Vanessa Bryant, the widow of the late NBA Legend Kobe Bryant who died recently in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California is "absolutely devastated" by the allegations that graphic photos from the scene where her husband, 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others died were shared by deputies, according to a her lawyer, Saturday.
On Friday, a report on Los Angeles Times said that photos of the crash in a setting which was entirely unrelated to the investigation were seen on the phone of an official by a public safety source with knowledge of the events that took place that day. LA Time's source said that the photos showed the scene and graphic images of the victims' remains. The source, however, chose to reveal the information in the condition that his identity remains anonymous due to the sensitive nature of the allegations.
In addition, Vanessa's lawyer, Gary Robb stated that Kobe's widow even went to the sheriff's office on the day of the crash and requested that the site be designated as a no-fly zone and be protected from photographers. Robb, further added that Sheriff Alex Villanueva assured that all measures will be put in place to protect the dignity of the victims and their families and that Vanessa and her family understand that the sheriff has worked hard to honor the requests.
In light of this, LA County Sheriff's Department has released a statement expressing how disturbed Sheriff Villanueva was by the reports that deputies snapped photos of the accident and passed them around.
In the statement by LASD that was released on Friday, it was noted that the department was aware of the reports pertaining to the alleged sharing of the sensitive photos from the crash. They also said that they are still investigating the facts surrounding the allegations as well as the effectiveness of their existing policies and procedures.
The statement was released shortly after LA times published the story citing two law enforcement sources who saw the alleged photos.
TMZ, also published a story with similar allegations. According to the outlet they were told by law enforcement sources that multiple deputies of LASD who responded to the scene after the crash took photos of the remains. TMZ also noted that the photos were passed around the Sheriff's substation in Lost Hills.
According to both outlets, the department has been aware of the photos for quite a time now and even told the deputies to delete the pictures so that they can avoid discipline if they admitted their involvement in the matter.
The news of the leaked photos came out just a few days after the memorial offered for the Black Mamba and his daughter Gianna or now dubbed as Mambacita at the Staples Center on February 24 which was graced by family, friends, and fans who until now grieves the passing of the basketball hero.
In the past, Los-Angeles-area law enforcement agencies have been known to have struggled with preventing leakage of information for high-profile cases.
