Update (September 29, 2020): Gov. Gavin Newsom, (D-Calif.), approved legislation that makes it illegal for a first responder to take unauthorized pictures of crash sites or crime scenes following the death of Kobe Bryant.
According to the new legislation, officials “who [respond] to the scene of an accident or crime and captures the photographic image of a deceased person by any means, including, but not limited to, by use of a personal electronic device or a device belonging to their employing agency, for any purpose other than an official law enforcement purpose” will be charged with a misdemeanor.
People who are found guilty of the misdemeanor could face a fine up to $1,000 per violation. The new mandate goes into effect on Jan.1, 2021, The Hill reported.
The bill, AB 2655, was approved on Monday but was introduced to the Senate by State Assembly Member Mike Gipson in February.
The legislation was created after the tragic deaths of the NBA superstar, his 13-year old daughter Gianna and seven others who died in a helicopter crash in January, as Blavity previously reported.
In May 2020, Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit against the LA County Sheriff’s Department after discovering that eight first responders took photos of the carnage. The county employees allegedly sent pictures of the crash site and sent them to civilians, as Blavity previously reported.
The department’s initial failure to discipline the parties involved was a shocking blow to the widow, the lawsuit cited.
"Mrs. Bryant was distressed to learn that the Department did not initiate a formal investigation until after the L.A. Times broke the story on or about February 28 and that the Department had taken few if any steps to contain the spread of the photos,” the filing read.
Assemblyman Gipson said the actions of those involved was "not right" and "unconscionable."
"Our first responders, when responding to an emergency, should not be taking very sensitive photographs … for their own gain, for their own pleasure,” Gipson told The Hill in May. “It was unconscionable. It’s not right.”
Original (May 8, 2020): Vanessa Bryant filed a lawsuit on Friday against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department after multiple officers were accused of taking and sharing dozens of photos of the helicopter crash that took the lives of Kobe Bryant and their 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Bryant.
In the weeks following the tragic January 26 crash, the Los Angeles Times reported a number of instances where officers disseminated sensitive photos to friends and media.
"Mrs. Bryant has suffered an immense tragedy by losing her husband and daughter; her grief has been compounded by the severe emotional distress caused by the sheriff’s deputies’ misconduct and the Sheriff’s Department’s mishandling of that misconduct," a legal claim obtained by People stated.
"In reality, however, no fewer than eight sheriff’s deputies were at the scene snapping cell-phone photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches. As the Department would later admit, there was no investigative purpose for deputies to take pictures at the crash site. Rather, the deputies took photos for their own personal purposes," the legal claim read.
In addition to the sheriff's deputies taking and sharing the photos, two firefighters took photos of the crash site. The situation has prompted California lawmakers to propose a bill making it illegal for any first responders to take or share photos of bodies at a crime scene. According to KCAL9, the bill is a direct response to the outrage over the conduct of officers within the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.
Reports from the LA Times indicated one officer was heard happily showing off photos of the crash site at a bar during a date.
"He tried to impress a girl by showing her the photos," a bartender, who filed a citizen's complaint about the incident, told TMZ. The story took on a new life when it was revealed that senior sheriff’s department officials tried to get the officers to quietly delete the photos in an effort to hide the situation from Bryant and the press.
According to the LA Times, senior officers told their staff in February that as long as the photos were deleted no punishments would be handed out. In March, Bryant released a powerful statement criticizing the Lost Hills Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
"Rather than formally investigate the allegations to identify the extent of dissemination and contain the spread of the photos, Department leadership reportedly told deputies that they would face no discipline if they just deleted the photos," Friday's filing said.
"Mrs. Bryant was distressed to learn that the Department did not initiate a formal investigation until after the L.A. Times broke the story on or about February 28, and that the Department had taken few if any steps to contain the spread of the photos,” the filing continued.
In another section of the filing, Bryant said she is worried there are more photos floating around the internet. In the initial LA Times story, multiple sources told their reporters that in addition to the complaint filed by the bartender, other people had seen photos both online and in person.
According to their story, first responders were sharing the photos widely.
"Mrs. Bryant is deeply worried that all copies of the sheriff’s deputies’ photos have not been accounted for, and that it is only a matter of time before she or her daughters encounter them on the Internet," the recent filing added.
"Upon information or belief, sheriff’s deputies shared photos of victims’ remains with individuals unaffiliated with the investigation for their own excitement and sense of self- importance, including one instance where a deputy shared photos to impress a woman at a bar," the filing read.
At the time, Sheriff Alex Villanueva released a statement saying their department had started an investigation into the photos, but he has faced more criticism from the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission for initially downplaying the significance of the photos.
"The sheriff’s deputies who took and shared the photos are thus liable for negligence, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and invasion of Mrs. Bryant’s right to privacy in the death images of her loved ones," Bryant's legal team said on Friday.
Kobe and Gianna lost their lives in the crash in addition to Payton Chester,13; Sarah Chester, 46; Alyssa Altobelli,14; Keri Altobelli, 46; John Altobelli, 56; Christina Mauser, 38; and the helicopter's pilot Ara Zobayan, 50.
"This [filing] solely is about enforcing accountability, protecting the victims and making sure no one ever has to deal with this conduct in the future. … The Deputies in this case betrayed that sacred trust. This claim is intended to hold the Sheriff’s Department accountable and to prevent future misconduct," a Bryant family spokesperson told People in a statement.
