Judge Orders Release Of Newtown 911 Calls

[onehandle]

Source: Hartford Courant

A Superior Court judge Tuesday ordered the release of the 911 calls made from Sandy Hook Elementary School to Newtown police on the morning of the Dec. 14, 2012, shootings.

New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott, who had listened to the audio recordings Monday, ordered that the tapes be released by Dec. 4 at 2 p.m.

The Freedom of Information Commission in September ordered Newtown police to release tapes of 911 calls made from inside the school during the attack that killed 20 first-graders and six educators, ruling unanimously that the calls were not exempt from mandatory disclosure. That decision was made over the objections of Danbury State's Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III, who appealed the ruling in court and sought a stay of the order to release the tapes.

Prescott on Tuesday denied Sedensky's motion to stay. Sedensky, in an emailed statement, said he is "reviewing the judge's decision and once that review is complete will determine what action he will take." He said the review would be complete prior to the Dec. 4 release date.

Read more: http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-judge-release-newtown-911-calls-20131126,0,3238721.story

[alcibiades_mystery]

1. Long discourses on drunk drivers and swimming pools currently being prepared buy gun nut shitheads

of all stripes.

[villager]

3. ...along with their inevitable sneering dismissal of all the pain, horror and sorrow...

...that those calls will reveal...

[HockeyMom]

2. While I agree they should be released to the public,

I cannot listen to them. As a 6 year old myself, I saw a bus driver shot in the face up close. I have been in two real school lockdowns with gunmen on campus and huddled 18 Pre-school kids in a bathroom for safety, twice.

Too close to home for me, but maybe the public at large NEEDS to hear, and feel, what it is like.

[davidpdx]

22. That is terrible

I agree on the one hand maybe the release will anger people enough that gun control will get another push. I certainly don't think they should be used for a political purpose, but they could have that effect.

[bobclark86]

4. Open records, baby.

Wonder why the state's attorney is so adamant about not releasing them?

[maxsolomon]

5. Because they're horrifying?

And serve little edifying purpose?

[bobclark86]

7. Horrifying isn't a reason to hold back a record.

We need all the facts to find out what really happened that day (timing, movements, etc.), as well as find ways to stop such things from happening again. Burying one's head in the sand or running around screaming like a chicken with its head cut off doesn't solve the problem. Critical analysis and brainstorming solutions do.

[maxsolomon]

8. we already decided that we're not going to do anything to stop "such things from happening again".

did you not get the memo last winter? or perhaps after the CO recall elections?

there is no atrocity that would make the 2nd amendment cult back off from their absolutism. there is none so blind as he who will not see.

if the parents don't want them released, i can't blame the AG for fighting it, even if he knows he'll lose.

[bobclark86]

12. When someone says "stop such things from happening again,"

...why does everyone assumes the poster is talking about banning guns? I hate how everyone on BOTH sides jump immediately to AWB and everything breaks down, leaving us with absolutely NO changes for ANYTHING, and we all stand up and scream "How could this happen in America!" the next time.

NOW, rather than saying "Oh well, we tried one thing and it failed, so let's give up," why don't we start looking elsewhere...
1) Would a hardened door on the entrance of the building have helped delay/dissuade the attacker? Put $25,000 in the next $20 million capital project for a few good doors?
2) What safety procedures would have worked better? Look at what the plans were, what really happened, and what could have helped. Is shelter in place better than sheltering in a larger space or evacuation?
3) Our schools upstate used to have federally-funded school resource officers — a uniformed police officer trained to work with children, who in addition to security, helped as a counselor, drug abuse education resource and many other duties. Maybe it's time we put some cash back into that?
4) One of the schools here has been putting on training drills for law enforcement. They run 2- and 4-man teams through the school for a simulated live shooter during a holiday break (with honors students or youth court members as victims and bystanders to make it more realistic), giving officers a chance to learn the school, learn the procedures and get used to working under pressure. Maybe something like this could be done on a larger scale?

I'm not even going to touch our mental health "system" with a 10-meter cattle prod. I'm not going to touch guns (or even safe storage) because that will distract everyone from REAL alternatives that could have been done 11 months ago.

BTW, data from 911 calls and other sources could help design safety plans and training. THAT is why it's important, not just morbid curiosity.

