tv Caught on Camera MSNBC December 21, 2013 3:00pm-4:01pm PST
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each one of them went up against the law. a cornered criminal takes on more than 100 federal agents. angry teens ambush deputies inside the halls of justice. a distraught dad snaps. and critically wounds a police officer. they are men and women who battled the badge. "caught on camera:wrong side of the law." hello. i'm contessa brewer.
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welcome to "caught on camera." breaking the law is one thing. fighting the law is another. in this hour, you'll meet people who challenged authorities. some used guns. some used fists. one even used an 18-wheeler. but no matter the method, they all have one thing in common. somebody was there to capture it on camera. >> a desperate man takes on federal agents in a dramatic four-day standoff. >> i'm a cowboy. i'm coming out like a cowboy. >> before going down in a hail of gunfire. september 2004. bowling green, kentucky. a barn burns to the ground and four horses die. an investigation by the bureau of alcohol, tobacco & firearms or atf points to arson. the main suspect, russell
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sublet, a 41-year-old ex-con who tends horses in the area. during the investigation special agent david hayes learns sublet may also own a sawed off shotgun, another possible charge against him. >> i made contact with russell sublet. he agreed to meet with us. >> on the afternoon of september 29th, sublet is at a local hospital visiting his father and tells hayes he can meet him there. troopers are brought in as backup. >> he was known through the police community as being a subject that any time you deal with him, you want to be on high alert and be ready for anything. >> no sooner do they arrive at the hospital when sublet is spotted leaving. >> we saw him actually pull out of the parking lot and start going down the road. >> at that point we took off out of the parking lot in an attempt to make a traffic stop on him.
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>> the troopers turn on their flashing lights. but sublet does not slow down. >> i realized that he had no intentions on stopping. >> as the hot pursuit continues southwest on a busy two-lane road, sublet guns the motor even faster. >> i remember one time looking down at my speedometer and we was running right at 105 miles an hour. >> to stop sublet troopers try what's known as a pit maneuver. >> we pulled up alongside of the suspect vehicle, try to match my front corner with his back corner and spin him out, take him off of the roadway. he evidently saw what i was doing and he came over into the left lane as well and he remained in the left lane. >> incredibly, sublet begins to play a deadly game of chicken. >> he just tried to hit two cars head on. >> driving head on into oncoming traffic. >> i think he was so desperate at that time he didn't care if he took his own life or anybody
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else's. >> a few miles ahead, troopers on the ground have deployed a chain of spikes on the road to deflate sublet's tires. >> all four tires are out. he's still trying to run though. >> they were effective as far as deflating the tires, although they didn't stop mr. sublet. >> sublet loses control of the car and hits another vehicle. >> when he struck that car, i thought the pursuit was going to end right then. i didn't think he was going to be able to go. i knew it was a pretty hard impact. >> his badly damaged el camino conks out a minute later. >> i noticed him coming out of the window of the el camino. he began shooting. we began to return fire. he ran around to the other side of his vehicle, and it was at that point i noticed a white vehicle coming toward us. >> a bystander pulled up unknowing to what was going on.
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he ran up to the driver's side window of her car, placed the firearm to her head, opened the door, and pulled her out of the vehicle. >> as the driver escapes across the road, sublet commandeers the car. >> myself and other units attempted to fire into the vehicle to stop him from fleeing. >> he placed the vehicle in reverse, intending to back up. >> sublet drove the car a few miles before he suddenly veers off the road and smashes through a white fence. crossing a wide lawn, he steers the car out of view of the dash cams and straight toward the front door of a mansion. >> when i seen him exit the vehicle and run into the house, i realized who's house it was and where he was going. he had a purpose for being there. >> sublet has driven to a house he knows well. the owner was one of several clients for whom sublet tended horses until days earlier when he and the homeowner had a falling out and sublet was fired.
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>> first thing we were wanting to find out was is there anybody in that residence? >> sublet's former boss is reached on his cell phone. in a stroke of luck, he and his family are not at home, but he warns agents of an extensive gun collection in his basement now at sublet's disposal. >> i think there were over 20 firearms he had access to. they included handguns, they included shotguns, they included high-powered rifles. >> if we tried to storm the place, somebody was going to get hurt. so the decision was made to wait him out. >> special agent in charge carl stankovich joined more than 120 units on the scene. that residence was located on 15 acres of property that was pretty much wide open. using his vantage point, sublet opens fire on law enforcement. >> i could hear rounds hitting light poles. we could hear things pinging off every time he would fire. you could hear at different points rounds hitting different places. >> power and water to the home are cut.
