Site icon Side Action

Troubling Details Emerge in Vanessa Bryant’s Trial Against Los Angeles County

SGKing

IMAGE DISTRIBUTED FOR CHAMPION - Vanessa Bryant, President of the Mamba & Mambacita Sports Foundation, accepts the "Be Your Own Champion Award" at the 3rd Annual Sports Power Brunch presented by Champion in Beverly Hills, Calif. on Tuesday, Feb. 8, 2022. Vanessa was recognized as a leading woman in Sports, her commitment to youth and the community and playing by her own rules to drive inclusion both on and off the field. (Earl Gibson III/Champion via Invision/AP Images)

More disturbing details are coming forward in Vanessa Bryant’s ongoing trial.

Police deputy Michael Russell testified this week that he sent deputy officer Ben Sanchez photos from the site of the January 2020 Kobe Bryant helicopter crash. To make the story even more troubling, Russell said that he and Sanchez were playing Call of Duty and communicating on their headsets when Russell sent Sanchez the photos in his possession, recalling that he “told him it was possible one of them was Kobe Bryant.” Sanchez testified that he told Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department investigators that Russell warned him they were “graphic.”

Via TMZ:

While the two were playing the first-person shooter game, Russell testified he told Sanchez he had the photos, and then asked if he wanted to see them. When the cop said yes, Russell said he sent them over. Russell admitted in court that he had no business doing that. He also testified that he received nothing more than a minor write-up as punishment.

Cruz, meanwhile, also testified in court on Tuesday … and did admit to showing the photos to a bartender as well.

The widow of Kobe Bryant’s trial comes a little less than two years after she filed her lawsuit against L.A. County officials.

In the complaint obtained by E! News at the time, Vanessa claimed that multiple deputies took pictures of remains at the crash site and forwarded them to colleagues, one of whom was seen on surveillance footage showing his phone to a bartender.

Some pretty twisted stuff.

Welcome to the game outside the game! Follow us on our Sideaction Twitter handle, Instagram, and Facebook for the latest on sports and pop culture news across the web!

🔥 Hot from Side Action 🔥