Kobe Bryant crash – First pic of LA cop Rafael Mejia who shared horror photos of star’s body for ‘morbid gossip’
THIS is the first pic of Los Angeles cop Rafael Mejia, who allegedly shared horror photos of Kobe Bryant’s body for 'morbid gossip', a lawsuit claims.
Vanessa Bryant's suit alleges that within just two days, at least 10 Sheriff's Department members had seen the photos and they became the "subject of gossip" within the force.
She has posted a photo of the front page of the lawsuit that names Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles County Fire Department, the sheriff’s department and four deputies — , Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales — as .
The suit alleges that on the day of the crash Mejia, who was assigned to the crash site, obtained photos from fire department personnel.
He then allegedly walked over to chat with a female deputy who wasn't involved in the investigation - and for no reason other than "morbid gossip" - sent them to her cellphone, it adds.
According to the lawsuit, Mejia had allegedly obtained "multiple photographs of the Bryants' remains" from fire department personnel taken at the scene "and stored them on his personal cell phone",
Mejia is then claimed to have passed the photos to Cruz, a trainee deputy at the time, the lawsuit alleges.
It alleges that two days after the crash, Cruz "boasted" to a bartender at a Southern California bar and grill that he'd responded to the scene and showed photos the trainee deputy had been sent by Mejia.
He also allegedly made "a crude remark about the state of the victims' remains".
Vanessa Bryant is seeking damages for negligence and invasion of privacy.
and his 13-year-old daughter and several others were traveling by helicopter in January last year to Mamba Academy in Thousand Oaks, for a basketball game when it crashed.
Bryant’s widow's lawsuit alleged that within 48 hours of the crash, photos had spread to at least 10 members of the department.
One deputy, it is alleged, had taken between 25 and 100 photos of the crash scene on his cell phone.
There are disturbing allegations about what those deputies did with the photos of Kobe, Gianna and the other passengers.
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“Indeed where the case involves allegations of police misconduct, the public has a vested interest in assessing the truthfulness of the allegations of official misconduct, and whether agencies that are responsible for investigating and adjudicating complaints of misconduct have acted properly and wisely,” he wrote.
The death of Bryant, who won five championships in his 20 seasons with the Lakers, stunned the sports world and led to an outpouring of emotion across the world.
MORE ON RAFAEL MEJIA
Rafael Mejia was a former Marine, serving as a sergeant and combat engineer in the Marines from 1995 to 2003.
In 2019 he joined the Juvenile Intervention Team at Los Angeles Sheriff's department.
He received an exemplary performance award at the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriff's banquet in 2016.
Pictures show him organising a fundraising obstacle course for local kids and receiving gifts from the community to thank him for his service, along with fellow other cops.
According to allegations in Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit:
- Mejia was posted to the "general proximity" of the crash site back on January 26 and stationed himself at the makeshift command post at Los Virgenes Water District, which is where he obtained multiple photos of Kobe's remains, alleges the lawsuit.
- He is then alleged to have shared the pictures with at least two others "without any legitimate governmental purpose".
- The lawsuit accuses him of sharing the pictures with a female deputy "for no other reason than morbid gossip".
- He also allegedly told superiors only one picture contained images of Kobe's remains, when it was actually five.
- Mejia also allegedly claimed that he erased them immediately when it was later discovered he only deleted them on January 30, according to the suit.
- Mejia also allegedly claimed that he only sent the pictures to answer questions about the identifying features of the helicopter - which the lawsuit says was "false".
- He eventually allegedly admitted that "curiosity got the best of [them]" and that such curiosity was "in [their] nature" as deputies, the court papers read.
- Mejia is also accused of allegedly sending the pictures to trainee deputy Joey Cruz, who then allegedly showed them to a bartender and customers at the Baja California Bar and Grill two days later and then to his niece.