Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP secures video exclusive as French police shoot beheading suspect

teamed up to obtain exclusive video of police confronting a beheading suspect outside Paris.

Macpherson, senior field producer, Paris, was coordinating video coverage Saturday after the horrific news that a teacher had been beheaded the previous day. She was working with AP freelance video journalist Patrick Hermansen, who had been sending live video all morning outside the school where teacher Samuel Paty had held a class discussion about the Charlie Hebdo-published caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

Juggling live and edited coverage, Macpherson saw that phone video had surfaced in local French media, shot from a home, on which police can be heard screaming at the beheading suspect to throw down his weapon and get down. A short time later, you can hear, but not see, police shooting the man and killing him.

Macpherson knew instinctively that our best chance to get this video was through old-fashioned shoe leather reporting. She had Hermansen stop everything he was doing to try to pinpoint the the house from which the amateur video was shot. Going house-to-house, Hermansen eventually found the the right one and put the owner of the video on the phone with Macpherson, where they negotiated an agency exclusive for AP.

Dozens of customers used the exclusive video, including some key clients such as EuroNews, Sky News, Al Jazeera and Russia Today. https://bit.ly/3jiJAzghttps://bit.ly/2ITiz9r

Best of the States

AP's 50-state analysis: State legislatures lack public records of sexual misconduct claims

As the #MeToo movement spread to state capitols, AP statehouse reporters filed uniform FOIA requests with every legislature seeking information about past sexual misconduct cases and payouts to victims. The coordinated effort, overseen by State Government Team reporter David Lieb, produced some interesting numbers: roughly 70 complaints and nearly $3 million in sexual harassment settlements over the past decade.

But the real story was the information that wasn’t released.

In fact, a majority of states would not disclose records related to sexual misconduct among lawmakers. The most common response was that they had received no such complaints over the past decade, did not keep a record of any such complaints or were not legally bound to disclose the records. But Lieb's research revealed that even states with documented cases of lawmaker sexual harassment were not releasing records about those allegations – and potentially others.

Lieb worked with data editor Meghan Hoyer to organize and analyze the responses from our statehouse reporters in every state. The resulting spreadsheet was distributed to AP bureaus and customers weeks ahead of publication to allow for localizations. AP reporters in 19 states did just that, producing sidebars that in many cases landed on A1.

The mainbar and the state-by-state list of accused lawmakers received wide interest on the APNews app. The story also landed on at least 20 front pages.

For their 50-state accountability project on a topic that continues to rattle state capitols, Lieb and Hoyer win this week’s Best of the States award.

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP Exclusive: User-generated video captures slaying of Dallas police officer

The video is, quite simply, bone-chilling. Taken from a rooftop, the footage shows Micah Johnson shooting a Dallas police officer at point-blank range.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP analysis: Few standards for police use of ketamine

pulled back the curtain on ketamine injections, a technique used by police to subdue suspects that played a role in last year’s death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain after a police stop in suburban Denver. Nieberg talked to experts, reviewed medical studies and police policies, and analyzed cases where ketamine has been used. She found a lack of police training, conflicting medical standards and nonexistent protocols that have resulted in hospitalizations and deaths. https://bit.ly/3b3bjSf

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: More than 100 state lawmakers accused of sexual misconduct

for tallying more than 100 state lawmakers across the U.S. who had been credibly accused of harassment in the #MeToo era in the past three years – and what actions, if any, states have taken to address the problem. After a Michigan state lawmaker was accused by a young reporter and a fellow lawmaker of sexual harassment, AP moved quickly to provide a completely distinctive story – as well as an exclusive data set that members could mine for their own use. https://bit.ly/2GBJLFb

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP: Police officer not disciplined despite far-right ties

for revealing that a Connecticut police officer wasn’t disciplined by the town’s police chief for being a member of the Proud Boys, a right-wing group known for violent clashes at political rallies. The officer’s previous membership in the group didn’t violate department policies, East Hampton’s police chief concluded in response to a civil rights group’s concerns. https://bit.ly/2MHsXAr

