In 12 Instagram posts with no captions Wednesday night, the widow of Kobe Bryant, Vanessa Bryant, revealed the names of the four deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department who reportedly took graphic photos from the site of the helicopter crash, who killed the basketball legend and their 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others in January 2020.
The reports show an amended complaint, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, naming Deputy Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales as defendants, as well as Los Angeles County, its sheriff’s department and fire department. . It alleges negligence, invasion of privacy, and a violation of the 14th Amendment.
Earlier this month, a the federal judge ruled that Bryant could get the names of the delegates. Initially redacted, lawyers from the departments wanted to keep their names and ranks sealed.
The lawsuit alleges that “delegates who responded to the crash scene used personal cell phones to take and share photos of the deceased children, parents and coaches for free.” According to the case, Sheriff Alex Villanueva initially assured Bryant of privacy when she expressed concern just after the incident occurred.
The lawsuit alleges that a deputy sheriff at the scene took between 25 and 100 photographs, which “had no conceivable purpose of investigation and were aimed directly at the remains of the victims.”
The suit calls the actions of the delegates, who are spreading the photos across the departments via text messages and AirDrop, “morbid gossip.” It describes the role of each alternate in sharing the photos with people unrelated to the study.
Within two days of the crash, at least 10 members of the department had obtained photos, the lawsuit alleges.
In one case, the suit claims that Cruz showed the photos to a patron and bartender at a bar, “using his fingers to zoom in on his phone.” The bartender told investigators that Cruz showed him photos of victims’ remains.
One of the principals told investigators that he found the situation “very, very disturbing” and described Cruz’s behavior as “very inappropriate.” He was so upset that he filed a complaint with the department shortly after.
In another case, the lawsuit alleges that Russell sent photos of the victims’ remains to a personal friend, who later indicated that the photos showed the remains of a child.
The lawsuit additionally alleges that several of the said officers made false statements about their possession of photos from the crash site during a previous departmental investigation.
“We will not try this case in the media and wait for the right location,” Villanueva tweeted Wednesday night appears to be referring to Bryant’s Instagram posts. “Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy.”