A pair of Florida sheriff’s deputies have been suspended for two weeks for leaking news about Bob Saget’s death before the comedian’s family was informed.
Per the Associated Press, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Monday that the two deputies, who were not named, were each suspended for 81 hours without pay. One deputy reportedly told his brother about Saget’s death shortly after he responded to the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Orlando where he died. According to an investigation, the brother then posted the information on his social media channels. The other suspended deputy was reportedly off-duty and told his neighbor about Saget’s death.
“This case highlights how important it is to allow detectives in death investigations the time to ensure next of kin notifications are made before that information is disseminated to the public,” Orange County Sheriff John Mina wrote in a statement. “The deputies acknowledged their wrongdoing and were disciplined for their actions.”
Bob Saget was discovered unresponsive by a Ritz Carlton hotel security officer on Jan. 9 after he had failed to check out of his hotel on time. His family had asked staff to conduct a well-being check.
Chief Medical Examiner Joshua Stephany later determined the Full House star died from “posterior scalp abrasions, subgaleal hemorrhage, discoloration in the upper and lower eyelids due to skull fracture, subdural hematoma, and subarachnoid hemorrhage.” The Orange County Sheriff’s Department told People that Saget likely slipped and hit the back of his head in the hotel bathroom, lost consciousness, woke up and went to bed before dying from his injuries. However, they said the investigation surrounding his death is still ongoing.
Saget’s family penned a statement after these findings were made public to say drugs and alcohol were definitely not involved.
“Now that we have the final conclusions from the authorities’ investigation, we felt it only proper that the fans hear those conclusions directly from us,” the statement read. “The authorities have determined that Bob passed from head trauma. They have concluded that he accidentally hit the back of his head on something, thought nothing of it and went to sleep. No drugs or alcohol were involved.”
