Chronicle named Pulitzer Prize finalist for a pair of investigations
The San Francisco Chronicle was named a finalist Monday for two Pulitzer Prizes for investigations it published into different aspects of law enforcement. The 160-year old publication has garnered five finalists over the past four years, the best performances by a newsroom its size in the country.
Journalism's most prestigious awards honored the Chronicle in 2025 for its reporting on the deadly toll of high-speed police pursuits and for uncovering the secret deals that allow police officers with records of misconduct to be rehired in law enforcement.
Reporters Jennifer Gollan and Susie Neilson were recognized in the National Reporting category for ' Fast and Fatal,' a series of stories that revealed the devastating consequences of police chases. The pursuits often begin with low-level offenses or traffic infractions and end with horrifying crashes that have killed thousands of people in recent years, many of them bystanders or passengers and a disproportionate number Black and Latino. The toll of high-speed chases has continued to rise, even as officials and agencies promise to curtail it.
The Chronicle was also honored as a finalist in the Local/State Reporting category for ' Right to Remain Secret ' by reporters Katey Rusch and Casey Smith. Published in collaboration with UC Berkeley's Investigative Reporting Program, the project exposed a system of hidden legal settlements that enables police officers with documented histories of misconduct to be rehired by new law enforcement agencies that have no knowledge of their past misdeeds. Rusch and Smith found that at least 163 California police agencies had used 'clean-record agreements' over a decade to bury misconduct allegations against 297 officers and deputies, 52 of whom went on to find new jobs in law enforcement.
'Our goal is to prove our value to subscribers every day by producing journalism that covers our community better than anyone,' said Editor in Chief Emilio Garcia-Ruiz. 'These awards show that we are among the very best in achieving that goal while competing against newsrooms much bigger than us.'
The Pulitzer Prize honors the best reporting, photography, commentary and criticism each year and is among the most revered awards given in journalism annually. The Chronicle was a finalist in 2023 for investigative reporting for its examination of the dire conditions and concentration of overdose deaths inside city-funded SROs and for feature photography for its coverage of the fentanyl crisis in San Francisco. The Chronicle was also a finalist in feature photography in 2022.
Reporters Gollan and Neilson worked on 'Fast and Fatal' for more than a year, compiling statistics from numerous sources into a first-of-its-kind national database that revealed the vast toll of police pursuits. They discovered 3,336 deaths from chases from 2017 through 2022, including 15 police officers and at least 551 bystanders. Thousands more people were injured by the pursuits, and the officers involved rarely faced consequences.
Following the report's publication, lawmakers and experts have called for better tracking of pursuit data and new national standards for chases.
A large team across the newsroom helped bring the story to fruition. Gollan and Neilson worked closely with Guy Wathen, who analyzed and edited hours of disturbing police video for the project, and with editors Jesse Marx, Dan Kopf, Bulwa and Lisa Gartner.
For 'Right to Remain Secret,' Rusch and Smith embarked on an immense public records effort. Under the California Public Records Act, they filed requests to 501 police agencies across the state, teasing out the existence and prevalence of the long-hidden 'clean-records agreements' over the course of five years. The deals not only often reversed an officer's firing and hid their misconduct from future employers, some officers with histories of brutality or dishonesty were also given cash payments or lifetime disability pensions.
The reporters uncovered 49 officers receiving disability pensions as part of the agreements who had collectively received nearly $24 million in payments.
'Right to Remain Secret' was co-edited by IRP's David Barstow and Bulwa with data editing by Kopf. Visuals were by Chris Kaufman and Laura McDermott and visuals editing by Ramin Rahimian and Frugé. Blanchard contributed illustrations with collages by D'Amato and graphics, design and development by Jenny Kwon. Graphics, design and development editing were by Erin Caughey, Fong and Alex Tatusian.
'Fast and Fatal' was copy edited by Michael Mayer. Visuals were by Stephen Lam, Jon Cherry and Liz Sanders. Chronicle Deputy Director of Visuals Emily Jan commissioned photographers across the country, and Visual Director Nicole Frugé edited the visuals, with video production and annotations by Daymond Gascon and icons by John Blanchard. Alex K. Fong and Sophie D'Amato provided design and development, with additional development from Hearst DevHub's Danielle Rindler and Janie Haseman. Danielle Mollette-Parks, the Chronicle's former creative director who passed away in December 2023, contributed to the project's design.
