The Monroe Police Department has egg in its face, but no apology on its lips for notifying news media that a shooting victim died, when the victim is alive, and recovering.
The shooting incident happened on December 3rd and resulted in the injury of 29-year-old Marissa Thomas.
Initially, the MPD, responding to the shooting at 3305 Owl Street at 1:40 am, reported that Ms. Thomas had succumbed to her injuries.
This is the official MPD report: “On Sunday, December 3, 2023, at 1:40 am, MPD officers responded to 3305 Owl Street in reference to a shooting. After officers arrived at the scene, a twenty-nine-year-old female victim was located. That female victim was taken to an area hospital, where she later died as a result of her injuries.”
The official police statement was released on KTVE’s evening news and quickly spread across social media, leading to an outpouring of sympathy and R.I.P. posts for Ms. Thomas.
However, confusion and distress followed when it was revealed that the reports of her death were incorrect.
Contradictory posts on social media, criticizing the initial report as “fake news,” clarified that Ms. Thomas was, in fact, alive and recovering.
The MPD’s communications officer, Sgt. Matt Schmitz, issued a correction the following day, December 4th, stating that while Ms. Thomas’s death was initially deemed “imminent” by the hospital, her condition improved significantly after being transferred to a hospital in Shreveport.
The police department’s Sgt Schmitz’ correction read:
“This morning, I received information from the detective working this case. The victim of this shooting did not die. Initially, MPD was advised by the hospital that the victim’s death was imminent. However, she was transported to a hospital in Shreveport, and her condition has greatly improved.”
The news website “Newsbreak” generated an AI-written story, placing the blame on the news media for disseminating misinformation and causing anguish among Thomas’s family members. Interestingly, the site absolved the MPD of blame, despite their role in the misreporting.
This incident echoes a historic blunder from 1897 when Mark Twain was erroneously reported to be dying. Twain famously retorted, “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Similarly, reports of Ms. Thomas’s death were a gross exaggeration, and she is currently on the mend.
While the Monroe community breathes a collective sigh of relief for Ms. Thomas’s recovery, the MPD continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The lack of a public apology from the police department has been noted, leaving a blemish on their handling of this sensitive situation.
