Kobe Bryant's widow WINS legal battle to force Los Angeles sheriff and fire ...

Kobe Bryant's widow WINS legal battle to force Los Angeles sheriff and fire ...
Kobe Bryant's widow WINS legal battle to force Los Angeles sheriff and fire ...

Lawyers for Kobe Bryant’s widow will get to question the Los Angeles County sheriff and the county’s top fire official under oath over photos of the late basketball great and his daughter that circulated after their fatal helicopter crash last year.

Vanessa Bryant’s request to force Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva and County Fire Chief Daryl Osby to provide pretrial testimony in a deposition was granted on Tuesday by US Magistrate Judge Charles Eick, USA Today reported.

Villanueva and Osby are two of the most powerful public safety officials in Los Angeles County, the most populous county in the United States.

The widow of the late Lakers legend filed a lawsuit against the county for invasion of privacy and negligence after several LASD and County Fire employees circulated images showing the human remains of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna.

The lawsuit contends first responders, including firefighters and sheriff´s deputies, shared photographs of Kobe Bryant's body with a bartender and passed around 'gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.'

Vanessa Bryant (seen above in Connecticut on May 15) won a legal battle on Tuesday when a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that her lawyers can question Los Angeles County's top law enforcement official as well as the most senior fire official over graphic photos of her late husband and daughter that were disseminated last year

Vanessa Bryant (seen above in Connecticut on May 15) won a legal battle on Tuesday when a federal judge in Los Angeles ruled that her lawyers can question Los Angeles County's top law enforcement official as well as the most senior fire official over graphic photos of her late husband and daughter that were disseminated last year

County Fire Chief Daryl Osby

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva

Vanessa Bryant’s request to force Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (right) and County Fire Chief Daryl Osby (left) to provide pretrial testimony in a deposition was granted on Tuesday by US Magistrate Judge Charles Eick

The widow of the late Lakers legend filed a lawsuit against the county for invasion of privacy and negligence after several LASD and County Fire employees circulated images showing the human remains of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna

The widow of the late Lakers legend filed a lawsuit against the county for invasion of privacy and negligence after several LASD and County Fire employees circulated images showing the human remains of Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna 

Kobe Bryant, 41, and Gianna Bryant, 13, were among nine people who were killed when their private helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76, crashed in the hills of Calabasas, just outside of Los Angeles, after taking off from Orange County on January 26, 2020. Bryant and the others were on their way to a girls basketball tournament. The helicopter crashed in the hills west of Los Angeles amid foggy weather. Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the wreck

Kobe Bryant, 41, and Gianna Bryant, 13, were among nine people who were killed when their private helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76, crashed in the hills of Calabasas, just outside of Los Angeles, after taking off from Orange County on January 26, 2020. Bryant and the others were on their way to a girls basketball tournament. The helicopter crashed in the hills west of Los Angeles amid foggy weather. Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the wreck

The suit claims that deputies circulated the photos among themselves gratuitously, and that one displayed a photo on his phone to a bartender at Baja California Bar and Grill, who then loudly proclaimed to patrons and staff that he'd just seen an image of Kobe Bryant's body.

Los Angeles County contends that, while the conduct was inappropriate, showing a photo to one member of the public does not constitute invasion of privacy. 

The county says that the photos were not shared with the media or posted on the internet, and thus were 'not publicly disseminated.' 

The trial is scheduled to begin in February.

Kobe Bryant, 41, and Gianna Bryant, 13, were among nine people who were killed when their private helicopter, a Sikorsky S-76, crashed in the hills of Calabasas, just outside of Los Angeles, after taking off from Orange County on January 26, 2020.

Bryant and the others were on their way to a girls basketball tournament. The helicopter crashed in the hills west of Los Angeles amid foggy weather. Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the wreck. 

Los Angeles County contends that, while the conduct was inappropriate, showing a photo to one member of the public does not constitute invasion of privacy. Bryant is pictured above during an NBA game in Philadelphia in December 2015

Los Angeles County contends that, while the conduct was inappropriate, showing a photo to one member of the public does not constitute invasion of privacy. Bryant is pictured above during an NBA game in Philadelphia in December 2015

In his ruling, Eick determined that Villanueva and Osby have ‘unique, firsthand, non-repetitive knowledge relevant to the issues in this case’ that is ‘not entirely obtainable’ through other sources.

Eick will allow Vanessa Bryant’s lawyers to question the sheriff and the fire chief for up to four hours in order to allow them to return to their official duties with minimum disruption.

Lawyers for the county had hoped to prevent Vanessa Bryant’s lawyers from questioning Villanueva and Osby. They argued that heads of government agencies ‘are not normally subject to deposition, absent extraordinary circumstances.’

The county said that top officials are usually not required to testify since this protects them 'from discovery that will burden the performance of their duties, particularly given the frequency with which such officials are likely to be named in lawsuits.'

Skip Miller, a lawyer representing the county, told USA Today: 'While we disagree with the court's decision, we will make both the Sheriff and Fire Chief available for deposition.

'Their testimony will not change the fact that there is no evidence any photos taken by County first responders have ever been publicly disseminated.'

Vanessa Bryant said she pleaded with Villanueva to make sure no one takes photographs from the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, and he reassured that the area had been secured, court documents say.

After Villanueva confirmed her husband, their teenage daughter, along with seven others, were killed, he asked Vanessa Bryant if he could do anything for her, according to a transcript of a deposition obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Saturday on her lawsuit against Los Angeles County.

'And I said: "If you can't bring my husband and baby back, please make sure that no one takes photographs of them. Please secure the area",' Vanessa Bryant said during the deposition. 

'And he said: "I will."

'And I said: "No, I need you to get on the phone right now and I need you to make sure you secure the area".'

Villanueva, she said, excused himself momentarily and reassured her the area had been secured when he came back.

Kobe Bryant's widow also revealed in a sworn statement how she learned of the helicopter crash that killed the retired basketball star and their daughter Gianna, as well as other details

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