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to track sublet's movement, robotic cameras normally used by bomb squads are brought in. >> they were able to maneuver the robots in the house to see which areas of the house he was using more. whether it be the first floor, the basement. it was obvious he had done severe damage to the house itself. he was taking out his anger at that owner and previous employer. >> you could also see and read his body language to try and get an idea of where he's coming from and what his thought processes are. >> the robot cams allow negotiators to talk to sublet. >> get the camera out of my face. >> it's just a robot. the robot can't hurt you. we can move the robot out of the way or you can come on to the stairs. just don't -- just don't have a gun in our hand. and i guarantee you, you will not be hurt. you have my word.
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>> but sublet shows little interest in chatting. >> put the gun down. put the gun down. >> he would fire the shotgun. so our special response team members were protecting themselves by returning fire. >> with negotiations stalled, agents try tear gas to get sublet out. >> it never seemed really to have an effect on him. he was always able to, i don't know, evade it or found some area where it didn't come in. >> the stalemate continues into the night, through the next day, and into another. on the morning of the fourth day, overtired and dehydrated, sublet starts talking to negotiators. the conversation's captured by the robot camera. >> i've worked my ass off. give everything i've got to people. and just treated like -- man. i'm ready to go. >> he'd been in prison before, said he didn't want to go back, didn't have a good relationship with his son, with his wife.
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>> i don't have no hard feelings. but i'm not going to lay my gun down. i just want it to end this way. get it over with. >> of course, he'd lost the job from the person that owned the home. he thought his life was going in a downward spiral. >> you guys are doing a helluva job trying to keep me from doing what i got to do. but, man, i'm going to do what i got do. i'm a cowboy. i'm going out like a cowboy. >> put the gun down. >> sublet is shot. the bullet tearing through his shoulder. >> put the gun down! >> i'm coming for more! >> but he still refuses to give up. >> put the gun down! >> no! >> put the gun down, russ! don't do this! don't do this! >> put the gun down, man. it's over.
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put the gun down. >> russell had a reputation for being a tough guy, physical person, very strong person. i'm not too sure he realized what it would feel like to get shot. >> a half hour passes. slowly sublet's attitude begins to soften. especially after negotiators make a simple gesture. >> did you get the water? >> yeah. appreciate that. >> sublet opens up to one of the negotiators. bowling green police officer michael delaney. >> captain delaney knew russell sublet prior to this incident. he knew him. they played sports together. >> i need to rest, delaney. i've been in pain for so long. i just can't take it no more. the pain that they've done to me, shooting me, ain't near as bad as what is going on inside my head. my mind. right now. it ain't --
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you know what i'm saying? >> think about the future and getting past all this, putting it behind you. you're strong. you can do this. >> delaney's words seem to reach sublet. after a 4 1/2-day standoff with an army of agents, russell sublet agrees to surrender. >> i think at that point he realized he had things to live for. he had family members. he had people that cared about him. his life wasn't as bad as he had initially thought. >> sublet even has kind words for law enforcement. >> these guys are super great. i mean they saved my life. >> after a three-day trial, russell sublet is convicted of five counts of attempted murder. he is not charged in the arson case. sublet is sentenced to 140 years behind bars. >> it all happened so fast. it wasn't until after it was over that you really stop and process what all had just taken place.
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>> this could have ended in real tragedy. it could have involved several people being hurt or killed. it could have involved russell being killed. in that respect, it turned out as well as could be expected. coming up, a police officer is shot in the line of duty. and his rookie partner must risk his life to save him. >> picked up his partner and pulled him right out of the road. >> when "caught on camera: wrong side of the law" continues. [ male announcer ] this is karen and jeremiah. they don't know it yet, but they're gonna fall in love, get married, have a couple of kids, [ children laughing ] move to the country, and live a long, happy life together where they almost never fight about money. [ dog barks ] because right after they get married, they'll find some financial folks who will talk to them about preparing early for retirement and be able to focus on other things, like each other, which isn't rocket science. it's just common sense. from td ameritrade.
