Vanessa Bryant, Kobe Bryant’s widow, has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department alleging that deputies shared “unauthorized” photos of the aftermath of the helicopter crash that killed her 41-year-old husband, their 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others, according to the Los Angeles Times.
According to the lawsuit, “no fewer than eight sheriff’s deputies at the crash site, pulled out their personal cell phones and snapped photos of the dead children, parents and coaches. The deputies took these photos for their own personal gratification.”
Bryant alleges she was personally told by Sheriff Alex Villanueva that deputies were securing the crash site to ensure her privacy. But Villanueva has admitted eight deputies were involved in taking and sharing photos of the remains of the victims at the scene of the crash.
“This lawsuit is about accountability and about preventing this disgraceful behavior from happening to other families in the future who have suffered loss,” said Bryant’s attorney Luis Li, according to the Times.
The lawsuit is seeking damages for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of Bryant’s right to privacy.
In June, Bryant filed a lawsuit against Island Express Helicopters seeking extensive damages that claimed the crash that killed her husband and daughter cost her family hundreds of millions in future earnings.
“As a result of Kobe Bryant’s and GB’s deaths, Vanessa Bryant seeks economic damages, non-economic damages, prejudgment interest, punitive damages, and other relief as the Court deems just and proper,” the the June filing stated. “Although the total specific amount of personal injury damages that Plaintiff seeks is TBD, Kobe Bryant’s future lost earnings equal hundreds of millions of dollars.”
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