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Vanessa Bryant ’s federal civil lawsuit is in session. A retired Los Angeles County fire captain had to take several breaks while sitting on the witness stand. Brian Jordan walked off three times after being questioned about the photos of Kobe Bryant’s remains during the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the former basketball player, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others. “Kobe Bryant’s remains were among the pictures?” asked Vanessa Bryant’s attorney Luis Li.
“I need a break, I need a break,” Jordan said. “Sorry, your honor,” he said while reportedly walking off.
According to Jordan’s attorney, Steven Haney, his client’s reaction is due to “a medical condition associated with his viewing of the crash scene, and it causes him to suffer trauma,” as reported by CNN.
When retaking the stand, Jordan told another plaintiff’s attorney, “The way the whole scene looked, that’s going to haunt me forever, and excuse me cause I’m about to take another break.”
Jordan refused to confirm if he took any photos and declined to reveal what he photographed that day and why. “The only reason I’m sitting here is because someone threw my name into this whole thing,” Jordan said, adding that a supervisor asked him to take site photography. “Maybe that was the day I should have been insubordinate,” Jordan said.
In a declaration filed by Bryant in 2021, she said she’s felt “tremendous pain and distress.”
“It infuriates me that the people I trusted to protect the dignity of my husband and daughter abused their positions to obtain souvenirs of their deaths, as though possessing pictures of their remains somehow makes them special,” Bryant noted.
“I feel sick at the thought that deputies and firefighters have gawked at photos of my husband’s and child’s bodies without any reason,” she added. “I also feel extreme sadness and anger knowing that photos of my husband’s and daughter’s bodies were laughed about while shown at a bar and an awards banquet. Given how many people had the photos, I am confident these were not the only times the photos were shown off.”
It has been over two years since the crash, and such photos have never been leaked; however, for Vanessa Bryant, there is a possibility that they may surface.
Despite Vanessa’s fear and pain, L.A. County says the accident site photography was part of their investigation and not for entertainment. However, several Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who took and shared the sensitive photos with each other and outsiders also took the stand to testify.
“Looking back, do you think there was any reason for you to receive these accident photos?” asked plaintiff attorney Craig Lavoie to Deputy Joey Cruz, who was recorded showing the images to a bartender.
“Looking back on it today, no,” Cruz said, adding the bartender was a trustworthy person. “He’s a close friend that I vent to… I took it too far, something I shouldn’t have done.”