but as i licensed, i realized the child was in distress so, again, instringt takes over, the training is good. i began to yell for him to come out. i yelled. that's all i had was my voice so i used the most commanding voice i had. i yelled and told him to come out and i said that maybe three or four times before he finally let the little girl out. when she came out, she was disshelved and she was crying. she said to me, there's a man there. and i said to her, do you know him? she said, no. so, at that point, again, i had to change to a different mode. i made sure she was safe. she exited the restroom. he went to the door, held the door open. and cupped my mouth and began to yell call 911, call 911. at that point, i thought i'd better back away from the door because i didn't know exactly what was going to come out of that stall. >> right.
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>> and i never identified myself as a police officer because that would just escalate things. you know, they come at you hard when you do that. again, call 9116789 he exited the restroom. >> and you commanded him to come out without a gun, right, you were unarmed? >> i did. i had to maintain the scene because the father of the young girl was there and he was upset. he tried to enter at one point, i had to stop him because that would have a whole other situation. so, he finally came out of the restroom. he looked at me and i yelled at him to stop. you know, as commanding as i can -- could, i told him to stop. he -- he sat on the bench. there's a bench right outside where the bikers sit and did he have a bike with him. he sat on the bench. at some point he got up and attempted to leave and both the father and i yelled at him. father told him, you can't leave and i yelled at him to stop. he looked at me as if, you know, okay, you have one more time and
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at that point, i believe that's when god sent sarah and she walked up with two other people and identified herself as a law enforcement officer and, from that point, you know, she did what she did, as far as watching mr. leithead. >> sarah, so, you heard the cries then, what, did you go back and get your gun and sprung into action on your end, right. >> yes, that's exactly right. i was actually in very close proximity to it my car so as soon as i heard the distress calls, call 911, the police, i was able to grab my gun and badge and run up there. >> ladies, hang tight. we want to get some calls n. call in if you have encouraging words because we need more of this. two ladies off duty, one going for a hike, one going for a run, but of in off duty. when someone is in help, none of us should be off duty. they are an inspiration to us all. call in, 1-877-tell-hln.
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welcome back to "prime news" on hln. i have the on nor of talking to two heroic ladies, off-duty police officers who sprung into action and because of them, they were able to help out a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly being molested by patrick leithead. he's facing aggravated child molestation charges. that is a felony. all right. joining us sarah thomas, ruth stringer. ladies we pick it up, sarah, you had gottenure gun and come back
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to hold this guy down and, again, as you soak in what you guys have done, sarah, i'll start with you, you go there just for some exercise and you end up helping save a 13-year-old girl. how have you processed that. >> looking back on it, it was truly fate that both ruth and i were there. i actually had no intention on going to snow mountain. i got behind traffic on one of the major highways, all lanes blocked about two it miles away from stowe mountain and figured, why not a hike. >> wow. >> we went over there but looking back over on it it is truly miraculous and i am so glad we both were there. >> ruth, how about you? >> i agree it was fate and miraculous. i had attended church that morning, eaten dinner, laid down, i did my long run the day before so i had no intention of going to stone mountain that day. i usually go out there at least four times a week that was my day to recuperate but as i laid
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down something kept you gotta run, you gotta run, you gotta run and when you get that feeling, i usually go run. >> nice job. >> when i went to the park, again, i did not have to use the restroom and as a matter of fact i did not use the restroom until after i went home that evening and i arrived home at about 10:00, so i don't even know what made me go into the restroom. >> we have a caller who would like to join the conversation. john's with us in illinois government ahead. >> caller: hi. i'm calling from western illinois, law enforcement and justice administration major, i just wanted to thank you two ladies and say there needs to be more citizens like you. just stepping in and take action. i mean, when we saw on the news an honor student got murdered in the streets of chicago, on the video you saw people standing around. i mean, people just to take action, there could be so much more justice done in this world. >> jon, well put. >> caller: i mean, just thank you. >> yes. we echo that. again, ladies our thanks to you. let's talk about that, sarah
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i'll start you with on this one. what in your heart -- were you going to it act. was there ever a part of you because some people kind of see something suspicious and like, ah, this is nothing and they walk off. what made you stay in there and made sure things would be okay? >> a lot of that had to do with the extensive training that we get with gbi is and any law enforcement agency. and just that overall wanting to help. that's why most of us get into it. but, no, there wasn't a moment where i wanted to back off or run in there. instinct kicks in and you're running in there before you know what you're doing. >> thank god for that. ruth, as well. ruth, are you ever off duty. >> no, we're never off duty. it's 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anything that comes your way, you try to help because i'll echo sarah, you want to help. and most law enforcement officers, there's something in us inherently that makes us want to help. >> ladies, thanks again, an honor to it talk to you and have you on the program and tell your story, an inspiration to us all sarah thomas, ruth stringer,
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thanks again, we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> coming up, we'll shake things up in the blink of an eye. now, jon is refusing to let the camera crew in the house. sour grapes? maybe? call in, 1-877-tell-hln. we an exciting addition to our lineuppity joy behar show premiered this week airing every night on hln at 9:00 eastern. a quick taste of what you're going to get. it's her "not for nothin'" commentary. >> you know, "not for nothin'" but my show has been on the air for what, like two minutes and already i've been called every name in the book i've been called stupid, pushy, dumb, a loud mouth and a marxist, i take exception, i am not. i own property. okay, it's in foreclosure but still. this name calling doesn't bother me. think it bothers me? i'm used it to, bill o'reilly
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once called me a pin head, yeah, he's mature. and a christian columnist named eric rush actually called me a fatty-boon-blatty, which version of the bible does he ring the king james or dr. seuss. let me saying some to these nationaltering in negative naey-bobs i'm a mature woman capable of intel jents discourse and love cogent debate and to partake in well-informed conversation, okay. i relish the thought of sitting down with all of my adversaries, so glenn, rush, bill, i invite all of you to come on the show and discuss things like rational adults even if you are a big bunch of duty-heads. but, that's just me. >> you can catch joy behar right here on hln at 9:00 eastern after nancy grace.
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welcome back to "prime news" on hln. tlc shut down filming of the kids jon & kate plus eight soon to be just "kate plus eight" finally dad puts his foot down and sends a seize and desist order to the production crew to stay off his property. in one respect i'm glad. this show needs to be stopped. but his motive it is, com on, completely wrong, a power play for him. tlc basically cuts him for the show and now he's playing the role of the ninth child, taking the ball, you're not going to play at my house. at least that what i'm seeing here. we want to hear from you on this. regardless of his motive it is i think the show should be canceled, it helped cause the breakdown of the family. the kids have really turned into little performers and you're telling me they have had the chance to grieve the breaking up a family like normal kids would or should? i find this wrong on so many levels taking your calls again 1-877-tell-hln is the number. joining me to talk about it welcome back russell wettenson.
