It has been alleged that L.A. County Sheriff’s Deputies leaked photos from the site of Kobe Bryant‘s helicopter crash, and now the department says the allegations are under investigation. According to the California-based ABC 7 News, claims were made that officers shared images that were taken at the scene of the crash, and that those images were said to be “graphic” in nature. There is currently no word on who may have been involved, as no names appear to have been officially released in connection with the photo leak accusations. At this time, the department has not said if disciplinary action will be taken.
The allegations have set off reactions from social media users, who are upset over the news. One user responded to the reports by tweeting, “Soon as they got wind of it possibly being Kobe on that helicopter they were reaching for those cell phones and saw dollar signs.”
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“Violation of public trust, if true. Does the law enforcement community really need anymore stains on their shields?” inquired one other person.
Listen there always has to be crime/accident scene photos because that’s just good investigation – but it is fucked up if they got out. Lose your job if true. Cell phone records…duh? Don’t cops watch 48 hours?
— mike, mike, mike, mike , mike (@MichaelAFoote) February 28, 2020
“Anybody who has ever spent any amount of time around police officers can pretty much guarantee that this happened,” commented another user, while a fourth person wrote, “The LA Sheriff dept has a special interpretation of the constitution, as usual.”
“This is sooo disgusting. Haven’t the families been through enough? why Does this always happen in LA? [Nikki Catsouras] family went through absolute hhheelll because of the same thing. PLEASE DONT LEAK ONLINE!!!!!” exclaimed someone else.
It’s unclear how widely the photos might have been disseminated and who exactly was involved. It’s also unclear whether the deputies had actually taken the photos at the scene or had received them from someone else. https://t.co/EzCckK6ec9
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) February 28, 2020
The helicopter crash took place on Jan. 26, and claimed the lives of both Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna. Along with them, the pilot of the aircraft, as well as six other passengers perished in the accident. Bryant was 41 years old at the time of his death.
Earlier this week, a memorial service was held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, honoring Bryant and Gianna. The event featured a number of sports icons memorializing the pair.
