The federal judge has ruled that the names of Los Angeles Sheriff’s deputies who allegedly shared photos of human remains in the helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter.
U.S. District Court Judge John F. Walter, who oversees a case brought by Bryant’s widow against the sheriff’s department, ruled late Monday that the public has an interest in whether agencies responsible for the investigation and adjudication of complaints of misconduct, acted properly and prudently.
“Although the court acknowledges that this case is in the attention of the public and in the attention of the media and that the deputy defendants are legally concerned that they will experience attacks on vitriols and social media, such concerns are not in themselves sufficient to to weigh the strong strength of the public. interest in access, ”reads the ruling.
Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, sued Los Angeles County and her sheriff’s department in September, accusing provincial employees of “displaying” photos of her husband and teenage daughter’s remains. Deputies allegedly shared the photos with each other and with others for no law enforcement purposes, the lawsuit said.
Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were killed along with seven others when their helicopter went off on January 29, 2020 on its way to a youth basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks, California.
The sheriff’s department did not immediately respond to a request for comment early Tuesday.
Download the NBC News app for recent news and politics
It was previously acknowledged that first responders, including deputies and employees of the Los Angeles County Fire Department, took and shared photos of the victims’ remains at the crash scene.
Villanueva said in media interviews that he had ordered that all photos be destroyed. The department also said that Los Angeles Sheriff Alex Villanueva sponsored legislation shortly after the crash that now makes it a crime for public security personnel to take and share unofficial photos of this nature.
It was not immediately clear whether the names of employees of the Los Angeles County Fire Department accused of misconduct would also be disclosed.
In an Instagram post in February, Bryant publicly asked the sheriff’s department to disclose the names of the deputies allegedly caught sharing the photos. She said editing or hiding the names from the public creates a double standard of liability.
“They want their names released from the public,” she posted. “Anyone else who faces these allegations will be unprotected, nominated and released to the public.”
In Monday’s ruling, Walter said one of the province’s arguments to keep the deputies’ names secret apparently contradicted the sheriff’s statements that the photos had been destroyed.
Lawyers said they were concerned that someone could break into one of the deputies’ private social media or internet accounts and get copies of the photos.
“The concern’s concern that hackers are trying to gain access to the devices of the individual deputies to locate and publish photos is entirely consistent with their view that such photos no longer exist,” the judge said. said.
Following Monday’s ruling, Bryant Walter and attorney Luis Li resigned in a new Instagram post.
She quoted Li’s comments to the Los Angeles Times as saying, “Transparency promotes accountability. We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant’s case in open court.”
