California Governor Signs “Kobe Bryant Law” Forbidding First Responders From Taking Pictures

By wazup on September 30, 2020 Comments Closed / 80 views

California Governor Signs “Kobe Bryant Law” Forbidding First Responders From Taking Pictures

Tributes to Kobe Bryant at the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks

Source: WENN/Avalon / WENN

With the way that 2020 fell off a cliff in just a matter of months it feels like the tragic death of Kobe Bryant happened years ago. But we’re now reminded of the early days of this horrible year as California’s governor has just signed in a new law which was inspired by Kobe’s death.

According to TMZ, Governor Gavin Newsom has just introduced the “Kobe Bryant Law” which forbids first responders from taking unauthorized pictures of a dead person at the scene of an accident. A situation that first became a problem when an officer at the scene used a picture of Kobe’s dead body to try to pick up a woman at a bar a few weeks after the accident.

In total 8 of the local deputies have been accused of taking and sharing pictures of the tragic incident as there are no rules against such actions, but beginning on January 1st 2021, things are going to change.

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill which will make it a misdemeanor for a first responder to take or share pics from an accident or crime scene for any purpose outside official law enforcement or genuine public interest.

Kobe’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, has already filed a lawsuit against the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office over the alleged accident photo scandal. She’s suing for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.We’re sure that first responders and authorities will continue to take pictures of victims depending on the celebrity of said person, but this is a step in the right direction as such incidents are a private matter as far as families are concerned.