LOS ANGELES (KNX) — A federal jury ordered Los Angeles County to pay $31 million in damages to Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa Bryant and her co-plaintiff because of first responders who took and shared graphic photos of her husband and daughter's fatal 2020 helicopter crash.
The jurors unanimously awarded Bryant $16 million in damages and co-plaintiff Chris Chester, whose wife and daughter died in the crash, $15 million in damages.
The nine jurors also agreed that the deputies and firefighters taking and sharing photos of Bryant, the couple's 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and other victims violated the plaintiff's to privacy.
In testimony Friday, Bryant told the court she “lives in fear” that those photos would someday circulate on the internet.
Mira Hashmall, who represented L.A. County, argued that their pain was due to “the loss of their loved ones.”
"What's not understandable is trying to pin all the blame on the county when those pictures did not get out," she said. "That sadness and grief is about the loss of their loved ones. It can't be about pictures they've never seen. A court of law requires evidence not emotion."
Alyssa Altobelli, 14, Keri Altobelli, 46, John Altobelli, 56, Christina Mauser, 38, and pilot Ara Zobayan, 50 were also killed in the crash.
The verdict was read on Kobe Bryant Day, and just one day after the former Laker's birthday.
City News Service contributed to this article.
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