our stephanie elam is there, as well as tom fuentes is also with us. phanie, first i heard the pruing attorney say it appears that the police officers were shot almost by mistake because of a dispute that the alleged gunman may have had with someone else but he said there's a strong possibility that those police officers were targeted. >> reporter: he left room for interpretation which is a key point. according to this man that they have in custody, they're saying he says he was in a dispute with somebody else who was out there driving by in a car targeting them. but at the same time they're saying they can do not know for sure if there actually was a dispute with somebody or he was just targeting the police officers. but the charges do stand. the assault in the first-degree will be what they charge him with whether it was by the officers or someone else. i did ask, do you believe that this individual because the only shooter out there. at this point they believe he was the only one shooting but they don't know if there were act comp polices or somebody

robertson is in the mountains, and diana magnate is at the home of the co-pilot, and we have stephanie e elam in victorville, california at the airport where the maintenance work is done on the airbus and richard quest here with me in new york. and sara sidner as well. and so richard, we had information that the pilot was locked out of the cabin and now we know that he was, and that the co-pilot brought this plane down. why are they so sure? >> because they have listened to the voice recorder, and it is clear. they can hear the captain leaving the cockpit after a conversation and hear him banging to get back in again, and they can hear the cockpit, the co-pilot doing nothing. the word we heard again and again today, don, he was silent. no word ss, and nothing was said just quiet breathing. so he ignored all of the banging, and then we hear the screams, and we have heard from the cockpit voice recorder about the controls but then another piece of the jigsaw that we heard from the atsb transponder that we know that the autopilot was selected to go from 38,000 feet to 100 feet, and that is the c

stephanie elam has more on that and the shooting of two officers last week. >> reporter: investigatorsntify who's behind shooting two officers outside the ferguson police department. they don't have anyone in custody, but they continue to interview people and are looking for leads and are hoping to get more leads from the community as to who was behind these shootings. at the same time in light of the department of justice report there have been many people who have left their jobs and there are many out here who are still calling for the mayor to step down. outside the ferguson police department however, there was some support in the form of about 15 people saying that he needs to stay and they're also supporting the police. he also spoke up about whether or not he will depart his job. >> there is ways to remove me if that is the will of the people. i've stood for office five times over the last decade and won every time. this past time less than a year ago i was unanimously or rather unopposed for office. >> reporter: so you're not going anywhere is what you're telling me. >> unless

stephanie elam. >>> still to come fans of jeremy clarkson want him back on television.e stunt they pulled in london to deliver their message to the bbc. that just ahead. this is kevin returning to his childhood home. this is the smell of baked pears, making him feel warm. then pie crust as he wonders if it's too soon to ask what's for dessert. now vanilla, reminding him of pep talks with mom and slightly inappropriate advice from dad. new air wick life scents in mom's baking the first constantly changing fragrance that acts like real life and says 'welcome home, kev-y bear.' this is him, secretly loving the name kev-y bear. air wick home is in the air. >>> welcome back to "cnn newsroom." fans of suspended bbc star jeremy clarkson say they want to top gear co-host in tv. they drove a tank through the streets of london to deliver a petition to the network demanding his reinstatement. they claim a million people have signed that petition. the bbc says clarkson was suspended after he allegedly had a physical confrontation with a producer. clarkson is not happy. he vented hi

cnn's stephanie elam talks about how strong these cockpit doors are and how it's hard to gain accessonce you've been locked out. >> reporter: brooke we want to show you the pilot's perspective of the door. obviously here's the door it's a slim door it's got a peephole so they can look outside and see who is coming down the aisle but there's more to this door. i want to show you more about this door and introduce you to captain ross amer who is going to help us learn more about this door. first of all, how hard is it to destruct this door? >> it's pretty hard. it's been tested with grenade and it still didn't open. >> reporter: it's a reinforced door. i can tell it's heavy when touching it. tell me about this lock. >> this is basically a dead bolt. that's the final thing that you could turn on. once you have this deadbolt on there's no way anyone can open this door from outside. >> no matter what? >> no matter what. >> how would they get in? >> this keypad was key to letting a pilot in but there are other parts to it. >> yes, there are obviously codes that are issued. periodically it'

