The Kobe Bryant photos trial filed by his widow Vanessa Bryant found itself taking the testimony of the deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday as one of them admits to sharing the crash pictures while playing “Call of Duty.”
At least two deputies who were named in the lawsuit as defendants–Joey Cruz and Michael Russell–testified regarding the case as to whether they took photographs of the dead bodies of Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna at the crash site and showed them to people without permission, according to the New York Post.
Russell said that he had shown Santa Clarita Dep. Ben Sanchez photos of the bodies in the crash site while the two were playing “Call of Duty,” admitting during the testimony that there was no reason for him to show Sanchez the pictures and that it was a “callous mistaked.”
“No, I don’t find dead bodies entertaining or amusing,” Russell said.
Cruz, who also testified to the court regarding his role in the sharing of the pictures, gave conflicting testimony as to when he showed a bartender in a restaurant the crash pictures two days after the accident, claiming that he did not ask the bartender specifically if he wanted to see Bryant’s dead remains, USA Today reported.
“You did not tell bartender, ‘Hey do you want to see a photo of Kobe Bryant’s body?’ You never said that?” Bryant’s attorney, Craig Jennings Lavoie, said.
“No, because there was no identifying features,” Cruz said.
This conflicts with the bartender’s testimony, where he said that Cruz indicated that the body parts that were in the pictures were Bryant’s, and also conflicts with his deposition, where he claimed that the pictures did not contain body parts in the image.
“You know it was true that you had showed photos of Kobe Bryant’s body to the bartender, but (more than a year) later, you testified under oath . . . in your deposition, that you forgot?” Lavoie asked.
“I didn’t recall then,” Cruz said.
As the trial continues, testimony from retired fire captain Bryan Johnson was also featured. Johnson is accused of taking pictures of the bodies at the crash, but claims that he does not remember being in the crash site itself due to mental health issues.
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