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Judge Will Listen to Sandy Hook 911 Recordings

CT-N

After a hearing on Monday, New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott said he will listen to the 911 recordings from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last year, and consider whether they can be released to the public. Prescott's decision will come soon after he hears the calls, but it will not be Monday.

The recordings were ordered by the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission to be provided to The Associated Press in September. State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III requested a stay while he appeals the order.

During Monday's hearing, Prescott ruled that the 911 tapes should remain sealed while they are under review, in order to preserve confidentiality until he rules on Sedensky's request for a stay. Prescott said, "The plaintiff's interest in preserving the confidentiality of the audio recordings until such time as his motion for stay can be fairly adjudicated outweighs the public's interest in immediate access to such information."

Watch footage from the hearing below:

During Monday's hearing, Victor Perpetua, an attorney for the information commission, said the recordings had been leaked by at least one member of law enforcement to the media, referring to a report last week from Hearst Connecticut Newspapers. Perpetua asked Prescott whether he believed that development to be relevant in his ultimate decision on whether to release the audio tapes. Prescott said that he did not know whether the information in the Hearst report came from law enforcement sources and that he had no plans to hold a hearing on who might have leaked the tapes or whether the information was accurate. "I think I have what I need at this time," he said, referring to making his final decision on the tapes.

A long-awaited report in relation to the Sandy Hook shooting is scheduled to be released Monday at 3:00 pm. Connecticut officials initially planned to release it over the summer, and it was pushed back several times. 

This report contains information from The Associated Press.

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SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Connecticut Public’s journalism is made possible, in part by funding from Jeffrey Hoffman and Robert Jaeger.