cnn's stephanie elam has more. >> reporter: john, law enforcement officials say 20-year-old jeffery williams is the man who shot the two police officers outside ferguson's police department thursday morning. they say he was in a dispute with someone demonstrating, but accidentally shot the two police officers. here is what else they had to say. >> they are class a felonies for striking the officers. a weapon was recovered which has been tied to the shell casings that were recovered. weapon recovered from him. he has acknowledged his participation participation. >> reporter: williams was a known protester in front of the ferguson police department. one community organizer i spoke with who has been behind the protests and continues some 200 days in front of the ferguson police department not only does he know he wasn't a protester, but he knows williams because of the religious community in the area. he says he went to speak with williams since he has been arrested. he said williams told him he was shooting at somebody who stole from him. one of the demonstrators. this is the rest of the conve

we sent stephanie elam to find out. >> reporter: we have given you the vantage point.the cockpit door here is a slim door. don't let that fool you. you have the peep hole. more security to the door. i hope want to take you outside and introfantentroduce you to the captain. what would it take to break down this door? >> probably more than a grenade. it has been tested with a grenade against it and it did not open it. >> reporter: it is a fortified door. >> it is a fortress door. >> reporter: beyond that there are other ways not to get in here. the lock up top. >> this is a deadbolt as you can see. if that deadbolt is engaged, this door is completely locked. >> reporter: no matter what? >> no matter what. >> reporter: how would you get if in there? >> you won't. there is a key back here if you like to show that. however, flight crews are no longer issued that key. initially, we have the key, but tsa decided no more keys. >> reporter: you look at the door from the outside besides the key, there is the fact there is no real way to break in here. there is a keypad. tell me

brooke back to you. >>> stephanie elam thank you so much. to this day, there was a pilot in the united states who ended up locked out of the cockpit, this same plane, under different circumstances. osborne, a veteran jet blue pilot began acting inging erratically. he told air traffic control to be quiet and said, we're all going down. his co-pilot locked him out of the cockpit. one a man helped tackle and restrain this pilot until they regained control of the plane. what a story. let's begin with you're on a plane from jfk to las vegas. this is 30 minutes before it lands. what was your first indication something was up? >> first indication someone ran past me in uniform and appeared to be the pilot of the plane. he started to bang on the door of the cockpit demanding reentry. something was obviously wrong. i got out of my seat went over to this person questioned him. with training in law enforcement experience and private investigations, i quickly determined there was something wrong with this person. in my discussion with him, he said we're

let's bring in cnn's stephanie elam on the ground in ferguson this morning. good morning, stephanie. >> reporter: good morning, randi. if you look at this case the shooting happened late wednesday night, early thursday morning really and they were able to nab the shooter saturday night. looking at all of the evidence they say they were really instrumental in getting this arrest because they got tips from the community and people who were also outside protesting. police say 20-year-old jeffrey williams admitted to firing the shots that hit two officers late wednesday in ferguson. the question now is why? after meeting with williams in jail bishop derrick robinson told me williams says he did not target the officers. instead firing the shots at someone he claimed robbed him. >> i asked him to describe the individual and he said he couldn't. i told him i would come back to see him and could he provide me more information of who this person is. >> reporter: authorities say williams told them a similar story and they made it clear sunday they have their doubts. >>

i want to bring in our stephanie elam who's on the ground there in the neighborhood where this happened. i know stephanie, you've been listening to that press conference. we heard police chief charlie beck essentially say the investigation is ongoing, but the preliminary investigation suggests that the officers responded appropriately and that there's evidence that the homeless man was trying to grab one of their guns. what else did you hear? >> reporter: right. that is a huge part of this. a crucial part of this video ana, is whether or not this man was reaching for the weapon. when you do watch the video from the beginning, you can see that the man who ends up dead is combative. you can see him swinging at police officers. that part you can see. you don't need the police to tell you that, but when you take a look at this tragedy here and how tense and how quickly it bubbled over that's where people are wondering what exactly happened. it's hard to ascertain exactly if this man was reaching for the gun or not. that's what the lapd are saying. that is the word that they're saying. and t

stephanie elam, cnn, los angeles. >>> you are watching cnn, and still to come in india, some parentst -- listen to this -- clinging to the outer walls of their children's school. we explain why, just ahead. >>> you are looking at the pope in naples. it is now 9:53 in naples. the pope is meeting with community members at john paul ii square in more than an hour he's planning an outdoor mass in another part of town. more than some 7,000 people expected. earlier pope francis had a prayer at a shrine in pompeii, the ancient city buried under ash in 7980 when mount vesuvius erupted. we'll monitor that for you. >>> it's not uncommon for parents to expect to have high expectation about their children's performance in school. wait until you see what some parents in india did to guarantee good grades from their kids. cnn has the details. >> reporter: exam time in india, and eager parents and relatives are lining the wall of schools in the state. those aren't good luck cards or packed lunches they're passing to students. they're cheat sheets for all important exams to continue their education.

