Kobe Bryant's widow sues Los Angeles County for "emotional distress". At the basis of the legal case are the photos taken by some rescuers and then disseminated at the scene of the accident in which the former basketball champion died together with the Gianna family, who were traveling on board a helicopter, in January 2020.
Vanessa Bryant already made her testimony about ten days ago and retraced the day of the accident. While she was home with two of the children, it was 11.30 am, a family assistant knocked on the door to report the incident, also telling her that there were five survivors. So the woman asked if her husband and daughter were among them, but the answer was: "I don't know."
Then he started to call Kobe but the first notifications with messages such as "rest in peace Kobe" arrived on his cell phone. Even before receiving official news, it was a thing at the airport to get on a helicopter that would take her where her husband's had crashed but it had not been possible due to the weather conditions that did not guarantee safety. Then she and a Lakers manager went by car.
When they told her about the death, she explicitly asked to make sure no one took pictures. The widow explained that she took Kobe and Gianna's clothes from the area: "If their clothes represent the condition of their bodies, I can't imagine how someone could be so treacherous as to spread their photos as if they were animals on the street."
Los Angeles County now wants independent medical and psychiatric evaluations of Vanessa Bryant and the others who have sued authorities for emotional distress. Lawyers for the basketball champion's widow call the test request "cruel. When public servants violate the privacy and constitutional rights of the citizens they are sworn to defend, the victims must cross the pits to seek justice."
(Unioneonline / ss)
