Husband of woman killed in Kobe Bryant crash sues L.A. County Sheriff over photos taken at scene
The husband of a woman killed in the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash is suing the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department over “abhorrent and inappropriate” accident photos taken by deputies.
The lawsuit, similar to one filed by Vanessa Bryant, claims Matthew Mauser and his three children have suffered severe emotional distress, anxiety and humiliation “from the realization that photographs of their mother and wife were wrongfully taken, shown and discussed,” the 17-page complaint filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court states.
Christina Mauser, 38, was one of nine people killed in the Jan. 26 wreck in Calabasas, Calif. She was the top assistant coach on Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Sports Academy’s girls’ basketball team and an assistant coach for the Harbor Day School in Corona del Mar.
The new lawsuit, as does Vanessa Bryant’s complaint, accuses the sheriff’s department of invasion of privacy. It alleges Sheriff Alex Villanueva falsely reassured family members that “every possible measure” was taken to properly “preserve and protect” the accident scene.
The “failure to protect the dignity” of the victims allowed “no fewer than eight” deputies to snap photos of the dead children and adults and potentially share the graphic images with people not involved in the investigation, the lawsuit alleges.
“These facts show that Sheriff Villanueva had a special duty to ensure that the scene of the crash was given the highest caliber security his department could employ,” Mauser’s lawsuit states.
Vanessa Bryant’s complaint, filed in September, claims the deputies took the photos “for their own personal gratification.”
“The gratuitous images soon became talked about within the department, as deputies displayed them to colleagues in settings that had nothing to do with investigating the accident,” the lawsuit alleges. “One deputy even used his photos of the victims to try to impress a woman at a bar, bragging about how he had been at the crash site.”
The widow of the NBA superstar said she felt physically “ill” to learn that strangers were “gawking” at images of her loved ones’ dead bodies.
Besides Christina Mauser and the Lakers legend, the horrific crash also killed Kobe and Vanessa Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, two of the girl’s teammates, their parents and the pilot. The group was traveling to a youth basketball tournament in Thousand Oaks that morning when the chopper flew into dense fog, crashed and caught fire.
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The sheriff’s department issued a brief statement Thursday without addressing the allegations.
“Our hearts go out to all of the victims of this tragic crash and their families. Due to pending litigation we are unable to discuss the matter,” the agency said in an email.
Matthew Mauser and Vanessa Bryant are also suing the operator of the helicopter.
