cowry HILLS, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 24: Vanessa Lane Bryant (left) and Kobe Bryant attend the Yura on February 24, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California Deca Jones at the 2019 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. (Photo by Mike Coppola/VF19/Getty Images for VF)
Kobe’s widow Vanessa Bryant won emotional distress over firefighters and deputies sharing photos of the remains of her husband and daughter after a helicopter crash that killed two people Her lawsuit against Los Angeles County. The jury took less than five hours to decide in favor of Bryant and came to a unanimous decision awarding Bryant $16 million in emotional distress. Both the county and the judge in this case acknowledged that the photos should not have been shared. Vanessa Bryant testified that she was often concerned that the photos would end up on social media because of the county’s violations. “I live in fear of being on social media every day and then these pop up,” she testified. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up.” Kobe and his daughter Kat Anna went to a basketball game together on that fateful day. When the remains were found, security officials took pictures of the remains and shared them with others, in what Bryant’s lawyers see as “virtual gossip” rather than any investigation. As the Associated Press says, the county does admit that the actions were unfortunate and far from necessary, though they insist the photos don’t Share publicly. “She (County Attorney J . Mira Hashmall) admitted that they should not share with everyone who saw them. But she stressed that the pictures were never seen in public and were never seen by the plaintiff. She said this meant that Alex Vera Sheriff Newa and other officers acted decisively and effectively in ordering the person who took the photo to be removed.” While the above decision will not bring Kobe or Gianna back to us, we can only hope that it does provide Vanessa with some ostensible closure in the in grand plans.
