Vanessa Bryant Wants Deputies' Names Released

She says they took pictures of Kobe Bryant crash site
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 1, 2021 4:00 AM CST
Updated Mar 1, 2021 6:47 AM CST
Vanessa Bryant Responds to Evan Rachel Wood Tweet
Vanessa Bryant speaks during a celebration of life for her husband Kobe Bryant and daughter Gianna Monday, Feb. 24, 2020, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Vanessa Bryant wants a US court to release the names of the four Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies she says took and shared photos of her late husband, Kobe Bryant, after he, their daughter, and seven others died in a helicopter crash last year. The request is part of her federal lawsuit against the sheriff's department and LA County, which alleges negligence and invasion of privacy. Lawyers for the deputies want their names kept under seal, CNN reports. "Anyone else facing allegations would be unprotected, named and released to the public," Bryant says in a statement. "These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions just like everyone else."

Bryant was also in the news for responding to a tweet Evan Rachel Wood posted more than a year ago. "What has happened is tragic," the actress posted in the wake of Kobe's death, per Us Weekly. "I am heartbroken for Kobe’s family. He was a sports hero. He was also a rapist. And all of these truths can exist simultaneously." Vanessa Bryant said in an Instagram story she had been previously unaware of the tweet. "Your false, insensitive, defamatory and slanderous tweet on 1/26/20 is vile and disturbing to say the least," she said. "Behavior like this is part of the reason why innocent black men go to jail for crimes they didn’t commit. An accusation doesn’t make someone guilty. YOU DON’T KNOW THE FACTS OF THE CASE." She had similar criticism for Abigail Disney, who tweeted something similar around the same time. (More Vanessa Bryant stories.)

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