MUNCIE, Ind. — Casey Smith, a 2018 graduate of Ball State University, and journalist Katey Rusch were recognized as finalists for the 2025 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for their groundbreaking work with the San Francisco Chronicle in collaboration with the University of California Berkeley Investigative Reporting Program.
The Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting honors distinguished journalism on issues of local or statewide importance, emphasizing originality, community impact and innovative use of journalistic tools.
The pair was recognized for a multiyear investigation that exposed a secret system of legal settlements used to conceal police misconduct in California for decades. Their reporting, published in September 2024 titled “Right to Remain Secret,” revealed how hidden agreements allowed offending officers to remain in positions of authority, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in law enforcement.
“Officers had done egregious things, and we were able to bring those hidden things to light,” Smith said about her reporting.
What started as a simple note comparison between then graduate students doing smaller investigative work became a multi-year saga for the two. Both reporters ended up filing hundreds of public-records requests across California and beyond, uncovering how law enforcement agencies used so-called “clean-record agreements” to conceal misconduct from both future employers and the public.
Smith said the project was truly a joint effort.
“Shoutout to my co-reporter — it wouldn’t have been possible without Katey and a fantastic support system in the investigative reporting program at Berkley,” Smith said. “Getting all of the support we had access to isn’t impossible in a traditional news space, but it’s difficult.”
The project was no easy feat and continued for years, according to Smith. While working other stories and positions, Smith said that Rusch and she took on the “painstaking shoe-leather reporting” that this type of story required.
“It’s not something that could have been reported in weeks or months,” Smith said. “Journalism isn’t easy especially if you are doing it right — like the in-depth reporting. It’s exhausting. It’s challenging, and it’s trying.
The goal, according to Smith, became to uncover this hidden system. It wasn’t just a few records, a few officers or a few departments. There was a system being exploited that even officers in law enforcement had trouble justifying. The story — time and again — of a lack of accountability and transparency became something the two found in all states and not just in California.
Smith and her co-author had to wrestle with the fact that they had a story that could have run early on, but that version didn’t have nearly the depth or scale compared to what finally emerged. This was made even more complicated when the death of George Floyd caused eyes on police conduct to be at the top of the national conversation. The reporters persisted, working on the story until it published late September 2024.
This is just one of several accolades for Smith this year. She was also recognized as Journalist of the Year by the Indiana chapter for the Society for Professional Journalists, taking awards in several story categories.
Despite earning accolades that would normally be at the end of a journalist’s career, Smith said this is only the beginning.
“It’s incredibly humbling. I’m still early in my career. To earn that recognition at such an early stage, I don’t even fully have words for that yet,” Smith said. “What’s the next project? The next thing that needs someone’s nose in it… It’s made me hungrier,” Smith said.
Smith continues to work as a journalist with the Indianapolis Capitol Chronicle, a nonprofit news organization reporting on state government, policy and elections as well as how actions at the state level impact Hoosiers. Smith is also an instructor in the School of Journalism and Strategic Communication at Ball State University.
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