Møre and Romsdal police have apologized for giving false information to the media in a case related to a death in Ålesund on Saturday.
Sunmarsposten chose to change the article after police said what they wrote was not true. But then it turned out to be true.
– Since the police is a reliable source, they give us correct information. So their miscommunication is serious, says Sunnmørsposten editor Hanna Relling Berg.
The coverage was so-so
The editor of Sunnmørsposten, Hanna Relling Berg, would like to thank the public who provided tips after the case was published. – They provided important information to gain insight into what happened.
Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / NRK
The first version of Saturday’s article said police had put a man on the ground.
In no time, the police arrived on the road. They thought that the information they had given was false and that they had not killed anyone.
Based on the observation of witnesses and what the police said, the newspaper chose to change the article.
– Then we get a lot of reactions from the audience, with video and pictures. Police information is incorrect. Berg says it was the police who put him on the ground.
The operations center provided the same information to NRK over the weekend. The operations manager told the reporter that the police did not put anyone on the ground.
It was only six hours later that the police admitted that they were the ones who put the victim on the ground.
According to Relling Berg, Sunmarsboden spoke to the operations center three times and received the same message each time: “The police didn’t put anyone on the ground”.
– It’s a pity, it’s not how we want to present ourselves, says Eric Stein Mikkelsen, head of the operations center.
– Relying on the police is harmful
Attorney John Wessel-Ass I think it’s very unfortunate that the police gave the wrong information to the press and thereby to the public.
– Especially if the police are involved in such an incident, whether or not that is what happened, the police department can be seen from the outside trying to protect themselves. Relying on the police is harmful, says a media law lawyer specializing in freedom of expression and press law in the public domain.
This is what he says An example is when the press is not a sufficient source when information comes from the authorities.
– One Basically the police should be trusted, but in cases where the police themselves are involved in the incident, one should be more critical of the evidence and search for evidence widely. One should be open to the fact that mistakes can be made by the police as well. Journalists can learn something here, he says.
Jan Wessel-As is president of the Norwegian Bar Association.
Photo: Margret Helland / NRK
Took a long time
– Do they blindly trust the police, Hannah Reling Berg?
– No. The police is a source that we also have to critically evaluate, but it is our experience that the police come with reliable information. That’s why it was surprising to find wrong information this time, says the author.
She knows everyone can make mistakes, but she criticizes the police for taking so long to correct their mistakes.
– We depend on the police to provide correct information. We know that misunderstandings can happen, but that’s not the case here, here they stick to their version.
At the same time, he also pointed out that it is good that the police have now admitted what they did.
– Misinformation is serious. So everyone makes mistakes, it’s what you do about it that matters.
The police will learn a lesson from this incident
It is not known why it was misquoted, says the head of the police operations centre. When asked why it took so long to fix it, the operations manager says he doesn’t think he said anything wrong.
Now they want to learn from this incident.
– This is very unfortunate. We are open in our communications. So this is not enough, we will continue to work on it, says Stein Mikkelsen.
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