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Three Officers Involved in Fatal Beating of Inmate were Previously Accused of Assault; Experts Warn U.S. Isn't Reacting Fast Enough to Bird Flu Threat; Gas Prices Expected to Drop in 2025. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired December 30, 2024 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[15:30:00]

PETER GOETZ, FORMER NTSB MANAGING DIRECTOR: ... have to rethink that and probably change it.

KEILAR: Have you ever seen anything like this?

GOETZ: No. This is the, I mean, the idea that, you know, a bird strike in and of itself, even on final approach, while it's challenging, does not have to be catastrophic and seldom is. And to have this plane show up without its landing gear at such high speed in such a desperate crash is really, really perplexing. And I think we're going to see that these -- that the crew were taken by surprise and probably were overwhelmed by the circumstances they were facing.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes, you might -- That will be the question is, was it technical problem compounded by human error? And obviously, this investigation is going to answer that question, hopefully for us.

Peter, thank you so much for your insights. We do appreciate it.

GOETZ: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: Still ahead, some new details on the fatal beating of a New York prison inmate. What court documents obtained by CNN say about some of the officers involved in the incident? Stay with us.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We are learning some new information about at least three of the officers involved in the beating death of Robert Brooks, an inmate at a correctional facility in New York State. CNN has learned that the three officers have been accused of assault in previous incidents at the exact same prison. Disturbing body cam video shows officers punching and kicking Brooks while his hands were handcuffed behind his back.

CNN's Polo Sandoval is following the story for us. Polo, what more can you tell us?

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So Brianna, much of what we know is in court documents obtained by CNN. They show that at least three of the officers suspected in the fatal beating of Robert Brooks have actually been previously accused of assaults in the same upstate New York correctional facility.

Starting with two of them, Sergeant Glenn Trombly and Officer Anthony Farina. Each of them named in a 2022 complaint that was filed in federal court. And it's citing a 2020 incident in which those two officers allegedly looked on as a fellow officer beat a handcuffed inmate. That beating reportedly left the inmate permanently disfigured.

Then there's Officer Nicholas Anzalone, the correctional officer who's named in a separate complaint alleging that he not only joined in on the assault of an inmate at that facility but was involved in an alleged coverup to fabricate disciplinary charges against the inmate who was left with what's described by their attorney as substantial physical and mental injuries.

And we should mention both these cases, they are still pending, still citing that ongoing litigation. The New York State Department of Corrections would not say why these officers remained on active duty amid that ongoing civil litigation.

But also adding to questions, Brianna, is a 2022 report by the watchdog group, the Correctional Association of New York, which actually had an opportunity to interview not only staff at the facility, but dozens of inmates. And the group concluded that it was troubled by what it described as pervasive allegations of mistreatment by staff at Mercy Correctional -- Marcy, I should say, Marcy Correctional, and also that they were concerned about what was happening there, even calling on the Inspector General as well as the Corrections Department to investigate.

Now I did ask the Office of Inspector General today if an investigation was launched prior to the Brooks beating, but still have not received a response, Brianna.

As for the Corrections Department, they have previously responded saying that it was in the process or even had already addressed concerns in the report, including deploying body-worn cameras just this past May. In fact, those cameras were critical in capturing the fatal beating of Mr. Brooks on December 9th.

Some quick background for you here. He was serving a 12-year sentence for assault and he's seen in this footage that was released by authorities as he was punched by officers, kicked by some of them, while his hands are still handcuffed behind his back. The next day, he was pronounced dead at the hospital. It is still unclear, though, Brianna, exactly what transpired before Brooks was taken into the examination room earlier this month.

The New York Department of Corrections named 14 staff members suspected in Brooks' death. We should mention none of the officers or their representatives have commented since that video was released by the New York Attorney General. CNN has reached out to those officers for comment. But something that's quite telling here, Brianna, the Correctional Officers Union, which, as you know, typically actually defends many of these employees, they called the footage, quote, incomprehensible.

So it certainly speaks to the brutal nature of this beating as not only the state attorney general, but also the FBI investigates the incidents with potential criminal charges on the horizon.

KEILAR: Yes, that union statement really stands out, to your point. Polo Sandoval, thank you so much for that report.

And still to come, health experts are concerned the U.S. isn't acting fast enough to contain the bird flu outbreak. How the CDC is responding. Stay with CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

[15:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Some top health experts are warning the United States isn't acting fast enough to control the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in wild birds, poultry, and dairy cattle. This comes as the CDC says samples from a hospitalized human patient show the virus likely mutated in the patient to become potentially more transmissible to humans.

Let's bring in CNN health reporter Jacqueline Howard with more on this. All right, Jacqueline, right now, what is the risk to the public?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, Brianna, the current risk is still low for the general public. That's because we don't have currently human-to-human transmission of this virus. But with that being said, there is increased risk for certain groups of people.

And here's CDC official Dr. Demetre Daskalakis talking about who may be at that increased risk. Have a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DEMETRE DASKALAKIS, DIRECTOR CDC'S NATIONAL CENTER FOR IMMUNIZATION AND RESPIRATORY DISEASES: There is increased risk for individuals who have exposure to animal and animal products. So that's why so much of the work that we're doing is focused on farm workers and others who may have exposure to birds or other products that may put them at risk for H5.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[15:45:00]

HOWARD: So, Brianna, the cases we've seen so far, there have been 66 confirmed human cases. They have been associated with exposure to infected animals. 40 of those cases, people were exposed to infected dairy cattle. 23 of those cases were tied to poultry farms. So these are the cases that we're seeing so far.