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we also welcome back lisa bloom, legal analyst for our sister network cnn and attorney, as well. lisa, starting with you, what are you seeing motive-wise from jon gosselin. >> there is a money dispute between it him and tlc. he is taking a bold stand. i agree with you the show should be off the air. i don't agree with reality shows that exploit children having cameras in their home 24/7. he's now issued a statement thinking it's damaging for the kids and taking that position. hey, welcome to our camp, jon. we've been wanting you on this side a long time. belatedly but at least on our side now. >> let's hit on that real quick before your take on his motives. isn't -- this is the first time we've heard this it and it just so happens to come on the day his name's lopped off the show, right? simplsts timing is everything, mike. >> yeah. >> this is definitely certainly suspect times because, right, they name the show "kate plus
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eight" but the real motivation here, i think, is not necessarily money. i think it's jon wants to do something else. there have been rumors he wanted to do a show with mica owen but tlc keeps insisting he's under an exclusive contract. so, a lot of what he is doing now is a way to get out of that contract. >> okay. i want to read here part of the letter from jon gosselin's attorney. effective immediately no production crews are to enter jon's family home for any anyone enters the marital property jon gosselin will notify the local authorities to effectuate any action against any trespassers. i hope i said that right. lisa, he does have any legal footing here to it keep the tlc crew out of there? >> i think he does, a home he owns or at least half of it in the process of divorce and probably feels this is the only thing he can do to take a strond stand in his negotiations with tlc. usually the network has all the power negotiating with the
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individual. he's doing something he's legally entitled to do. we may not like it. but, he's probably doing this to it try to get leverage negotiating with the network. >> dorothy is with us. your thoughts? >> caller: it's time jon stood up to become a man. kate treated him like a kid and a dog. i'm a big fan of the show. he was one of the kids. know he is a man looking out for his kids. >> do you really think he's looking out for the kids? >> caller: he's looking out for himself, but fair is fair. >> the kids may benefit if the show is cut. russ, what will tlc do? obviously, they've got a lot invested in this show. they can't let him put a stop to it. >> they suspended production to work this out. there are a few things to think about. a lot of people are raising issues about the health and safety of the kids, but this show allows kate and jon to provide food on the table and a
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home for these kids. lisa said before she is against shows being in the home of kids 24/7. by all accounts this show is only filming a couple of days a week and about two to three hours at a time. it's not like they are following them around day and night. >> you know as well as i do that to set all that up takes a lot of hours before and a lot of ours after. we are only seeing what's in front of the camera. we are not seeing all the crews and all the personnel and the lights and sound equipment and the cords. i do not think it's healthy. jon says in his statement that tlc has not been complying with the laws to protect children, laws that require money being segregated for them. if that's not happening, it needs to happen. it should have been happening all along. god forbid these kids grow up and there is not a dollar to their name because all the money of the show has been spent. >> more of your calls coming up. 8
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i'm anderson cooper. every hour today we reveal our top ten heroes of 2009. from the philippines meet efren. i'll be back in an hour with our next top ten cnn hero. at 11:00 p.m. start voting for the cnn hero of the year who will win $100,000. and we have our own true heroes on "prime news" gripping stories of people stepping in, risking their lives to save complete strangers. two off-duty police officers
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rescue a girl from a man now accused of molesting her in a public bathroom. and amazing video, a boy trapped in a burning building and a man hears desperate screams for help, breaks windows and pulls the little guy to safety. a jaw-dropping report claims a police squad car was on the scene as a wild mob beat a teen to death, vicious attack. kids swinging 2 by 4s but did officers do nothing to stop them? this hour, the chicago police department launches an internal investigation. you're part of the show, always love hearing from you, call in, 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail or text us at hln tv. start your message with the word "prime." it's your chance to be heard. >> controversy, opinion, your point of view. this is "prime news." welcome once again this is "prime news" i'm mike galanos. for the first time elizabeth
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smart is testifying about the nine months she lived hell. kidnapped from her bedroom in 2002. today she took the stand at a competency hearing in salt lake city for her alleged kidnapper brian david mitchell. how do you prepare for that if you are elizabeth smart? she says this monster raped her three, four times a day the state says he is incompetent for trial. now the case is in federal court. is he competent or not? we'll talk about that. also what elizabeth smart must have went through today. taking your calls 1-877-tell-hln. joining us stacey kaistner and robin sax, author of a book. elizabeth smart remains strong and composed. she is just 21. >> this is a girl ridiculously brave. all you have to do is read through the transcripts and know what she endured.
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i think there is more to it than that. when you have been traumatized repeatedly for that long, you build a defense mechanism that enables you to decatch from your emotions. i would hope she is utilizing that right now to get true this. >> let's stay on that topic. that is what she did? the details are horrific, not only the daily rapes, forced drug, alcohol use, she was forced to watch porn, tied to a tree. does part of you check out just to get through it? >> for most people your body-checks out on its own. you sort of get this observer point of view where you are not really there, you are watching it happen. if she is smart enough she worked towards trying to did he catch herself from it so she wouldn't have to hear the trauma as much. >> to ear hear the details is one thing. that she is strong and composed giving this testimony is something. just a strong young lady. let's bring in robin sax. from what you are hearing from
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elizabeth smart's testimony, is this guy competent or not? >> i believe as a prosecutor he is absolutely competent. one of the biggest defense ploy tricks is to feign incompetency. it's the oldest trick in the book. it's disgraceful it's worked this long. kudohs to the prosecutor for bringing elizabeth smart in. it's a tough call to make whether or not you want to bring the victim in and subject them to revictimization, however, as you can see here, maybe this testimony and confronting her accuser, even though albeit he was in closed doors, is a sense of empowerment. >> about that. is elizabeth smart's testimony the difference maker that's going to get this guy to face justice? >> it seems the judge has been confused over the conflicting reports and wanted to have context to understand some of mitchell's behavior. one of the things she talked about in her testimony was the fact he hummed hymns and had a
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religious way about him even though he was not religious and that was fake. that could put together some of his actions whether they are true or not. >> stacey, he's refused psychological testing. how do you figure, how do you assess whether or not he is competent enough to stand trial? >> i think there are two things. first of all, what elizabeth smart is saying is going to say a lot about his behavior. the best way to predict how someone behaviors is the history. she's got the most accurate history. i think that's what they are going to need to lean on. >> something robin just mentioned, stacey. when you talk about religion, it's so whacked when elizabeth smart refuses his advances, he would say god commands you to do this. he was diagnosed with a delusional disorder. of course he is delusional, but is he evil smart, crazy smart, is the question? >> that's what i talk about that crazy smart thing. there is a fine line being
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mentally ill in a delusional way and just being a sociopath which is also mental illness. he could be very clever. a lot of sociopaths are manipulative. this religious thing could be part of his disguise to manipulate and get what he wants. >> that's what elizabeth smart testified today, robin. this guy's motive was sex. he was pretty clear thinking when you look at that giving her alcohol, making her watch porn, giving her drugs. he knew what he was doing. >> absolutely. you talk about crazy smart. that is exactly not what the test is in the courtroom. the courtroom test for competency is does he understand the nature of the charges? and two, can he assist in his defense? anybody who commits these crimes has to be crazy in some way or another. it's not what we think of as crazy but what the court standard is for crazy. >> well put. we'll take your calls and thoughts on this one. 1-877-tell-hln as we are marvelled by the strength of elizabeth smart.
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exciting week on hln, the debut of "the joy behar show." michael moore talks about his film "capitalism." we are continuing our conversation about the strength of elizabeth smart, kidnapped from her bedroom allegedly by brian david mitchell back in 2002. the guy still hasn't stood trial yet. has not faced justice. it's been that long. two state courts ruled him incompetent. federal court is trying to rule
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whether he is competent enough to stand trial. elizabeth smart divulging details. not only go through the hell of being raped by this guy three, four times a day, there were other things that might tell us this guy is fully competent to stand trial. we have with us robin sax, form other sex crimes prosecutor and stacey kaiser, our psychotherapist. we talked about him singing hymns. elizabeth smart says he does it to manipulate a situation. that tells me he knows how to pull strings to get people do what he wants. >> she also talks about how she manipulated people -- how he manipulated people to get him free meals. this guy has a strategy for going after what he wants. >> i'm going to pick up on that. part of elizabeth's testimony is he was zoning in on kidnapping another teenager, i believe in san diego. not by chance either. it was a targeted plan.
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just a male showed up thankfully and he wasn't able to pull it off. >> it goes to show exactly what you and stacey are saying. this is a man with a strategy and a man with a plan. his plans worked for seven years. he's gotten what he wants. justice delayed is the best path to a hung jury or acquittal. it's time to stop the madness and hold him accountable. >> as you look at this, is there anything you are seeing that says yeah, maybe he's not competent enough to stand trial? or are you seeing, hey, crazy smart. >> i'm looking at this guy as crazy smart. you have someone refusing psychological treatment. that sounds planned and a tactical decision. you have the hymn singing. his plan, his look. he is putting on this whole aura. i can't see anything else other than a feign incompetency.
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>> stacey, i have to ask you about this. his wife, wanda barzee. she helped perform the marriage ceremony, if you call it that between brian david mitchell and elizabeth smart. then she became so jealous because he was neglecting her. what could be going on with her in her mental state? >> i think there are only two options. one is she was victimized herself and feels like she is his servant. the other is she idolized him and does view him as this religious figure and someone she wants to please and feels jealous somebody else is getting his attention. >> we have to leave it there. we hope justice is served in this case and soon. robin sax and stacey kaiser, appreciate it, ladies. an honor student killed in a vicious beating on the south side of chicago, a good kid with a promising future.
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he gets caught up in a melee, a street fight and ends up dead. >> this was vicious. how do you come out and decide you are going to attack somebody with a 2 by 4? why are they so angry that you would consider doing something like that to another human being? >> that's derrion albert's great aunt. we are getting this. chicago police are investigating whether or not a squad car was near the scene. whether or not they did anything that could have helped stop this needless tragedy.
