The wife of Kobe Bryant testified Friday that she was only beginning to grieve the loss of her husband, basketball star Kobe Bryant, and their 13-year-old daughter, when she was horrified to learn that sheriff's deputy and firefighters had shot and shared photos of their bodies.
She said that she wanted to run, run, run and scream. It felt like running down a pier and jumping into the water was what I wanted to do. I cannot escape. I cannot leave my body.
Bryant testified for three hours in a Los Angeles federal court, where she is suing LA County for invasion of privacy over the pictures she took of her dead loved ones. When she got the call about the Los Angeles Times story, she was with her friends and her baby.
She said she left the house so her girls wouldn't see. I was devastated again. I knew they were trustworthy. I knew they wouldn't do these things.
An official complaint was made after a sheriff's deputy showed a photo of Bryant's body to a bartender, and firefighters shared them with each other at an awards banquet. They were shared with others. An attorney for the county said the photos had been taken only because they were essential for assessing the site after the crash, and that the LA County Sheriff demanded they all be deleted.
No photos were made public, but that doesn't mean she isn't worried that some still could.
She testified that she lives in fear of being on social media. My daughters are on social media and it scares me.
She said the thought keeps her awake at night as she lies next to her two young children and sometimes she can't breathe.
Bryant testified that she did not have a mental health disorder nor had she taken any medication for it.
She said she hadn't talked to a therapist since the crash.
Bryant said that sometimes it helped, but sometimes it was draining.
During her 90-minute cross-examination, she went through the business roles Bryant now plays, including as president of her husband's multimedia company, Granity Studios, overseeing the publication of one book he wrote and helping to finish and publish another.
Bryant's ability to do all of this meant that she was functioning well and that she wasn't overcome with fear or anxiety, according to a suggestion from the internet.
"It seems like you're juggling a business empire with everything else," he said.
Bryant said it was a labor of love for him.
During the questioning of her attorney Luis Li, she cried a lot and laughed a lot.
She described him as a beautiful and devoted father.
Bryant wrote about the day of the crash, her anguish, and her frustration as she tried to find out if her husband and daughter were still alive.
She said that she waited at the Lost Hills sheriff's station to hear about her husband and daughter's deaths. He inquired if there was anything he could do to help her.
Bryant told him to secure the area if he couldn't bring his children back. I'm worried about the photographers.
Did the sheriff tell you that his deputy was going to take pictures of crash victims? "What do you think?" Li asked.
Bryant didn't reply.
The deputy, Doug Johnson, who hiked through tough terrain into the hills in northern Los Angeles County to shoot the photos that were later shared, was only trying to assess the situation, according to the witness.
He would want the same information as you did.
Bryant said that he didn't think it was necessary to take close-up photos of people to determine the number of people on an aircraft. He could have just counted.
Bryant took the stand on the eighth day of the trial.
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