Politics & Government

State Report On 12/14 Shooting Expected Monday

Reports now say the report will be shorter than expected, but officials are preparing for a fresh round of media coverage at schools.

The scheduled release of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting report is drawing tensions in town, from schools to town leaders, even as some reports indicate it won't be as extensive as previously thought.

State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky has been drawing up the report for the bulk of 2013, while some leaks and previous releases have accumulated, raising the profile of the final report in the national media. The report is expected to be released around 3:00 p.m. Monday.

"I'm very anxious about it," said First Selectman Pat Llodra. "I've seen no advanced copy of the report, nor do I expect to — nor do I want to."

Schools are bracing for the release of the report, too. In a series of e-mails sent to parents last week, Interim Superintendent John Reed warned about the effects of exposing kids to the news.

"I expect this release will be very widely covered in the print media, radio, television and on the internet," he said. "Depending upon the age of your child or children, I think it is advisable to carefully consider what you want them to see, hear or read."

Read tips for Newtown parents on dealing with media coverage, courtesy of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

In a followup e-mail, Reed said the Newtown Police Department had decided to provide extra patrols at all seven Newtown schools, including Chalk Hill School in Monroe, according to the Danbury News-Times.

"I agree with the plan of the Newtown Police Department for this extra presence," he wrote in the letter to parents. "It will help ensure a reasonable educational environment and protect the privacy of our students and staff."

Llodra says she's always concerned with balancing the public's right to know and the harm that information could do.

"A lot of us have called for that report to be released for a long time," she said.

Gov. Dannel Malloy is among them. Earlier in November, Malloy told reporters he would push for the report to be released as soon as possible.

"I've repeatedly called on the State's Attorney to set a date and get the report out," he said. "This has gone on longer than any of us would have liked and certainly is not representative of how I would have handled the timing of this report. It needs to get out. It needs to get out this week, next week. It needs to get out."

Truncated Report Expected

Malloy has said social security numbers and other personal information could be redacted from the report, which may have led to the delay — Sedensky was originally expected to file the report in June.

Meanwhile, the report is already drawing media scrutiny across the country. The Associated Press reports it will not contain "the bulk of the evidence," including thousands of pages of police reports.

These include the 911 calls, currently the subject of a legal battle between Sedensky and numerous news agencies. The state's Freedom of Information Coalition ruled for the calls to be released, but the town has joined Sedensky in an appeal.

Llodra said she found the leaks more harmful than the anticipated report, saying the trickle of new information on a weekly or monthly basis is creating a sense of "chronic anxiety" in Newtown.

"That's very hurtful to our community. If it has to be released, we'll release in its entirety, in a way that doesn't lead to wrong conclusions that are harmful," she said. "My point is, stop leaking. Whoever's leaking, stop it. It hurts."

Sedensky's office has not provided a final release date for the reported thousands of pages of police documents.


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