i want to bring in cnn's stephanie elam following the latest developments. stephanie, the lapd says that victim reached for an officer's gun. is that right? >> reporter: that is what we're hearing, ana. this investigation does continue because when you watch this video, you can see that there are six officers that are there. two that become involved with a woman who picks up a baton on the street. that one of the officers lost. then you see the other four officers behind that with this man. and you hear a lot of yelling. a lot of arguing going on about a gun. and then you hear those five shots that are fired. so they're saying what they're saying is that the officers one of them at least, said that the man on the ground was reaching for their gun and that led to this the officers to then go ahead and use their firearm after trying to tase the man several times, the police department is saying before he would go down. he was not responding to not and that's when they moved to lethal force, ana. >> you mention the taser being used. but a lot of people are askin

stephanie elam is joining us from ferguson with more. what have we learned now about a possible motive in the shooting? that's a key question here. >> reporter: it is. good morning from ferguson. what we're understanding and what prosecutors said is he wasn't targeting but he was in a dispute with someone who is a protester and that's who he says he was targeting. i also spoke to a man who visited with williams in jail after his arrest and he said he said the same story. his story being that he was robbed and that is who he was trying to retaliate against. this person who met with him knows him through the religious community here in st. louis county but also knows the protesters and he's one of the organizers and says he's not been out protesting and if there was a problem with a protester, he would have been able to help him. this is the story. at this point though it's important to keep in mind whether he was targeting the police officers or a demonstrator, the charges stay the same. assault in the first degree. those are felony charg

let's go to los angeles to stephanie elam. the big question is what happened in the courtroom?e judge saying that predicated this collapse? >> reporter: this is big news for him to find out that his bail was set at $25 billion. this all stems from a case that started on january 29th when they allege that suge knight hit somebody and then hit another man and that one man died. there they are charging him with hit and run. when he found out that he was getting bail set this high this is when he reportedly collapsed. our affiliate abc 7 says the attorney says that suge knight collapsed because of stress and lack of treatment for his diabetes and hit his head and was unconscious for a bit of time there. if he does get convicted in this case he faces life in prison. it's worth noting this is not the first time he's collapsed in a courtroom since this event started on january 29th when this hit and run started. this is second time we've seen this with him collapsing in court. today it was right after he found out his bail was set at 25 million. >> stephanie elam thank you, my friend.

stephanie elam joining us from los angeles.'ve been talking to knight's legal team with how they plan to defend him. what do thebds? >> reporter: right, anderson. i talked to knight's lawyer a few minutes ago. they say first of all, they believe it was an act and the condition of his left eye, in which he's blind and remember that video on the left-hand side that the two men were standing. they're saying he was trying to get away from the scene but because he was blind in that left eye, he could not see exactly where they were so they're saying that you can't target to kill somebody when you don't even know they're there, anderson. >> has anyone known he was blind in the left eye before or even allowed to drive if that's true? >> reporter: that's the next question we want to find out. how well. know he's had a change in lawyers here. some of the questions, we did not get answers to but he's said this in court. we've heard him mumbling about something in court. heard knight saying he's got 15% vision in one eye and saying he's g

>> stephanie elam thanks so much.ng could be the first case to put to the test the value of police body cameras which were widely called for after the high profile shooting death of 18-year-old michael brown in ferguson missouri. joining me to talk about this is the attorney for the brown family benjamin krump. you have seen this video and there is some obvious differences between the michael brown case and this case in los angeles, but as you're looking at that, do you see excessive force? >> what i do see is the police failure in training to deescalate a situation versus calculating a situation, as was talked about in michael brown in ferguson but more relevant to today, about 12-year-old tamir rice in cleveland. again, you see police officers escalating life or death situations and the training has to be addressed. >> i know you represent mrs. rice and i definitely want to talk to you about that in a moment. as we do talk about this shooting in l.a. when you see something like this and there is some new information

stephanie elam is following the story for us from los angeles.hanie. >> reporter: good morning, carol. when you take a look at this surveillance video that cnn obtained you can see much more of the story here. you can see what looks like he's allegedly doing drug deals out of his tent the man who they say was a suspect in a robbery. that's the reason why police were called to the scene in the first place. you can see him getting into an argument with the man in the text next to him, swinging pushing it out into the street. then you see the police officers arrive. they have several minutes of conversation before it escalates further and then you can see everything play out just as we did in the other video that was taken by a bystander from the street level, and what you can discern from this video is just more of what was leading up to what was going on with this man when the police got there, carol. >> and the officers involved in this incident are they -- what's happening with them? >> reporter: well the officers obviously they're under investi

