Transcript

Event Date(s): 08/18/1997 | Description: 20:00:00 MSNBC anchor John Gibson introduces tonight's first Internight topic, the alleged assault and sexual battery of Haitian immigrant Abner Louima by New York City Police Department (NYPD) officers at the 70th Precinct in Brooklyn, New York State. Still photo of Louima in hospital bed. Louima is suffering from a torn colon, a ruptured bladder and a possibly fractured jaw. Four NYPD officers have been arrested in the case. 20:01:32 Gibson introduces tonight's panel: live from Denver, Colorado defense attorney Jeralyn Merrit and in the studio former NYPD detective Jay Salpeter, criminal defense attorney Joseph Tacopina, American Civil Liberties Union's Norman Siegel and MSNBC legal analyst Rob Tarver. 20:02:13 Gibson is joined by Abner Louima's cousin and family spokesman Samuel Nicolas live from New York City, New York State. Nicolas explains the medical condition of Louima. Background still photo of Louima in hospital bed. Nicolas comments that the Louima family is happy with the investigation of the accusations. Background still photos of accused NYPD officers Justin Volpe, Thomas Bruder, and Thomas Wiese. Backgroung video of a large protest by Brooklyn's Haitian community against police brutality. 20:07:22 Tacopina is defending one of the accused NYPD officers Thomas Wiese. Tacopina comments that the investigation moved so quickly that investigators acted recklessly. Siegal comments on need for a strong case in decisions against policemen. 20:11:20 Excerpt of United States Attorney Zachary W. Carter at a press conference. 20:13:39 Excerpt of 1997-08-14 Abner Louima press conference, Louima comments about police abuse. 20:14:17 Gibson and the panel explore the question if the arrests of NYPD officers is a rush to judgement and if the quickness of investigation is causing weaknesses in any future legal cases. 20:21:30 Gibson and the panel respond to a viewer call. They discuss the difficulties of getting police to testify against each other and the need for police to be held responsible for civilian complaints. 20:26:01 NBC"News @ This Hour" with anchor John Seigenthaler. 20:30:12 Gibson and the panel discuss difficulty of investigating civilian complaints against police. 20:33:20 Gibson and the panel take viewer comments and discuss why police brutality does not go away. 20:37:32 Gibson introduces the second topic for tonight's show, the JonBenet Ramsey murder investigation. Background still photos of murdered six-year-old JonBenet Ramsey's parents John Ramsey and Patricia Ramsey in and around their Boulder, Colorado home. Video of fourth newspaper advertisement placed by Ramsey's in attempt to find the murderer of JonBenet. 20:38:25 Gibson is joined by KHOW radio talk show host Peter Boyles live from Denver, Colorado, former Los Angeles District Attorney Ira Reiner live from Los Angeles, California. Merrit, Tarver and Salpeter continue on the panel. 20:39:25 Gibson reads portions of fourth Ramsey advertisement with paraphrases from motion pictures. Background video of the advertisement. Boyles and Reiner express a cynical view of the Ramsey's advertisement and motives for placing it. 20:42:26 Tarver and Merritt defend the Ramsey's and their motives for placing the advertisement. Background still photo of Boulder District Attorney Alex Hunter. The panel discusses Ramsey's placing advertisement as a preliminary move before they become involved in prosecution. 20:47:40 Gibson and the panel discuss the status of the Boulder Police Department's investigation into the JonBenet Ramsey murder. Boyles comments on the participation of"dream team' lawyers Hoffman, Miller and Reich (ph). Background still photo of Boulder D.A. Alex Hunter. 20:54:06 Gibson and the panel take viewer calls. Discussion concerns the question, will anybody be charged with the murder?. Merrit comments that the Boulder police are simply running in place.