The city of Los Angeles has been ordered to pay $31 million in damages, as police and firefighters took pictures after the 2020 helicopter crash that killed basketball star Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and seven others, the Los Angeles Times writes.
The damages are shared between Bryant’s widow Vanessa Bryant and Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter also died in the accident.
The helicopter crash on January 26, 2020 killed the former Los Angeles Lakers player copy printHis daughter Gianna, two of her basketball teammates and five other people on board. The helicopter was on its way to participate in the girls’ basketball tournament in Los Angeles.
A number of police officers and firefighters took close-up pictures at the scene. The photos they allegedly shared after the accident.
Defense attorneys do not dispute that the photos were taken, but they claim that they were not shared publicly and have now been deleted. But Bryant and Chester’s lawyers say it is not known whether or how the photos were spread because they were not properly investigated, and it took too long to check the phones and computers of police and firefighters.
“The reality is that the city has no idea who has the photos and who they sent them to,” Bryant’s attorney, Craig Lavoie, said during his closing arguments.
Kobe Bryant was one of the greatest NBAs during his 20 years in the league. He played his last NBA game in 2016. Throughout his professional career, Bryant played with the Los Angeles Lakers and became a five-time NBA champion. He won Olympic gold with the USA in 2008 and 2012.
Kobe Bryant is 41 years old. He would have turned 44 on Tuesday.
1 of 2Photo: Matt Rourke/AP/TT