It was Sunday morning around 5:30 AM when photographer Allysa and I were headed to cover the second day of the Loppet World Cup cross country skiing event in Minneapolis.
I was filling in on the morning show and our first ‘live hit’ was at 6:00 AM. I called our assignment desk to let them know we were cutting it close, but should arrive in time to be ready for the top of the newscast.
“Never mind,” said the voice on the other end of the phone. “We need to re-route you guys. It sounds like some police officers have been shot.”
Sadly, I have been through this breaking news drill countless times in my career. We didn’t have any details except for an intersection in Burnsville, MN that was a possible location for what first responders call a ‘staging area.’
Allysa and I were the first media to arrive at the scene. It was already jammed with squad cars from all over the Twin Cities metro with officers in full tactical gear carrying rifles.
In these situations, I know I’m not their top priority (nor should I be) and it was still dark, so I approached two officers with my big highlighter-yellow press pass and my hands up to politely ask if there was a point person who had time to share any details with me.
Not only did they not have anyone for me, one of the officers also told me we had to leave the area because it was ‘not safe.’
In the movies, this is where the shady reporter tells the photographer that they’re going to find another way into the scene to get the ‘exclusive’ video.
Snap back to reality: I thanked the officer and told him we would be happy to move back.
At this point, we only had first-hand information from some coworkers who happened to live in the neighborhood and told me they received automated emergency phone calls to ‘take shelter in the basement’ because of an ‘active incident’ in their area.
None of my sources could confirm for me what we were already hearing – that two police officers and a firefighter had been shot and killed. And that the armed suspect may or may not still be alive inside the house where authorities first responded to a domestic call.
So, this is all I could say in my first live report.
Even in subsequent live reports over the next hour, I did not include any details about officers being shot and possibly killed – I still needed an official source to confirm it.
We later got that crushing confirmation – Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge as well as paramedic Adam Finseth, a firefighter with the Burnsville Fire Department, had all been shot and killed.
This experience is a reminder for me that being first is not always the most important thing. Our viewers depend on us to bring them important information as it is happening, but not at the expense of accuracy.
Maybe you can hear it in my voice during this live report – that I knew so much more and desperately wanted to share it, but I wasn’t going to risk getting a detail wrong when family members could potentially be hanging on my every word.
The lesson here is that you don’t have to say ‘I don’t know’ when pressed for information you have not yet confirmed. You share what you can and be transparent about what you can’t.
I was heartened by a message from a viewer that I got during those early hours of this ordeal.
“Just saw your live report, thank you for not speculating and putting (out) misinformation.” he wrote.
A former news director gave me advice that I call on in situations like this one – “we’re citizens first.”
My thoughts remain with the community of Burnsville and those now grieving the loss of the people they loved.