Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said Wednesday, May 20, that he backs a bill moving its way through the Assembly that would make it a crime for first responders in California to take photos of dead bodies at emergency sites unless for an investigation.
Assembly Bill 2655 would make it a misdemeanor for police officers, sheriff’s deputies, firefighters, paramedics and other emergency personnel responding to disasters to take such photos.
The bill comes on the heels of the January helicopter crash in Calabasas that killed Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gigi, and seven others.
Officials later discovered that eight deputies were involved in the taking or sharing of the photos, the sheriff has said. He ordered the pictures destroyed and, he said, launched an internal investigation.