叠测听Stephanie Cook (MJour'18)
Illustrations:听Daniel Zender, special to ProPublica听(thumbnail and top),听Lisa Larson-Walker/ProPublica听(middle)
Printed on the rear doors of each white and blue New York Police Department vehicle are the words, 鈥渃ourtesy, professionalism, respect." But those words weren鈥檛 on the unmarked NYPD cruiser that struck a Black teenager in Brooklyn on Halloween in 2019.
Several witnesses watched as the vehicle drove against traffic up a one-way street, pursuing a group of teenage boys before hitting one of the kids who jumped into the street. Among these witnesses were the wife and six-year-old daughter of Eric Umansky, deputy managing editor at ProPublica, who spent the rest of that night and the days that followed searching for information about what had transpired and whether the officers would be punished.
鈥淭here was footage and plenty of witnesses, and I happen to be an investigative journalist,鈥� . 鈥淚 thought there was at least a chance I could get answers. Instead, the episode crystallized all of the ways in which the NYPD is shielded from accountability.鈥�
That night sparked a searing investigation into how the country鈥檚 largest police department maintains impunity from public oversight and the toll that impunity takes on the city鈥檚 civilians鈥撯�揺specially those who are marginalized and most at risk.听
ProPublica鈥檚 10-part series 鈥�鈥� is the winner of this year鈥檚 Al Nakkula Award for police reporting, co-sponsored by The Denver Press Club and the University of Colorado Boulder's .听
鈥淧roPublica鈥檚 鈥楴YPD Files鈥� blew us away and stood out clearly as our top choice despite an astonishingly excellent series of contenders,鈥� says 抖阴旅行射 News Corps Director and lead judge Chuck Plunkett. 鈥淲hile we discussed the package, we noted that any number of the stories in the 10-part series could have been offered as a standalone entry and easily reached finalist consideration.鈥�
鈥淭he NYPD Files鈥� , which investigates civilian complaints against the police, and in many cases . Together, the stories illuminate an opaque system that who answers solely to the city鈥檚 mayor. The mayor, in turn, faces a powerful police union that wields its extensive resources and influence to shield its own.
The series also highlights stories of people shaped by this system: The promoted up the ranks despite a history of complaints by Black and Latino men accusing him of conducting invasive and illegal strip searches; the with mental health issues who was tased and shot by officers trained to respond to those in crisis with empathy rather than force; the protected by the department despite numerous allegations of false arrests and sexual misconduct鈥撯�揺ach representing many others like them whose stories remain untold.听
Perhaps the most notable element of the series is its , which offers the public an unprecedented look into the records of officers with one or more complaints substantiated by the CCRB, dating back to 1985. Not only is the data viewable to the public, but its contents can be downloaded for the use of additional reporting by data experts.听
鈥淒etails were 听. But after the killing of George Floyd, nationwide calls for reform听prompted New York legislators to repeal the law,鈥� writes ProPublica Editor-in-Chief Stephen Engelberg. 鈥淏ecause of his sourcing and understanding of the records, Umansky was able to quickly request and obtain a trove of them no one else had, just before unions successfully fought in court to temporarily block the city from releasing records.鈥�
Among many striking revelations yielded from the data is the fact that in 2018, the CCRB was able to substantiate just 73 of about 3,000 allegations of misuse of force鈥撯�揳 mere 2.4%.听
鈥淧roPublica's entry stood out because of its focus on real people - both those who are hurt by police actions and those who turn to the media for stories that help them navigate the world,鈥� says judge Donna Bryson, national affairs editor at Reuters. 鈥淭hat regard for readers was evident to me in ProPublica's decision to publish the data it had on police disciplinary records in ways readers can use, and its requests embedded in the stories to readers to submit their own stories of NYPD misconduct.鈥�
According to Plunkett, the judges deadlocked when deciding this year鈥檚 honorable mentions. The two runners-up include the Dallas Morning News report "The Memory Room," and the Louisville Courier Journal's extensive reporting on Breonna Taylor.听
Since March of 2020, Courier Journal reporters Darcy Costello, Tessa Duvall, Kala Kachmar, Sarah Ladd, Matt Mencarini and Andrew Wolfson have and uncovered critical pieces of information that cast doubt on the police accounts of her death.听
鈥淚n all, the Courier Journal has written more than 950 Breonna Taylor stories since she died. And we鈥檙e nowhere near finished,鈥� writes News Director and Director of Investigations Mike Trautmann. 鈥淭he newsroom鈥檚 diligence and perseverance in uncovering the truth and holding law enforcement and the city accountable has made it the predominant source in the U.S. for Breonna Taylor news.鈥�
鈥�,鈥� by Dallas Morning News reporters Dave Boucher and Lauren McGaughy, explores the case of a Southern Methodist University student beaten in her bed by an intruder. Without evidence to rely on, Dallas police turned to the controversial technique of hypnosis.
鈥淚n popular culture, hypnosis is merely a stage act. But in Texas, it is a matter of life and death,鈥� writes Dallas Morning News Investigative Editor Karisa King. 鈥溾�楾he Memory Room鈥� combined compelling storytelling with shoe leather reporting, data analysis and legal research to shed light on a dangerous police practice that remained in the shadows for decades.鈥�
In addition to Plunkett and Bryson, this year鈥檚 judges include Shelly Bradbury, court reporter for The Denver Post; Jeff Roberts, director of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition; and Allison Sherry, immigration and criminal justice reporter at Colorado Public Radio.听
The Al Nakkula award for police reporting will be presented to Umansky and ProPublica during The Denver Press Club鈥檚 Damon Runyon Award dinner, to be held this fall. The award honors the late Al Nakkula, a 46-year veteran of the Rocky Mountain News whose tenacity made him a legendary police reporter. Nakkula passed away in 1990.
鈥淪omewhere in heaven, Al Nakkula is hugely impressed and thrilled to have his namesake prize awarded to this stellar team of talented, hard-working journalists,鈥� Plunkett writes.