Written By @cabbagepatchgrl
On January 26, Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant and seven others died in a tragic helicopter crash. One month later, reports surfaced that deputies shared graphic photos of the crash site.
As a result, on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the legislation promoted by the helicopter crash, making it a crime for first responders to take unauthorized photos of deceased people at the scene of an accident or crime, according to CBS News.
Eight deputies at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department were accused of taking and sharing graphic photos of the scene. The Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said that he ordered the images to be deleted. He said that the department had a policy against taking photos of crime scenes but not against accident scenes.
On January 1, the measure will take effect, making it a misdemeanor with fines up to $1,000 per offense for taking such photos for anything other than an official law enforcement purpose.
Vanessa Bryant, Bryant’s widow, sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department in March. She said she was “absolutely devasted” to find out about the allegations of the deputies taking and sharing the graphic photos.