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP rides with Spanish police enforcing virus curfew

took readers and viewers on a nighttime police crackdown against violators of the city’s curfew, intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus.Ride-alongs are rare in Spain and no other media has had such access to document the police sweep of late-night partygoers. Morenatti and Brito gained exclusive access as Catalonia's regional police, the Mossos d'Esquadra, enforced the 10 p.m. curfew. The pair shared their images and notes with Wilson, who crafted a colorful text story.Photos and video of police chasing and detaining youth in narrow alleys were widely used both in Spain and abroad, giving AP clients unmatched coverage.https://bit.ly/3jWsGa4https://bit.ly/2Gw9ORN

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Back-to-back scoops reveal details of Louisiana police cases

for two accountability scoops in his native Louisiana. Mustian tapped sources to get the state police there to reveal an embarrassing security breach at the governor’s mansion – a man accused of breaking in, damaging property and then falling asleep on a couch. That APNewsBreak was published just hours after he revealed the full body-camera footage of the police-involved shooting of Juston Landry in Lake Charles. A grand jury cleared the officer of the shooting, but Landry’s attorney characterized the footage as “murder on camera.”https://bit.ly/2GQx9tvhttps://bit.ly/2LfQv0B

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Holding police accountable for pot grower’s bulldozer death

for obtaining exclusive details and interviews in seeking to hold police accountable for the death of a man caught growing 10 pot plans on public land. The man was run over by a bulldozer commandeered by state police as they searched thick brush for him, a slow-speed “chase” described by an expert on police procedure as “outlandish.” Rubinkam learned that police had privately apologized to the family for the incident, and he had first word of a federal civil rights lawsuit against state police and others. https://bit.ly/2FBXj3G

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP Exclusive: Police sources reveal story behind deadly Paris fire

for obtaining two exclusive police reports that revealed surprising details behind Paris’ deadliest fire in more than a decade — one involving an argument involving a resident said to have a history of psychiatric problems who has been accused of arson, and a second detailing the woman’s arrest after she tried to set a car on fire. Hinnant’s well-placed sources put AP far ahead of other news organizations. https://bit.ly/2DK7NMa

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP exposes offensive Pennsylvania police Facebook page

teamed up to reveal a private Facebook page where western Pennsylvania police officers shared distasteful and malicious posts. Lauer had heard rumors of the page and spent a year gently working sources in Pittsburgh until one finally confirmed the Pittsburgh Area Police Breakroom page existed. The source, over a few months, helped Lauer, a member of AP’s law enforcement team, acquire information found on the page, including transphobic, racist and bullying posts.

Lauer, along with news associate Beaty, took a hard look at the officers with the most egregious posts. She then went to Pittsburgh with New York video journalist Shaffrey and Pittsburgh photographer Srakocic to confront some of the officers, including a police chief listed as an administrator of the Facebook group. The result was an all-formats investigative story that appeared on numerous newspaper landing pages and generated high engagement on social media. Facebook reached out to AP not long after the story went live to say the offensive page was removed for violating company policy and to give an official comment. https://bit.ly/3wjaGhohttps://bit.ly/3ug6Dkr

Best of the Week — First Winner

AP investigation reveals pattern of beatings, shrouded in secrecy, by Louisiana State Police

Law enforcement reporters Jim Mustian and Jake Bleiberg built on their previous reporting to document a devastating pattern of violence and secrecy at the Louisiana State Police, identifying at least a dozen beating cases over the past decade in which troopers or their bosses ignored or concealed evidence, deflected blame and impeded efforts to root out misconduct.

Their exclusive investigation stems from the deadly 2019 arrest of Ronald Greene — initially blamed on a car crash. That case was blown open this spring when the AP published long-withheld video showing state troopers stunning, punching and dragging the Black motorist as he pleaded for mercy. Mustian and Bleiberg proceeded to scour investigative records and work sources, finding a disproportionate use of force against Louisiana’s Black population and an absence of transparency and accountability in the agency.

Impact from this latest story was swift, from the head of the state police to a Louisiana congressman and others calling for investigation and reform.

