POLICE SLAM TMZ FOR REPORTING KOBE BRYANT’S DEATH BEFORE VICTIMS’ FAMILIES WERE NOTIFIED
*The shocking news about Kobe Bryant’s death at the age of 41 in a helicopter crash on Sunday was first reported by the celebrity-gossip site TMZ.
As noted by insider.com, Los Angeles authorities later slammed the outlet for reporting the fatal accident before they could alert the victims’ families.
L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva mentioned the site during a press conference hours after the crash.
“There was wide speculation as to who their identities are; however, it would be entirely inappropriate right now to identify anyone by name, until the coroner has made the identification through their very deliberative process and until they’ve made notifications to next of kin,” Villanueva said.
“It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved ones perished and you learned about it from TMZ,” he added. “That is just wholly inappropriate. So we’re not going to be going there.”