But the reason why health experts are saying more needs to be done to monitor this is because there is worry that the virus could potentially become transmissible from human to human. And that's why there's concern about this right now.

KEILAR: All right, and so what are health experts saying should be done at this point?

HOWARD: Well, some experts say we need to do more testing of people, but the CDC has pushed back on that. They said in a statement, quote, that despite data indicating that asymptomatic infections are rare, CDC changed its recommendations back in November to widen the testing net to include testing asymptomatic people with high-risk exposure. The CDC also went on to say, Brianna, that they have partnerships with commercial labs and bird flu tests are available at doctor's offices.

So there is testing that's happening right now. But again, experts say we need to keep a close eye on this.

KEILAR: All right, we certainly will. Jacqueline, thank you for the report.

Experts are predicting that gas prices will drop in 2025 for the third straight year. But will President-elect Trump's proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico impact that? We'll have that next.

[15:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now to some of the other headlines that we're watching this hour. A Colorado man is under arrest on suspicion of attacking a local television reporter after allegedly demanding to know whether he was a U.S. citizen. Court documents say 39-year-old Patrick Thomas Egan told the reporter, quote, this is Trump's America now.

According to Grand Junction Police, Egan followed the reporter's car for some 40 miles, chased him after he got out of the vehicle and tried to strangle him. Egan is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

And a new development in the investigation into One Direction singer Liam Payne's death. Prosecutors in Argentina where Payne died back in October say five people have now been charged in the case, including Payne's manager and the manager of the hotel where Payne fell to his death from a balcony. Another hotel employee and a local waiter also faced charges for allegedly giving Payne cocaine during his stay.

Also not a day to watch the markets. At one point, the Dow was down more than 700 points. You can see it's bounced back somewhat there, still in the red as we approach the closing bell. With just one trading day left in 2024, Boeing and Tesla are among those seeing losses right now.

And Americans who are looking to save some money in the new year may find those savings at the gas pump. CNN's Matt Egan has that.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MATT EGAN, CNN REPORTER: Brianna, I have good news about gas prices. GasBuddy tells CNN that 2025 will likely be the third straight year of falling prices at the pump. They are projecting an annual average of 3.22 a gallon. That would be about 11 cents cheaper than this year. It would also be the lowest annual average since 2021.

Now it is true that people are still paying more at the pump than they did before COVID, but it's also true that they're generally making more money, right? Wages have gone up significantly. And so that means that gas is swallowing up a smaller and smaller amount of paychecks.

Now this forecast from GasBuddy does represent further progress from that nightmare a few years ago when gas prices skyrocketed above $5 a gallon for the first time ever after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But thankfully today, oil prices are significantly lower in part because the United States is pumping more oil than any country in world history. So you have strong supply. There's also relatively weak demand out of China.

And so that's why GasBuddy is projecting that Americans are going to spend about $100 billion less on fuel than they did back in 2022. Typical family expected to spend around $500 less than they did back then.

Now we should stress that this is just a forecast. And as always, there are risks out there that could change things. For instance, there's always the risk of a hurricane that knocks out oil refineries or oil production and that causes prices to go up. There's also always the danger of a war or an act of terror that disrupts supplies or unnerves investors.

But perhaps the biggest X factor for next year when it comes to energy prices is president elect Donald Trump's proposals to impose tariffs on Mexico and Canada. On his first day in office, industry analysts, they warned that those tariffs would significantly increase prices at the pump if they were imposed. Of course, that's a big if, there's no guarantee they will, but it's worth noting that Canada is the biggest source of foreign oil into the United States.

Of course, getting blamed for higher prices at the pump is the last thing that President-elect Trump would want to have happen. He's promised to lower energy prices. On the campaign trail, he vowed to get the national average for gas below $2 a gallon.

Now, industry analysts are very skeptical about that claim. They don't see sub $2 gas unless there was a recession or something else that really crashed demand. GasBuddy is not calling for anything close to $2 a gallon at any point for next year.

And GasBuddy's Patrick De Haan, he told me that if we saw a $1.99 gas, it would be because of an economic calamity, not something than a mirror. So for now, the forecast is for continued slow, but steady progress when it comes to prices at the pump. And that is another reason to be cautiously optimistic about 2025.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Matt Egan, thank you for that.

Final preparations underway in Times Square for the big New Year's Eve celebration. Crews are getting the iconic Times Square New Year's Eve ball ready for its midnight trip up that 139 foot pole atop One Times Square.

And this isn't just any ball, it is a geodesic sphere, 12 feet in diameter, weighing nearly 12,000 pounds. And of course it's covered with 2,688 crystal triangles.

And the confetti is also ready. Organizers of tomorrow's event did a confetti test on Sunday -- you have to do that, right? Just as a precaution to make sure that all goes well for the real 2025 welcome. 3,000 pounds of confetti will be blanketing the huge crowds gathered in Times Square.

And before we go, a reminder, tomorrow night, ring in the new year with CNN, join Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen for "NEW YEAR'S EVE" live. Coverage starts at eight on CNN. And "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts after a quick break.