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albert walking home gets caught in the middle of this riot, as you see. there is a kid in red who grab as 2 by 4. derrion gets blind seeded and another kids cheap shots him. you're going to see that here and beaten mercilessly after that. hours later, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. four teens arrested and cops looking for three more suspects. now chicago police launch an internal investigation trying to find out whether a squad car was near the scene. did any officers witness the fight and do nothing to stop it? we also want to bring it back to the core of this, why we do the story. this guy here, a good kid, gone. a 16-year-old with a promising future is dead. he and his family lived a simple yet happy life, they tried hard, a mom, his mom single parent lived four hours away but kept him in school in chicago because of an honors program to it have a better education. the family saved two years to have a computer, so he could have a computer. he loved it.
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he had a bright future. he is no longer with us. call in with your thoughts 1-877-tell-hln. joining us to talk about it the mary mitchell, columnist for "chicago sun times." was there a squad car there? >> according to people that live near the community and students, there was a squad car near the scene. the question is why didn't the police officers get out of the car and try to do something, anything? according to the people i talked to, the police claimed they were waiting for backup. so now this means there is going to be an investigation to find out exactly what happened that day. >> right. let's face it. they would have their hands full with a couple of officers. you turned sirens on, shoot a gun in the air, call for backup, something. >> think about it. think about it. a young woman at the community
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center where this fight took place right outside, she was a student, a small sized woman dragged derrion into the building. she came out. she faced that mob. she pulled him away. why couldn't police officers do something? >> you make a great point there. as you covered and investigated this story, people are talking about it. i want you to listen to this. this is cnn's gary tuckman talking to city alderman kerry altman. 13 of 37 teens killed last year from that district. do we need a stronger police presence? can we get that? >> have you stood up at city council and say we need more police? >> we do that every year. >> what happens? >> we are about getting more police officers, but we are losing also police officers to attrition. we also addressed this -- >> why don't you say we need --
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>> we say that. more and more and more. >> why doesn't it happen? >> that would need to be addressed to my superintendent. >> again, mary, when we look at the numbers, 37 teens killed in chicago. bigger city like los angeles, only 23. something needs to be done. what about the fight to get more police officers, stronger police presence? will that happen? let's start there. >> first of all, i covered city council ten years ago and the same argument was being made then. we need more police officers. frankly, that's not going to happen. what has to happen they have to have better use of police officers. they have to make sure they are targeting the area, make sure police are out there when kids are getting to and fro. make sure there is a plan, a safety plan for these kids who are crossing gang lines. they knew that. they knew when they closed down schools. school officials knew these kids had to cross gang lines. we may not like that, the idea
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we have to make special arrangement for these kids, but it is a war zone over there. better use of the police resources. >> i want to bring in tio hardiman. having to make accommodations, is that where we are right now? >> not necessarily. you can employ a lot of police officers. they are not going to solve the problem by themselves. the community has to step up. people have to get involved. we need more people to get involved in cease fire and organizations out there. they stated police need help to help keep the violence down. we are in the process of working with the youth in that particular area. we are going to organize a lockdown with all the students and a lockdown with students over in the housing developments and begin the process on changing behaviors and changing the way these young brothers and sisters think every day. >> who is going to get involved? this is not for the faint of
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heart. >> you have to have the right people. credible messengers who understand these young men and women. i'm hoping some of the rappers who have stepped up like ludikris. the attorney general will be here next week and i hope to reach out to eric holder to have him participate with cease fire as we address the issue of violence here in that particular community. >> guys, let's take a quick break. we'll have more on the other side. we'll take your calls. 1-877-tell-hln. tio and mary close to the situation. stay with us.
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welcome back to "prime news" on hln. john gosselin telling the "kate plus eight" film crew, stay out. you are not wanted anymore. that's a new one. i agree the show should be off the air but what about his motives? come on, they cut him out of the show so it's like, hey, like a little kid taking the ball and going home, you're not playing at my house anymore. we'll tell you the latest in just a bit. but now this, i love the heroic stories, we deal with the bad and want to call out and celebrate the good on this show, as well. we have dramatic video for you, a young boy pulled from a burning apartment in the bronx
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by a neighbor, 33-year-old horia cretan, he heard a man screaming and his grandson was inside. he didn't think twice. sprang into action. scaled the fire escape and pulled a 4-year-old boy from the flames. >> i can't imagine how strong the kid is. no, he couldn't breathe. i just held his head up and put my hand underneath his neck so he could breathe better. i felt him, he was faint but all right and i protected him with the curtain because they were throwing glass from on top of the stairs but he's fine. >> nice job. thankfully the little guy is expected to recover and cretan took a different leap of faith during an appearance on "good morning america" strike while the iron is hot. he proposed his girlfriend, promising his girlfriend there will never be a dull moment. you have to agree on that front. we applaud him. another story for you, incredible when we hear people stepping up to do the right thing. another example in georgia, two off-duty police officers came to
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a teen girl's rescue at a state park they confronted this man, he's charged with aggravated child molestation. and accused of cornering a 13-year-old girl in a woman's restroom. it could have been much worse if it weren't for the two women you are about to meet. joining me to talk about this the two ladies that jumped into action sarah thomas also with us ruth stringer, lieutenant with the dekalb county sheriff's office. ladies, first off, great job. and sarah, let me start with you. you go there for a hike, by chance, and you notesed this guy, right? what made you suspicious about him. >> that's exactly right. we actually noticed him after coming down the mountain and there was something about him that just seemed off. with the training we get, you learn to trust your instincts and the moment we saw him, something definitely seemed off. he was watching females as they passed by and just paying a little bit too much attention. >> did you think to yourself,
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all right, i've got to keep an eye on this guy? >> absolutely. >> okay. how long did you watch him? you did lose sight of him at some point. >> i actually stayed and watched him for about 20 minutes after we passed by him. there's a parking lot right next to the bathrooms, we stood out there about 20 minutes. >> when did he go into the women's bathroom, do you know? is that when you lost him. >> he actually walked up the hill a little bit and that's when i lost him. >> ruth, you had to confront this guy. what happened? tell your side of the story. >> well, i went up to the mountain to run that day. it was a rainy day. i'm not exactly sure what made me go out to the mountain. i entered the women's restroom and, again, i don't know why because i did not have to use the rest room. when i entered the restroom, i noticed a male's lower legs and feet sticking outside the first stall. i also heard the muffled -- i'll say distress sounds of a child. at first, i didn't know it was a child. when i realized it was a child, i thought maybe it was a father
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helping a little girl. >> right. right. >> but as i listened, i realized that the child was in distress. so again, instinct takes over. the training is good. i began to yell for him to come out. i yelled. that's all i had was my voice so i used the most commanding voice i had. i yelled and told him to come out and i said that maybe three or four times before he finally let the little girl out. when she came out, she was disheveled and crying. she said to me, there's a man in there. and i said to her, do you know him? she said, no. so, at that point, again, i had to change to a different mode. i made sure she was safe. she exited the restroom. i went to the door, held the door open and cupped my mouth and began to yell, "call 911, call 911." at that point, i thought i'd better back away from the door because i didn't know exactly what was going to come out of that stall. >> right. >> and i never identified myself
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as a police officer because that would just escalate things. you know, they come at you hard when you do that. again, "call 911." he exited the rest room. >> and you commanded him to come out without a gun, right, you were unarmed? >> i did. i had to maintain the scene because the father of the young girl was there and he was upset. he tried to enter at one point, i had to stop him because that would have a whole other situation. so, he finally came out of the restroom. he looked at me and i yelled at him to stop. you know, as commanding as i can -- could, i told him to stop. he -- he sat on the bench. there's a bench right outside where the bikers sit and he did have a bike with him. he sat on the bench. at some point he got up and attempted to leave and both the father and i yelled at him. father told him, you can't leave and i yelled at him to stop. he looked at me as if, you know, okay, you have one more time and at that point, i believe that's
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when god sent sarah and she walked up with two other people and identified herself as a law enforcement officer and, from that point, you know, she did what she did, as far as watching mr. leithead. >> sarah, so, you heard the cries then, what, did you go back and get your gun and sprung into action on your end, right. >> yes, that's exactly right. i was actually in very close proximity to it my car so as soon as i heard the distress calls, call 911, the police, i was able to grab my badge and my gun and run up there. >> ladies, hang tight. we want to get some calls n. call in if you have encouraging words because we need more of this. two ladies off duty, one going for a hike, one going for a run, but never offduty. when someone is in help, none of us should be off duty. they are an inspiration to us all. call in, 1-877-tell-hln.
