Graphic pics from Kobe Bryant crash site were leaked within hours by LA cops, claims report: 'It's a cardinal sin'
Graphic photos of the deadly helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others last month, were leaked by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies, according to a source.
The retired NBA star and his daughter were traveling with others in a helicopter to a youth basketball game in Thousand Oaks when the chopper crashed into a Calabasas hillside amid dense fog. All the occupants were killed. The other victims were Christina Mauser; Payton and Sarah Chester; John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli; and Ara Zobayan (pilot).
Bryant's widow Vanessa has even filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company which owned the helicopter.
One public safety source with direct knowledge of the case told Los Angeles Times that making the crash scene photos as well as those of the deceased victims public remained the topic of heated discussions in the Sheriff’s Department, even a couple of days after the incident took place.
The insider, who agreed to speak to the outlet on the sensitive issue only on the condition of anonymity, added that he saw one of the photos on the phone of another official in a setting that allegedly had little to do with the ongoing investigation into the said crash.
Capt. Jorge Valdez, the head of the sheriff’s information bureau, said on Wednesday, February 26, that his office had been in contact with the family members of crash victims about the photos but not due to the allegations that the deputies that leaked the snaps. Valdez added he was “unaware of any complaint”
Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who gave a brief interview on February 26 at the Hall of Justice downtown, also refused to address any accusations made in Bryant's case, including whether there was an active complaint against the department possibly having had shared the photos inappropriately.
The Sheriff’s Department finally admitted on February 27 that the “matter is being looked into.”
According to Joseph Giacalone, who teaches police procedures at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, sharing active case photos with anyone not authorized to see them “is a cardinal sin in law enforcement”.
As of now, it is unclear if the photos in question were taken by the deputies themselves or they had received them from a third source. Also, it is not known as to who were involved in the dissemination of the photos and how widely they were distributed within the department.