South Florida Sun Sentinel wins Public Service Pulitzer - Sun Sentinel

April 15, 2013|By Brittany Wallman, Sun Sentinel

The resulting series, Above the Law: Speeding Cops, broke new ground in database journalism and had an immediate and lasting impact on the community.

Sun Sentinel investigative reporter Sally Kestin and database specialist John Maines, working with investigative team editor John Dahlburg, used data collected from SunPass toll booths to calculate the officers' speed.

The three-part series was published in February, revealing the shocking behavior of law enforcement officers behind the wheel. The reporters found nearly 800 officers who reached speeds of 90-130 mph, many of them while off duty. The accidents caused by officers driving at high speeds had caused at least 320 crashes since 2004, killing or maiming 21 people.

As a direct result of the Sun Sentinel's investigation, scores of officers were disciplined, suspended and, in the case of the Miami officer whose speeding sparked the project, fired. Cities throughout South Florida instituted new ways of tracking their police activity as a result of the series. The database was so innovative that two law enforcement agencies sent investigators to the newsroom to learn how to replicate it.

"It is with great pleasure and pride we celebrate Sun Sentinel's first-ever Pulitzer Prize," Sun Sentinel Publisher Howard Greenberg said.

"With all of the challenges we face today, to win the award for public service — among the most prestigious in journalism — undeniably underscores our staff's commitment to excellence, integrity and outstanding service in our communities. We should all be very proud as a company and a community," he said.

Kestin and Maines came up with an irrefutable database "through incredible innovation, tenacity and courage," Greenberg said.

The Sun Sentinel has been named a Pulitzer finalist 13 times, but this was the newspaper's first win of the coveted prize. The Columbia University's Pulitzer, in its 97th year, is the ultimate honor for a journalist.

The project was led overall by Metro Editor Dana Banker, Associate Editor Willie Fernandez, and Sun Sentinel Editor Howard Saltz.

"This is such an exciting moment for our newsroom and it's a reflection of the kind of work that we want to be known for," Fernandez said.

The Sun Sentinel newsroom erupted in cheers Monday and toasted the Pulitzer-winning team with champagne.

"I'm just so proud of this team," Banker said. "It was a huge commitment: These reporters analyzed more than a million database records and drove more than 2,500 miles to accurately determine the speeds and distances involved. Their work made a difference — and that's what good local journalism is all about."

Their efforts were coupled with essential contributions from, among others, graphic artist Cindy Jones-Hulfachor, video reporter Ihosvani "Geo" Rodriguez, photographer Mike Stocker, database specialist Dana Williams, and copy editors Jeremy Lang and Kathy Laskowski.

"Before the series ran, cops around South Florida were notorious for speeding,'' said Maines. "We had all seen them zip by at breakneck speeds. After the Miami incident made headlines, Sally came up with the idea of using SunPass data."

The reporting team's request for data initially was rejected. The reporters pushed on, ultimately mining toll records from 12 South Florida police agencies.

"Even once we got the data — more than a million records — the technical challenges were daunting because the raw information does not allow speed calculations,'' Maines said. "We came up with some neat tricks to overcome that, and it's great that the judges recognized our hard work."

"It's an incredible honor to be recognized with a Pulitzer Prize,'' Kestin said. "We'd all seen the danger created by cops not obeying the laws they're supposed to enforce, but it wasn't until our investigation that we, and the public, understood just how prevalent extreme police speeding had become. As a result of our work, cops in South Florida slowed down."

Dahlburg, who edited the series, said the reporters "looked at something everybody here in South Florida knew was happening — chronic, often dangerous speeding by police officers both on and off duty — and crunched data from our local toll roads to show just how common it was, and which departments were the biggest offenders.

"Their investigative series and many follow-ups sparked a wave of internal reviews and disciplinary actions in area police departments, and most important — new toll data that Sally and John examined at the end of the year showed the police had slowed down."

Saltz praised the Pulitzer team, as Kestin wiped away tears and newsroom staffers snapped photos and videos and took turns embracing the winners.

"In an industry fueled by words and expression, this Pulitzer is an exceptional honor and acknowledgment of our newsroom, our company and the community," Saltz said shortly after the announcement. "It is not hyperbole to state that our roads are safer and public policy more fair because of their efforts."