Marcio Jose Sanchez / Associated Press
A federal judge has ruled that Vanessa Bryant can get the names of four deputies of the Los Angeles Sheriff, who allegedly shared photos of the aftermath of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed nine people, including her husband, Kobe. a daughter, Gianna.
Richard Winton of the Los Angeles Times reported the news and note U.S. District Judge John F. Walter made the decision Monday.
Lawyers in Los Angeles wanted to keep the names under the seal and suggested that it could be made public to make the delegates targets for hackers. They now have four days to appeal against the verdict on Monday.
“Promise of Sheriff Villanueva to [internal affairs bureau] report after the investigation undermines the accused’s alleged concern in disclosing the limited extracts in question here, ‘the judge wrote while also ruling that knowledge of the police’s misconduct should be accessible to the public.
This comes after Bryant asked last month for the names to appear on an Instagram post:
“Faced with a scene of unimaginable loss, no less than eight sheriff’s deputies accidentally took out their personal cellphones and took photos of the dead children, parents and coaches,” Bryant’s lawsuit reads, according to Jonathan Lloyd of NBC Los Angeles. “The deputies took these photos for their own personal satisfaction.”
The lawsuit, which seeks damages for negligence and invasion of privacy, also says deputies and firefighters shared the photos in an unauthorized manner.
According to the province, all photos shared have since been removed.