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welcome back to "prime news" on hln. i have the honor of talking to two heroic ladies, off-duty police officers who sprung into action and because of them, they were able to help out a 13-year-old girl who was allegedly being molested by patrick leithead. he's facing aggravated child molestation charges. that is a felony. all right. joining us sarah thomas, ruth stringer.
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ladies we pick it up, sarah, you had gotten your gun. you come back to hold this guy down. and again, as you soak in what you guys have done -- sarah, i'll start with you. you go there just for some exercise and you end up helping save a 13-year-old girl. how do you process that? >> looking back on it, it was truly fate that both ruth and i were there. i actually had no intention on going to stone mountain. i got behind traffic on one of the major highways, all lanes blocked about two it miles away from stowe mountain and figured, why not a hike. >> wow. >> we went over there but looking back over on it it is truly miraculous and i am so glad we both were there. >> ruth, how about you? >> i agree it was fate and miraculous. i had attended church that morning, eaten dinner, laid down, i did my long run the day before so i had no intention of going to stone mountain that day. i usually go out there at least four times a week that was my day to recuperate but as i laid
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down something kept you gotta run, you gotta run, you gotta run, and when i get that feeling, i usually go run. >> nice job. >> when i went to the park, again, i did not have to use the restroom and as a matter of fact i did not use the restroom until after i went home that evening and i arrived home at about 10:00, so i don't even know what made me go into the restroom. >> we have a caller who would like to join the conversation. john's with us in illinois government ahead. >> caller: hi. i'm calling from western illinois, law enforcement and justice administration major, i just wanted to thank you two ladies and say there needs to be more citizens like you. just stepping in and take action. i mean, when we saw on the news an honor student got murdered in the streets of chicago, on the video you saw people standing around. i mean, people just to take action, there could be so much more justice done in this world. >> jon, well put. >> caller: i mean, just thank you. >> yes. we echo that. again, ladies our thanks to you.
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let's talk about that, sarah i'll start you with on this one. what in your heart -- you were just going to act. was there ever a part of you because some people kind of see something suspicious and like, ah, this is nothing and they walk off. what made you stay in there and made sure things would be okay? >> a lot of that had to do with the extensive training that we get with gbi and any law enforcement agency. and just that overall wanting to help. that's why most of us get into it. but, no, there wasn't a moment where i wanted to back off or run in there. instinct kicks in and you're running in there before you know what you're doing. >> thank god for that. ruth, as well. ruth, are you ever off duty. >> no, we're never off duty. it's 24 hours a day, seven days a week, anything that comes your way, you try to help because i'll echo sarah, you want to help. and most law enforcement officers, there's something in us inherently that makes us want to help. >> ladies, thanks again, an
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honor to talk to you and have you on the program and tell your story. you're an inspiration to awful us. sarah thomas, ruth stringer. thanks again, we appreciate it. >> you're welcome. >> coming up, we'll shake things up in the blink of an eye. now, jon is refusing to let the camera crew in the house. sour grapes? maybe? call in, 1-877-tell-hln. we an exciting addition to our primetime lineup. "the joe behar show" premiered this week airing every night on hln at 9:00 eastern. a quick taste of what you're going to get. it's her "not for nothin'" commentary. >> you know, "not for nothin'" but my show has been on the air for what, like two minutes and already i've been called every name in the book. i've been called stupid, pushy, dumb, a loud mouth and a marxist. i take exception. i am not a marxist. i own property. okay, it's in foreclosure but
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still. this name calling doesn't bother me. think it bothers me? i'm used it to, bill o'reilly once called me a pin head, yeah, he's mature. and a christian columnist named eric rush actually called me a fatty-boon-blatty, which version of the bible does he read, the king james or dr. seuss. let me saying some to these natt nattering in negative nay-bobs. i'm a mature woman capable of intelligence discourse. and love cogent debate and to partake in well-informed conversation, okay. i relish the thought of sitting down with all of my adversaries, so glenn, rush, bill, i invite all of you to come on the show and discuss things like rational adults even if you are a big bunch of duty-heads. but, that's just me. >> you can catch joy behar right here on hln at 9:00 eastern after nancy grace.
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welcome back to "prime news" on hln. tlc shut down filming of the kids "jon and kate plus eight" soon to be just "kate plus eight." finally dad puts his foot down and sends a seize and desist order to the production crew to stay off his property. in one respect i'm glad. this show needs to be stopped. but his motives? come on. completely wrong. it's a power play from him. tlc basically cuts him for the show and now he's playing the role of the ninth child, taking the ball, you're not going to play at my house. at least that what i'm seeing here. we want to hear from you on this. regardless of his motives, i do think the show should be canceled. it helped cause the break d'oyen of this family. the kids have really turned into little performers and you're telling me they have had the chance to grieve the breaking up a family like normal kids would or should? i find this wrong on so many
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levels. taking your calls again, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. joining me to talk about it welcome back russell wetanson. we also welcome back lisa bloom, legal analyst for our sister network cnn and attorney, as well. lisa, starting with you, what are you seeing motive-wise from jon gosselin. >> there is a money dispute between him and tlc. tlc is not paying him the amount of money he thinks he is entitled to. he is taking a bold stand. i agree with you the show should be off the air. i don't agree with reality shows that exploit children having cameras in their home 24/7. he's now issued a statement thinking it's damaging for the kids and taking that position. hey, welcome to our camp, jon. we've been wanting you on this side a long time. belatedly but at least on our side now. >> let's hit on that real quick before we get your take on his motives. this is the first time we herred this and it just happens to come the day his name is lopped off
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the show, right? >> timing is everything, mike. >> yeah. >> this is definitely certainly suspect times because, right, they name the show "kate plus eight" but the real motivation here, i think, is not necessarily money. i think it's jon wants to do something else. there have been rumors he wanted to do a show with mica owen but tlc keeps insisting he's under an exclusive contract. so, a lot of what he is doing now is a way to get out of that contract. >> okay. i want to read here part of the letter from jon gosselin's attorney. effective immediately no production crews are to enter jon's family home for any reason. in the event in anyone enters the marital property jon gosselin will notify the local authorities to effectuate any action against any trespassers. i hope i said that right. lisa, does he have any legal footing here to keep the tlc crew out of there? >> i think he does, a home he owns or at least half of it in the process of divorce and probably feels this is the only thing he can do to take a strond stand in his negotiations with tlc. usually the network has all the power negotiating with the
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individual. he's doing something he's legally entitled to do. we may not like it. but, he's probably doing this to try let's get a call in. dorothy is with us. your thoughts? >> caller: it's about time jon stood up and become a man. kate treated him like a kid and a dog the whole -- i'm a big -- i was a big fan of the show. the whole time, he was one of the kids and she dogged him out. now he's being a man looking out for his kids. it's about time. >> you think he's really looking out for the kids? >> caller: even if he's looking out for himself, fair's fair. >> the kids may benefit if the show is cut. dorothy, thanks. russell, what will tlc do? obviously they got a lot invested in this show. they can't just let him put a stop to it. >> it's a good idea they're taking a break. they suspended production to work this out. there's a few things to think about to play devil's advocate. lot of people raising issues about the health and safety of the kids. but this show allows kate and
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jon to provide food on the table and a home for these kids, and you know, lisa said before that she's against shows being in the home of kids 24/7. by all accounts, this show is only filming a couple days a week and about two to three hours at a time. so it's not like they are following them around day and night and -- >> but you know as well as i do that to set all that up takes a lot of hours before and a lot of hours after. we're only seeing what's in front of the camera. we're not seeing all the crew and all the personnel and lights and sound equipment and cords. i do not think it's healthy. jon now says in his statement, by the way, that tlc has not been complying with the laws that are there to protect children, that money be segregated for them. this is something i have been complaining about for a long time. if that's not happening, it needs to happen. it should have been happening all along. god forbid these kids grow up and there's not a dollar to their name because all the money from the show has been spent. i don't think any of us would like that outcome. >> let's take a quick break. more calls coming up. 1-877-tell hln.