The San Francisco Chronicle (www.sfchronicle.com) is the largest newspaper in Northern California and the second largest on the West Coast. Acquired by Hearst in 2000, the San Francisco Chronicle was founded in 1865 by Charles and Michael de Young and has been awarded six Pulitzer Prizes for journalistic excellence. Follow us on Twitter at @SFChronicle.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘We are human': Los Angeles residents explain the drive behind days of mass protests
LOS ANGELES — As protesters hit the streets here Tuesday for a fifth consecutive day to denounce arrests of immigrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, President Trump intensified his rhetoric, calling Angelenos 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy' and vowing to 'liberate' the city. The Chronicle spoke to protesters in Los Angeles to hear about what drove them to take action. One wore a flag bearing the statement: 'We are human.' Others spoke of their concern over racial profiling, treatment of immigrants and family members. Excerpts from those interviews are below. Trump has ordered 2,000 California National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines into Los Angeles — moves Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday criticized as illegal and dangerous. 'This brazen abuse of power by a sitting President inflamed a combustible situation… putting our people, our officers, and the National Guard at risk,' Newsom said in a speech Tuesday night. The demonstrations in Los Angeles have spurred a dramatic protest movement across the U.S., with large crowds gathering in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Atlanta, Seattle and St. Louis. Newsom said more than 370 people have been arrested in Los Angeles on vandalism and violence since the protests began Friday, following ICE's arrests at a clothing factory. On Tuesday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew in a square-mile area of downtown Los Angeles after 23 businesses were looted. Meanwhile, ICE arrests continued in Los Angeles and other parts of the U.S. Steven Steven, 24, who declined to provide his surname, said he is upset that people are being detained by ICE when they attend immigration court appointments. The Los Angeles resident stood with hundreds of others at Gloria Molina Grand Park for a vigil against deportations, wrapped in a flag reading 'We are human.' 'I don't think it's right,' Steven said. 'They are taking away people who are just trying to have a better life. I'm not even talking about deporting criminals.' Steven said he was also concerned that many people without criminal records are being targeted — pointing to cases of a high school girl and her mother who were arrested at immigration court. Frida Aguilar Frida Aguilar, 22, of Los Angeles, came out to protest downtown 'for my family,' she said, including many who are 'Dreamers' under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Aguilar stood wrapped in a Mexican flag at the corner of Los Angeles and Temple Streets, accompanied by her friend Yaire Linares, who was wrapped in a Guatemalan flag. 'It's getting insane out here,' Aguilar said. Aguilar said she was upset with how immigration officials seem to ignore due process in detaining and deporting people and with how they use racial profiling to stop people. She cited a case, reported by NBC News, in which ICE detained a U.S. marshal in Arizona because he 'fit the general description of a subject being sought by ICE.' Aguilar criticized Trump's characterization of the violence in Los Angeles, saying that 'the violence is occurring because they are provoking… us.' 'We are trying to speak for people who don't have a voice,' Aguilar said. Nico Chavez Nico Chavez said he attended the demonstration in support of 'my people.' 'It's why my parents came here!' Chavez said. Chavez was protesting with hundreds of others outside a federal building in Los Angeles when police started firing rubber bullets. Chavez was near a pedestrian bridge when he heard the bullets. 'That was scary!' Chavez said. 'I was just throwing up a peace sign; I wasn't doing anything.' Bianca Stopani Bianca Stopani, 36, of Los Angeles, said she decided to protest because she doesn't think ICE 'telling us we can't be here' is fair. Stopani said she is the daughter of Guatemalan immigrants. 'My parents fought for a better life,' Stopani said. 'It's my turn to fight for them.' Stopani said she has protested before, including against the Iraq War when she was 14. She said Trump is 'such a hypocrite.' 'He wants to talk about Latino people being criminals, but he's the one who has all these RICO [Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act] charges,' Stopani said. Aleah and Kimberly Aleah, 19, of Pomona, was protesting — for a third day — for her parents, who came into the United States without authorization when they were children. 'I am protesting for my parents and for the right to not to be taken away,' Aleah said. Aleah, a U.S. citizen, was protesting in Los Angeles, alongside her friends, including Kimberly, a 19-year-old from East Los Angeles. Aleah said Trump's criticism of immigrants and protesters appalled her. 'I don't think a criminal should be talking against hard-working people who take all of the dirty labor jobs no one else wants,' Aleah said. 'He [Trump] should be looking for real criminals.' Kimberly said she thinks Trump is targeting 'Hispanics and Latino people and a lot of people are letting him get away with it and it needs to stop.' 'Trump is getting away with a lot, and I think people are finally realizing it,' Kimberly said. Chronicle Staff Writer Molly Burke contributing to this report.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump vows to 'liberate' Los Angeles as mayor imposes curfew