For dogged reporting that peeled back the layers of case after case to reveal a pattern of abuse — and is effecting change in Louisiana — Mustian and Bleiberg earn AP’s Best of the Week — First Winner.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP Exclusive: Renowned conductor Charles Dutoit accused of sexual misconduct

for reporting accounts from three opera singers and a classical musician that renowned conductor Charles Dutoit sexually assaulted them, immediately causing widespread tumult and outrage in the classical music world. http://bit.ly/2COFJcQ

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Conductor Dutoit faces new sexual misconduct claims, including a rape

for interviews with six more women who charge that maestro Charles Dutoit sexually abused them, including one who alleged rape. http://bit.ly/2Dbc9KM

Best of the States

AP Exclusive: Secret panel investigating Louisiana State Police unit’s treatment of Black motorists

From the very beginning of Jim Mustian’s stellar reporting on the death of Black motorist Ronald Greene, he has been driven by two main questions: What really happened to Greene on the night of his 2019 arrest? And was this a pattern of how Louisiana state troopers treated Black motorists?

Mustian answered the first last month when he obtained body camera video showing troopers stunning, choking, punching and dragging the unarmed Greene as he apologized and begged for mercy. 

And he began answering the second this past week when he exclusively reported that the Louisiana State Police has convened a secret panel to investigate whether Troop F — the same unit involved in Greene’s arrest  — was systematically targeting other Black motorists. Mustian’s detailed reporting and solid sourcing turned up new cases and new video, and he landed the first-ever interview with one of the victims. 

His scoop scored with heavy play and strong engagement. For dogged reporting to keep the AP ahead on a searing case of racial injustice and its continuing fallout, Mustian earns this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Documents expose state police cover-up attempt in Greene death

scored yet another exclusive in his groundbreaking coverage of the death of Black motorist Ronald Greene in the custody of Louisiana state troopers, obtaining internal documents showing police brass still trying to blame Greene’s death on a car crash, more than a year and a half after they were aware of body camera footage showing troopers brutalizing the unarmed man.The agency sought to reduce its liability in Greene’s 2019 death despite footage showing troopers stunning, punching and dragging the unarmed man — and one trooper’s startling admission that he bashed him in the head with a flashlight, a use of deadly force not previously reported.Mustian's deeply reported story — which had AP’s second-highest reader engagement for the week — showed in startling detail how everyone from top brass to troopers on the scene were involved in trying to cover up or downplay their roles in Greene’s death. https://aplink.news/s7j

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP investigation: Police can track your phone with ‘Fog’ tech tool

delivered an all-formats package revealing a startling truth: U.S. law enforcement agencies have used a smartphone tracking tool called “Fog Reveal” — made by a company that has no website or public information — to track people’s movements going back months, if not years, sometimes without search warrants.A tip to AP early this year launched the in-depth investigation of Fog Data Science, a company whose marketing materials said it drew from data generated by thousands of popular apps. Police have used the company’s Fog Reveal to search hundreds of billions of records from some 250 million mobile devices, according to documents reviewed by AP.The exclusive package, with an engaging presentation of illustrations, video and photos, attracted a global audience online, in broadcast and in print.Read more

Best of the States

Teamwork, enterprise deliver deep coverage on fatal police shooting of Chicago teen

When Chicago police released the body camera video of an officer fatally shooting a 13-year-old boy in an alley, AP staffers in Chicago and across the AP sprang into action with aggressive reporting, sharp enterprise follow-ups and thoughtful standards discussions about how to responsibly portray the gruesome incident for photo and video clients.

The end result was three days of distinctive spot and enterprise coverage on a story that resonated with audiences around the world, especially with renewed focus on police violence in the midst of the Derek Chauvin murder trial.

For comprehensive coverage providing depth, detail and context on the shooting, the all-formats team of Michael Tarm, Don Babwin, Sara Burnett, Kat Stafford, Dave Bauder, Shafkat Anowar, Robert Bumsted and Derek Karikari shares this week’s Best of the States award.

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

Exploring racial trauma caused by images of police brutality

took a fresh, insightful look at racial injustice, exploring the trauma caused by exposure to images of police brutality.

Nasir started reporting on the issue while in Minneapolis covering the aftermath of the George Floyd killing. She followed up with interviews of people who experienced the trauma, as well as a psychiatrist and others who specialize in racial trauma therapy. Hong meanwhile delivered fresh images of a man who tries to find balance between his awareness of racial injustice and the pain inflicted by such images.https://bit.ly/2VY45sehttps://bit.ly/3iEqqF5

Beat of the Week

(Honorable Mention)

AP captures video of police van ramming protesters in Manila

for capturing exclusive video of a police van ramming into protesters. Calupitan was able to get to a higher vantage point as tensions rose, allowing him to show the full view of the incident.