ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Two deputies have been disciplined for spreading news of Bob Saget’s death in an Orlando hotel room earlier this year before being authorized to do so, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
As a result of the leaks, news of the actor’s death went public before Saget’s wife Kelly Rizzo could be formally notified, officials said, according to Click Orlando.
The law enforcement agency said the deputies actions “resulted in an influx of media inquiries at a time when Mr. Saget’s next-of-kin had not been notified and Homicide Unit detectives had not even arrived at the scene.”
The disciplined deputies have received unspecified penalties for “violating the department’s dissemination of information directive.”
The Sheriff’s Office identified the deputies as Emiliano Silva and Steven Reed.
Silva was one of the deputies who responded to the scene. He notified his brother about Saget’s death, who then posted the reverberating news to Twitter, the New York Post reported.
Reed was off duty at the time, but was told of the death investigation and relayed details to some friends. The shocking news quickly circulated.
An autopsy report determined that Saget died after falling and striking his head while alone in his hotel room in February.
