Firefighters attend to smoldering wreckage of a helicopter crash that killed Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant on a hillside in Calabasas, Calif, on January 26. File Photo by John McCoy/UPI |
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March 3 (UPI) -- Several Los Angeles County deputes are facing administrative charges for sharing graphic photos from the scene of the helicopter crash that killed NBA star Kobe Bryant, Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.
Eight deputies were involved in sharing the photos, the sheriff said.
Villanueva said he was "shocked" to find out about the breach, calling the distribution unauthorized and a "sense of betrayal."
"I personally apologized on behalf of the poor conduct of our employees and we want to make things right," he added. "We don't want to extend or increase anybody's anguish."
Villanueva said he ordered the deputies to delete the photos to prevent any further efforts to make them public.
"That was my No. 1 priority, was to make sure those photos no longer exist," he said. "We identified the deputies involved, they came to the station on their own and had admitted they had taken them and they had deleted them. And, we're content that those involved did that."
Gary C. Robb, an attorney representing widow Vanessa Bryant, said the photos were devastating.
"It is inexcusable and deplorable that some deputies ... would allegedly breach their duty," Robb said. "This is an unspeakable violation of human decency, respect and of the privacy rights of the victims and their families.
"We are demanding that those responsible for these alleged actions face the harshest possible discipline and that their identities be brought to light, to ensure that the photos are not further disseminated."