Vanessa BryantĀ has shared the names ofĀ deputies who are accused of taking and/or sharing unauthorized photos ofĀ Kobe Bryantās deadly helicopter crash.
Vanessa Bryant revealed the names via Instagram on Wednesday night, when she posted pages of herĀ lawsuitĀ against theĀ Los Angeles County Sheriffās Department, the LA County Fire Department, LA County, and fourĀ deputies whose names were previously concealed. The suit lists those officers asĀ Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell, and Raul Versales.
The posts came less than two weeks after a judge granted Vanessa Bryantās request to unseal the names of the aforementioned deputies. The officers areĀ accused of taking photos of the crash that killed Kobe Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter,Ā Gianna Bryant, and seven others in early 2020. According to the legal documents, officer Russell, who was not directly involved with investigation, had obtained the photos and shared them āwith a personal friend with whom he played video games with every night.ā
Russell allegedly received the photos via text from Cruz, a deputy trainee who responded to the deadly accident.Ā
āAt some point during his shift, Cruz obtained multiple photographs of the Bryantsā remains on his personal cell phone,ā the lawsuit states. āAfter obtained photos ā¦ Cruz shared them with multiple individuals without any legitimate governmental purpose, including several members of the public.ā
Cruz is also accused of showing the photos to his niece as well asĀ a bartender inĀ Norwalk, California.Ā
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex VillanuevaĀ allegedly told the involved deputies they would not face disciplinary action as long as they deleted the photos immediately. The lawsuit also states that the sheriffĀ failed to inform internal affairs about the incident, and an investigation wasnāt pursued until after theĀ scandal gained media attention.Ā
āAt the moment the deputies snapped photos of Kobe and Giannaās remains, they created a harm that cannot be undone, and the Departmentās response has only exacerbated that harm,ā the lawsuit reads.
Vanessa Bryant is seeking damages forĀ negligence, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.