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Kobe Bryant: LA cops accused of leaking photos of NBA star's body ‘had sick ritual of sharing grisly pictures'

Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department after grisly pictures of the late Kobe Bryant were leaked following his death in a helicopter crash
UPDATED MAR 26, 2021
Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash (Getty Images)
Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash (Getty Images)

Vanessa Bryant sued the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department after grisly pictures of the late Kobe Bryant were leaked following his death in a helicopter crash. Now, it has been reported that the cops who allegedly leaked the images had a sick ritual of sharing morbid pictures from crime scenes and accidents among themselves. 

Lawyer Vincent Miller, who happens to be representing a number of whistleblowers on "gang culture" in the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, said he'd heard from other deputies it was common practice to share grisly pictures of dead and mutilated bodies.

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Raul Versales, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Joey Cruz are the four cop who have been named in the lawsuit by Bryant.

Speaking about the pictures that were leaked, Miller said to The Sun, "Unfortunately, ever since they invented the Polaroid camera, this has been a problem in law enforcement across the nation, probably across the world, because it just makes it so much easier. And then there’s - there’s cops - they keep death books, for example, where . . . they have photos from crime scenes throughout their careers," indicating that he was not surprised by the turn of events at all. 

Basketball player Kobe Bryant and wife Vanessa at the official after party for the 2004 World Music Awards, September 15, 2005 at Body English in the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The show was being broadcast live from Las Vegas on September 15 for the first time after being held in Monte Carlo for 15 years.

It must be noted that there has been no information from the department regarding the four officers. Are they still in the employ of LASD? Is there an investigation about the same that is active within the department? Miller added, "Well, I can't say it surprised me one bit unfortunately because I know for a fact that deputies, it's a common practice among [them]... this is not the first time - let's put it this way - that the deputies have shared, knowingly, and without reason photos, crime scene photos with each other."

He also stated, "There's deputies who like to snap pictures of grisly murders and dead bodies and pass it around to each other. So it's not an unheard of practice to do that. And then Kobe's a celebrity. So, just based on that, it didn't shock me. It's disgusting, obviously, it's horrifying. It makes you wonder about who would want to look at stuff like that. It's understandable, obviously why Kobe's family would be very offended and upset over it."

Investigators work at the scene of the helicopter crash, where former NBA star Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna died, on January 28, 2020 in Calabasas, California. Kobe and "Gigi" were among nine people were perished in the crash as they were flying to his Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, where he was going to coach her in a tournament game. (Getty Images)

In her lawsuit, Bryant's lawyer Lui Li wrote, "The Sheriff’s and Fire Departments’ outrageous actions have caused Mrs Bryant severe emotional distress and compounded the trauma of losing Kobe and Gianna." The lawyer also added, "Mrs Bryant feels ill at the thought that sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, and members of the public have gawked at gratuitous images of her deceased husband and child, and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online."

Kobe, 41, daughter Gianna, 13, and seven others, including two of Gianna's teammates at the Mamba Sports Academy and Orange Coast College baseball coach John Altobelli, died after a helicopter carrying them crashed into a mountainside in Calabasas, California, on January 26. 

RELATED TOPICS LOS ANGELES (LA) NEWS
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