Sidney Award recognizes Statesman journalist Tony Plohetski for Uvalde video investigation
Austin American-Statesman investigative reporter Tony Plohetski was recognized Wednesday with the August Sidney Award for his exclusive publication of security video footage showing the Uvalde police response to a mass shooting at an elementary school.
Plohetski's reporting, in partnership with KVUE-TV, visually demonstrated authorities waiting 77 minutes before finally entering the classroom at Robb Elementary School, where a gunman had killed 19 students and their two teachers.
The video, exclusively obtained by the Statesman, countered the false narrative some elected officials and several law enforcement agencies pushed immediately after the May 24 mass shooting that an immediate response by officers, who put themselves between the gunman and children, saved lives. The video also corroborated the fears of children'srelatives and bystanders who stood outside the police line at Robb Elementary and desperately begged officers to storm the classroom.
According to the Sidney Award news release, Plohetski was honored for "his exclusive report entitled 'Watch Uvalde school shooting video obtained by Statesman showing police response'" which was also broadcast on the KVUE nightly newscast.
More:Exclusive: Watch Uvalde school shooting video obtained by Statesman showing police response
“Plohetski’s reporting cut through the self-serving official accounts and changed the national conversation about this tragedy,” said Sidney judge Lindsay Beyerstein. “We can only hope that learning the truth will be the first step towards meaningful reforms.”
"I am so thankful to the Hillman Foundation for this honor, and as always, I am grateful for those who possess crucial information and believe in the public's right to know," Plohetski said. "I am also so fortunate to work with supportive colleagues and editors whose guiding light is the truth."
Plohetski, who reports jointly for Statesman and KVUE-TV, continues to work on the Uvalde tragedy.
"Tony's reporting painfully exposed the failed response by officers at Robb Elementary," Statesman Executive Editor Manny García said. "The public needed to see what truly happened that day."
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The Statesman is also one of more than a dozen local, state and national news organizations that filed suit earlier this month against the Texas Department of Public Safety to gain access to requested records that detail law enforcement's response to the mass shooting at Robb Elementary.
The records, which have been requested by numerous outlets under the Texas Public Information Act, are being withheld from public view as the department is citing exemptions tied to ongoing investigations, according to the petition filed in Travis County on behalf of the media organizations.
News outlets participating in the lawsuit range from the Statesman, KVUE-TV and The Texas Tribune to The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN.
According to the release, the Sidney Hillman Foundation honors excellence in journalism in service of the common good. Judges are Jamelle Bouie, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Alix Freedman, Harold Meyerson, Katrina vanden Heuvel and Beyerstein. The Sidney Award is given monthly to an outstanding piece of journalism published the previous month.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin Statesman reporter wins Sidney Award for Uvalde coverage
