Kobe Bryant crash

A jury found that Los Angeles County must pay Vanessa Bryant for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters sharing photos of the bodies of the ...

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A jury in a multi-million-dollar civil case brought by Kobe Bryant's widow over graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star began ...

Chester's constitutional rights," Lavoie said, asking the jury to hold the county liable for "the constitutional violations of its employees." "We're here because of intentional conduct -- the county violated Mrs. A civil trial in Los Angeles has heard how some of these first responders showed the photographs to members of the public -- including a bartender -- while one deputy texted them to a friend as the pair played video games.

LOS ANGELES, United States – A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant's widow and a co-plaintiff Wednesday over ...

Chester’s constitutional rights,” Lavoie said, asking the jury to hold the county liable for “the constitutional violations of its employees.” “We’re here because of intentional conduct — the county violated Mrs. LOS ANGELES, United States – A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant’s widow and a co-plaintiff Wednesday over graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star.

A federal jury awarded $31 million in damages after finding Los Angeles County liable for infringing on the constitutional rights of Vanessa Bryant and ...

In their rebuttal, Bryant's attorneys argued the photos could still exist because one of the deputies AirDropped them to a firefighter that hasn't been identified. Referring to testimony given by veteran law enforcement officials including Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Li reminded the jury of a practice of first responders keeping "death books" since the Polaroid was around. "Does it shock the conscience that he needed to talk?" Li was emotional as he said: "But for those people, we may never have heard of this." Gavin Newsom signed an invasion-of-privacy bill called the "Kobe Bryant Act" that makes it illegal for first responders to share photos of a dead person at a crime scene "for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose." The rebuttal evoked tears from Vanessa Bryant and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in the courtroom. Jurors also will have to wrestle with what constitutes "the public" in this case. "That's not a constitutional issue, that's a county issue," she said. The only plaintiff claim not supported by jurors was in a finding that the county fire department was not liable for any long-standing widespread practice or custom of taking illicit photos. One of the deputies shared photos containing human remains with another deputy as they were playing the video game "Call of Duty," and another showed them to a bartender he considered a friend. Bryant and Chester argued that the photos of their loved ones caused emotional distress and violated their privacy. At issue in the trial were photos taken by L.A.

A jury ruled in favor of Vanessa Bryant after an 11-day trial about gruesome photos that were shared after a helicopter crash that killed nine.

The plaintiffs' attorneys said the spread of the photos came from the morning of the crash, when one deputy, Douglas Johnson, hiked up through rough and foggy terrain to arrive at a grisly scene where body parts and debris lay scattered in the hills of Calabasas. "And the behavior of defendants seemed so outrageous and unnecessary that substantial damages were warranted." Similarly, the jury attributed $9 million of Chester's award to the sheriff's department and $6 million to the fire department. The plaintiffs prevailed on the other liability questions as it pertained to the county agencies' failure to prevent such violations with adequate policies or training. Imbrenda denied this at trial, but one of Bryant’s attorneys asked the jury to consider who was more credible: Imbrenda or the woman who reported what she heard – a former emergency medical technician who also is a cousin of one of the other victims of the crash. This was when fire captain Tony Imbrenda showed crash-scene photos on his phone to a group, including one who walked away saying he had just seen Kobe’s “burnt-up” body, according to the witness. They cited evidence of several people who possessed or received the photos but were never identified, as well as the missing computer hard drive of a fire captain, Brian Jordan, who was rebuked in a letter from his department for taking photos from the crash scene without having a legitimate business reason for doing so. The bartender said Cruz described the photos as including Kobe’s remains, but The county’s legal team said the photos never were posted online and were forever deleted shortly after the crash in an effort to prevent their further spread. “We are grateful for the jury’s hard work in this case," said a statement from Mira Hashmall of the firm Miller Barondess. At the trial, the plaintiffs’ attorneys also emphasized two public incidents in which the photos were displayed or “publicly disseminated,” arguably violating the rights of the plaintiffs. She did not comment as she pushed through a crowd of news cameras and got into black GMC Yukon with her attorney, Luis Li.

A jury ruled that Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant's widow $16 million after deputies and firefighters allegedly took and shared photos of the crash ...

But she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs. "I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up," she testified. She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. Vanessa Bryant and her attorney declined comment outside court Wednesday. The pictures were shared mostly between employees of the LA County sheriff's and fire departments including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.

Los Angeles County must pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant's widow and a co-plaintiff over graphic photos taken at the site of the helicopter crash ...

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Vanessa Bryant finally got the accountability she wanted from Los Angeles County in trial over Kobe crash photos.

