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Kobe Bryant's widow Vanessa releases names of deputies accused of sharing pictures of deadly crash

Vanessa Laine Bryant, Kobe Bryant
Posted at 11:39 AM, Mar 18, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-18 12:39:45-04

Vanessa Bryant, the widow of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, has released the names of the four Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies accused of sharing photos of the deadly helicopter crash that killed her husband, daughter Gianna, and seven others last year.

This comes as a federal judge ruled last week that denied lawyers for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office of keeping the deputies' names and ranks under seal.

On Wednesday, Bryant posted on social media portions from her lawsuit that included details of how the deputies shared the pictures, USA Today and The Associated Press reported.

The names of the deputies are Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell, and Raul Versales.

According to The AP, Cruz shared images of Kobe's body with a bartender and others passed around ”gratuitous photos of the dead children, parents, and coaches.”

Bryant is suing the sheriff's office because deputies allegedly took "gratuitous images" of the crash site with their cell phones after arriving at the scene.