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Authorities got upset after TMZ, a celebrity gossip website, was first to report the death of Kobe Bryant without allowing the police time to notify the family members of the victims, according to a report from CNN.

TMZ posted a story around 2:24 p.m. ET about the sudden death of Kobe Bryant due to a helicopter crash in Los Angeles, California. The news released by TMZ swept the nation and it was later confirmed by other news outlets.

However,  the speed in which TMZ released the news outpaced police officers notifying the family of the victims. The news was released just more than an hour after police say they received a report about a helicopter crash.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva explained during a press conference as to why he could not yet confirm the identities of the victims. He said: "It would be extremely disrespectful to understand that your loved one ... perished and you learn about it from TMZ and that is just wholly inappropriate."

It was also echoed by Los Angeles County Sheriff Tim Murakami who jabbed TMZ in a tweet. He wrote: "I am saddened that I was gathering facts as a media outlet reported ... Kobe had passed. I understand getting the scoop but please allow us time to make personal notifications to their loved ones. It's very cold to hear of the loss via media. Breaks my heart."

TMZ is owned by WarnerMedia which is CNN's parent company and they did not give any comments on Sunday. The death of Kobe Bryant was the latest tragic celebrity-death scoop by TMZ. It can be recalled that TMZ was also the first news outlet to report the death of Michael Jackson in 2009. They also broke the news that Whitney Houston had died in a bathtub in 2012 and was the first news outlet to report the death of Prince in 2016.

Matthew Belloni, The Hollywood Reporter editorial director, told a news outlet through a phone interview on Sunday that "when it comes to high-profile people, they have an 'in' with the kinds of people who know this information." 

He added, "If TMZ reports that a celebrity has died in Los Angeles County, it is almost always correct. For whatever reason, and you can read into this, their accuracy rate in Los Angeles is very, very good." 

Moreover, it was found that TMZ has developed its large network of tipsters over the years and that includes entertainment lawyers, court officials, and more, according to a 2016 profile in The New Yorker. It is believed that tipsters are compensated by the website, other news outlets do not usually practice this according to the report. 

Harvey Levin, the founder of TMZ, said in 2014 during his interview with another news outlet regarding how he gets the information said, "It's so funny to me that people ask that question we're a news operation. I mean, that's what you're supposed to do as a news operation is chase down stories. And it always kind of amuses me when people ask that question. Isn't that what we're supposed to be doing? I mean, that is the job."

However, some news organizations are still wary about how TMZ independently confirms the news for stories such as the death of Kobe Bryant. Belloni told CNN that when he saw the report on TMZ, he assumed that it was accurate. 

Belloni also added, "We always verify and don't take them at face value. But when I saw that it was TMZ reporting a death in Los Angeles County of a very prominent person, I thought it's probably right." 

CEO and founder of The Wrap, Sharon Waxman, expressed a similar sentiment to The Washington Post for a 2016 article published on TMZ. She said, "When they report something, it makes me think they're probably right, but it might be premature or incomplete and maybe someone had a heart attack, but, no, he didn't die. That they had much of the story, but not all of the stories."