L.A. Lakers GM Testifies About Vanessa Bryant’s Emotional Distress

According to an Aug. 3 memo from the defendants, obtained by E! News, Los Angeles County has argued that Vanessa’s lawsuit has no legal merit. J. Mira Hamshallan attorney representing Los Angeles County defended the photography of the crash scene during opening statements in court on Aug. 10, saying it was “important” to the investigation and that authorities worked hard to make sure they remained confidential.

“They are not on the Internet. They are not in the media. The plaintiffs themselves have never even seen them,” she said, for Associated Press. “This is not an accident. It depends on how diligent they were.”

She added that the deputy who showed the bartender a picture of the crash scene had a “moment of weakness” and that Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva immediately ordered the photos removed after learning they were stored on phones and computers.

During opening statements at the court hearing on August 10, Vanessa’s lawyer Louis Lee told jurors that officials “poured salt into an unhealed wound” by taking and distributing the photos. “They took close-up shots of the limbs, the burned body,” said the lawyer, trans Perekotifield. “It shocks the conscience.”

Vanessa, who has attended court hearings since the trial began, is seeking damages for emotional distress in her lawsuit.