[maxsolomon]

15. no, i assumed you meant school shootings, and a combination

of security measures and sensible mental health policies regarding posession of firearms. i didn't mention the AWB, which i think is pointless in a country with 300 million plus firearms and countless negligent yahoos and paranoiacs.

i do not believe that turning our elementary schools into armored fortresses is the proper way to address the problem of the mentally ill with semi-automatic weapons and death wish. following that logic, we turn the nation into a prison where everyone is a prisoner.

[bobclark86]

18. You never had an SRO, did you?

It's not armed guards. It's a counselor and educator who happens to be a cop. They do more than just stand there and harass black students like a Barneys security guard. Also, since pretty much every school is locked from intruders during the school day, a secure door you can't just shoot off the hinges won't make schools any more of a "fortress" than they currently are. A bulletproof door could have delayed Lanza long enough for cops to arrive or even stopped the Sandy Hook body count at 1. Designing plans based on real-life situations will help better prepare staff and authorities, helping lessen the body count.

Simple fucking shit could make the difference -- oh, and it could be passed almost instantly no matter who is in charge.

But we won't do even that. Why? Because the first response from every leader was either for or against AWBs and background checks (even though Connecticut had an AWB and Lanza stole the guns negating universal background checks). It gets bogged down to score points with the base on either side, and meanwhile NOTHING. EVER. CHANGES. No new officials get elected. No new measures get put in place. The only thing new is fresher graves the next time.

[maxsolomon]

21. Single Room Occupancy? No, I never lived in one.

Har de har.

No, we never had "SRO's", and I went to HS in a ghetto. Albeit in the late 70s, just after the crazies took over the NRA and before they turned this nation into an armed madhouse. We had "Security Guards" whose job it was to stop kids from going off campus to smoke weed.

Is that how Lanza entered the school? He shot the hinges off a locked door?

I get it. You believe in hardening the target, that it's a simple fix - a bulletproof, locked door. And no windows on the ground level. And no playgrounds except behind high masonry walls topped with razor wire. Etc.

I'm saying that EVERYWHERE is a target, as every other Amoklauf shooting has proved - movie theatres, strip malls, university campuses, fast food restaurants, workplaces, military bases. Why would elementary schools deserve special consideration?

I would rather intervene at the point of weapon acquisition - if crazy Adam Lanza doesn't have weapons and weapon training, then no one gets shot by crazy Adam Lanza. Not even dumbfuck of the year Mrs. Lanza.

[AtheistCrusader]

16. There's been quite a bit of research on 'copycat effect'.

Even in the days right after the shooting, the authorities in charge of the investigation were openly concerned about doing anything they could to discourage it. Likely they settled down on giving the shooter and his bullshit as little limelight as possible.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18563_162-57559352/officials-worry-about-copy-cat-shootings-in-wake-of-newtown-school-massacre/

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. Oh, good. You can ogle murdered kids to your heart's desire.

And do your "critical analysis and brainstorming" over their bloodied corpses. Sweet.

[7962]

10. Amen to that. No need to release tapes or especially pictures. nt

[bobclark86]

11. Yeah, because a 911 call to determine timing of events

will totally show us dead bodies...

Oh, wait. Even though it's the future, it's not a videophone.

[AtheistCrusader]

17. Timing is potential intel/training for the next one.

Better to keep it law enforcement training/first responder training/lockdown-teacher training, than release it to the public, IMO.

[bobclark86]

19. That's millions of people...

Just saying.

[AtheistCrusader]

20. It is, true.

But they are the people who 'need to know'.

[AtheistCrusader]

14. We have since discovered that Lanza was obsessed with Columbine.

Perhaps not releasing details in this case is meant to discourage copy-cats in the future.

I don't know, just speculation.

[quadrature]

6. the first cop on-scene, took his sweet time entering the building..

or at least that is the rumor

[Blue_Tires]

13. I'm guessing to avoid media sensationalism

and avoid fueling the fires of other potential Lanzas out there...Remember he was a hardcore obsessive collector/researcher of any graphic photos/documents/reports he could find about every notorious mass shooting on record...

I'd have thought written transcripts of the calls would be enough...

[davidpdx]

23. I'm hoping the ruling changes and they keep the tapes sealed

I don't see any logical reason to release them. An alternative would be to release a transcript. I think if they are going to release them waiting 5 years would be better.