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a sunny day in el cajon, california, just outside san diego. 23-year-old freelance cameraman greg torkelson is listening to his police scanner. >> something happens. you know, a shooting, car crash, a house fire, something like that, i respond to it and i try to get the good shots. >> shortly after 5:00 p.m., greg hears about a man brandishing a gun inside a residential home. that man is 32-year-old kevin collier, despondent since his wife filed for divorce four days earlier. he had moved out, but now came back with a gun. when he discovers alissa is out, he instead shoots and kills their 14-month-old daughter riley and his mother-in-law. >> i had no reason not to be home. i should have been there. he thought i was going to be there. >> collier is now holed up in the house.
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el cajon police have taken up positions outside when greg arrives. >> i saw officers had their guns drawn. i pulled up on the curb and got the camera out. moments after all hell broke loose. >> collier is shooting at the officers in the street. >> shots fired. >> rookie officer tim mcfarland in the foreground uses greg's car for cover. >> i see an officers across the street from me. i zoom in on him and i think i'm going to get him with his gun drawn, and i see he has his hands up to his throat and he has blood coming down his hands. >> it's mcfarland's partner officer jared slocumb. he's been shot in the left temple. it has exited the rear of his head. >> when i saw that he was shot, i was scared. i was, like, okay, i'm going to have to go get my partner because he's got go home tonight.
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>> crouching behind collier's white pickup truck, officer slocum clutches his neck, a relfex reaction caused by the head injury. as he provides cover, the wounded officer tries to run across the street. but slocumb veers to the right losing balance and collapsing into a chain link fence. mcfarland, knowing every second counts, runs across the street to get to his partner, putting himself directly in the cross hairs of collier's rifle. >> it's a chance i've got to take. >> he must holster his gun in order to pick up the officer, leaving himself defenseless. >> he decided to do a dummy drag. he picked up his partner from underneath the arms and pulled him right out of the road. two residents that were standing by saw that, they ran out there and they heroically helped save the officer. >> slocum needs immediate medical attention.
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the officers are on the side of the dead end with no outlet. police decide it's too risky for ems to cross in front of collier's home with the shooter still active. as slocumb moans in pain, one of the residents who helped carry him to safety, david lemke, offers a prayer. >> dear heavenly father, please bless this man. heal him. please god, please. help this man. i ask in your name, jesus, amen. >> mcfarland, too, does his best to reassure his partner. >> we've got people on the way for you, jared. we've got medics on the way. medics are on the way. it's going to be okay. we got medics on the way. it's going to be okay. it's going to be okay. >> but officer slocumb is getting anxious. >> i need to live. >> we're getting help to you. >> i need to go. >> you need to go? i know. we're getting medics to you so you can go. >> right now.
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>> eight minutes after officer slocumb is shot, a team of police race across the street in front of collier's house braving possible gunfire. >> i got you, man. i got you. >> one of the officers runs out and without hesitation grabs the officer, and another officer opens the back door, and he just gets in the back of the back seat, and they don't even have time to shut the door. they peel out, and they're gone. >> slocumb is rushed to a nearby hospital in critical condition with a fractured skull and internal bleeding. meanwhile, huge plumes of smoke are coming from the home. collier has set the house on fire. fearing a bullet from the gunman, fire rescue units cannot approach the home directly. it will be hours before they can get the blaze under control. with flames engulfing his house, collier goes to his garage and takes his own life with a shotgun, ending the standoff.
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>> a dramatic shootout caught on tape leaves a wounded police officer recovering in a san diego hospital. >> greg's footage makes national news. after the incident, the el cajon police use the video as a training tool. >> it was definitely a life-changing experience to be there and witness something like this. >> as for officer slocumb, he survives the ordeal and is expected to make a full recovery. coming up -- >> i was kind of outraged and appalled by what i saw. >> the haymaker that had people talking. >> why did you have to hit her? >> she's going to fight with me, i'm going to fight with her. >> when "caught on camera: wrong side of the law" continues. ♪ [ female announcer ] holiday cookies are a big job. everything has to be just right. perfection is in the details. ♪ pillsbury cookie dough. make the holidays pop!
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>> it's june 14th, 2010, near the junction of martin luther king jr. way. >> the intersection where this happened was a major intersection in seattle. it's right next to a high school. and the principal of the high school has had problems with students not using the overhead passenger crosswalks. >> officer ian walsh is stationed in the area at the request of the principal to keep students from jaywalking through the eight-lane intersection. >> there was a group that was walking across, and he just kind of motioned to them saying i need to talk to you. one young woman kind of blew him off and, you know, just kind of shoved her hand like i'm not coming over to you. he tried to take her by her arms, i need to talk to you, i need to see some i.d., and that's when it turned physical. >> that's also when a bystander with a video camera starts rolling. >> get off of me!
