When he took the stand Monday in the trial over photos of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Rafael Mejia said he didn’t know whether victims’ bodies had been visible in photos sent to him by another deputy.
County lawyers have argued there were legitimate reasons for first responders to take and receive the photos, including to help determine the size of the crash site and decide what resources were needed. Bryant’s helicopter crashed into a Calabasas hillside in dense fog, killing the Lakers star, his daughter Gianna and others on their way to a youth basketball game in Thousand Oaks.
Lawyers for the county dispute that there’s a long-standing practice of county employees sharing such images. Their claims were undermined by Sheriff Alex Villanueva, who said in a 2020 Times interview played for jurors that “every police department struggles with the same thing where people take photos, and they’re not evidence.”For nearly five weeks, the leadership of the Sheriff’s Department tried to keep a lid on the episode instead of following normal investigative protocols.
Johnson said that when Jordan, the fire captain, arrived at the scene, Jordan said he was in charge of media relations and asked Johnson to walk him through the site and point out the bodies. Johnson testified that he escorted Jordan through the scene while the fire official took photos. Marrone, now the county’s acting fire chief, has denied instructing Jordan to take photos of the helicopter crash site.
Law Law Latest News, Law Law Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ABC7 - 🏆 67. / 68 Read more »