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i'm anderson cooper. every hour we're revealing one of our top ten cnn heroes for 2009. from new orleans, meet derek tabb. this drummer is saving young lives. his after school music program keeps kids off the city streets. i'll be back in an hour with our next top ten cnn hero and 11:00 p.m., go to cnn.com/heroes and start voting for hero of the year, who will win $100,000. tonight, seismic developments in the mystery in malibu. we now have exclusive footage from the crime scene, just hours before mitrice richardson vanished at an elegant oceanside
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restaurant. she was arrested and then released by cops in the dead of night with no car. never to be seen again. "issues" now has exclusive video from this malibu restaurant overlooking the pacific ocean. this is ground zero for the entire case. so what can we learn from the surveillance cameras? was this woman acting crazy? should cops have handled it differently? plus, blood-boiling new excuses in the nypd drunk driving case. a cop accused of killing an innocent woman while allegedly drunk driving behind the wheel. but his lawyer is describing him as a sober hero. he claims this off-duty cop wasn't drunk at all and tried desperately to save this woman's life. are you kidding me? why did this guy fight tooth and nail against a breathalyzer test and why did it take more than seven hours to finally take his blood? this cop's lawyer may call him a hero but i can tell you one thing. mayor bloomberg won't be giving him a key to the city any time soon. the mayor wants an investigation. "issues" starts now.
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tonight, breaking news. an uproar in malibu over the sheriff's department's handling of the case of a missing woman. more questions, more confusion over what exactly happened to this woman who simply vanished in malibu two weeks ago. mitrice richardson's family believes she is still alive and they claim police have completely, completely screwed up this case. here is mitrice's heartbroken mom speaking out late this afternoon at a news conference. >> this is my daughter, mitrice richardson. my daughter, a citizen, was failed by the authorities who are hired to protect and serve us. they are not simply here to enforce and arrest us, but they also have a duty to protect us, to protect us from harm, harm from ourselves and to others. and clearly, they knew that
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something was wrong with her. when i called the police department before she was even taken into the facility to be booked, i spoke with the deputy, i told him this is not my daughter, this is not characteristic of her. she does not drink, she's always the designated driver. something is wrong with her. she seems to be in some type of crisis. >> that mom was talking as part of a wide-ranging extremely volatile news conference. we're getting tape in from that news conference as we speak. we're cutting those sound bites as they call them, and we're going to play them for you tonight throughout the show. we've got the attorney making some really amazingly i would say intense charges against the los angeles county sheriffs department. you've got to hear it for yourself. we will play them as they come in. quite a news conference there. that and tonight's big issue.
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should police have known the 24-year-old was not in her right mind, and should not be released into the wild as it were, alone in the dead of night. no phone, no purse, no ride, no car. now let me welcome my fantastic panel. curtis sliwa, founder of the guardian aing lgs. jayne weintraub, criminal defense attorney. michael cardoza, noted criminal defense attorney as well. retired nypd officer, mike gaynor. terry lyles, crisis expert and joining me on the phone, the owner of geoffrey's restaurant where this all began. first, carla hall, reporter for the "los angeles times." this was a highly volatile, emotional news conference that went on and on. it was the family and their attorney, leo terrell. what are the headlines coming out of that news conference? >> i'm not sure i can say what the headlines are coming out of that news conference but i think this continues to be a really sad and mysterious story.
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the los angeles police department which is in charge of looking for her, has two detectives assigned to it. i talked to one of them a couple days ago. he didn't seem to have any leads. there is a man who was dining at a restaurant called the abby in west hollywood last week and he is convinced he saw a woman who seemed to be mitrice. the detectives are now looking for video footage from that restaurant that might give them a better sense of whether it was really her and if it was her, who she was with. >> well, i can tell you that i watched that news conference as it came in, and the thing that really struck me was leo terrell, the attorney for the family, essentially accusing the los angeles county sheriffs department of a coverup, saying they were finally given the police report and correct me if i'm wrong but i believe he said the original police report had no sign of a field sobriety
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test, then there was a supplemental report that did talk about a field sobriety test, and essentially saying that she passed it. this is important, because the whole point of the family is she was reportedly saying that she was from mars, that she was there to avenge michael jackson's death, she was talking gibberish and some kind of made-up language and their point is, given that she was not in her right mind, she should never have been released in the middle of the night, because she was a danger to chevrolet. and so it's very crucial this field sobriety test and the idea, curtis sliwa, that the family is claiming that there was a cover-up and to quote leo terrell, that this -- the original report was followed by a phony baloney cover-up field sobriety test report is pretty astounding. >> well, there's no question if in fact he's correct, although you know that leo, his whole method of operation has been to
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be a bomb thrower for years. he's not a healer. he's not a conciliator. i just think you have to go based on the facts that we already have. the restaurant could have ended all of this by just taking the credit card number of the grandmother, running it through and not waiting for a fax. that's ridiculous. nobody has faxes any longer. secondly, could have told the family we really think you should send someone here to pick her up because she just doesn't seem to be in control of her mental faculties. we do know, though, that the l.a. sheriffs department offered her to stay in a cell, offered her to stay in the lobby, and she -- >> this is a misdemeanor. >> that she be released. >> jayne? >> we are talking a misdemeanor here. this is something as michael and curtis will tell you, this is something that she could have been given a summons to appear. she didn't even have to be booked and arrested. it's a discretionary call by the police. that's number one. but number two, jane, what's really important to me in looking at the police conduct, would they let their sister or wife or mom walk out the door in that area at 1:30 in the
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morning, unescorted, knowing that they have no transportation, because the car was impounded? come on. >> i know jeff peterson's here, the owner of geoffrey's. he graciously agreed to appear again and tell his side of the story but let's listen to the claim and the charge made by the attorney for the family, leo terrell, just a little while ago. we just got this sound. >> in the original report that they conducted on the 16th and 17th of september, they do not mention one thing about a field sobriety test. that's quite significant. they did a supplemental report a day after our press conference, and guess what's in the supplemental report? they conducted a field sobriety test. yes. i spoke to two officers last night and something is seriously wrong in denmark. >> jeff peterson, you're the owner of geoffrey's.
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did you see law enforcement give a field sobriety test to this woman at geoffrey's? >> i was on the phone and i could ask one of my managers. i don't -- i can't get that for you today. if you want to talk to me tomorrow, i can tell you that. but i think something that's being missed here because everybody says i should let her pay and let her leave, i can't do that. it's wrong. but the family turned down the opportunity. we said we would stay here all night if they would come down and pick mitrice up. they refused to do that. and the mother said then she's been hanging out with the wrong people, she needs to go to jail. that's not being reported. and it's frustrating to me because throwing bombs now at everybody and not taking personal responsibility for their actions. >> okay. jeff, i just want to make sure i understand you correctly. you're saying that while the woman was still at the restaurant, you not only got in touch with her great-grandma, but you talked to her mother or she talked to her mother, somebody talked to her mother -- >> the manager talked to the mother. >> and the mother was aware she couldn't pay her tab and you
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said you would wait there or your staff said they would wait there for her to pick her up and the mother refused to pick her up? is that what you're saying? >> yes. and the mother said she's been hanging out with the wrong people and she needs to be arrested. this will be good for her. she's not saying that now and of course, i wouldn't say it now because her daughter's missing. we haven't talked about that because i don't want to be hurtful in this moment, but if they're going to throw bombs at the sheriff and going to throw bombs at us, the truth needs to be out there. they could have picked her up at geoffrey's. they could have gone and could have picked her up at the station. but they chose not to. >> can i ask jeff a question? >> yes. >> was her demeanor noted in your restaurant and of course, of no consequence or fault of yours, but if anybody noticed that she was not acting in her right mind or slurring speech, like sometimes -- >> she wasn't drunk. it wasn't slurred speech. it was more she was out there. >> yeah, but did anybody tell the cops that, because the cops are claiming they gave her a field sobriety test and she was fine.
