Two sheriff’s deputies in Orange County, Florida have been disciplined for leaking information about the death of comedian Bob Saget to the public. According to a report by Entertainment Tonight, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department conducted an internal investigation into the release of information about Saget’s passing. The press and the public learned about his death before his wife Kelly Rizzo or the rest of his family.
ET obtained a copy of the report, which showed that the early details of Saget’s death almost certainly came from the sheriff’s office itself. It determined that deputies Emiliano Silva and Steven Reed were responsible. These two reportedly told their friends and family members the news before going through official channels. Those friends posted the information on social media and it went viral from there.
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Both Silva and Reed were suspended for 81 hours for these infractions. It does not appear that any further disciplinary action was taken. It’s also not clear how the sheriff’s office repaid Rizzo for this harrowing experience. The correct procedure would have been for the sheriff’s office to contact Rizzo and Saget’s family members first. The office would then compile the relevant information it had and send it to the public information officer, who would be responsible for writing a press release. Instead, the first public acknowledgment of Saget’s death seemed to come from Silva’s brother, who tweeted: “RIP Bob Saget.”
That tweet was reportedly posted before the homicide unit or medical examiner had even arrived at the scene of Saget’s death, showing just how early Silva had begun sharing information outside of the workplace. In the meantime, Rizzo received calls from the media asking for details that she didn’t have because she could not get in contact with the police or the hotel.
In the internal report, Silva said that he “had no ill intent, but should not have said anything.” Meanwhile, Reed reportedly shared the news with family members as well, admitting that he did not get authorization to share that confidential information.
Saget was 65 years old when he passed away in his hotel room in Orlando, Florida in January. His cause of death was blunt head trauma. His family is suing county officials for the untimely release of information on his death. There is a permanent injunction against the release of further private information or graphic details in this case.
