Judge Orders Release of Newtown 911 Recordings

A Connecticut judge has ordered the release of the 911 recordings from the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, but the tapes will not be immediately unsealed.

Union workers from Iron Workers Local 40 raise a beam with a banner attached supporting victims of the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting during the Whitney Museum ( Andy Kropa/Getty Images)

The state's Freedom of Information Commission ruled in September that the recordings should be provided to The Associated Press, but State's Attorney Stephen Sedensky III asked for a stay while he appeals that order.

New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott denied his request Tuesday, but the tapes remain sealed until Dec. 4 to give the prosecutor a chance to appeal.

The AP has sought the recordings in part to examine the police response to the massacre, which left 20 first-graders and six educators dead.

Sedensky urged the judge to consider the anguish releasing the tapes could cause victims' families.

If the recordings are released, the AP would review the content and determine what, if any, of it would meet its standards for publication.

Filed Under: Connecticut school shootings