Vanessa Bryant Files Lawsuit Over Kobe Bryant Crash Photos

Comment LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, took the witness stand here Friday morning, describing panic attacks and the anguish she’s suffered since learning photos were taken and released to authorities from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, daughter and seven others. “I want to remember my husband and my daughter as they were,” Bryant said, testifying through tears. “I never want to see these photos shared or viewed.” Bryant’s testimony, in a federal court a few miles from the downtown arena where her late husband led the Lakers to five championships, marked the emotional climax of a devastating legal story that has been unfolding here since the January 2020 crash. Subscribe to the NBA Weekly Newsletter to get the best basketball coverage in your inbox Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the victims of the crash, used the civil rights lawsuit to demand answers from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters about why took gruesome cellphone photos of the crash scene and then shared them. in bars and firemen’s galas. Bryant said that in late February 2020, a month after the crash, she was in a playroom at her home with her two young children when a television news broadcast showed Los Angeles County authorities pulling over and handing out illegal photos from the scene. “I expected them to have more compassion, more respect,” said Bryant, whose testimony was expected to continue Friday morning. “My husband and daughter deserve dignity.” The afternoon before Bryant took the stand, Chester testified that he felt those answers were still elusive, noting the shifting reasoning given by first responders to the position. Like Vanessa Bryant, Chester said he is haunted by the possibility that illegal crime scene photos may still be surfacing. County prosecutors argued that deputies and firefighters had official reasons to take photos at the scene. But the court testimony from these first responders has been humbling at times. A fire captain claimed he no longer remembered being at the scene and left the podium to collect himself three times. Another MP apologized for showing a bartender friend photos of the scene. Forensic analysis showed that mobile phones and hard drives containing the illegal photos were mysteriously missing or wiped. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said it’s the kind of embarrassing and damaging testimony that is usually excluded from a settlement. But in this case, with Vanessa Bryant worth hundreds of millions of dollars, there wasn’t one. “If this case had not involved Kobe Bryant and if the plaintiff had not had the resources to pursue the case, I doubt it would have ever gotten this far,” Levenson said. “For the Bryant family, they want accountability and they have the resources to get it.”

title: “Vanessa Bryant Files Lawsuit Over Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-10-22” author: “William Brugger”

Comment LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, took the witness stand here Friday morning, describing panic attacks and the anguish she’s suffered since learning photos were taken and released to authorities from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, daughter and seven others. “I want to remember my husband and my daughter as they were,” Bryant said, testifying through tears. “I never want to see these photos shared or viewed.” Bryant’s testimony, in a federal court a few miles from the downtown arena where her late husband led the Lakers to five championships, marked the emotional climax of a devastating legal story that has been unfolding here since the January 2020 crash. Subscribe to the NBA Weekly Newsletter to get the best basketball coverage in your inbox Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the victims of the crash, used the civil rights lawsuit to demand answers from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters about why took gruesome cellphone photos of the crash scene and then shared them. in bars and firemen’s galas. Bryant said that in late February 2020, a month after the crash, she was in a playroom at her home with her two young children when a television news broadcast showed Los Angeles County authorities pulling over and handing out illegal photos from the scene. “I expected them to have more compassion, more respect,” said Bryant, whose testimony was expected to continue Friday morning. “My husband and daughter deserve dignity.” The afternoon before Bryant took the stand, Chester testified that he felt those answers were still elusive, noting the shifting reasoning given by first responders to the position. Like Vanessa Bryant, Chester said he is haunted by the possibility that illegal crime scene photos may still be surfacing. County prosecutors argued that deputies and firefighters had official reasons to take photos at the scene. But the court testimony from these first responders has been humbling at times. A fire captain claimed he no longer remembered being at the scene and left the podium to collect himself three times. Another MP apologized for showing a bartender friend photos of the scene. Forensic analysis showed that mobile phones and hard drives containing the illegal photos were mysteriously missing or wiped. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said it’s the kind of embarrassing and damaging testimony that is usually excluded from a settlement. But in this case, with Vanessa Bryant worth hundreds of millions of dollars, there wasn’t one. “If this case had not involved Kobe Bryant and if the plaintiff had not had the resources to pursue the case, I doubt it would have ever gotten this far,” Levenson said. “For the Bryant family, they want accountability and they have the resources to get it.”

title: “Vanessa Bryant Files Lawsuit Over Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-17” author: “Steven Walther”

