(Photo : Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The widow of the late basketball legend was in tears as her lawyer presented the case against LA County officials who allegedly took the photos of the crash scene for "visual gossip."
In the opening statements in a civil trial that began on Wednesday, Vanessa Bryant's counsel claimed that Los Angeles County officials exploited Kobe Bryant's death and shared images from the scene of his helicopter accident "for a laugh" and served no official purpose.
Bryant's attorney Luis Li said the photos "were shared by deputies playing video games" and were "shared repeatedly with people who had absolutely no reason to receive them."
When first responders attempted to convey information at the chaotic, hazardous, and difficult-to-reach Kobe Bryant crash scene in the Calabasas hills west of Los Angeles, a lawyer for the county justified the use of photographs as a vital tool, per ESPN.
Atty.Mira Hashmall said, "Site photography is essential."
Photos Were Already Deleted Says LA County
Bryant is suing the county for invasion of privacy. She claims that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and firefighters took and circulated graphic images from the scene of the 2020 crash that resulted in the deaths of her husband, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna, and seven other people.
Bryant wiped away tears as Li presented his case, stating that the images were captured on cellphones and shared in non-professional situations, which he labeled as "visual gossip."
A jury of 10 people, including a nun, a TV producer, and a college student, was chosen earlier on Wednesday, and they heard arguments from all sides. According to CNN, prospective jurors who expressed strong sympathies for Kobe, Vanessa Bryant, or Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva were eliminated from consideration.
In 2020, Villanueva confessed that personnel of his department took pictures of the Kobe Bryant crash scene and posted them on social media. He claimed that the eight deputies who took the images had deleted them.
Villanueva told NBC4 in 2020. "That was my No. 1 priority, was to make sure those photos no longer exist. We identified the deputies involved, they came to the station on their own and admitted they had taken them and they had deleted them. And we're content that those involved did that."
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According to AP, Li presented the jury security footage from a pub showing an off-duty cop showing the bartender pictures of the scene.The bartender responded by shaking his head. He then informed the jury that firefighters had traded pictures during a banquet two weeks later, and he presented the jury with proof that 30 persons had eventually seen those pictures.
In a pre-trial legal document filed in December, per Yahoo! Sports, Bryant discussed the agony that the Kobe Bryant Death images' existence has caused her.
A 'Callous Disrespect' For The Crash Victims
Bryant stated in the filing: "These deputies and firefighters took the worst thing that has ever happened to me - the worst thing that could happen to any mother or spouse - and made it worse. I will never be able to shake the anguish from knowing that the officials who are supposed to keep us safe treated Kobe and Gianna with such callous disrespect."
"For the rest of my life, one of two things will happen: either close-up photos of my husband's and daughter's bodies will go viral online, or I will continue to live in fear of that happening," she further stated.
Kobe Bryant, 41, with his 13-year-old daughter and six others, were headed to a youth basketball tournament amid dense fog when his chartered helicopter crashed into a hillside in Calabasas, California, killing everyone on board, including the pilot, Rolling Stone reported.
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