Pilot error led to crash that killed Kobe Bryant, eight others: NTSB
FOX News correspondent Jeff Paul joins 'Special Report' with the latest from Los Angeles.
A chief with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department apologized to Vanessa Bryant and Christopher Chester from the witness box Tuesday for the way the office handled a complaint that gruesome photos of their loved one's remains were shared at a bar, according to a report.
Vanessa Bryant's husband, NBA star Kobe Bryant, their daughter Gianna, 13, Christopher Chester's wife, Sarah Chester, their daughter, Payton, also, 13, along with five others perished in the collision in Calabasas, California, Jan. 26, 2020.
Vanessa Bryant and Christopher Chester sued Los Angeles County for invasion of privacy over the photos, and the civil trial is currently underway in U.S. District Court.
Chief Jorge Valdez said he learned for the first time during questioning Tuesday that no one from Los Angeles County ever apologized to Christopher Chester for the breach, Law & Crime reported.
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Vanessa and Kobe Bryant arrive at the Oscars in Los Angeles, March 4, 2018. Vanessa is suing Los Angeles County over photos deputies shared of her husband's remains after he died in a 2020 helicopter crash. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File)
He then looked directly at Chester and Vanessa Bryant, who were seated side by side at the plaintiff's table and offered his "utmost condolences."
"Can you think of one single reason why you couldn’t have driven down to Orange County and looked him in the eye and apologized?" asked Chester's attorney, Jerry Jackson.
GRISLY PHOTOS OF KOBE BRYANT'S REMAINS SHARED FOR ‘GOSSIP’: LAWYERS
"No, sir," replied Valdez, who was tasked with fielding inquiries from a Los Angeles Times reporter in February 2020 for an article that first reported on the sharing of the unauthorized crash site photos.
He wrote in an email to the reporter that because of "insensitive intentions" to run a story on the matter, the department was "obligated to personally contact the family members and advise them of the details surrounding your allegations."
Vanessa Bryant, center, the widow of Kobe Bryant, leaves a federal courthouse in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
But attorneys for the plaintiffs say they only learned that photos of their loved ones remains had been shared as "visual gossip" after reading the Los Angeles Times story. No one from the department had contacted them.
Valdez appeared to have misled reporters by denying any knowledge that a citizen had lodged a complaint after witnessing sheriff’s deputy Joey Cruz share the images at a bar. The chief had already begun investigating the complaint, Law&Crime reported.
In earlier testimony Tuesday, Sheriff’s deputy Michael Russell admitted on the stand that he "made a very callous mistake" when he sent grisly images of remains to another off-duty deputy as they played the video game "Call of Duty."
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"I have a deep remorse for it, sir," said Russell. At least eight first responders are accused of taking photos at the crash site and showing them to others.
Vanessa Bryant is expected to take the stand later this week.
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