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that's why they let her go. >> the cops -- the sheriffs were aware of some of the situations. i'm not sure of every story, if they heard every story, but they were aware that she was a little bit -- something was -- we didn't, drugs, alcohol, mental state, we didn't know what it was. >> did she drink any alcohol there? she didn't seem to be drunk, was she? >> she had one drink so i don't think she was drunk. >> if the cops were aware that she was talking in a gibberish language and saying she was from mars and wanted to avenge michael jackson's death, that should have been a factor in consideration when they decided to let her go or perhaps they should have kept her. but i wasn't there. we're trying to get to the bottom of this incredible mystery. we're going to have more on the mystery in malibu in just a moment. we are also taking your calls. 1-877-jvm says. 1-877-586-7297. plus, later on, a new york cop accused of pounding some beers, getting behind the wheel and killing an innocent civilian. his lawyer says we got it all wrong, he was a sober hero. others call that claim an
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she sat down with a table of six people whom she did not know. she began talking about being mother nature and being at one with the universe. she began talking about their astrological signs and giving predictions i guess of their astrological signs. she began talking about being from mars. she began speaking in a very incoherent language and the patrons at that restaurant were very, very concerned with her. and that information was provided to the officers involved in the case and they knew that information prior to taking her down to that jail. >> that was clinical psychologist rhonda hampton who says she's a mentor and friend of the missing woman, talking during this wide-ranging news
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conference late this afternoon. again, we're bringing the sound as we get it cut, and terry lyles, psychologist, the bottom line is if somebody's talking in gibberish language, clearly, they're a little crazy and shouldn't be released into the night, common sense. somehow, that happened. >> absolutely. i mean, as the story is developing as we're listening, it sounds like the family, there had to be some track record here. it doesn't sound like she just had an episode. there must be some past record of mental illness or something that's going on. i don't know that she just flipped out. so there's almost like a passing on of responsibility. the family passed, the restaurant tried to do the right thing it souned from what we just heard but when somebody goes into custody, that means to be cared for so the last of the custody was in the police force's hands and they released her in the middle of the night. as a woman, that's concerning and disconcerting all at the same time. >> if i can inject a thought here, jane. as a former police officer
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myself, i just have to be an apologist here for the police department who is getting all this horrible blame for doing their job. they responded to a larceny and what turned out to be drug possession. the woman was arrested, she was brought to the police station, as routinely done. when it was found that she was appropriately identified and that the crimes were going to be considered misdemeanors, she was released. she had an opportunity to make phone calls. she did make phone calls. >> all right, let me ask you about this. >> wait, there's something else. >> whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. i want to ask about this, because this is what struck me. leo terrell is claiming a cover-up. now, michael cardoza, do you remember the scandal in 2006 involving mel gibson where he had an anti-semetic rant that he later apologized for, tmz broke the story, charging the sheriffs department, and talking about the same one, the malibu lost hills station was involved in a cover-up of gibson's alleged antisemetic tirade, detailed in the deputy's first arrest report. quote, tmz has learned the los
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angeles county sheriff's department had the initial report doctored to keep the real story under wraps. interestingly enough, the same l.a. county sheriffs department spokesman who told us last night there was no cover-up, they're doing everything they can, is the exact same sheriff's department spokesperson who said the reports of the cover-up in the mel gibson case were absolutely not true. >> isn't it amazing what we learn about our police departments? believe me, i'm not usually defending police departments but jane, let's take a look at this case. we have a woman, college graduate from what i understand, she was a 4.0 straight a student. she goes to a restaurant, she gets arrested for not paying the bill, not paying the food bill. then she has some marijuana on her so they have a choice at that time. we can cite her out, give her a ticket, or arrest her. they choose to arrest her. i find it interesting what the restaurant owner said that well, we phoned mom and mom said look, she's hanging with the wrong people, night in jail might do her good. what's that tell all of you? the daughter has a drug problem.
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so mom says look, i'm going to try and cure her. that's probably what a lot of parents might do. give her a taste of what it's like being in jail. she goes to jail. if in fact she's talking gibberish and doing those type of things, and she had a psychotic break, absolutely the sheriffs are wrong. they should have kept her. but remember, they -- >> the sheriffs are not psychiatrists. how could they determine if the gibberish is a psychotic episode? there's a lot of gibberish out there. come on, be real. >> come on. >> back in a moment. meantime, we have an exciting addition to our prime-time lineup. "the joy behar show" premiered this week. it airs every night at 9:00 p.m. eastern right here on hln. here's a quick little taste of what you're going to get. it's her "not for nothing" commentary. >> you know, not for nothing, but my show has been on the air for what, like two minutes, and already, i've been called every name in the book. i've been called stupid, pushy,
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dumb, a loudmouth and a marxist. i take exception. i am not a marxist. i own property. okay, it's in foreclosure, but still. this name calling doesn't bother me. you think it bothers me? i'm used to it. bill o'reilly once called me a pinhead. yeah, he's mature. and a christian columnist named eric rush actually called me a fatty bumblattie. which version of the bible does he read, the king james or the dr. seuss? let me say nothing to these natterring negative nabobs. i am a mature woman capable of intelligent discourse. i love to engage in cogent debate and partake in well-informed conversation, okay? i relish the thought of sitting down with all of my adversaries. so glenn, rush, bill, i invite all of you to come on the show and discuss things like rational adults. even if you are a big bunch of doody-heads. but that's just me.
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i believe she is still alive. and i will not give up hope that she is alive until we have her safe in our arms. >> that was mitrice richardson's mom, understandably emotional at a very dramatic news conference just a short time ago. back with my expert panel. phone lines lighting up. sharon, florida, your question or thought, ma'am? >> caller: yes. is it possible that maybe someone slipped this young woman into a drink, or she maybe suffered a silent stroke because the way she's acting? >> wow. terry lyles, psychiatrist, what do you think? >> at this point, anything's possible. there could have been some
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illicit drugs, she could have an episode. there are a lot of things. if she's found healthy and alive and well, we'll be able to determine that. when something's wrong, you don't have to be a mental expert to say there's something wrong here, we got to do something. >> i got to say this. >> there you go. >> i'm trying to put the pieces together, michael cardoza a. there had been a published report earlier this week that quoted law enforcement sources as leaking the fact that this woman's family was allegedly upset about this young lady's sexual orientation. now, when i hear that she's supposedly spotted at the abby, i lived in l.a. for 18 years, that's a very prominent top gay hangout on robertson boulevard. so i'm trying to put the pieces together. is there a possibility, i have no idea what this woman's sexual orientation is, the prime thing is to find her, but is there a possibility that she could be hiding out because of a dispute with her family? is that something we have to consider? >> of course. i mean, look at the runaway bride. remember that one down in georgia?
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she takes off from a wedding, everybody thinks she's dead, we're blaming the groom and all of a sudden, she pops up. of course it's possible. but let's talk about the motive of the police. let's go back to her at the police station. the police tell her look, you can stay if you want, call whoever you need to. the police aren't babysitters. >> they never checked on that, michael. >> wait a minute. wait a minute. they let her go. they said if you want to go, go. if you want to stay, sit here until somebody comes and picks you up. what motive do they have if she's had a psychotic break not to just take her off 5150, which means -- >> laziness would be a motive. i'm not saying it's true. but what people are saying -- hold on. what people are saying, jayne weintraub, is sometimes cops don't want to go through the hassle of doing a 5150. you got to go to the hospital, i guess, and you got -- >> because they're lazy. let's be honest. it's 1:00 in the morning and the cops were being lazy. they sure weren't doing their job. they're still not doing their jobs. >> is that honest or are you
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just guessing? it's monday morning quarterbacking. >> the man with the red cap. the man with the red cap. i want to hear from the man with the red cap. >> i am the only one here who has been in lockup more times than probably you have represented clients. crazy people are in lockup, people who are drunk, people who are on drugs but if you're sober enough to insist to the lockup officer oh, no, i don't want to stay, i don't want to stay in a cell, i don't want to stay in the lobby and she made two phone calls, i would bet if the person at the restaurant is telling the truth, the manager, she might have called one of her relatives who then said to her you need to learn a lesson. >> wait a second. wait a second. jeff peterson, quick, if you could do it all again, would you do it exactly the same way? >> i would have to, because everything that we did was by the book and to take care of hr. on a side note, everybody, when we -- >> can you hang on, jeff? we'll go to a break but we'll stay on top of this dramatic story and we will bring you the
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there was a call to the station at 6:30 in the morning. it was by a resident. he said he saw a woman and she fit the description of the missing person. please go there and ask the sheriffs department when did you go to that home. we have witnesses who will testify that the sheriffs department did not go to that home until later that afternoon, hours later. >> all right. that was the attorney for mitrice richardson's family, alleging a cover-up by the police, but we spoke to an l.a.
