LOS ANGELES, UNITED STATES (AP) – The family of the late Kobe Bryant has agreed to a USD28.5 million settlement with Los Angeles (LA) County to resolve the remaining claims in a lawsuit over deputies and firefighters sharing grisly photos of the NBA star, his 13-year-old daughter and other victims killed in a 2020 helicopter crash, attorneys and court filings said on Tuesday.
The figure includes a newly agreed upon payment from the county of USD13.5 million along with the USD15 million a federal jury awarded Bryant’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, at a trial in August.
The agreement resolves any future claims by Bryant’s three surviving daughters, related issues pending in state court, and other costs. A proposed settlement order, which a judge must approve, was filed on Tuesday in federal court.
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,” Bryant’s attorney Luis Li said in a statement. The attorney representing LA County Mira Hashmall, called the statement “fair and reasonable”.
Kobe Bryant, the former Lakers star, was travelling with Gianna and seven others to a youth basketball game when the helicopter they were aboard crashed into hills in Calabasas west of LA on January 26, 2020.
Deputies and firefighters responding to the crash scene shot phone photos of the bodies and the wreckage, which Hashmall argued at trial were an essential part of assessing the situation.
But the pictures were shared, mostly between employees of the county sheriff’s and fire departments, including by some who were playing video games and attending an awards banquet.
They were also seen by some of their spouses and in one case at a restaurant where a deputy was dining.
Li told jurors that the close-up photos had no official or investigative purpose, and were mere “visual gossip” shared out of a gruesome curiosity.
