After photos of the helicopter crash site where Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter Gianna, and seven of their friends lost their lives began to circulate, the public was outraged. There was already controversy surrounding the investigation after authorities came forward to share that they hadn’t even contacted all family members of the victims before TMZ ran the story about the accident. Recently, the L.A. Times shared that politicians have proposed a bill that will outlaw “acts that violate the privacy of deceased victims and apply to all first responders acting under color of authority, including law enforcement officers, paramedics, dispatchers, firefighters and medical examiners.”
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It’s been reported that the pictures of Bryant’s helicopter crash site were taken by a Los Angeles sheriff’s deputy who later showed them off while at a bar, so State Assemblyman Mike Gibson has suggested that those acts would be considered a crime. Offenders would be charged with a “misdemeanor with punishment of up to a year in jail and as much as $5,000 in fines for a first responder to use a smartphone or other device to photograph a deceased person for any purpose other than official law enforcement business,” writes the Times.
Gibson added, “Our first responders, when responding to an emergency, should not be taking very sensitive photographs…for their own gain, for their own pleasure. It was unconscionable. It’s not right.”