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get the -- off of me! >> the video shows 19-year-old marilyn levias struggling against officer walsh who tries different wrist holds to get her to comply. things escalate when a second teen, 17-year-old angel rosenthal, jumps in to help her friend. >> a boy in a blue shirt grabs rosenthal but she breaks free and gets in between officer walsh and her friend pushing walsh back. >> anytime you put your hands on or assault a uniformed officer, you're going to expect that there's going to be force used against you. >> officer walsh attempts to gain control of the situation by first grabbing rosenthal's right arm, then delivering a swift right hook to her forehead. >> greg goolsbee is the cameraman recording the scene. >> i thought it was going to get
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to a point that he slams her out on the ground. i didn't see that coming at all. >> the punch sends rosenthal sprawling backwards towards the squad car. walsh tries to cuff her but now levias is on the attack. >> are you serious? are you -- serious? >> walsh orders levias to comply. >> stop resisting. put your hands behind your back. you're under arrest. >> get off of me! get the -- off of me! >> hey! >> after a three-minute struggle, officer walsh gets levias cuffed and into the back of his squad car. still at the scene, angel still at the scene, angel rosenthal, the teen who he punched earlier. but rosenthal will not go quietly. >> relax.
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>> walsh needs another set of handcuffs. as he calls for backup, the cameraman questions the officer's use of force. >> why did you have to hit her with a closed fist? you socked this girl. >> yes, i did, sir. >> she's underage. >> i don't care. >> you don't care? >> she's going to fight with me, i'll fight with her. >> she didn't put up a fight. >> soon, backup arrives. >> take all the picture you want but back up. >> sure, sure. >> but the incident is far from over. the cameraman sells the video to news outlets across the country. and walsh's punch goes viral. >> a scuffle over a jay-walking ticket that ended with a police officer punching a 17-year-old girl in the face. >> we got calls all over the country and all over the world about it. >> james kelly was president of the seattle urban league at the time. >> well, it was, i felt, unnecessary. a full blown violence of a punch to the face was just wrong. but at the same time i also felt
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like what the young woman did to the police officer was wrong as well. so my whole analysis was two wrongs don't make a right. >> i think he showed great restraint. he could have used a night stick. he could have used a pepper spray. he used what was in his training and that was just a straight punch. >> to calm racial tensions, james kelly organizes a closed-door meeting between officer walsh and angel rosenthal. >> we basically agreed to have no media, no cameras. she offered her apologies. she tried to explain what led up to it, and she apologized, and the officer accepted her apology. >> rosenthal pleads guilty to fourth degree assault and serves 80 hours of community service. her friend levias is sentenced to 24 hours of community service for obstructing a police officer. walsh is sent back to the seattle's p.d. training unit for a review of department policies,
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while the civilian office of accountability investigates the incident. they find walsh did not use excessive force, and he's returned to his normal patrol. >> we would hope that through community and policing you can figure out the right response. but i think that having this video has helped all communities learn from it. >> it was a situation that did end up being very ugly at the start. but i think some positive came out of it at the end. coming up, a gunman hijacks an 18-wheeler, taking this grandma trucker on a three-hour hell ride. >> and he said, drive, bitch, or i'll kill you. >> when "caught on camera: wrong side of the law" continues. [ male announcer ] playing in the nfl is tough. ♪ doing it with a cold, just not going to happen. ♪ vicks dayquil powerful non-drowsy 6-symptom cold & flu relief. ♪ no matter what city you're playing tomorrow...
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icy roads are being blamed are two deaths. and four men arrested on murder charges accuse f 0 gunning down a man in a carjacking attempt in new jersey. back to "caught on camera." welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. how we react when our life is on the line says a lot about who we are. one woman found herself in a do-or-die situation, staring down the barrel of a gun with only her wits to help her survive. a truck driver is abducted at gunpoint, taken hostage in her own rig, forced to drive or die. >> he goes, it's time to end this. i just didn't feel like my odds were that good at that time. >> christie lawrence's harrowing ordeal begins on july 23rd, 2006, at this now-closed gas station in the dallas suburb of
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fairview. the 51-year-old grandmother is in her truck along with her dog hollywood waiting to meet her daughter and son-in-law for lunch. that's when ex-con samuel jones enters the cab with a gun. >> he snatches the door open and his exact words was, drive, bitch, or i'll kill you. >> jones is on the run from police. the day before, the 32-year-old carjacked a vehicle at a lowe's parking lot. then he crashed it. when a doctor pulled over to help, he stole his car, too. >> next thing i knew, he put a gun to my head, just told me to get out of the car, and so that's a lot of motivation, so i got out of the car. >> now jones has abandoned that car at the fairview gas station where he spots christie's truck. >> i asked him which way he wanted to go. i said north or south. he said south. >> christie pulls out and heads south through plano toward dallas.
