Kobe Bryant widow awarded USD 16 million in trial over crash photos

AP

Los Angeles, August 25

Kobe Bryant's widow was awarded USD 16 million as part of a USD 31 million jury verdict on Wednesday against Los Angeles County for deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter, and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash.

The nine jurors unanimously agreed with Vanessa Bryant and her attorneys that the photos invaded her privacy and caused emotional distress. She cried quietly as it was read.

The jury deliberated for four-and-a-half hours before reaching the verdict on Kobe Bryant Day, which is celebrated in LA on August 24 because it represents his jersey numbers — 8 and 24 — and is the day after his birthday.

Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial that news of the photos compounded her still-raw grief a month after losing her husband and daughter, and that she still has panic attacks at the thought that they might still be out there.

"I live in fear every day of being on social media and these popping up," she testified. "I live in fear of my daughters being on social media and these popping up."           

Her co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter were also among the nine people killed in the crash, was awarded USD 15 million.

"We're grateful for a jury and a judge who gave us a fair trial," said Chester's lawyer Jerry Jackson.

Vanessa Bryant's lawyer Luis Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere "visual gossip" shared out of a gruesome curiosity.

County attorney J Mira Hashmall argued during the trial that the photos were a necessary tool for assessing the situation.

She acknowledged that they should not have been shared with everyone who saw them. But she emphasised that the photos had never appeared publicly, and had never even been seen by the plaintiffs.

Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, five-time NBA champion and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, was traveling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas, west of Los Angeles on January 26, 2020.

Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the crash.