It has been quite the week for Vanessa Bryant. Not only did she celebrate the birthday of her late husband Kobe Bryant, but the following day, she finally learned her judgment in the case against Los Angeles County officials. Vanessa filed a lawsuit after it was learned that photos from the crash site that took the lives of her husband, daughter Gianna, and seven others were shared by members of the sheriff’s office and fire department. She and her co-plaintiff—Christopher Chester, who lost his wife and daughter in the helicopter crash—both detailed their emotional distress over the scandal.
Vanessa received $16 million while Chester was awarded $15 million, and on the heels of the news, Deadline reported that the widow plans to donate the entirety of her judgment to the Mamba and Mambacita Sports Foundation.
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Vanessa said that she wants “to shine a light on Kobe and Gigi’s legacy.”
Her attorney Luis Li added, “From the beginning, Vanessa Bryant has sought only accountability, but our legal system does not permit her to force better policies, more training or officer discipline. Those measures are the responsibility of the sheriff’s and fire departments — responsibilities that Mrs. Bryant’s efforts have exposed as woefully deficient, even giving amnesty to the wrongdoers.”
Li said that his client “never faltered, even when the county attempted to force her to submit to an involuntary psychiatric examination.” Vanessa is also said to be “deeply grateful” to the individuals who reported the L.A. officials for improper conduct.
“It is Mrs. Bryant’s hope that this important civil rights case will put to a stop this abhorrent and callous behavior.”
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