Evidence at trial showed that a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff showed a photo of Kobe Bryant’s body to a bartender, prompting an official complaint from another patron of the bar.

Evidence also showed that the firefighters passed photos to each other at an awards banquet and that others shared them with their spouses.

Kobe Bryant is loved in Los Angeles. He played his entire 20-year career with the Lakers, retiring in 2016.

Chris Chester, whose wife, Sarah, and 13-year-old daughter, Payton, died in the crash, also sued over the photos and their handling. The jury in August also awarded him $15 million, and the county agreed last year to pay an additional $4.95 million to settle any other claims.

The accident also killed Juan Altobelli, 56; his wife, Keri Altobelli, 46; his daughter Alyssa Altobelli, 14; and Cristina Mauser38.

The Altobelli and Mauser families settled with the county for $1.25 million each.

The National Transportation Safety Board said in February 2021 that bad decisions by the helicopter pilot and «spatial disorientation» led to the accident. The pilot, who also died, continued to fly under visual flight rules in instrument meteorological conditions.

The pilot, Ara Zobayan, said he was climbing to get above the clouds, according to the NTSB. Instead, the aircraft descended rapidly in a left turn towards the ground and crashed.

The pilot should have avoided the weather and diverted, returned to base or landed, NTSB staffer Michael Graham said at the time.