Sandy Hook Families Suggest Compromise for Public Access to 911 Records

In the wake of the Sandy Hook school shootings, Connecticut has been having a huge debate on where to draw the line between public access to law enforcement records like 911 calls and protecting victims' families from further trauma and further invasions of their privacy. During testimony before a legislative task force, the spouse of one of the adults killed in the shooting suggested a compromise, according to the Hartford Courant: "Bill Sherlach, whose wife Mary was among the six adults and 20 children shot to death on Dec. 14, told members of the Task Force on Victim Privacy and the Public's Right to Know that he's willing to support a compromise: the release of a written account of the 911 calls made that day, as long as the audio is not made public. 'Transcripts can rely all the information that the public wants without having to hear the sounds of a slaughter in the background,'' he said."