The New California Law Prompted By Kobe Bryant Helicopter Crash

Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

On Monday, Governor Gavin Newsom approved legislation prompted by the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight other people. According to reports from AP, the law makes it a crime for first responders to take unauthorized photos of deceased people at the scene of an accident or crime…something that should have been a law this entire time.

After the tragic January 26 crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna Bryant, and seven others, reports surfaced that graphic photos of the victims were being shared. Eight deputies were accused of taking or sharing graphic photos of the scene, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva admitted at the time, adding that he had ordered the images to be deleted. He said the department has a policy against taking and sharing crime scene photos, but it did not apply to accident scenes. Deputies were being accused of showing the accident scene photos to women at a bar.

This new measure will take effect January 1 and makes it a misdemeanor with fines up to $1,000 per offense to take such photos for anything other than an official law enforcement purpose.

Vanessa Bryant has since sued the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over the photos.

Back in February, Vanessa also sued Island Express Helicopters; the company that was responsible for the fatal incident.

According to PEOPLE, the 38-year-old filed a wrongful death suit against the company claiming that the pilot, Ara Zobayan who conducted the flight during the tragic Calabasas plane crash, “failed to properly monitor and assess the weather prior to takeoff.” In addition, the suit also detailed that the pilot “failed to abort the flight when he knew of the cloudy conditions” and “failed to properly and safely operate the helicopter resulting in a crash.”

Vanessa also made a statement last week in response to the allegations surrounding her mother’s most recent claim that she kicked her out of her home after Kobe and Gianna tragically passed– calling the accusations “painful” and “negative.”

.

Prayers up for Vanessa and the family during this difficult time.