Deputy who took photos at Kobe Bryant crash scene also knelt on inmate's head
The same Los Angeles sheriffâs deputy who is accused of improperly taking and sharing photos of Kobe Bryantâs dead body also became embroiled in another recent scandal when he was shown on video kneeling on the head of a jail inmate for three minutes in March 2021.
That deputy, Douglas Johnson, was relieved of his duty last year, according to the sheriff. But he is now the subject of another dispute in federal court between Bryantâs widow Vanessa and Los Angeles County.
Vanessa Bryant sued the county in September 2020, accusing county sheriff and fire department workers of improperly taking and sharing photos of human remains from the helicopter crash that killed the NBA legend and their daughter in January 2020.
In its defense, the county filed documents in court Friday that seek to prevent the jail incident involving Johnson from coming up in Bryantâs trial against the county scheduled for late July.
âThe March 2021 County jail incident has nothing to do with this case, which centers on allegations that the County violated Plaintiffâs rights by taking and sharing photos of the January 26, 2020 helicopter crash,â the county stated in court documents. âNonetheless, (Bryant) will not agree not to introduce evidence or argument about this separate incident.â
A judge could decide the matter before trial.
Bryantâs attorneys claim the county invaded her privacy and stated in court documents last year that Johnson took photos at the crash scene, including four that âclosely focused on Kobeâs and (daughter) Giannaâs body parts.â
âJohnsonâs descriptions of these photos are disturbingly graphic and horrific, and we do not repeat them here to protect the victims and their families, but they have been submitted under seal along with Coroner testimony linking two of Johnsonâs photos to Kobe and another two to Gianna,â Bryantâs legal team stated in court documents last year.
The same documents stated Johnson then sent all of his photos from his personal cell phone to the personal cell phone of his friend Deputy Raul Versales, leading them to spread further.
The county said the photos were not posted online or âpublicly disseminatedâ beyond county personnel except for an incident at a bar shortly after the crash.
âI documented the scene by taking photos,â Johnson wrote in a declaration filed in court last year. He estimated 10 photos contained victimsâ remains and stated he did not know which victims were in the photos. He said he deleted the photos the same day.
The next big controversy involving Johnson came more than a year after the crash when he knelt on the head of an inmate after the inmate punched him in March 2021. But that incident didnât come to light until March 2022, when the Los Angeles Times reported sheriffâs officials attempted to cover it up to avoid bad publicity.
Similarly, Bryantâs attorneys have accused the sheriffâs department of improperly destroying evidence in the photos case. The county disputes this, saying Sheriff Alex Villanueva helped prevent the photos from spreading by suggesting the photos be deleted.
The county stated in court records the jail incident is irrelevant to the photos lawsuit and would be highly prejudicial if it were allowed to be mentioned in the Bryant trial.
âThe only reason Plaintiff would seek to elicit testimony about Deputy Johnsonâs altercation with the inmate and LASDâs response is to impugn Deputy Johnsonâs and Sheriff Villanuevaâs character,â the county stated. âThis is improper.â
Both sides issued statements Friday.
"We look forward to responding in court," Bryant's attorney, Luis Li, said.
Skip Miller represents the county for the firm Miller Barondess.
âThe motion filed today will prevent the Plaintiff from prejudicing the jury by introducing unproven allegations against a witness that have nothing to do with the case," Miller stated. "Because the opposing attorneys have not agreed to abide by the rules of evidence, we have filed this motion.â
Follow reporter Brent Schrotenboer @Schrotenboer. E-mail: bschrotenb@usatoday.com