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Vanessa Bryant calls out deputies who took or shared photos of helicopter crash that killed Kobe

Complaint alleges Joey Cruz ‘boasted’ about working scene of accident where Bryant died

FILE - In this Feb. 24, 2020, file photo, Vanessa Bryant speaks during a celebration of life for her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna in Los Angeles. Bryant on Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2020, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County sheriff claiming negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress after deputies allegedly shared unauthorized photos of the crash that killed her husband, their 13-year-old daughter and seven others. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) (Marcio Jose Sanchez, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

In a series of Instagram posts on Wednesday, Kobe Bryant’s widow shared the names of four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies who allegedly took or shared grisly photos of the helicopter crash site that killed her husband, their daughter Gianna and seven others.

The complaint names deputies Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales as defendants. That’s in addition to Los Angeles County, its sheriff’s and fire departments.

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The complaint alleges Cruz “boasted” about working the scene of the accident where Bryant died and showed photos of the crash site to a bartender and a patron two days after the crash.

It also says the bartender who saw the photos shared with other customers that he had seen the pictures and described Bryant’s remains. One of the customers found the situation disturbing and emailed a complaint to the sheriff’s department.

Earlier this month, Vanessa Bryant won her case to disclose the names of the deputies allegedly involved.

The L.A. County Sheriff’s Department and the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs Union did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


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