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her son-in-law, who witnesses the abduction, calls 911. and within minutes, plano police officer koy clements has located the truck and is in hot pursuit. >> i never chased an 18 wheeler before. and not realizing that even if you disable nearly every tire, it's not going to stop. >> police try stop sticks, spikes designed to puncture the tires. but they have little effect. the big rig keeps on rolling. >> it didn't disable the drive tires and the truck didn't slow down at all. >> meanwhile, inside the cab christie is doing her best to calm her abductor who is angry and agitated and still holding a gun to her head. >> my daddy used to say that i could talk a fence into surrendering. and i just figured the best thing to do is keep a conversation going and ask him whatever. keep his mind off of doing anything crazy. >> jones has a sea of police in
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tow, but no real destination. he directs christie to keep driving. thanks to local news coverage, christie's abduction is now drawing hundreds of people to the highways to watch the crisis unfold in real-time. >> it's crazy. you know, i mean all these people tracking it and following it. us, too. just interesting. >> we've been in it for two hours now. we picked it up in arlington and came all the way out here with it. >> there were no ways to take measures to ensure that the general public was safe because they kept involving themselves in the situation. >> s.w.a.t. negotiators reached jones by cell phone, but he won't let christie go. the texas department of public safety decides on a risky rescue plan. while the rig is speeding on i-40, troopers shoot live ammunition at the 18-wheeler's engine. >> you needed to shoot the radiator to stop it. within two minutes, the truck overheated and shut down.
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>> at 7:30 p.m. after three hours, the truck comes to a stop. >> part of me thought it was over. and he just snatched me by the hair and pulled me to the back and just kind of shut the curtain. >> in the back of the cab, jones calls the mother of his two children and says good-bye with a frightening remark. >> and then i hear, it's time to end this. he leans back, cocks the gun, and this is when i asked him if i could call my kids, and he said, yeah, you should call and tell them bye. i told them that he was fixing to kill me. and they were all there together screaming. and i told them how much i loved them and that i was sorry.
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and he takes the gun and he puts his head down, and he's just shaking his head back and forth. >> at that moment christie turns to her late father for comfort. >> i knew he was in heaven watching over me. i knew this. i mean he's been with me all of my life. why would i think he wouldn't be with me at one of my hardest, toughest moments. >> and it's his voice that tells her what she needs to do. >> i could hear my dad's voice. he said it's now or never. at the very, very end my daddy is what got me out of that truck. >> without hesitation, christie decides literally to grab the gun out of jones' hand. she jumps out of the truck, drops the gun, and runs to safety with her dog hollywood close behind. >> i don't even remember opening the door. i don't remember nothing. >> she just outplayed him in the game. my hat's off to her. there's a lot of people who couldn't have done that.
