The agency cover up over crash photos was the subject of testimony this week.
The officials lied to the reporter about the deletion order, according to the man.
The families of the people who died in the helicopter crash were made aware of the deleted photos.
The LA County Sheriff's Department issued an agency-wide deletion order of graphic photos that were taken at the scene of the helicopter crash that claimed the lives of two people.
The chief admitted in court that he helped cover up a citizen complaint after a deputy shared gruesome photos of the crash site at a bar.
The sixth day of the trial between Los Angeles County andVanessa Bryant began on Wednesday. According to the lawsuit, the helicopter crash site was taken and shared by the LA Sheriff's Department and the LA County Fire Department.
The department investigated the photos only after a private citizen complained and news broke that the photos were mishandled.
Just three days after the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and seven others, a private citizen filed a complaint with the LASD. Emails show that the media relations captain was tasked with investigating the complaint.
On January 31, he testified that he had retrieved security footage from the bar. He spoke with the person who filed the complaint.
He was helping to relay the Sheriff's department-wide order to not let the photos see the light of day, an order that one deputy said in court he had grave concerns about.
The department played dumb when the LA Times reporter started probing into the complaint. The media relations staff lied to the journalist and denied knowing of the deletion order.
"We're such a large organization," he said. I'm not aware of any complaints.
The footage from the bar was kept in the office for nearly a month without being reviewed.
By February 28, the LASD had given staff who shared crash site photos a slap on the wrist, and issued a statement saying that the agency was deeply disturbed by allegations that staff had taken and shared photos.
In court on Tuesday, he admitted that the helicopter crash victims' family members learned about the deletion order from the LA Times. The department never reached out to the Bryant family about the deletion order.
Two days after the LA Times piece was published, the department began its own investigation into the photos.
When it came to making sure the photos were all deleted, time was of the essence, and that's what he said.
Two years after the crash, Valdez has been promoted to the position of chief of the east patrol division.
A high-ranking LA sheriff's deputy voiced concerns after the deletion order. He was moved within weeks. He was demoted because of his bungled handling of a sexual assault investigation.
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