Vanessa Bryant wants the four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies that she alleges shared “unauthorized” photos of the helicopter crash site that killed her husband, Kobe Bryant, their daughter, and seven others named publicly.
According to KTLA, county lawyers want to keep the deputies’ identities sealed. They argue that releasing them would make the deputies’ information public and potentially targets for hackers and bullies.
Bryant’s attorneys filed an amended complaint in federal court, adding the four deputies and the L.A. County Fire Department to her civil rights lawsuit against the Sheriff’s Department and the county.
Vanessa posted on her Instagram Stories, “Kobe’s name was released when he was accused in 2003. Why should sheriffs get away with hiding? #doublestandard.”
She continued, ” The Sheriff’s Department wants to redact the names of the deputies that took and/or shared photos of my husband, daughter, and other victims. They want their names exempt from the public. Anyone else facing allegations would be unprotected, named and released to the public. Not all law enforcement is bad. These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else. #doublestandard”
Bryant’s lawsuit seeks damages for negligence and invasion of privacy, alleging that deputies and firefighters took photos and shared the images of the victims who died in the Jan. 26, 2020 crash.
