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    Vanessa Bryant Uses Her Platform to Battle the Powerful

    Through social media and a lawsuit, she is trying to hold law enforcement to account in ways that are uncommon for women, and especially for women of color.For years, under the power dynamics of Los Angeles policing, many victims who have accused powerful law enforcement institutions of wrongdoing have found their charges batted aside or buried in bureaucratic inertia.But in recent months the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has faced a new, potent adversary: Vanessa Bryant.By leveraging her wealth and celebrity, Bryant, 38, is flipping the usual script. Through social media posts and a lawsuit, she is holding authorities to account in ways that are uncommon for women, and especially for women of color. And she has done it all while she navigates her grief after the deaths of her 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and her husband, Kobe Bryant, the Los Angeles Lakers star, who were killed in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Calif., in January 2020.She filed the suit in September against the Sheriff’s Department, four deputies, the county and its fire department for invasion of privacy and negligence after deputies used personal cellphones to take pictures of the site that included the remains of her husband, their daughter and the seven others who died.In mid-March, Vanessa Bryant shared an amended complaint and the names of the four accused deputies — Joey Cruz, Rafael Mejia, Michael Russell and Raul Versales — to her more than 14 million Instagram followers. County lawyers had tried to keep the identities of the deputies hidden, arguing, in part, that they could be the target of hackers. It was an odd argument, considering that the lawyers had said the images had been deleted. A federal judge sided with Bryant.In the month since Bryant shared the names of the deputies, the call for law enforcement accountability has remained at the forefront of public debate through the murder trail of Derek Chauvin, the Minneapolis officer who knelt on the neck of George Floyd.Bryant’s public campaign against the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, a high-profile but long-troubled institution, has caught the attention of community activists and legal experts who are accustomed to families, especially those of color, silently hoping for but not receiving what they would consider justice. Vanessa Bryant is Mexican-American, and her husband was Black.“She has the ability to speak out and highlight what have been deep-seated and pervasive problems in the Sheriff’s Department around corruption, secrecy and lack of accountability,” said Priscilla Ocen, a member of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Civilian Oversight Commission and a professor at Loyola Law School. “She has the means. She has the visibility and, importantly, she has the protection that is afforded based on her wealth and celebrity in ways that families in East Los Angeles or Compton just don’t.”Bryant, through her lawyer, declined to comment for this article. She has also filed a wrongful-death suit against Island Express Helicopters, the company that operated the helicopter that crashed.“Transparency promotes accountability,” said Luis Li, one of Bryant’s lawyers. “We look forward to presenting Mrs. Bryant’s case in open court.”The Sheriff’s Department, in response to a request for comment, referred to a tweet from Sheriff Alex Villanueva: “We will refrain from trying this case in the media and will wait for the appropriate venue. Our hearts go out to all the families affected by this tragedy.”The department released a statement last fall that said, “As a result of the swift actions we took under extraordinary circumstances, no pictures made it into the public arena.”The sheriff had assured Bryant that deputies had secured the crash scene to ensure her privacy, according to Bryant’s suit.The Los Angeles Times reported in February 2020 that a citizen filed a complaint after a deputy showed graphic photos of the crash victims at a bar. Instead of the complaint starting a formal inquiry, according to the suit, the deputies were told “that if they came clean and deleted the photos, they would not face any discipline.”The suit stated that Bryant “privately sought information from the Sheriff’s Department and Fire Department to assess whether she should brace for her loved ones’ remains to surface on the internet.”Firefighters worked the scene of a helicopter crash.Mark J. Terrill/Associated PressShe asked if the photos had been secured and how far they had ventured. According to the suit, each department “refused to respond to all but one of Mrs. Bryant’s questions and asserted they had no legal obligation to assist.”The suit stated that Cruz, then a deputy trainee, received copies of the photos from Mejia. Cruz is accused of showing them to his niece at his mother’s house, while making a crude remark about the images of the bodies, and of showing the images at a restaurant in Norwalk, Calif., where he could be seen zooming in and out of the pictures on a security camera.“Many of us are on the receiving end of police mistreatment and we just have to swallow those indignities,” said Jody Armour, a professor at the University of Southern California, whose father, Fred, used criminal law he taught himself in prison to be released after a significant portion of his sentence. “Grin and bear it, because we don’t have the social kind of capital to be taken as seriously as she’s being taken.”Law enforcement officials, Ocen said, typically shape the narratives that filter out of debated interactions. As a result, public opinion is often split about whom to sympathize with. Not in this case, she said.“There’s universal sympathy, universal outrage for the conduct of the Sheriff’s Department in trivializing, minimizing and desecrating the memory of Kobe Bryant and their daughter,” Ocen said.Villanueva, the sheriff, announced an investigation into the sharing of the photos in March 2020, before the suit was filed, and asked the county’s Office of Inspector General to monitor it.“That was a sham,” said Max Huntsman, the inspector general.By that point, Huntsman said, his office had started an inquiry into Villanueva’s announcement that the photos were ordered to be deleted. Additional efforts to monitor the investigation were stymied by the Sheriff’s Department, which only offered him periodic, redacted updates, Huntsman said.“You can’t really rely on an organization to investigate itself when it’s the one that may have behaved improperly,” he said. “And when an elected official is the person who may have behaved improperly, then somebody else needs to investigate them if you want it to be at all credible and have real accountability.”The watchdog positions of the oversight committee and inspector general were created as checks in the aftermath of department scandals before Villanueva’s tenure as sheriff.Ocen and eight other civilians make up the commission, which recommends department improvements. But the group does not have the authority to force the department to adopt policies or discipline personnel. Recently, voters granted the commission the power to subpoena records.The relationship between the Sheriff’s Department and the committee and inspector general is adversarial. Two years ago, the Sheriff’s Department began a criminal investigation into whether Huntsman had illegally obtained internal records.The issues highlighted by Bryant’s suit represent a broader pattern within the Sheriff’s Department, Huntsman said. In December, his office released a 17-page report highlighting what it called “unlawful conduct” by the department, such as threatening county officials, failing to disclose the names of officers involved in shootings and not enforcing Covid-19 safety directives.A month earlier, the commission unanimously approved a resolution that condemned Villanueva’s leadership and called for his resignation.In February, Sheriff Alex Villanueva answered questions about Tiger Woods’s car crash.Allison Zaucha for The New York Times“I’m on record saying that I think he’s a criminal, and I’m on record as identifying a bunch of conduct by the Sheriff’s Department under his watch that is completely unlawful,” Huntsman said. “We have a rogue law enforcement agency as a result of what they’re doing, but that doesn’t mean he has to resign. He has to start following the law.”In September, Bryant took notice when Villanueva called on LeBron James to double the reward leading to information on a gunman who had ambushed and shot two deputies.In response, Bryant posted screenshots from a Twitter user onto her Instagram story that read: “He shouldn’t be challenging LeBron James to match a reward or ‘to step up to the plate.’ He couldn’t even ‘step up to the plate’ and hold his deputies accountable for photographing dead children.”The suits, including ones from the families of the crash’s victims, are ongoing. Some change has already occurred.In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom of California signed into law a bill making it a misdemeanor for law enforcement and emergency medical workers to take photos of scenes that do not involve their work. The bill, H.R. 2655, was introduced by Assemblyman Mike Gipson, Democrat of Carson, and violations carry fines of up to $1,000. Gipson named it the Kobe Bryant Bill.“Emergency medical workers not only have a responsibility to the victims, but also I believe to the family,” Gipson said. “There’s an obligation to protect the situation and not try to expose the family to further grief.”He added: “Hopefully this is a deterrent that will prevent this from happening again.” More