. >> stephanie elam joins me live now from los angeles. what's the status of this investigation? it going on behalf of the police and on behalf of those who say they're going to come out and protest? >> reporter: well, that's the thing that is happening now, ashleigh. you're seeing in the couple of days since the shooting happened, you know that the investigation is continuing on a legal level. but you also see the community outrage. lots of people saying this was an excessive use of force by the police department. if you see behind me, we're out here at a protest that actually began at the place where the man who is known as africa on the street was shot and killed by lapd. that video that we've all just watched now, they're out here protesting that, saying that black lives matter. it's a movement when you talk to people that they say started with what we saw in ferguson are mike brown. and they're saying this is a countrywide problem. i talked to a few people who said that. so they're out here drumming and right in front of los angeles police department headquarters. this is wh

let's bring in stephanie elam in ferguson. stephanie, where does the investigation stand now? they don't have anyone in custody, but they're not calling this a cold case. they say the investigators are working around the clock to try to identify who may have been behind the shooting of those two police officers late wednesday night at the end of that protest. they also continue to talk to several people within the community, and that $10,000 reward that is out there, they're considering also increasing that to see if they'll get more leads on what exactly transpired and who was behind this heinous activity of targeting these two police officers fred. >> now, all of this happening, the police chief has stepped down the city manager, a judge has resigned and then there are people calling for the mayor to do the same. how is that influencing the climate there in ferguson? >> right. well, this all coming on the heels of that department of justice report and looking at some of the racism they found when investigating the department. out here last night, even in the driving rain the

stephanie elam is on the phone with us now. what can you tell us about this arrest?unty jail is holding a man who is being held on a 24-hour hold for assault against a police officer and for firing at or from a vehicle. this is related to that shooting of the two police officers outside of the fer

cnn's stephanie elam has the latest. >> reporter: john officials say 20-year-old jeffery williams is the man behind the shooting that left two police officers injured outside of the ferguson police department early thursday morning. they have say williams says he was in a dispute with somebody else out there demonstrating, but accidentally shot the two police officers. here is what else they had to say. >> the charge is assault in first degree for striking those two officers. a weapon recovered which has been tied to the shell casings that were recovered there. weapon recovered from him. he has acknowledged his participation in firing the shots. >> reporter: now while the prosecutor says that willwilliams was a known protester, one i have spoken with that have been continuing with 200 days in protests in front of the police department he says he wasn't a known protester, but he knows williams because of the community. he says he went to go speak with williams since he has been arrested. he said williams told him that he was shooting at somebody who he said stole from him. one of the

for a demonstration, we sent stephanie elam to the airport in victorville. >> reporter: we are insidehiech-320. we have a cockpit door here. it is a slim door. we have the peep hole. i want to take you outside and introduce you to captain ross emmer. if you look at the door i can feel the door is heavy. what does it take to break down the door? >> probably more than a grenade. it has been tested with a grenade against it. >> reporter: it is really a fortified door. >> a fortress door. >> reporter: beyond that other ways that a pilot can make sure no one else can get in here. like the lock up top. >> this is a deadbolt as you can see. if that deadbolt is engaged, again, this door is completely locked. >> reporter: no matter what. how would you get in there? >> you can't. no one. >> reporter: if that is engaged, no one can getting in here at all. >> of course there is a key back here if you like to show that. however, flight crews are no longer issued that key. initially we had the key, but tsa decided no key. >> reporter: all right. you look at the door from the outside, besides that k

