I’ll admit that I had not really been following Vanessa Bryant’s legal actions against the LA County Sheriff’s Department in the wake of the January 2020 helicopter crash which killed Vanessa’s husband, daughter and seven others. It seems that as soon as LA Sheriff’s deputies came upon the scene of the helicopter crash, they began photographing the scene on their personal or work phones. During the next days and weeks, those same deputies sent those photos (of dead bodies) to colleagues, friends and family. It’s beyond disgusting and why would anyone DO that? Why would anyone think that’s okay? Vanessa found out about it and she filed a complaint against the sheriff’s department. A judge ruled, this week, that the sheriff’s department can’t keep the names of its deputies hidden anymore. So Vanessa shared the names of the deputies on her social media.
Vanessa Bryant has publicly shared her legal complaint against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department that names the four deputies who allegedly shared unauthorized and graphic photographs of the January 2020 helicopter crash that killed NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gianna, and seven others. On Wednesday, Vanessa, 38, shared multiple screenshots of the filing on her Instagram account.
While she did not caption any of the screenshots, Vanessa did circle those listed as defendants in red, which included LASD, the Los Angeles Fire Department and four individuals: Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales.
In the document Vanessa posted, her legal counsel said that she had spoken with LASD Sheriff Alex Villanueva on the morning of the crash to request the site be secured for privacy. This “assurance was hollow,” her legal counsel claimed, as “sheriff’s deputies who responded to the crash used personal cell phones to take gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches,” the document read.
“Photos of the remains quickly spread within the Sheriff’s Department as deputies transmitted them to one another via text message and AirDrop,” the filing read. “Within forty-eight hours, at least ten members of the Sheriff’s Department obtained photos of the victims’ remains on their personal cell phones despite having no legitimate governmental use of the photos.”
The complaint sets out Bryant’s allegations about each of the deputies. According to the filing, Mejia, a deputy at the LASD, responded to the general proximity of the crash site on Jan. 26, 2020 and “obtained multiple photographs of Bryants’ remains and stored them on his personal cell phone.” Mejia sent the photos to “at least two individuals without any legitimate governmental purpose,” including Cruz, a trainee deputy, according to the document.
Cruz, who Vanessa said had “no role in investigating the accident or identifying those who perished,” then allegedly texted the photos to Russell, another deputy in the department, after Russell had asked to see them. According to the document, Cruz also showed the photos to his niece during a visit to his mother’s house and to a restaurant patron and bartender at the Baja California Bar and Grill in Norwalk, Calif.
The cruelty and macabre nature of this is so far beyond what should be acceptable in a civil society. The fact that sheriff’s deputies thought they had the right to document the scene of a massive tragedy – a tragedy in which children died – for their OWN PERSONAL USE, and then widely shared those photos is beyond disgusting. Why did the LA County Sheriff’s Department even waste the resources trying to fight Vanessa’s complaint? The department should have investigated, found the abhorrent wrong-doing, and announced the names of the deputies in a press release confirming the deputies’ firing for cause. Instead, it sounds like all of these motherf–ers still have their jobs? Jesus.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instagram.
Good for her.
Yup. Took photos of dead children and their parents to share with friends. ACAB.
I’m proud of her for naming and shaming these despicable people.
This is awful. Not sure if it was widely reported in the US, but another Met Police officer working the cordon where Sarah Everard’s body was found is accused of sharing an “inappropriate graphic” with colleagues. And in two other cases here Met Police officers took selfies with the bodies of two murdered women. WTF is wrong with law enforcement and those drawn to it?
Most are bullies who abuse their authority and power. They do not see themselves as servants of the public or protectors of society.
They absolutely see themselves as protectors and servants. Who they serve, how, and what they protect are their own interpretations.
I totally agree. Not all are like that but I think the job in general is a draw for all of those misogynistic pricks that were the most obnoxious assholes in high school or those that may have been bullied themselves and are out to seek “revenge” on anyone that bullied them or just plain ignored them. I figure that going into the force for them boosts their ego and gives them authority over people that is easy to abuse. No longer will people (women) ignore them, roll their eyes, laugh at them, or perhaps bully them back.
I do have a family member that is a great guy though and the difference is that he started out as a state trooper and has worked his way up to detective, he wasn’t out on the streets for very long and I think that’s the difference. He didn’t spend years and years doing patrols and he didn’t want to but you have to start at the bottom to work your way up to where he is now which was the goal. He might even be higher up now, I’m not sure but I think he definitely met a lot of sus men in the job when he was coming up and even when he was in training.
they are both a gang and a frat at the same time.
This is exactly what I thought of when I read this. Just vile.
Deeply disturbing. Makes me realize yet again, there must be a significant portion of the population, or at least of law enforcement, that bear no resemblance to what the rest of us think of as “humanity.” Go to a restaurant and offer to show the bartender and a fellow patron photos of dead bodies? Who does that?!!