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>> minutes later police fire tear gas into the cab. >> you could see him hanging out the driver's side door and they took him safely into custody. >> good morning, sir. >> jones is found guilty of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault and sentenced to life in prison. no chance of parole for 30 years. >> i did not have any intention of harming christie. >> in an interview from a state prison in livingston, texas, jones spoke to "caught on camera" about christie, five years after the incident. >> i decided to give her the gun, allow her to exit the truck. >> jones says christie didn't escape. he let her go. and of the gun itself -- >> it was not loaded during the time with christie. >> he even claims he considered her more than a hostage. >> there came a time where me personally, i felt like she was no longer someone that i took hostage but somebody that i was
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talking to, you know -- i hate to say friend, but i don't know another word for it. >> as for why he did it, jones maintains he snapped when he couldn't find work to support his family after his first stint in jail. >> every opportunity that i tried to open, you know, the doors were shut, and things led to another, and i just gave up. i guess symbolically running, running from the truth. running from reality. >> jones has one more request of his former hostage. >> i would hope one day she would see enough to say, well, you know, he spent enough time for the things that he's done, so let me forgive him. >> but christie says the mom in her will never do that. >> one day i may forgive him, and to a certain point there's a part of me that has, but not for
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what you did to my kids because i'm a mother before i am anything. you have not come close to enough time to spend behind bars for what you did. coming up -- >> he tried to get in the way and block him as best as they could, but he ran right over the top of them. >> street justice inside a tacoma courthouse. when "caught on camera: wrong side of the law" continues. [ female announcer ] when you're serious about fighting wrinkles, turn to roc® retinol correxion®. one week, fine lines appear to fade. one month, deep wrinkles look smoother. after one year, skin looks ageless. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. take skincare to the next level with new roc® multi correxion® 5 in 1, proven to hydrate dryness, illuminate dullness, lift sagging, diminish the look of dark spots, and smooth the appearance of wrinkles. high performance skincare™ only from roc®. ♪ hark how the bells, sweet silver bells ♪ ♪ all seem to say throw care away ♪
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all the training, kicks into gear and you're the one that gets to go home that day. >> june 2011. tacoma, washington. inside the pierce county courthouse, marcell henderson is on trial for murder. the victim, 18-year-old victor shwanki, a popular teen in the community. henderson, 20, allegedly shot shwanki believing incorrectly that he killed a member of his gang. now inside the courtroom, tension is running high. >> there were words every time someone would testify. the judge had to get on and tell people to get quiet, call for order in his court. >> sergeants jeff bradding and jesus villahermosa share security. >> there was a lot of animosity, tension, and threats being exchanged between these groups. they had to add another officer. >> june 30th is a quiet day in the courtroom. no testimony, no jury. just a few motions before the
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judge. by 10:00 a.m., proceedings are over, and it's time to bring defendant henderson back to his jail cell. >> before they move him, they have to clear a hallway from point a to point b, hopefully without any threat of harm. >> but there's a problem. a relative and a friend of the murder victim have suddenly appeared in the corridor. >> they knew we were coming out the side door. so i think it was planned. they were there. they were waiting for him to come out. >> surveillance cameras at both ends of the hallway catch deputy elizabeth erpp telling the men to clear out. the brother of the larger man appears before all three exit into an adjacent hallway where another camera at the far end of the hall is rolling. deputy christopher coolly can be seen warning the group to make room as he reaches to open the door. >> he opens the door to walk through it himself. >> he took his eyes off for a
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second to check on his partners. they saw their opportunity. that's when it happened. >> spotting henderson through the door, the group barrels past the dep beaut into the first hallway. >> they pushed past the first officer, bouncing him off the door. it was almost like a football play. >> cameras at either end of the first corridor pick up the action. >> the officer puts his hand on his gun. there's a moment of am i able to get this out in time. >> with no opportunity to pull his gun, deputy jarvis harris positions himself between the attackers and the defendant. >> he tried to get in the way and block them as best he could. but they ran right over the top of him. >> the two large males were like linebackers and bolted over him. >> while this is going on, deputy erpp makes a desperate call for backup. all three attackers now reach henderson handcuffed, unable to defend himself. >> they were stomping on him. they were kicking him. >> you see one guy lying on the suspect punching him while
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another suspect was walking around and puts his hand against the wall to get leverage as he's profusely and aggressively kicking him. >> he draws his taser and fires taking out one of the two bigger attackers. almost simultaneously, officer erpp tasers the other. and both assailants drop to the ground. >> the officer who had been pushed on the outside of the door, boom. swings into action. >> deputy cooley quickly zaps the remaining attacker. meanwhile, a separate brawl is raging just a few feet away. set in motion when the defendant's father seen in the black hoodie jumps on the brother-in-law of the murder victim. >> mr. henderson's father saw the tail end of the actual people going through to assault his son. while he thinks the last two people through the door were part of the assault, they weren't. so he winds up trying to take them down to help us. >> deputy harris, unclear of who is who, stuns the defendant's
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father, bringing an end to the chaos. other than some cuts and bruises, henderson is not seriously injured. the six involved in the melee are cuffed and questioned. but only the three original assailants are arrested. >> the charges against the three attackers were three counts of assault, third degree. one for each of the officers that was attacked. >> all three of the assailants plead guilty. marcell henderson, the murder defendant, is ultimately found guilty and is sentenced to 59 years. >> i think they should let, you know, justice work its way through the court. but they didn't even wait to the end of the trial to see what the verdict was. they just decided it was time to assault him and that's what they did. coming up, a film maker takes on the nypd with his own viral video. see what that's all about. when "caught on camera: wrong side of the law" continues.
