Report: Vanessa Bryant Can Obtain Names of Deputies Who Shared Kobe Crash Photos

Four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies allegedly shared unauthorized photos of the site of Bryant's helicopter crash.

Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports

Vanessa Bryant will be able to obtain the names of four sheriff's deputies who allegedly shared "unauthorized" photos of Kobe Bryant's crash site, according to the Los Angeles Times's Richard Winton.

Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, died in a helicopter crash in the Los Angeles area in January 2020. An internal sheriff's department report revealed that one sheriff took 25 to 100 photos of the crash site before sending the photos to multiple other deputies. Those photos were then shown to various civilians, including a patron and bartender at a local bar, per the Los Angeles Times. 

U.S. District Judge John F. Walter ruled on Monday that the deputies' names would no longer remain under seal. Vanessa Bryant can now add the deputies to her civil rights lawsuit against the county and the Sheriff’s Department led by Alex Villanueva, per Winton. 

"Transparency promotes accountability," Vanessa Bryant attorney Luis Li told the Los Angeles Times. "We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant’s case in open court.”

Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit is seeking damages for negligence and invasion of privacy. 

"These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else," Bryant wrote on Twitter in February.