Kobe Bean Bryant, the American professional basketball player, spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Bryant won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, a 15-time member of the All-NBA Team, a 12-time member of the All-Defensive Team, the 2008 NBA Most Valuable Player, and a two-time NBA Finals MVP.
Among many of his accolades, he was also known as the 'Black Mamba'.
But his fans, and many others in industry mourned when the legend was killed in a deadly 2020 Calabasas helicopter crash.
Kobe Bryant was 41 years old when the fatal incident happened.
Bryant who boarded a Sikorsky S-76B helicopter, crashed in the city of Calabasas, California, while flying from John Wayne Airport to Camarillo Airport.
Bryant was killed during the crash, and so was his 13-year-old daughter Gianna; baseball coach John Altobelli, his wife Keri and daughter Alyssa; Payton Chester and her mother Sara; basketball coach Christina Mauser; and the pilot, Ara Zobayan.
Soon after the crash, the operations manager of OC Helicopters, called the vice president of Island Express, asking for the current location of the helicopter.
They did this because the flight tracking application stopped tracking the helicopter. The Vice President then called the general manager of Island Express, who was unable to reach the pilot over VHF radio.
This was when Island Express activated their Emergency Response Plan.
First responders were then dispatched to the location.
The FAA imposed a five-mile no-fly zone near the crash site at the request of Bryant's wife, Vanessa, in order to protect the victims' privacy, and in order for the first responders to work.
Deputies were also assigned to patrol the rugged terrain on horseback and on all-terrain vehicles, in order to enforce a secure perimeter, and prevent anyone from going too close to the scene.
But apparently, the Los Angeles County sheriff deputies who were dispatched, worked like they should, but also took photos of the scene, including the alleged dead body of Bryant, as well as others.
Making things worse, they shared the unauthorized graphic photos of the crash scene.
This ended up in a lawsuit.
At court, it is said that an institutional “culture of callousness” led the Los Angeles County deputies and firefighters to shoot and share photos of the remains of Kobe Bryant and others to the internet.
Vanessa Bryant's attorney Luis Li told the jurors that the deputies were invading her privacy by taking photos with their mobile phones for "visual gossip" and viewed them "for a laugh," saying that they had no official purpose of doing so.
"They were shared by deputies playing video games," Li said. "They were shared repeatedly with people who had absolutely no reason to receive them."
At first, an attorney for the county defended the deputies, by saying that taking photos is part of first responders' job, and photos of the crash scene are used to determine what tools are needed for the job, and whether any lives can be saved.
"Site photography is essential," county lawyer J. Mira Hashmall said.
In all, Li said that the photos were shared mostly between employees of the Los Angeles County sheriff’s and fire departments, including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet. They were also shared with some of their spouses, and in one case by a bartender at a bar where a deputy was drinking.
When lawyers questioned the bartender during his testimony at the trial, he confirmed that he had seen a picture of the athlete, and added that "there were just parts."
Vanessa Bryant tearfully testified during the 11-day trial, saying that the photos were haunting her, 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."
Chris Chester, whose wife, Sara, and daughter Payton were also killed in the crash, is also a plaintiff in the lawsuit, seek millions of dollars in damage.
Vanessa Bryant first filed the lawsuit against the sheriff's office in September 2020, which was passed on September 28.
It was only on August 24, 2022, that a federal court jury sided with the Bryant Family, and awarded Vanessa $16 million. The jury also awarded $15 million to co-complainant Chester.
The jury's verdict was unanimous, agreeing with Bryant, Chester, and their attorneys that the photos invaded the complainants' privacy and caused emotional distress.
While the photos of the scene were shared on the web, it's worth noting that photos don't include any gore.
This was indirectly explained by Li.
She said that she acknowledged that the deputies and firefighters should not have been shared with everyone who saw them, but she emphasized that the photos had never appeared publicly.
Even the plaintiffs had never seen them.
It is around this time, that shocking details about the crash and its immediate aftermath have been revealed.
Besides Bryant's widow Vanessa was awarded millions of dollars, the National Transportation Safety Board has also released their findings about the fatal crash.
This news was first delivered in 2021, when it was said that the accident was likely caused by pilot "spatial disorientation."
Spatial disorientation is a condition when a person is unable to determine their position or movement as a result of poor visibility.
According to autopsy reports, Kobe Bryant died from blunt trauma with catastrophic brain injuries and suffered a 30% burn throughout his body.
In an autopsy sketch that was first shared by a user on Reddit, suggested that the NBA legend was completely missing his lower torso, had one of his arms missing, and missing had part of his skull missing.
While the report revealed the facts that happened to Bryant, fans of the NBA legend were disappointed with the report being leaked on social media.
Fans claimed that the report will likely tarnish how Bryant will be remembered by the fans.
Due to Bryant's high-profile status, the superstar’s death also sparked a number of online conspiracies.
These included made-up details, false implications, and videos that were taken out of context.
Some even said that Bryant's death had been planned and was facilitated by Hillary and Bill Clinton.
Later, the $16 million winning was reduced by $1 million after juror discovered error.
Bryant agreed to the change, and her attorney said it was a "just result" that she and Chester received the same amount.
