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.
