Vanessa Bryant stated that she pleaded with the Los Angeles County sheriff to secure area where her husband and daughter died.
Late Kobe Bryant’s wife Vanessa Bryant stated that she pleaded with the Los Angeles County sheriff to make sure no one took photographs from the site of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed her husband and daughter.
She added that the sheriff reassured her that the area had been secured, court documents say.
After Sheriff Alex Villanueva confirmed her husband, their teenage daughter, along with seven others, were killed, he asked Bryant if he could do anything for her, according to a transcript of a deposition obtained by USA TODAY Sports on Saturday on her lawsuit against Los Angeles County.
What was said.
“And I said: ‘If you can’t bring my husband and baby back, please make sure that no one takes photographs of them. Please secure the area,'” Bryant said during the deposition. “And he said: ‘I will.’ And I said: ‘No, I need you to get on the phone right now and I need you to make sure you secure the area.'”
She said Villanueva excused himself momentarily and reassured her the area had been secured when he came back.
A message seeking comments from Villanueva has not been returned.
Bryant, whose federal lawsuit against the county alleges invasion of privacy, has claimed in court papers that she has experienced “severe emotional distress” that has compounded the trauma of losing her husband and 13-year-old daughter.
The lawsuit contends first responders, including firefighters and sheriff’s deputies, shared photographs of Bryant’s body with a bartender and passed around “gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents and coaches.”
Bryant and the others died on Jan. 26, 2020, when the helicopter they were aboard, on their way to a girls basketball tournament.
Los Angeles County is seeking to compel psychiatric evaluations for Vanessa Bryant and others to determine if they truly suffered emotional distress.
Bryant’s lawyers argue in court filings that the examinations are “cruel” while the county contends the examinations are “a routine part of the discovery process.”
