SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 28 March 2024, Thursday |

Kobe Bryant’s wife looks to expand scope of lawsuit over crash photos

Vanessa Bryant and her lawyers asked for more time to pursue action against the Los Angeles County sheriff’s and fire departments after some of their members allegedly took and shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash scene that killed her husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna along with 7 others.

Bryant’s lawyers, who are suing LA County for negligence and invasion of privacy, noted that new information has come to light. The attorneys asked for the discovery period to collect evidence be extended from August to February, and they demanded a trial date be pushed back to April.

The filing submitted in federal court said “Mrs. Bryant has since learned that the number of LASD and (L.A. County Fire Department) employees who took, shared, and/or possessed improper photos of the accident scene is actually 18 (and counting) and that 66 County employees have relevant knowledge of the misconduct.”

Four sheriff’s deputies already have been named in the lawsuit. Mrs. Bryant might add other first responders to the lawsuit in light of new information.

Bryant indicates in the suit that she is seeking punitive damages against the defendants “to punish them and make an example of them to the community.” Her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna perished on Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were riding in crashed on a foggy morning in hilly terrain in Calabasas, Calif.

    Source:
  • Reuters