A federal jury on Wednesday found Los Angeles County must pay Kobe Bryant’s widow $16 million over photos shared by county employees of the NBA star’s body on the site 2020 helicopter crash that killed him.
The nine jurors who returned the unanimous verdict agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her lawyers that the deputies and firefighters who took and shared photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna invaded their privacy and caused him emotional distress.
The jury deliberated for 4 1/2 hours before reaching the verdict. Vanessa Bryant wept quietly as it was read.
Read more: Kobe Bryant’s family settles lawsuit against owners of helicopter pilots over fatal crash
A county attorney declined to comment on the verdict outside the courtroom.
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The images were shared primarily among employees of the LA County Sheriff’s and fire departments, including some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also seen by some of their spouses and, in one case, by a bartender at a bar where an MP was drinking.
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought of still they could be out there.
“I live in fear every day of being on social media and these coming up,” she declared. “I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these showing up.”
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His co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people who died in the crash, was awarded $15 million.
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Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys did not give jurors a dollar amount they believed their client deserved, but Chester’s attorney suggested guidelines that would have meant tens of millions for each plaintiff.
Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer, Luis Li, told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were merely “visual trivia” shared out of grisly curiosity.
County Attorney J. Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool to assess the situation.
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He acknowledged that they shouldn’t have been shared with everyone who saw them. But he stressed that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had not even been seen by the plaintiffs. He said that meant Sheriff Alex Villanueva and other officials had taken decisive and effective action when they ordered those with the photos to delete them.
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Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and Basketball Hall of Famer, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were on went crash into the hills of Calabasas, west of Los Angeles. January 26, 2020.
Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.
The jury returned its verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated on August 24 because he uses both numbers on his jersey — the 8 and the 24 — and is the day after his birthday. Tuesday would have been Kobe’s 44th birthday.
© 2022 The Canadian Press