The plaintiffs argued the county failed to prevent such violations by not having adequate policies and training in place for its employees. Mira Hashmall, the county’s lead outside counsel, issued a statement after the verdict. Chester was awarded the same except $1 million less from the sheriff’s department for past emotional distress. Bryant pressed her case to trial to get “accountability” from the county defendants, even though she could have settled the case and avoided a grueling trial. This made for a mismatch of sorts since the start of the trial Aug. Jurors were told they could presume the deleted evidence would have been unfavorable against the county, which also came with the strong smell of a consciousness of guilt. the County of San Diego. The jury awarded a total of $31 million to the two plaintiffs, including $15 million for Chester. Surveillance video from the restaurant shows the two looking at Cruz’s phone that night and laughing afterward. Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, also felt compelled to stay out of the courtroom at times to avoid hearing graphic testimony about what happened to the bodies of her husband and daughter Gianna after they died in a helicopter crash in January 2020. She’s a celebrity and highly sympathetic figure as a widow of a beloved Los Angeles sports icon. The award has nothing to do with the crash itself.

Vanessa Bryant was suing LA County for emotional distress over photos from the 2020 crash site.

"I don't ever want to see these photographs," she said. down the block and just scream," she said. Mr Chester lost his wife Sarah and daughter Payton in the crash.

Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles County, accusing members of the sheriff's and fire departments of sharing gruesome images of the helicopter crash that ...

The Los Angeles Lakers great and 18-time All-Star won five NBA championships and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2020. Bryant feels ill at the thought that sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and members of the public have gawked at gratuitous images of her deceased husband and child,” the lawsuit states. She and her attorney declined to speak to reporters as they left the courthouse.

A jury in a multi-million-dollar civil case brought by Kobe Bryant's widow over graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star began ...

Chester’s constitutional rights,” Lavoie said, asking the jury to hold the county liable for “the constitutional violations of its employees.” “We’re here because of intentional conduct — the county violated Mrs. Bryant’s lawyer Craig Lavoie said he was asking for “justice and accountability” for the basketball great — a hero to the city of Los Angeles — and his widow.

Vanessa Bryant says she lives in fear that the photos of Kobe Bryant and their daughter Gianna may one day become public.

[Read Vanessa Bryant’s Lawsuit](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/16/sports/basketball/nba-bryant-explainer-lawsuit.html) (New York Times) [A torso, a tattooed arm, 'just parts:' Cops took and shared graphic photos of the Kobe Bryant crash site. County Over Kobe Bryant Crash Photos: What to Know](https://www.nytimes.com/article/kobe-vanessa-bryant-lawsuit.html?searchResultPosition=3) (New York Times) The sharing of the photos was first reported on by the [Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-02-27/kobe-bryant-photos-lost-hills-sheriff-deputies). Deputy Rafael Mejia [said](https://www.insider.com/la-cop-kobe-crash-pics-curiosity-got-best-of-us-2022-8) he shared the photos with other deputies because “curiosity got the best of us." [determined](https://apnews.com/article/kobe-bryant-helicopter-crash-cause-2c87b04d28961fd277927eea8e8e5564) the pilot, Ara Zobayan, was disoriented and believed he was flying upwards, and ignored safety protocols by flying in low visibility when he shouldn’t have. A review of the accident from the National Transportation Safety Board

A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant's widow and a co-plaintiff Wednesday over graphic photos of the helicopter ...

Chester's constitutional rights," Lavoie said, asking the jury to hold the county liable for "the constitutional violations of its employees." "We're here because of intentional conduct -- the county violated Mrs. A jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant's widow and a co-plaintiff Wednesday over graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed the basketball star.

Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.

In 2020, both Vanessa Bryant and Chester chose to sue Los Angeles County. Los Angeles County had argued that the crash photos were never posted online and ended up being deleted shortly following the crash. Vanessa Bryant's attorney, Craig Jennings Lavoie, stated that fire captain Tony Imbrenda showed crash site photos at an awards gala in February 2020. 26, 2020, Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, along with seven others, were killed in a helicopter crash in Los Angeles. Kobe and Gianna were on their way, along with seven other people, to a youth basketball game at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Leading up to Tuesday, Vanessa Bryant hadn't asked for a specific dollar amount.

NPR's A Martinez talks to Los Angeles Times reporter Alene Tchekmedyian about the verdict in the trial over the sharing of photos of the helicopter crash ...

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A group of nine federal jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the civil case over graphic photos taken at the site of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe ...

In their rebuttal, Bryant's attorneys argued the photos could still exist because one of the deputies AirDropped them to a firefighter that hasn't been identified. Referring to testimony given by veteran law enforcement officials including Sheriff Alex Villanueva, Li reminded the jury of a practice of first responders keeping "death books" since the Polaroid was around. "Does it shock the conscience that he needed to talk?" Li was emotional as he said: "But for those people, we may never have heard of this." The rebuttal evoked tears from Vanessa Bryant and Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in the courtroom. "That's not a constitutional issue, that's a county issue," she said. Jurors also will have to wrestle with what constitutes "the public" in this case. One of the deputies shared photos containing human remains with another deputy as they were playing the video game "Call of Duty," and another showed them to a bartender he considered a friend. Los Angeles County, though, has argued that it acted appropriately to investigate and delete the photos and prevent them from ever spreading. Their attorneys asked the jury for damages of up to $42.5 million for Bryant and $32.5 million for Chester. She also noted that the deputy was disciplined for his actions. The misdemeanor crime is punishable by up to $1,000 per violation.