The police in Møre and Romsdal have apologized after they gave incorrect information to the media in the case of a death in Ålesund on Saturday. Sunnmørsposten chose to change an article, after the police claimed that what they wrote was not true. But then it turned out to be true after all. – We depend on the police being a reliable source, that they give us correct information. So the fact that they misinform is serious, says Sunnmørsposten editor Hanna Relling Berg. This was how the coverage was Sunnmørsposten’s editor, Hanna Relling Berg, would like to thank the public who gave tips after the case was published. – They contributed important information to gain insight into what had happened. Photo: Øyvind Sandnes / news In the first edition of the article on Saturday, it was stated that the police had put a man on the ground. Shortly afterwards, the police arrived on the track. They thought the information was incorrect, and that they had not killed anyone. Based on a witness observation, 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. The information from the police is incorrect. It is the police who put him in the ground, says Berg. The operations center gave the same information to news at the weekend. The operation manager told the journalist that the police have not put anyone on the ground. It wasn’t until six hours later that the police admitted that they were the ones who put the victim on the ground. According to Relling Berg, Sunnmørsposten had then spoken to the operations center three times and received the same message each time: “The police have not put anyone in the ground”. – It is very regrettable, it is not how we wish to present ourselves, says Erik Steen Mikalsen, head of the operations centre. – Harmful to trust in the police Lawyer Jon Wessel-Aas believes it is very unfortunate that the police gave the wrong information to the press, and thus to the public. – Especially in cases where the police themselves are involved in an incident that has had such an outcome, it will be perceived from the outside that the police have tried to protect their own, whether that is what has happened or not. It is harmful to trust in the police, says the media law lawyer who is an expert on freedom of expression and press law in the public domain. He says this is an example that the press may not be source-critical enough when information comes from the authorities. – You should basically be able to trust the police, but in cases where the police themselves are involved in the incident, you must be extra critical of the source and search widely for sources. One must be open to the fact that mistakes can also happen with the police. The press can learn something here, he says. Jon Wessel-Aas is head of the Norwegian Bar Association. Photo: Margret Helland / news It took a long time – Do they blindly trust the police, Hannah Relling Berg? – No. The police is a source that we also have to evaluate critically, but our experience is that the police come with reliable information. That is why it was so surprising that they came up with the wrong information this time, says the editor. She is aware that everyone can make mistakes, but she is critical that it took so long for the police to correct their mistakes. – We depend on the police giving us correct information. We know that misunderstandings can happen, but that was not the case here, here they stuck to their version. At the same time, she points out that it is good that the police have now admitted what they have done. – Disinforming is serious. So it is the case that everyone can make a mistake, the important thing is what you do about it. The police will learn from the incident The head of the police operations center says he does not know why the wrong thing was said. When asked why it took so long for it to be rectified, he says that it was because the operations manager did not think he had said anything wrong. Now they want to learn from this incident. – This is very unfortunate. We are busy with being open in our communication. So this is not good enough, and we will continue to work on this, says Steen Mikalsen. This must have happened: According to the police, the operations center received a report that a wet and bloody man was walking on the road at 09.32 Saturday morning. After this, there were continuous reports to the police about the same incident. At 09.38 the first patrol arrived in the city. These were two plainclothes police officers. Eventually, a fight broke out between these two police officers and the man. Later, a patrol came to the town. Both police patrols had been instructed to travel there by the police’s operations centre.
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The police issued incorrect information to Sunnmørsposten and news after deaths in Ålesund – news Møre and Romsdal – Local news, TV and radio
