Kobe Bryant firefighters to be SACKED for sharing horrific chopper crash photos, court docs say
TWO firefighters in LA will be sacked for allegedly sharing horrific photos of the bodies of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gigi.
A third firefighter at the Los Angeles County Fire Department will also be suspended after the trio shared the pictures with their wives and girlfriends, according to court documents.
The disclosure was made by lawyers for the late basketball star's wife, , in court documents related to her privacy lawsuit, reports.
Last month, Vanessa landed a court victory in being able to name four of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies who allegedly took and .
The names of the cops were revealed when she posted images of lawsuit documents she filed against County, the Sheriff’s Department, the County Fire Department, and the deputies in question.
Now, a newly released court doc reveals two firefighters were sent "intention to discharge" letters in December after an investigation found they had taken photos of the dead bodies in the helicopter wreckage.
The letter said the images "served no business necessity" and "only served to appeal to baser instincts and desires for what amounted to visual gossip".
The third firefighter was said to be a media relations officer sent to the scene of the horror crash, according to the court document.
The three firefighters have not been named in the document.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Fire Department declined to comment when contacted by NBC News.
, Gigi and several others were traveling by helicopter in January last year to the Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, for a basketball game when it crashed.
Vanessa’s lawsuit alleged that within 48 hours of the crash, photos had spread to at least 10 members of the department.
One deputy, it is alleged, had taken between 25 and 100 photos of the crash scene on his cell phone.
There were also disturbing allegations about what those deputies did with the photos of .
The second part of the lawsuit she shared included allegations that officer showed crash photographs to a bartender at the Baja California Bar and Grill in Norwalk, California.
The bartender filed an official complaint with the Sheriff’s department while sitting in his car after leaving the restaurant, according to court docs.
Court documents obtained by The Sun last month reveal that 18 agents or employees of the Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department allegedly "took, shared, or possessed photos of the accident scene".
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Vanessa demanded phones and other devices be inspected by a third-party firm to examine their contents.
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In addition, Vanessa requested they produce any "relevant devices and accounts in the possession, custody, or control of the Sheriff’s Department or Fire Department".
Court papers state Plaintiffs also intend to serve subpoenas on at least ten additional Sheriff and Fire Department personnel known to have possessed photos of the accident scene on their personal cell phones.