LOS ANGELES – The widow of Kobe Bryant will not undergo psychiatric testing for her trial over graphic photographs of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the basketball star, her 13-year-old daughter and others, a federal judge ruled Monday. .
Los Angeles County sought to force a psychological evaluation for Vanessa Bryant and others to determine whether they experienced emotional distress at the accident scene and the photographs of the bodies that appeared in their lawsuit. was taken and shared by the county sheriff’s deputy and firefighters.
US Magistrate Judge Charles F. Eck said the county’s proposal to force the assessment was premature. Bryant’s invasion of privacy trial is set to begin in February.
Kobe Bryant, daughter Gianna and seven others were killed on January 26, 2020 when the helicopter they were traveling in for a girls’ basketball tournament crashed into the hills west of Los Angeles amid foggy weather Done. Federal safety officials blamed pilot error for the wreck.
Bryant’s lawsuit opposes first responders, including firefighters and sheriff’s representatives, sharing photos of Kobe Bryant’s body with a bartender and passing “unnecessary photos of dead children, parents and coaches.”
Bryant said in a statement that “for the rest of my life I will fear that these photos of my husband and child will be leaked.”
The judge said last week that the county sheriff and fire chief would have to make statements in the case.
County lawyers had argued that Bryant had never seen the photos and had not been shared publicly and wanted to determine whether he had actually suffered emotional distress.
He had called for Bryant and other family members of those killed in the crash, including children, to undergo psychiatric evaluations in the form of independent medical examinations.
