Dept. Mike Russell made the shocking revelation while being questioned on the stand as part of a federal invasion of privacy lawsuit filed by NBA star Vanessa Bryant’s widow. “No, I don’t find dead bodies entertaining or entertaining,” Russell said at one point during his testimony. Russell recalled how, the day after the January 2020 tragedy, he was in a video game session and decided to ask Santa Clarita Depp. Ben Sanchez if he wanted to see photos taken at the Calabasas, California crash site. The civil lawsuit stemming from the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant, his daughter and seven others continued Tuesday in Los Angeles County. Getty Images Firefighters work at the scene of a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California in January 2020.AP When Sanchez said yes, Russell, who was lying on a sun lounger, told the court he texted him three or four images of the wreckage. Admitting there was no legitimate reason to share the photos, Russell said he had made a “negligent mistake”. Sanchez had no role in the investigation, he added. He claimed he shared the photos “to get over the stress of the previous day”. Russell testified that he had been sent the images by another deputy, Joey Cruz, who said on the stand Monday that he regretted sharing photos from the scene of the crash that killed the Lakers legend, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. . Cruz concluded his testimony Tuesday and admitted that he had also shown the images to a bartender at a local watering hole. However, he denied showing Kobe Bryant’s torso to other bar patrons on his cellphone. Vanessa Bryant’s attorneys replayed footage of Cruz at the Baja California Bar and Grill, scrolling through his phone and showing his bartender friend disturbing photos of body parts strewn across the hillside in Calabasas. The video elicited the same emotional reaction from the grieving widow as when her lawyers first played it in court earlier in the trial, sending her out of the courtroom in tears. Another deputy, Nicholas Bonelli, later took the stand, recalling how he spoke with Kobe Bryant’s assistant the morning of the crash. Bonelli, who is a liaison between officers at the station and those in the field, testified the aide was called to ask if accidents had occurred because it was strange that Bryant could not be heard from after a short flight. Vanessa Bryant, the widow of Kobe Bryant, leaves a federal courthouse in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 AP Bonelli said he was shown a photo of the crash scene, including an image of a discolored leg. Meanwhile, Russell also acknowledged that a three-paragraph memo he had written contained five false statements, including a claim that he had quickly deleted the photos. No disciplinary action was taken against Russell by the sheriff’s department. Vanessa Bryant, who was dressed head to toe in the back, could be seen at times whispering and writing notes to her lawyer and also unwrapping candy. He is expected to take the stand later this week.
