LASD and Los Angeles County attorneys wanted to keep the deputies ‘names and positions sealed, arguing that “hackers can try to search for and gain access to individual deputies’ devices to locate and publish the photos,” according to documents judicial. .
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter said in a decision on Monday that this is “totally inconsistent with their position that such photographs no longer exist.”
“The Sheriff’s Department wants to write the names of the deputies who took and / or shared photos of my husband, daughter and other victims,” Bryant wrote in a statement posted on Instagram. “Anyone else facing the charges would be unprotected, nominated and made public. … These specific deputies need to be held accountable for their actions, just like everyone else.”
Prior to Monday’s decision, sheriff Alex Villanueva had confirmed that all photos of the accident that were held by deputies were deleted.
Bryant’s lawyer, Luis Li, welcomed the judge’s decision late on Monday, telling CNN in a statement: “Transparency promotes accountability. We hope to present Ms. Bryant’s case in an open court.”
Shared scene photos
After completing the investigation last month, the National Transportation Safety Board said that Island Express chartered pilot Ara Zobayan exceeded the limits of flight rules in bad weather, climbed into the clouds, became disoriented about the helicopter’s position in relation to to the horizon and made a descending curve to the left to a hillside obscured by clouds.
After the accident, Bryant not only defended the disclosure of deputies’ names, but asked Congress to approve a new helicopter safety bill with the name of her husband and daughter.
She also filed a civil suit against LASD and Sheriff Villanueva for the photo leak in September, seeking undisclosed damages to remedy civil rights violations, neglect, emotional distress and breach of privacy.
The sheriff’s department said at the time that it does not comment on pending litigation.
CNN’s Artemis Moshtaghian contributed to this report.