Newspaper apologizes for 'major error' in story

The News-Enterprise, based in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, has apologized and fired two members of staff for what it calls a major error after printing a story which erroneously quoted the Hardin County sheriff as saying that most police "have a desire to shoot minorities." In a story on the front page of the January 8 edition, the newspaper printed "Hardin County Sheriff John Ward said those who go into the law enforcement profession typically do it because they have a desire to shoot minorities."

In a press release issued on Thursday afternoon, Editor Ben Sheroan apologized and said no such statement had been made. Sheriff Ward said he began receiving calls at around 5:30 Thursday morning about the story, which was written by reporter Anna Taylor. In a phone interview, Ward said the reporter's original story correctly quoted him as saying officers get into law enforcement "because they have a desire to serve the community."

Ward believes the story was intentionally changed by someone before it was printed. He said the change might have been malicious or intended as a joke. Sheroan said the newspaper is investigating how the mistake made it into print and will take appropriate actions immediately. Staff at the newspaper originally thought a word had simply been dropped from the sentence, but now they believe it was a production error, the result of "a failure to follow established procedures," Sheroan said.
The online version of the story has now been removed entirely. At the top of the page, the paper writes the following retraction: "This story - as it appeared in print - contained a major error and misquoted Sheriff John Ward. The version here has been corrected. The newspaper apologizes to the sheriff and other law-enforcement officers offended by its typographical mistake. - Ben Sheroan, editor." "This statement is not in any way reflective of Sheriff Ward, the Hardin County Sheriff's Office or other law enforcement in our community," he said. The News-Enterprise later published an apology.
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