>> stephanie elam, thank you so mu much. >>> say amen. >> amen. >> yesterday, hundreds packed madison remember 19-year-old tony robinson. he was the unarmed teen shot by police in wisconsin on march 6th. friends say he was a good guy. >> i think those things need to be shown that he was a real person and he had a real soft side. >> i just remember him playing with all of the kids. he was the biggest kid so he would pick them up. >> robinson's family is pushing peaceful protests for the biracial team who was shot by a white officer. they say robinson assaulted an officer and the officer shot him. the madison chief took heat what publicly he calls was a tragic incident. wisconsin state investigators have begun an inquiry into this case. >>> john kerry is returning to switzerland today for a new set of talks on iran's nuclear program. this as the white house is taking aim at a republican senator who wants congress to have a voice in this deal. bob corker of tennessee is crafting a bill that would allow lawmakers to vote on negotiations. he says there is bipartisan support for such action

let's bring in stephanie elam. she's on the ground in ferguson for us. >> reporter: what we have learned is they're saying that williams' story remains he did not target the police officers but rather was having a dispute with one person who was ute here protesting and demonstrating in front of the ferguson police department but inadvertently hit the two police officers. at this point the prosecutor saying they're not sure that is actually a true story, but williams is sticking with the story, telling a man who is one of the organizers here for the protest movement in front of the ferguson police department and a man who also knows williams through the religious community in the greater st. louis county region told him he had been been protesting but was targeting a demonstrator. here's my conversation with this man. >> i asked him to describe the individual. he said he couldn't. i told him, could he -- i told him i would come back and see him, could he provide me more information, so that we can confront the indiv

stephanie elam is at the ferguson police headquarters.s confessing to being the person who fired the shots. but am i correct in saying he is backing off from the notion that he aimed at anybody other than someone he was targeting, not the police at all? >> reporter: that is exactly the story that we're getting at this point, ashleigh. he says, yes, he did shoot the gun, according to police this is what we've learned, and the was in a dispute with someone who was out here, a protester or a demonstrator. and that that is who he was targeting, not the two police officers who were standing side by side. what he's been charged with are two counts of assault in the first degree. so no matter if he was actually targeting the police officers or targeting protesters, that is the exact same charge he would face and those are flown charges. because of that they're saying they're going to move grard with this. but at the same time they did not want to give out all of the details of their investigation because they said the investigation is still ongo

stephanie elam tonight sets the scene. >> reporter: it's the middle of the day. angeles police officers respond to a robbery call on l.a. skid row. it's an impoverished section of downtown with a staggering homeless population. this video taken by a witness on the street shows the man throwing punches at police officers. the altercation escalates quickly into a chaotic scuffle on the ground. an officer loses his baton. a woman picks it up. she is quickly tackled by two officers and detained. behind them four officers continue to wrestle with the robbery suspect, one officer yelling about a gun. listen closely. there's the buzzing of a taser being used. police officers say it didn't stop the struggle. and then five shots rang out. >> oh, my god! >> had the individual not grabbed the officer's pistol certainly we would not be having this discussion. >> reporter: lapd police chief charlie beck the officers in this part of town are trained to deal with the homeless population. >> the reality is this is much more than a problem that the police alone can solve. i revie

for the latest let's turn to stephanie elam who is live in ferguson., but i didn't target them is what he's saying. >> reporter: right. that's exactly the case michaela and they're not ruling out he may have been targeting police but they're saying his story is he had a dispute with a demonstrator or protesters and then he inadvertently hit the two police officers which it's worth pointing out the two men were standing side by side when they were hit. prosecutor saying that they have recovered the weapon as well and they also said it was key that they were getting information from people who were out here demonstrators, as well as people in the community, to help nab the man who was behind the shooting. we also understand the two officers who were shot are recovering and very relieved to know the man behind the shooting is in custody. we also heard from the prosecutor saying that williams was someone known to be a demonstrator out here but i talked to a couple of people who say he is not a demonstrator one man even visiting with williams yesterday, who

right now that's all in the preliminary phases is what we're hearing, poppy. >> stephanie elam live ingo now to milwaukee county sheriff david clark. he joins me. thank you for being with me sheriff. >> my pleasure poppy. >> first i want everyone to listen to part of what president obama said this week responding to the attacks on these two police officers. >> there was no excuse for criminal acts. and whoever fired those shots shouldn't detract from the issue. they're criminals. they need to be arrested. and then what we need to do is to make sure that like-minded, good-spirited people on both sides, law enforcement who have a terrifically tough job and people who understandably don't want to be stopped and harassed just because of their race that we're able to work together to try to come up with some good answers. >> attorney general eric holder also coming out this week after those officers were shot calling it heinous, disgusting and cowardly. sheriff, you say those responses aren't enough. why? >> well they're mixed messages. this is a very convoluted message from the president.