Judge Makes Ruling on Releasing Names of Deputies Who Shared Kobe Bryant Crash Photos

Vanessa Bryant can access the names of the four deputies in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's office that she alleges in a lawsuit shared photos of the helicopter crash site where her husband, Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna, and seven other people died, according to the New York Post. U.S. District Judge John Walter made the ruling on Monday. Vanessa Bryant can add the deputies' names and results of an internal affairs probe against her civil lawsuit against the sheriff's department.

According to the Los Angeles Times, Walter wrote that "Sheriff [Alex] Villanueva's promise to publicly release the [internal affairs bureau] report after the conclusion of the investigation undermines Defendants' purported concern in the disclosure of the limited excerpts at issue here." He also noted where "a strong presumption of access as a starting point" and the county failed to show reasons to do otherwise.

"Indeed where the case involves allegations of police misconduct, the public has a vested interest in assessing the truthfulness of the allegations of official misconduct, and whether agencies that are responsible for investigating and adjudicating complaints of misconduct have acted properly and wisely," Walter wrote.

Los Angeles County lawyers argued that releasing the names will lead to potential online attacks. But Walter wrote: "Although the Court recognizes that this case has been the subject of public scrutiny and media attention and that the Deputy Defendants are legitimately concerned that they will encounter vitriol and social media attacks, such concerns, by themselves, are not sufficient to outweigh the public's strong interest in access."

The lawsuit seeks damages for negligence and invasion of privacy, alleging deputies and firefighters took and shared photos of the children, parents and coaches who died in the crash that occurred on January 26, 2020. The suit also alleges that several deputies shared images from the crash site, as did several county firefighters who were seen taking photos on personal phones. The Los Angeles County fire captain said he received photos from multiple firefighters from the scene.

"Ms. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online," the lawsuit states, which was filed back in September.