Judge Rules Vanessa Bryant Can Receive Names of Deputies That Shared Photos of Kobe Bryant’s Crash Site

Deputies of Los Angeles County will feel Vanessa Bryant and her wrath.

Vanessa Bryant scored a win in court after a judge ruled that she can receive the names of the deputies who allegedly took photos of Kobe and Gianna Bryant’s helicopter crash site and shared them.

While lawyers for the LASD and Los Angeles County argued the identities should be kept private because “hackers may attempt to seek out and gain access to the individual deputies’ devices to locate any photographs and publish them,” Judge John F. Walter disagreed.

Judge Walter noted that the argument is “totally inconsistent with their position that such photographs no longer exist.”

Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously claimed the photos were deleted.

Vanessa Bryant’s lawyer, Luis Li, celebrated the judge’s decision and said in a statement, “Transparency promotes accountability. We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant’s case in open Court.”

Vanessa made the request last month stating, “The Sheriff’s Department wants to redact the names of the deputies that took and/or shared photos of my husband, daughter and other victims. Anyone else facing allegations would be unprotected, named and released to the public. … These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else.”

The widow and grieving mother first sued the sheriff’s department in September alleging that the photos exist and were taken for their personal gain. Vanessa said in the lawsuit that the leaked photos caused “severe emotional distress.”