Comment LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, took the witness stand here Friday morning, describing panic attacks and the anguish she’s suffered since learning photos were taken and released to authorities from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, daughter and seven others. “I want to remember my husband and my daughter as they were,” Bryant said, testifying through tears. “I never want to see these photos shared or viewed.” Bryant’s testimony, in a federal court a few miles from the downtown arena where her late husband led the Lakers to five championships, marked the emotional climax of a devastating legal story that has been unfolding here since the January 2020 crash. Subscribe to the NBA Weekly Newsletter to get the best basketball coverage in your inbox Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the victims of the crash, used the civil rights lawsuit to demand answers from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters about why took gruesome cellphone photos of the crash scene and then shared them. in bars and firemen’s galas. Bryant said that in late February 2020, a month after the crash, she was in a playroom at her home with her two young children when a television news broadcast showed Los Angeles County authorities pulling over and handing out illegal photos from the scene. “I expected them to have more compassion, more respect,” said Bryant, whose testimony was expected to continue Friday morning. “My husband and daughter deserve dignity.” The afternoon before Bryant took the stand, Chester testified that he felt those answers were still elusive, noting the shifting reasoning given by first responders to the position. Like Vanessa Bryant, Chester said he is haunted by the possibility that illegal crime scene photos may still be surfacing. County prosecutors argued that deputies and firefighters had official reasons to take photos at the scene. But the court testimony from these first responders has been humbling at times. A fire captain claimed he no longer remembered being at the scene and left the podium to collect himself three times. Another MP apologized for showing a bartender friend photos of the scene. Forensic analysis showed that mobile phones and hard drives containing the illegal photos were mysteriously missing or wiped. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said it’s the kind of embarrassing and damaging testimony that is usually excluded from a settlement. But in this case, with Vanessa Bryant worth hundreds of millions of dollars, there wasn’t one. “If this case had not involved Kobe Bryant and if the plaintiff had not had the resources to pursue the case, I doubt it would have ever gotten this far,” Levenson said. “For the Bryant family, they want accountability and they have the resources to get it.”

title: “Vanessa Bryant Files Lawsuit Over Kobe Bryant Crash Photos Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-28” author: “Mildred Nixon”

Comment LOS ANGELES — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, took the witness stand here Friday morning, describing panic attacks and the anguish she’s suffered since learning photos were taken and released to authorities from the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband, daughter and seven others. “I want to remember my husband and my daughter as they were,” Bryant said, testifying through tears. “I never want to see these photos shared or viewed.” Bryant’s testimony, in a federal court a few miles from the downtown arena where her late husband led the Lakers to five championships, marked the emotional climax of a devastating legal story that has been unfolding here since the January 2020 crash. Subscribe to the NBA Weekly Newsletter to get the best basketball coverage in your inbox Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the victims of the crash, used the civil rights lawsuit to demand answers from Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies and firefighters about why took gruesome cellphone photos of the crash scene and then shared them. in bars and firemen’s galas. Bryant said that in late February 2020, a month after the crash, she was in a playroom at her home with her two young children when a television news broadcast showed Los Angeles County authorities pulling over and handing out illegal photos from the scene. “I expected them to have more compassion, more respect,” said Bryant, whose testimony was expected to continue Friday morning. “My husband and daughter deserve dignity.” The afternoon before Bryant took the stand, Chester testified that he felt those answers were still elusive, noting the shifting reasoning given by first responders to the position. Like Vanessa Bryant, Chester said he is haunted by the possibility that illegal crime scene photos may still be surfacing. County prosecutors argued that deputies and firefighters had official reasons to take photos at the scene. But the court testimony from these first responders has been humbling at times. A fire captain claimed he no longer remembered being at the scene and left the podium to collect himself three times. Another MP apologized for showing a bartender friend photos of the scene. Forensic analysis showed that mobile phones and hard drives containing the illegal photos were mysteriously missing or wiped. Laurie Levenson, a law professor at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said it’s the kind of embarrassing and damaging testimony that is usually excluded from a settlement. But in this case, with Vanessa Bryant worth hundreds of millions of dollars, there wasn’t one. “If this case had not involved Kobe Bryant and if the plaintiff had not had the resources to pursue the case, I doubt it would have ever gotten this far,” Levenson said. “For the Bryant family, they want accountability and they have the resources to get it.”