I know it’s shocking. I guess I tried to make myself feel better by thinking these people are an anomaly but it’s seems more and more that they are not. How could you even stomach that? My husband passed out at pretty much all of our kids births so I can’t imagine a human being ok with seeing that, especially of the children, and taking photos to share of it. It’s inconceivable to me.
Good for her for putting this out there. The LASD should be ashamed of itself. Them trying to cover up who did this in the name of protecting privacy is ridiculous. Everyone involved should be named, shamed, and sued.
What a hideous situation this is, and how truly sad.
Good for her. I realize she has a massive platform and this can inspire retaliation but any law enforcement who shows dead bodies for shits and giggles at a bar deserves to be named and shamed for their lack of ethical and moral judgement.
Total respect to Vanessa Bryant.
The one that is the most off side for me is that one of them shared with restaurant patrons and workers. Holy hell.
Can we just start over with the police? There is obviously a huge culture issue and without getting rid of most of the people contributing it won’t change.
I feel the same. It’s like health care right? It’s so so bad and so messed up and there are so many parts it can’t possibly be fixed unless we just scrape what we have and start over
That is just horrific. As if these families haven’t been through enough. I hope all of them have taken legal action.
I get that first responders see a lot of awful things, and over time may become desensitized to it more than the average person, but these actions are so far beyond that, downright ghoulish and cruel, and inhuman. Every single one of them needs to be fired, and prosecuted if possible.
I have a friend who is a paramedic and he often has to respond to terrible crashes, stabbings, shootings, etc. For the most part, he can put aside his emotions so he can do his job. But even after 20 years in the job, he gets still gets very emotional talking about the children he has treated, especially when they can’t be saved. Apparently, that’s pretty typical for first responders. It’s the kids that get to them.
So for these deputies to take pictures of dead children and pass them around for entertainment is a special kind of messed up. I don’t know if it’s sociopath or psychopathy or what, but they are sick f*** who should be barred from any time of police or fire job.
When I was in High school there was a website that was just a girls name where she had an argument with her dad, took his car and crashed it into an abandoned toll stop partition. The officer on scene took graphic photos of her and a destroyed car. He was allowed to keep the website up. Family could do nothing.
That is horrible!
Despicable! Fire those 4 without severance pay or ongoing benefits. It’s an abuse of authority. Villanueva is at fault here too.
Yes!!!
It really pisses me off that tax money is going to protect and pay these MONSTERS! I was so enraged after I read about this last night. The guy showing a freaking BARTENDER the photos just to score “cool” points with his bros shows how little humanity they have! How can they not see the victims of the crash as human beings worthy of privacy and respect! It is just so vile.
They should be fired and sued and not allowed to work in any position of power ever again.
They need to do a psyche evaluation on those officers. The callousness with which they shared those photos, with absolutely no regard for the families of the dead, is reprehensible and disturbing. The fact those officers have become inured to death and carnage would make me, as a citizen of their counties, concerned for how they’ll act in other situations. Vanessa has been through entirely too much in the last year. I don’t know how she’s managed to get out of bed. She’s said she had to for her other girls. I hope she finds peace and solace some day.
2021 is shaping up to be the year of receipts and I am here for it!
@Lori, I sure as hell hope so!!
I don’t understand the interest anyone would have in seeing human remains. Years ago, as part of my job, I was reviewing accident scene photos. Included in the nearly one hundred photos I had to review, were 2 or 3 with the deceased still trapped in the wreckage. It was horrific and very, very upsetting. I don’t understand why anyone would want such photos on their cell phone or actively share and seek them out. There’s someone very not right with people like that.
I’m kind of proud of her for having the strength to take immediate action. Their actions were disrespectful and just disgusting on every level.
“Why did the LA County Sheriff’s Department even waste the resources trying to fight Vanessa’s complaint?” While everyone has the right to due process, the consensus among LA County residents I know is that Sheriff Villanueva has a history of protecting deputies, even when they have behaved criminally, or just behave as terrible humans. This is just one more example that fits the pattern.
Vanessa is such a strong and brave woman. She even had the wherewithal to request AT the crash site to keep it protected from photographers. That strength is breathtaking. Kudos to her for using her resources to hold these cops accountable. Im so over their inhumaine and apathetic behavior.
A cop just ran over a woman in Chicago and while she was bleeding on the road, he gets out of his car and tells her to “get the f up.” I don’t even think he’s been reprimanded. They get away with so much. Not just in the US. Menaces to society.
Poor Vanessa. Considering what these trash sub-humans did, I think she’s showing a lot of restraint.
I can’t imagine what type of person does this. I hope she wins this case.
Good for her. In Utah we had a case where a student was murdered by her ex-boyfriend. She repeatedly went to campus police before she was killed as her ex was threatening to release explicit photos of her. So she turned the photos over to the campus police. One of the campus police (possibly more) saved those photos to his personal phone and shared them. We really need tighter laws on law enforcement and personal phones. The whole thing made me physically ill.