FISHY

Cop Phones With Gruesome Kobe Crash Photos Were Wiped, Expert Testified

A tech expert said the officers “violated fundamental forensic policies.”

More than two years after a deputy allegedly shared crash scene photos of Kobe Bryant at a bar, new testimony has revealed that data was deleted from 28 devices used by Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department and LA County Fire Department employees accused of passing around the ghoulish images. That means the spread of those photos of Bryant in his last minutes is untraceable. Nine of the 11 phones turned over to investigators by LASD were new, and the phone a deputy supposedly used when he shared the photos at a bar had been refreshed to factory settings. An expert hired by Vanessa Bryant’s legal team alleges the department “violated fundamental forensic policies” in doing so. Officials have called the actions of the deputy in question a lapse in judgement. “Information was destroyed that would have allowed us to understand the scope [of photo dissemination],” forensic expert David Freskos said.