The mayor of Los Angeles has imposed a night-time curfew for part of downtown as a fifth day of clashes over President Donald Trump's immigration raids erupted in America's second-biggest city. Karen Bass said she was declaring an emergency as businesses were being vandalised and looted. Nearly 200 people were arrested in the city on Tuesday. Trump defended his decision to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to LA, vowing to "liberate" the city and prevent it being "conquered by a foreign enemy". The immigration raids that triggered the protests last Friday are continuing with National Guard troops now protecting border control agents on enforcement operations. Chaotic protests also sprung up on Tuesday night in cities around the country, from Seattle to Chicago: Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent National Guard troops to San Antonio, where immigration rallies are being planned In Atlanta, Georgia, riot police used tear gas on protesters who fired fireworks towards officers at a demonstration attended by hundreds NYPD told the BBC "multiple" arrests were made after some protesters failed to disperse after several thousand marched into lower Manhattan LA's mayor told reporters earlier: "I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting." The order affects one-square-mile of LA where the protests have been concentrated and will be in effect beginning on Tuesday night from 20:00 PST (04:00 GMT) until Wednesday morning at 06:00 PST. Live updates from the protests Los Angeles police responding to the protests made 197 arrests on Tuesday, up from 114 on Monday, 40 on Sunday and 27 on Saturday, Bass told Tuesday's press conference. The mayor said 23 businesses had been looted on Monday night, though she did not provide an estimate of financial losses to the city from all the at-times violent disorder. "We reached a tipping point," she said of her decision to impose a curfew. The unrest has been restricted to pockets of the sprawling city. For much of Los Angeles it was a normal Tuesday as tens of thousands of children went to school, commuter traffic choked the streets and tourists strolled Hollywood Boulevard. LA police chief Jim McDonnell said the curfew was "not about silencing voices", but was a necessary measure to save lives and safeguard property. Bass also said Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had provoked the unrest by conducting raids on Latino areas in the city in recent days. "If [the raids are] going to go on for 30 days, and that's what the rumour is, and, if we want to see our city peaceful again, I will call upon the administration one more time to end the raids," she said. On Tuesday, National Guard troops, who were previously guarding federal buildings, began assisting ICE agents with their "daily enforcement operations", a spokesperson for the agency told the BBC. Marines were guarding federal officials and property on Tuesday, Marines Corps General Eric Smith said. They do not have arrest authority. Everything we know about the demonstrations Trump's deportation drive is perfect storm in city of immigrants Could Trump invoke the Insurrection Act? The military deployment to the LA area will cost $134m (£99m), the Pentagon said. Addressing troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, Trump described the protests as a "full-blown assault on peace and public order". The Republican president said he plans to use "every asset at our disposal to quell the violence and restore order right away". In televised remarks on Tuesday night, California's Governor Gavin Newsom hit back at Trump's unusual deployment of the military for a domestic law-enforcement matter. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard, at risk," he says. Earlier in the day a federal court denied an emergency request from California to block the use of troops sent to Los Angeles. District Judge Charles Breyer scheduled a hearing on the motion for Thursday.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Aurora City Council will not hold in-person meetings until Kilyn Lewis lawsuit concludes
DENVER (KDVR) — Aurora Mayor Mike Coffman announced Tuesday that the city's council meetings will be held virtually to prevent disruptions while a lawsuit filed on behalf of a man shot and killed by police works its way through the court system. The message was echoed on the council's webpage. The webpage includes instructions for how members of the public can view the meetings or provide public comment on agenda items. However, all public comment listening sessions have been canceled until further notice. Family of man killed by Aurora police last May files suit against city, officer who fired deadly shot The measure was voted on during the June 9 council meeting, with seven in favor, three against, and two members in debate. In May, the council addressed a resolution that would change how it accepts public comment. 'As of right now, criminally, Michael Dieck did not murder Kilyn Lewis,' said councilwoman Danielle Jurinsky. 'It's in the court's hands now, and I would like to suspend this to be virtual until we have an official ruling from the court as to whether or not the city is liable in any way, shape or form for the death of Kilyn Lewis. Because if we are not in fact liable in any way, shape or form for the death of Kilyn Lewis, there is nothing left to discuss, and there's no reason for you to come back.' Jurinsky added that if the ruling takes years to reach, then she's on board with having virtual meetings until the ruling. Family and friends of Kilyn Lewis have held protests during several Aurora City Council meetings. The group has been seeking justice after the 37-year-old was shot and killed by an Aurora police officer in May 2024. In October, the district attorney ruled that an officer who shot Lewis would not face charges. In late May, Lewis' family filed a lawsuit seeking accountability from the Aurora Police Department in their loved one's death. It discusses excessive force, wrongful death and violations of the family's constitutional rights. 'This lawsuit is not just about a dollar amount. It's about truth. It's about making sure that the life of a Black man like Kilyn Lewis is not so easily discarded,' said MiDian Shofner, CEO of the Epitome of Black Excellence and Partnership and lead advocate for the family, in the May 28 announcement of the case filing. 'No amount of money can bring him back, but since America has made money the metric for justice, the family is rightfully pursuing every legal remedy available.' Coffman wrote on Facebook that he believes the group is simply looking for a check, and then they will 'go away.' Deadly shooting of Kilyn Lewis leads to new Aurora police SWAT policies: Report 'Until then, they will continue to disrupt our meetings. They have no choice but to continue disrupting our meetings because their lawsuit is meritless. This is why we have no choice but to stop all in-person council meetings, and go virtual, until their lawsuit has been concluded,' Coffman wrote. He noted that an Arapahoe County Grand Jury was also asked to review the case and declined to pursue charges against the officer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
