Vanessa Bryant files legal claim over photos taken of helicopter crash site

Vanessa Bryant is still sorting through much of the legal fallout from the helicopter crash that killed her husband Kobe and daughter Gianna back in January. The latest step she took was on Friday, when she filed a legal claim over some unauthorized photos that were captured at the crash site.

Bryant filed a legal claim seeking damages for emotional distress and mental anguish after it was determined that eight LA County Sheriff’s Department deputies took photos of the crash and shared them with others, according to court documents obtained by People. The photos were taken despite Bryant going to the Sheriff’s office the morning of the crash on Jan. 26 and requesting that the crash site be designated a no-fly zone.

“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,” the claim states. “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 claim asserts that the Sheriff’s Department’s “mishandling of this egregious misconduct” worsened Vanessa Bryant’s level of emotional distress, as she learned of the photo leak more than a month after the crash through media outlets. A spokesperson for the Bryant family told People that the court filing is “solely about enforcing accountability, protecting the victims and making sure no one ever has to deal with this conduct in the future.”

“When a family suffers the loss of loved ones, they have the right to expect that they will be treated with dignity and respect,” the family spokesperson said. “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.”

Two LA firefighters also took photos at the crash site and were instructed to delete them. Bryant’s legal team released a statement on her behalf back in March condemning the behavior of the deputies and firefighters.

According to a March report from TMZ, one of the deputies showed the photos to a woman at a bar while trying to impress her. The bartender saw what happened and filed an online complaint with the Sheriff’s Department. The photos were also shared at the Lost Hills Sheriff’s substation.

Prior to speaking out about the unauthorized photos, Bryant also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company that owned the helicopter that Kobe, Gianna and seven others were traveling in.