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county sheriffs' spokesman last night on "issues" and asked him about that. he said they responded in about 20 minutes. so you've got these wild discrepancies, jayne weintraub. leo terrell, attorney for the family, saying it's hours, took them hours to respond. the sheriffs' department saying no, we responded in 20 minutes. >> number one, my money's on leo because i know him and number two, i can also tell you, jane, that what bothers me, the police confirmed today in an a.p. report they still had not followed up and checked out the two phone calls that mitrice made. wouldn't that be the very first thing you do here? isn't anybody worried about her well-being? does anybody else want to see anything happen to anybody out there? of course not. so the first thing you do as an investigator is you look for her. it doesn't seem to be to me that they're looking for her, which just adds on to their laziness. >> you know, jane. >> go ahead. >> you know what's going to be interesting as in most of these, the police may, underscore the word may, may have not done anything wrong.
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they may have made a bad decision, but heck, who doesn't. sometimes the police do. but the cover-up, if they did, is what's going to sink them. the cover-up is always worse, isn't it? >> absolutely worse than the crime. but i find that if in fact they have not checked the two phone calls that she made, because this is what leo terrell said, mike gaynor, in his news conference. he said they went there, the family went to the station and said she made two phone calls. did you find out who she talked to and did you get the information, what was exchanged on these phone calls, and leo is claiming that law enforcement said no, we haven't had time to go through that yet, and leo was also claiming that since they impounded her car, she had diaries in her car and they haven't had time to read them yet. i don't know if it's true but if it is true, i think that's incriminatin incriminating. >> leo said a lot of things. so far we're finding out that not everything he said turned out to be true. he may be guessing -- >> hold on a minute.
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jane, detective stephen igucci confirmed tuesday richardson's calls were not yet traced. that was an lapd person. that is somebody in the -- i mean, in the lapd. >> very good. i heard you. the calls haven't been confirmed yet. but do you think -- >> wait a second. mike gaynor, how do you explain that? how do you explain that they haven't checked the calls yet? >> it doesn't happen 15 seconds after you decide you're going to check a phone number. you have to get subpoenas, you have to go through the phone company. >> she's been missing two weeks. >> perhaps they have information they haven't disclosed yet as well. let me tell you something. this woman, you show me one lawyer in the country that would stand still, one defense attorney that would stand still for a client being held in custody for talking gibberish after drinking and smoking pot, and tell me one psychiatrist in the country that would sign a commitment letter for the same thing. i don't think you would find that. the woman was an adult, she was free to go. she was free to make those phone calls. it was probably dozens of phone calls -- >> let me say something. i've got to say that i really
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hope that this is all overblown. i pray, i pray to be called a fool, that she is found somewhere in west hollywood partying it up and decided she was going to, you know, teach her family a lesson. >> just think about what her mother said to the owner of the restaurant. >> jane, jane -- >> go ahead, michael. >> i have a real simple question. do they have video cameras in that police department, in the jail cells, and if so, why haven't somebody looked at those or have they, to see what her demeanor was like at the time? that would clear an awful lot up. >> do we have jeff peterson on the phone? you very graciously last night on the show, when the family was saying geoffrey's wouldn't give us the videotape, you said nobody asked us. i said hey, we would like to see the tape. we went over and picked up a bunch of tape, we went through hours of it, of the tape from your restaurant, we couldn't find mitrice on it. anywhere. at the bar or anywhere. how do you explain that? >> well, our tapes, our cameras are more set up for our own
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security on the back doors and into the office. we actually have a lot of celebrity clientele so we don't put them -- there's one sliver of the bar that you can catch. it's easy not to catch a patron because that's what we try not to do. they could be there -- >> where's the surveillance from the jail, jane? that's the issue. >> i think i read a report that said that the surveillance camera wasn't working outside the jail. >> what about in the jail? >> there you go. >> lost hills. lost hills. >> they've got them in the jail. they've got them in the jail. they put them in the jail to watch prisoners. they've got them. who's looked at that tape? >> something doesn't make sense here, curtis sliwa. if she was talking gibberish and making up languages and saying she was going to avenge michael jackson's death and that was like something around 8:30, 9:00 in the evening, and they release her at 1:30 in the morning, how come over all the hours that followed, and watching on surveillance and arresting her and putting her in jail, she didn't do something strange that made them think she's crazy?
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>> maybe she did but it doesn't sound like they would have done very much about it. >> i asked curtis. >> jane, oftentimes you're at a scene and the police arrive and then all of a sudden, you're at your worst. and then you calm down, you're in the squad car, they're talking to you, you are with the booking officer. they showed her a jail cell, they say would you like to spend the night. she insists no. now, this is a smart woman, a 4.0 grade average. so all of a sudden, she had a little recovery and she's insisting i know my rights, you can't hold me, you know, you issued me a desk appearance ticket, i'm free to go, right? yes, you are, but why don't you stay in the lobby. and she may well have called a parent or friend or family member. they apparently were in dispute with one another. why do we keep blaming the cops when the problem might be internally with the family? why is it the l.a. county sheriff is guilty when it may be a family problem? >> exactly. >> we're not blaming anybody. we're asking questions. i'll tell you one thing i blame. i blame society. given the escalating war on women that's a big theme right here on our show, "issues," we
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actually have to possibly start talking about special police guidelines for releasing females from custody, especially alone at night with no resources. it's sad but maybe it's come to that. as americans, we express outrage that there are women in other parts of the world who are forced to wear burqas yet given the level of violence against women in our country, aren't we american women in a sense forced to wear psychological burqas when walking out of a police station in the middle of the night is almost suicidal, when walking alone by yourself on a country road is the equivalent of risking your life, when a woman walking her dogs alone in the park is considered a crazy risk taker? isn't that a psychological burqa? american women live in constant fear of violence and i think instead of further restricting our movements, it is time for us women to take back the streets and the roads of america, and jayne weintraub, we need to stand together as a gender and say enough, stop restricting us because of the violence directed
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against us and let's start modifying the behavior of violent males. >> you are so right, jane, because i'm telling you what, i said at the beginning, none of these cops would have let their wife, their daughter or their mother or sister go out at 1:30 in the morning alone without a car. period, end of story. that shows how much respect and caring these cops have. >> i guess we got to hear from a guy. okay, curtis. >> a woman equal to men. if a man is released 1:30 in the morning he has a right to leave a police station. so does a woman. you cannot forcibly detain them if all the paperwork has been done. what are you going to hold them on? what charge you going to hold them? >> they shouldn't have booked her to begin with. >> michael cardoza. >> yes. it's just as dangerous for us guys out there. >> no, it's not. >> i understand what you're saying, jane. what do you mean, no it's not? of course it is. there are a lot of men -- >> are you going to be raped? let's say if you left that station in the middle of the night, would you be raped? no. >> no, but i could very well be kidnapped or killed. just as easily. >> you are stronger.
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you can fight. they're not going to attack you the same way they attack women. every night on this show, all we do is cover women being -- >> i'm not disagreeing with you but same thing can happen to men on a certain level. it's not all women. a guy walks out of there at 1:30, he can do the same thing. call a cab, call a friend, call the family. i'll bet you if that mother said -- >> when have you heard a case about a man being kidnapped? >> i've had many cases of men being kidnapped. >> let me see the panel. >> men are more often victims of crime than women, period. >> hold on. mike gaynor? >> excuse me, john gotti jr.'s on trial for kidnapping, assaulting and attempting to murder me. >> let's leave the mob out of this for a second, all right? i'm not trying to beat up on men. what i'm saying is that women are not going out raping and kidnapping and killing at the same rate that men are. we all know that. imagine for one day if you switched the world and all of a sudden, you had the local news with women being cuffed and paraded every day for doing all
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sorts of crimes, how would men react? they would be up in arms. we would be having congressional hearings. >> jane, you know something? >> what's the answer? >> you know what bothers me the most here? nobody took the time. let's stop talking about the blame game. i'll give you that. but how about somebody, anybody, caring enough to realize something's not right here. even jeff at the restaurant -- >> wait a second. i'm going to get the last word because jeff, it's your restaurant and i've eaten there. it's a great restaurant. it's a beautiful restaurant. and you say you wouldn't have done anything different. >> no. i'm the only person -- listen, i cared about her and i cared about what happened to her. that's why we didn't let her go. the family should have picked her up. they didn't pick her up. it's unfortunate, we pray that she's safe, but i cared and that's why i'm in this mess and that's why i'm getting death threats from people calling us thinking -- >> that's crazy. >> all right. that's terrible. thank you, jeff, for participating. >> he's not a woman. >> don't threaten jeff. he has nothing to do with this. stay right where you are. up next, the nypd drunk driving
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blood-boiling new excuses in the nypd drunk driving case. a cop accused of killing an innocent woman while allegedly drunk driving behind the wheel. but his lawyer is describing him as a sober hero. he claims this off-duty cop wasn't drunk at all. and tried desperately to save this woman's life. are you kidding me? why did this guy fight tooth and nail against a breathalyzer test? coming up, the controversial cop who was allegedly drunk when he hit and killed a woman now claiming to be a sober hero. yes, a hero. more on that in a moment.
