The Pulitzer committee claimed incorrectly this week that Freddie Gray was shot and killed by a law enforcement officer, when the 25-year-old Baltimore man actually died of a spinal cord injury sustained while in police custody.
The committee’s bungle came as it announced that the staff of the Baltimore Sun had been named as a finalist in 2016’s best in “Breaking News Reporting.”
Gray fell into a coma as he was being transported in the back of a police vehicle, and authorities determined later that he “suffered a single ‘high-energy injury’ to his neck and spine — most likely caused when the police van in which he was riding suddenly decelerated,” the Baltimore Sun reported, citing a copy of the autopsy.
Gray’s death set off a series of riots in the city, as many residents and members of the Black Lives Matter movement saw the event as the latest in a long string of brutal acts visited upon minority communities by law enforcement officials.
The Pulitzer committee, however, said this week that the Baltimore man was killed by a gun.
“For fast-moving coverage of the rioting that followed the shooting death of Freddie Gray, reflecting the newsroom’s knowledge of the community and advancing the conversation about police violence,” the committee’s website said Monday.
The best in “Breaking News” award is described by the committee as follows: “For a distinguished example of local reporting of breaking news that, as quickly as possible, captures events accurately as they occur, and, as time passes, illuminates, provides context and expands upon the initial coverage.”
