Los Angeles County has agreed to pay Kobe Bryant’s widow roughly $29 million (£24 million) after police released graphic images of his fatal helicopter crash two years ago.
Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna, along with seven others, perished when the plane crashed in the Los Angeles area.
His wife, Vanessa Bryant, filed a lawsuit alleging that first responders photographed human remains as “souvenirs” for sale.
The attorneys for LA County described the settlement as “fair and reasonable.”
“Tonight marks the victorious conclusion of Mrs. Bryant’s valiant battle to hold accountable those responsible for this heinous behavior,” the plaintiff’s attorneys stated in a statement released on Tuesday.
“She battled for her husband, her daughter, and all members of the community whose deceased family members were treated with the same disregard. We hope that her trial victory and this payment will cease this practice.”
Mira Hashmall, the lead trial attorney representing Los Angeles County in the case, stated in a statement that all litigation relating to the accident and the county had been concluded.
She stated that the $28,850,000 settlement includes the $16 million granted to Mrs. Bryant by a federal jury in August 2022 in her lawsuit against Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy.
Ms. Hashmall stated,
“We hope Ms. Bryant and her children continue to recover from their tragedy.”
Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also perished in the January 26, 2020 disaster, reached a separate settlement with the county for roughly $20 million, according to US media reports on Tuesday.
Mrs. Bryant shared the names of four sheriff’s deputies in March 2021, claiming they had disseminated “free images of the murdered children, parents, and coaches” who were on their way to a basketball game.
She stated that the photographs, which included images of her 13-year-old daughter Gianna, were taken and distributed “for no other reason than morbid gossip.”
Mrs. Bryant testified at the trial that she had heard in the media that a Los Angeles County sheriff’s officer displayed photographs of the accident at a bar.
She told the court,
“I live in fear of my girls going on social media and these appearing.”
Since then, California has implemented a law forbidding first responders from taking unauthorized photographs of an accident or crime victims.
Kobe Bryant was killed when his aircraft, a Sikorsky S-76B, crashed into a mountainside outside the city of Calabasas.
Before the airplane took off, conditions were murky, and local police had grounded their helicopters due to the weather.
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