Judge says officers who allegedly shared Kobe Bryant crash-scene photos can be identified

A federal judge in California ruled Monday that the names of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who allegedly shared photos of the remains of NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter from their fatal January 2020 helicopter crash cannot be kept secret.

Bryant's widow, Vanessa Bryant, filed a lawsuit against the sheriff's department over its handling of the photos in September, citing emotional distress, negligence and invasion of privacy. U.S. District Court Judge John Walter, who is overseeing the lawsuit, ruled Monday that the "defendants have failed to demonstrate compelling reasons to seal the Deputy Defendants' name (and ranks)" and that such lack of transparency never has been granted to police in a previous lawsuit. Walter also ruled that the public's interest in the proper handling of the case overrules the department's claims that the deputies would face attacks if their identities were revealed.

"Although the Court recognizes that this case has been the subject of public scrutiny and media attention and that the Deputy Defendants are legitimately concerned that they will encounter vitriol and social media attacks, such concerns, by themselves, are not sufficient to outweigh the public's strong interest in access," the ruling said.

In an Instagram post, Vanessa Bryant thanked Walter and quoted her attorney, Luis Li.

"Transparency promotes accountability," Li said. "We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant's case in open court."

In March 2020, the Los Angeles Times reported that deputies had been accused of sharing graphic photographs of the hillside crash site, with one deputy reportedly showing an image in a bar. The Times reported that the department ordered deputies to delete the photos but did not initiate a formal inquiry or internal affairs investigation. Deputies were told, according to the Times, that they would face no discipline as long as they deleted the photos.

» READ MORE: Kobe Bryant crash investigators say the pilot made poor decisions and violated federal standards

After that revelation, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva - who is named as a defendant in Bryant's lawsuit - said that as many as eight deputies who allegedly photographed, saw or shared graphic photos of the crash scene were ordered to delete the images.

Bryant's lawsuit alleges that Villanueva orchestrated a coverup and that he did nothing to determine if the deputies had widely disseminated the photos.

"The gratuitous images soon became talked about within the department, as deputies displayed them to colleagues in settings that had nothing to do with investigating the accident," the lawsuit states. "One deputy even used his photos of the victims to try to impress a woman at a bar, bragging about how he had been at the crash site. A bartender overheard this interaction and filed a written complaint with the Sheriff's Department."

Kobe Bryant and his daughter, Gianna, were among nine people killed when a helicopter carrying them to a youth basketball tournament crashed on Jan. 26, 2020, in Calabasas, Calif. Last month, federal investigators concluded that pilot Ara Zobayan’s decision to fly into low clouds and disregard his training probably caused the crash. Vanessa Bryant also has filed a lawsuit against Island Express, the helicopter company, and Zobayan’s estate, alleging they were responsible for the crash because Zobayan had not properly checked the weather before taking off and had flown into unsafe conditions.