Eight months after the tragic death of Kobe Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna in a helicopter crash, widowed wife and mother Vanessa Bryant decided to sue Los Angeles County for negligence and invasion of privacy. This happened after a group of deputies reportedly took graphic photos from the crash site and destroyed them. Bryant won the case last week, but as a result of a new development, her earnings in the civil trial were reduced by seven figures.
After a jury found Los Angeles County guilty, Vanessa Bryant was initially awarded $16 million in sentencing, and her fellow plaintiff Chris Chester, who also lost his partner and daughter, received $15 million. However, Bryant’s amount was reduced by $1 million to $15 million due to a miscarriage of justice. The decision was noted by U.S. District Judge John F. Walter, who stated that the jury’s intention was to give Bryant and Chester an equal amount in the verdict.
Kobe Bryant’s widowed wife agreed to a change of verdict over the weekend, and the jury was not subpoenaed on the matter, USA Today (opens in new tab) reports. After making the changes, Vanessa Bryant will receive $1.5 million from the Sheriff’s Department for past emotional suffering (instead of $2.5 million), $6 million from the Los Angeles County Fire Department for emotional suffering and $7.5 million for future suffering from the department. as a result, images were taken and published of the remains of her deceased family after the 2020 crash. Bryant plans to donate money to the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, which will help fund sports programs for low-income athletes.
In September 2020, Bryant filed a lawsuit against Los Angeles County after posting the photos. The lawsuit also alleged that at the time Sheriff Alex Villanueva did not take any action against his deputies until after the complaint was filed. Vanessa Bryant didn’t perform until earlier this month, on August 10, when she shared that she was still experiencing panic attacks due to the existence and sharing of photos.
Her lawyer, Louis Lee, said that photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant were transferred to at least 28 sheriff’s department devices and at least 12 firefighters. Among the evidence presented to the jury in court was a video in which a deputy on duty showed photos to a bartender while drinking in a bar. Los Angeles County employees also allegedly shared photos at the bar, “depicting dismemberment and showing photos over cocktails at the gala,” The Washington Post reports.
During the trial, Bryant even called an expert from the recent high-profile case of Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. A couple of weeks ago, a former captain spoke from the podium, but he said that he was shown photos and he said that they “will haunt me forever” when he spoke. Bryant has received a lot of support for her cause, including kind words from Shaquille O’Neal, who said it’s “great when people are held accountable” for actions that have negatively impacted her and her family.
This week, Vanessa Bryant also paid tribute to Kobe Bryant on his birthday, which would have turned 44 on August 23. Hopefully, after sentencing, she can calm down knowing that she has found justice for her negligence and invasion of privacy against Los Angeles County.
