A lawsuit filed by Vanessa Bryant accuses multiple deputies, firefighters and other officials of taking and sharing photos at the crash scene that killed her late husband Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna and seven others in January 2020.
According to court documents filed this week, the Los Angeles County Fire Department was planning to terminate two firefighters and suspend a third when the department learned they had allegedly taken photos of the crash scene.
The two firefighters were sent “intention to discharge” letters in December after an internal investigation concluded the two had taken photos of the dead bodies that served no business necessity and "only served to appeal to baser instincts and desires for what amounted to visual gossip," according to Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys.
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Court documents revealed that the third firefighter was a media relations officer who was sent to the scene to interact with the press.
None of the firefighters were identified by name and the union representing LA County firefighters did not comment, according to NBC News
Bryant initially filed the invasion of privacy lawsuit in state court in September of 2020 and a month later filed it in federal court.
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LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said he learned within days of the crash that at least one deputy who worked at the Malibu-Lost Hills station had reportedly shared horrific photos of the scene at a local bar.
Villanueva told NBC News in March 2020 the behavior was "inexcusable," "inappropriate" and "unconscionable," and said the deputies were immediately ordered to delete the images.
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