ProPublica is proud to announce that A.C. Thompson is this year’s winner of the American Society of News Editors Batten Medal for individual achievement in public-service journalism. Thompson won for his series of reports about post-Hurricane Katrina violence in New Orleans. His investigations led to the convictions of three officers who worked for the New Orleans Police Department, federal hate crimes charges brought against a local vigilante and several federal investigations into the conduct of the NOLA PD.