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on a new york city street, police make a different kind of traffic stop pulling over a man on a bicycle. >> he said i'm ticketing you for riding outside of the bike lanes. which just seemed absurd to me. >> convinced the nypd is in the wrong, this film maker decides to fight the law in his own way with a youtube video about the incident. that's seen by more than 4 million people and counting. >> i thought a funny way to come back at the cop was to make a movie showing what happens if you always ride in the bike lanes regardless of circumstance. >> casey nicetab braves the mean streets of new york riding the bike in east village.
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>> riding a bike is treacherous. you see the cars whizzing through. nobody's paying attention. everybody's in a rush. this is what you face day to day. weaving in and out of this. >> may 4th, 2011. casey's on his way to a studio on lower broadway where he created his hbo series the neistat brothers. a show about the real-life adventures of casey open his brother. >> a lot of the work i do is really rough around the edges stuff. shot on little cameras and spontaneous. i also happen to star in things i do. i like to film different experiences i've had throughout my life. >> that day in may, casey gets a a chance to film a different experience. when his morning commute is cut short by one of new york's finest. >> it was pouring rain out. and around 8th street, a cop pulled behind me and threw on his lights and sirens. literally pulled up next to me saying pull over. i'm a film maker by trade. my natural instinct is to film.
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i start filming the cop. >> casey is soon informed of his infraction. >> he told me he was giving me a summons for riding my bike outside of the bike lane which seemed astonishing to me. um getting a ticket for not riding my bike in the bike lane. >> bike lanes are designated lanes just for bicyclists. according to new york city's traffic rules and regulations, section 4-12 states that all bike riders must use the bike lane if provided. >> you're busting my balls. i'm doing the world a favor riding my bike. it's pouring rain. i was frustrated with him. i showed him, there's a car double parked right there, pull that guy over. why are you picking on me? >> he's pulled over double parked. you're not giving him a ticket. >> he said i'll catch up with him next. >> then he officer hands over the ticket. >> mail it in, guilty or not guilty. >> what's the fine?
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once he handed me that ticket, he was, have a nice day, sir. there was no more arguing at that point. what's the fine? >> you're a bicyclist, so it's anywhere from $10 up to $130 depending on your record. it's not riding in the bicycle lane. >> casey's fine turns out to be $50. he pays the fine, but the story doesn't end there. >> the summons was for riding outside of the bike lanes. so i thought it'd be funny to show what happened if you always ride in the bike lanes and follow that law to a ridiculous degree. >> to make his point, casey gets back on his bicycle and rides the streets of gotham. this time staying in the bike lane at all times. >> so my friend oscar and i went out and we stuck to the rule. you have to be in the bike
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lanes. regardless of circumstance. so we spent an hour riding around lower manhattan looking for obstructions. we didn't have to look hard. >> casey is careful not to ride outside the bike lane no matter what's in the bike lane. >> we were out for an hour. we found six or eight obstructions. we didn't set any up. they're all real. >> we should note, casey is not wearing a helmet, which is, quote, strongly recommended by new york city's department of transportation. >> i didn't get hurt making it. i'm pretty good at taking a fall. i did do all my own stunts. >> back at his studio, a little bruised but otherwise okay,
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casey edits together his encounter with the policeman and his encounters in the bike lane. then he posts the three-minute video on youtube. >> it was something like in an 18-hour span of it being posted it'd been viewed a million times. i think it's funny to watch somebody fall. and i think more than that, people like the idea of sort of sticking it to the man. >> speaking of the man -- >> so about a week after i made the movie, the same cop pulled me over. this time he pulled me over to say hi and tell me his daughter liked the video. i don't know if i made any real effect on the law, but it definitely made it easier. he's a good cop. and now when he sees me on 2nd avenue, he doesn't pull me over anymore. >> by the way, note to casey. the law states you have to stay in the bike lane unless your safety is in jeopardy. still, it made a great video. i'm contessa brewer. that's all for this edition of "caught on camera."
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at any time, in any place. >> i couldn't believe that that was happening. >> disaster can happen when mother nature and man collide. from raging floodwaters, she was alone, screaming for help. >> to devastating earthquakes. unexpected, extreme and breathtaking moments that reveal the wonder and power of nature.
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