R-J wins award from ACLU for series on police shootings

The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has chosen the Las Vegas Review-Journal as its latest Emilie Wanderer Civil Libertarian of the Year award winner for its series on police shootings.

The five-day series, titled "Deadly Force: When Las Vegas Police Shoot, and Kill," highlighted the Metropolitan Police Department's reluctance to hold officers accountable for mistakes and unwillingness to adopt policies to protect its officers and the public. Las Vegas police had 12 fatal shootings last year, a record for one year for the department.

"This project is simply unprecedented in Nevada and is nationally outstanding," ACLU Executive Director Dane Claussen said in a news release Friday announcing the award. "The Review-Journal's series was not only highly informative and timely for the public and local government officials, but was of tremendous help to the ACLU of Nevada as it prepared its petition to the U.S. Department of Justice requesting a patterns/practices investigation of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department."

The Justice Department's civil rights division declined to open a patterns-and-practices investigation, but another arm of the federal agency, Community Oriented Policing Services, has agreed to conduct an independent review of the Police Department's use of deadly force.

The award will be presented to the Review-Journal on April 27 at the ACLU's 10th annual Celebration of Civil Liberties at the Barrymore restaurant in the Royal Resort hotel.

"The ACLU of Nevada does not always agree with the Review-Journal's positions on every civil rights and civil liberties issue, but the Review-Journal's extensive, thoughtful, and continuing attention to the federal and state constitutions is highly unusual among U.S. metropolitan daily newspapers," said Claussen, a former newspaper editor and reporter.

Also Friday, the Review-Journal won an award of excellence for page design in the Society of News Design's 33rd annual international competition, which featured more than 10,000 entries from newspapers and magazines in 39 countries.

Ched Whitney, the Review-Journal's art director, photographer John Locher and director of photography Mark Damon were recognized for a Dec. 18 feature story on issues surrounding the management of Nevada's wild horse population.

"Both the deadly force and wild horses projects were some of the best work done by the Review-Journal in 2011," Editor Michael Hengel said. "Both examined significant issues, and it's gratifying that the reporters, editors, photographers and designers who worked so hard on those stories are being honored by such respected organizations. We are very thankful for the recognition."