Vanessa Bryant, widow of Kobe Bryant, leaves federal court in Los Angeles on August 10.
Jae C. Hong / AP
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Jae C. Hong / AP
Vanessa Bryant, widow of Kobe Bryant, leaves federal court in Los Angeles on August 10.
Jae C. Hong / AP
LOS ANGELES – A federal grand jury on Wednesday announced that Los Angeles County must pay widow Kobe Bryant $16 million for emotional distress caused by deputies and firefighters who shared body pictures. of the NBA star and his daughter are pictured at the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed them.
Nine jurors returned a unanimous verdict agreeing with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded her privacy and made her mental suffering.
The jury deliberated for four and a half hours before sentencing. Vanessa Bryant cried quietly when it was read.
A district attorney declined to comment on the ruling outside the courtroom.
The photos were shared primarily between LA County sheriff’s employees and the fire department, including several people playing video games and attending an awards party. They have also been seen by some of their spouses and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during an 11-day trial that news of the photos that caused her grief is still intact a month after losing her husband and daughter, and she still panics at the thought that they might still be there.
“I live in fear every day on social media and these things pop up,” she testified. “I live in fear of my daughters showing up on social media and these things showing up.”
Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys didn’t give jurors the money they thought their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney did give them suggested guidelines that mean tens of millions per plaintiff. single.
Vanessa Bryant’s attorney, Luis Li, told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were just “visual rumours” shared out of a grisly curiosity.
District Attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool to assess the situation.
She admits that they should not be shared with everyone who has seen them. But she stressed that the photos have never appeared publicly, and have never even been seen by the plaintiff. She said that meant Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials took decisive and effective action in ordering those with the photos to delete them.
Kobe Bryant, a former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter They walked on crashed down the hills in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles. January 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed the pilot for the crash.
The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on August 24 because it uses both of his shirt numbers – 8 and 24 – and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday will be Kobe’s 44th birthday.
