Vanessa Bryant will obtain names of four deputies accused of taking crash site photos
The names of four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies accused of taking or sharing grisly photos of the scene of the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant will be released to his wife Vanessa Bryant, a judge ruled Monday.
Attorneys for the department and Los Angeles County wanted to keep the deputies’ names and ranks sealed, arguing that “hackers may attempt to seek out and gain access to the individual deputies’ devices to locate any photographs and publish them,” according to court documents.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said in a ruling on Monday that this is “totally inconsistent with their position that such photographs no longer exist.”
Bryant last month called for the Sheriff’s Department to release the names of the deputies involved in the photo sharing, saying they must be held accountable.
“The Sheriff’s Department wants to redact the names of the deputies that took and/or shared photos of my husband, daughter and other victims,” Bryant wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “Anyone else facing allegations would be unprotected, named and released to the public. … These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else.”
Prior to Monday’s ruling, Sheriff Alex Villanueva had confirmed that all photos of the crash that were in the possession of those deputies have been deleted.
Bryant’s attorney Luis Li welcomed the judge’s ruling, telling CNN in a statement, “Transparency promotes accountability. We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant’s case in open court.”
Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people died when the helicopter they were in crashed near Calabasas on a foggy morning on Jan. 26, 2020. They were headed to a youth basketball game.
After concluding its investigation last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said Island Express charter pilot Ara Zobayan pushed the limits of badweather flying rules, climbed into clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position relative to the horizon.
In February of 2020, the LASD said it was “deeply disturbed” over a report that deputies shared photographs from the scene of the crash.
Vanessa Bryant has not only advocated for the release of the deputies’ names but urged Congress to pass a helicopter-safety bill named for her husband and daughter.
In September, she also filed a civil claim against the Sheriff’s Department and Sheriff Villanueva for the photo leak, seeking undisclosed damages to remedy civil rights violations, negligence, emotional distress and violation of privacy.