Police scold TMZ after outlet was first to report death of Kobe Bryant

Police scold TMZ after outlet was first to report death of Kobe Bryant.

New York (CNN Business)At 2:24 p.m. ET, TMZ posted the story that stunned the world on Sunday: Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, at the age of 41, had died in a California helicopter crash.

The tectonic news, which the celebrity-gossip website was first to report, swept the nation as other news organizations quickly confirmed the story.

It also upset police who suggested the speed in which TMZ had reported the news -- a little more than an hour after police said they received reports of a downed aircraft -- outpaced that of officers who were seeking to notify the family members of victims.

During a press conference, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva took a swipe at the website when explaining to reporters why he would not yet confirm the identities of those who were aboard the helicopter when it crashed.

Despite TMZ's track record of scoops, news organizations are still wary to cite the outlet until they've independently confirmed the news.

Belloni told CNN that when he saw TMZ's story on Bryant's death, "I thought it was probably right."

That said, Belloni 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."

Sharon Waxman, the founder and CEO of The Wrap, expressed a similar sentiment to The Washington Post for a 2016 article the newspaper published on TMZ's history.

"When they report something, it makes me think they're probably right, but it might be premature or incomplete," Waxman said. "Maybe someone had a heart attack, but, no, he didn't die. That they had much of the story, but not all of the story."