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but first, "top of the block" tonight. the saga continues. tlc basically fired jon gosselin from "jon and kate plus eight" but he's not going quietly. no, no, no, no, no. he notified tlc that effective immediately, no tv crews are to ten her is family home. miss marital palace. always he is saying the show is detrimental to his children. timing, coincidence? tlc fired back in a stunning statement, called jon's behavior erratic and opportunistic. you know you haven't heard the last from jon or kate on this. again, can they please remember their eight kids are going to read about all of this some day. that is tonight's "top of the block." shocking and appalling excuses from the cop who was allegedly drunk when he got behind the wheel and killed a woman, smashing into her with his jeep. tonight, officer andrew kelly's lawyer is spinning. i'm not talking with the bicycle
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at the health club. he says this cop's not a drunk driver, but he's in fact a hero. >> andrew is devastated by the accident that occurred, the tragedy that occurred. he's done all he could. at the scene, he did everything he could to save her life, and it's something, a burden he'll have to suffer and live with for the rest of his life. >> what? this is the guy who allegedly mowed down this woman after allegedly slamming beers all day. kelly's blood alcohol test conveniently came back 0.00, zip, nada, nothing, no alcohol in his system. his attorney, you just heard him there, tells "the new york times" he wasn't drunk. this isn't complicated. maybe he wasn't drunk because it took seven hours and 20 minutes to test his blood alcohol level. plenty of time to sober up, people. here's kelly's attorney caught on tape, acting almost gleeful.
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you decide. over the bungled blood test that's allowing him to make these very, very interesting arguments. >> the status of the andrew kelly case? >> look what you're doing. >> i'm just asking. >> at this point, for us, the case is brand new. we're investigating everything. we are not surprised, we knew what the blood alcohol results were going to be because we knew what he did that night or what he didn't do that night. >> it's not funny. a woman's dead. this attorney has the audacity to say his client wasn't drunk and was a hero. responding officers reportedly smelled alcohol on his breath. the big question, was this a cop cover-up? the mayor of new york city vows an internal investigation. we'll get to the bottom of this mess.
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>> it's a tragedy that deserves the closest of scrutiny and if true, the allegations of a dwi hit and a cover-up are reprehensible. >> kelly's lawyer insists he was treated the same as anyone else would be. do you really think so? seven hours and 20 minutes before they drew his blood? and it came back not one drop of alcohol? straight out to my fantastic expert panel. curtis sliwa, what do you make of it all? >> what a double disgrace. first off, the cop being drunk behind the wheel and remember, another cop who booked up, who left the scene of the crime, and then as you pointed out, this attorney like hey, we got over like fat rats. look, that cop refused a breathalyzer, refused to have blood drawn -- >> as is his right, curtis. >> he should have been hog-tied right there by his fellow cops and the blood should have been taken out and tested. >> let me see the panel.
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jayne weintraub. >> curtis, we have constitutional rights in this country. we are not presumed guilty. we are presumed innocent. and maybe he refused, maybe because he knows how messed up these test results get on a regular basis. >> maybe he refused because he was drunk. >> but you can't assume. >> he didn't want anybody to be able to prove he was drunk. >> jane, don't draw conclusions. >> hold on. michael cardoza, i think you're the voice of reason. i predict. >> i hope so. >> try me. >> let's look first of all at a state everybody makes fun of, california. here in california, when you get stopped for a dui, you get a breath or you get blood. you get a choice of those two. if you refuse, it's a refusal, that refusal can be used in a trial against you. why? because if you are innocent, if andy kelly is innocent, then why wouldn't he want proof of his innocence? he should be clamoring at the
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bit. let me finish. he may -- not may. if he's innocent, he'll say take the blood, take the breath, i want to prove i'm innocent but no, that's not what happens here. he waits. they are part of the he waits. they are part of the cover-up. every one of those cops should be fired if they had any part in this. >> oh, i have to respectfully disagree with that. >> give me -- give me a break. if they're part of the cover-up, they should be gone. they know darn well, 7 1/2 hours later, the blood's going to register 000. >> they don't know that, don. >> baloney they don't know that. >> let me ask you a question. >> we have to stop. i have to keep moving. it's called a commercial. hold on a second. people across america are grappling with addiction and i'm one of them. in my new book "iwant" you'll learn so much about my struggle with alcoholism and how i timely got sober 14 years ago. out on stores or click on
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cnn.com/jane. look for the order section. if you're an addict, alcoholic or a relative of one or a friend of one, this book can help you. i talk about my struggles on my journey. everybody, stay right where you are. we're going to have more on this alleged drunk cop and his lawyer calling him a sober hero right after the break.
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at this point we're -- for us the case is brand new. we're investigating everything. we're not surprised. we knew what the blood alcohol results were going to be because we knew what he did that night or what he didn't do that night. >> that was the attorney for the cop accused of killing a young woman while driving drunk. of course he knew what the blood alcohol results were going to be. they waited seven hours 20 minutes. tonight's "big issue" bold lie, question mark? they seem like they are possibly everywhere, even in this case, just as in the case of the soccer mom, who killed eight people, include including herself after allegedly driving drunk the wrong way on the highway. are attorneys spewing bold-face
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lies that are insulting to our intelligence? listen to this. >> everything he could to save her life. >> she was diabetic. >> andrew is devastated. >> she had a bump on her leg that was traveling towards her brain. >> andrew will be cleared of all wrongdoing. >> janney winetraub, can attorneys say anything? can they make up any kind of story? no, first of all they can't, they shouldn't. they are barred by the professional covered ethics be and i think that this is just grandstanding. to make a statement on behalf of your client is one thing. what we're seeing here, sometimes leads to clowning around. but the point i want to make, jane, is the focus on two separate things. one is whether or not -- whether or not he was drunk. and/or are we assuming it just because he refused when he could have a good reason and is
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presume innocent. and the second part of it is whether or not there was a cover-up. so there are totally two different things to look at. >> all right, well, let's -- >> a cover-up. >> -- i've got some fact here i want to support. brand-new reports today in the "new york daily news" a whole hour passed from a time a warrant was issued for a blood test on officer andrew kelly because he refused to voluntarily take one. to the time police took him to the hospital. now here's the timeline. 12:41 a.m. the officer refuses a breathalyzer and jump to 6:00 a.m. by the time a warrant for the blood test is issued. now here's the new unexplained time lapse. cops don't bring him to the hospital until 6:57 a.m., an hour later. he arrives at the hospital at 7:08 a.m. he, again, refuses a blood test. another hour passes before he gets his blood tested at 8:00 a.m. seven hours and 20 minutes. how do you explain that. >> well, part of what you left out is that the doctor that was going to give the blood test had to check on his legal people to find fout he was okayed. that was part of the delay as
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well. but, look, the police commissioner himself, the honorable raymond kelly, got up on television and said, this is not unusual. this man exercised his constitutional rights. he may have very well been advised by a pba lawyer, not to take any test, unless a court order was issued. and had the right do that. >> it's not unusual for seven hours and 20 minutes to pass before a blood test. >> it's not unusual at all. >> jane? >> hold on. let me go back to mike cardoza for the last. michael! >> we would probably advise any of their clients not to -- >> i'm not talking about that. i'm talking about -- >> well, i am. >> i'm talking about the tape. every single day we do stories where we find blood-alcohol levels. >> we're leaving a lot out, jane. the man stopped drinking the day before about 9:30 at night. >> ten second, michael cardoza? >> hey i tell you what in ten seconds, if new york has to go get a warrant for a blood draw, they ought to change their laws.
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