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    Scenes from the First Rounds of the Masters

    AUGUSTA, Ga. — Maybe it is the Masters tournament’s place as an annual rite of spring or its rich history, revisited this week for an 85th time. Perhaps it is because the tournament is the only major golf championship contested on the same golf course every year, which breeds a comforting familiarity. But the Masters stands out among sporting events — for its colorful grounds, for its gentle mix of old and new champions, and for the generations of attending families renewing traditions on the site. It is the rare athletic arena in the spotlight for only four days a year, but then maybe that is its ultimate charm.The Augusta National golf course was created on a former nursery, which contributes to its parkland aura, especially as the property was cultivated over several decades. Watching on television, it is hard to grasp how much the topography affects the competition and the viewing pleasure of attending fans as the hilly terrain naturally creates amphitheater-like viewing areas. It also heightens the challenge for the golfers, who traverse a compound full of intrinsic challenges, including a drop of 175 feet from the highest point on the property (the famed old-style clubhouse) to the lowest point (the devilish, small par-3 12th green).Framing the golf holes are 100-foot loblolly pine trees, flowering dogwoods and hundreds of flourishing azalea bushes. Add the brilliant white sand of Augusta National Golf Club’s bunkers and its manicured green fairways, and the setting has become one of the most distinctive and recognizable venues in American sports. — Bill PenningtonGroundskeepers watering the fairway on the second hole last week before a practice round.Cleaning a dining area for club members.Lee Elder, who in 1975 was the first Black man to play in the Masters, shook hands with Jack Nicklaus during a ceremony for the honorary starters at the first tee on Thursday.Running is usually not allowed at Augusta, but an exception can be made in some cases.Jordan Spieth’s ball skipped across the water on the 16th hole during a practice round.Dustin Johnson, the defending Masters champion, during the practice round on Wednesday. He missed the cut for this year’s final rounds.The azaleas are in full bloom around the 16th green.A dejected Justin Rose on the fourth tee during the second round on Friday.Bryson DeChambeau reflected in Phil Mickelson’s sunglasses at the 10th tee during a practice round on Wednesday.Spectators watching Spieth’s tee shot on the sixth hole.Spieth, foreground, and Collin Morikawa on the sixth green during the second round on Friday. Spieth shot four under par for the day. More

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    Mourning in Argentina Where Diego Maradona Walked

    In front of Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, the stadium of Argentinos Juniors, where Maradona first played professionally.Mourning at the Places Where ‘El Dios’ WalkedDuring three national days of mourning for Diego Maradona, Argentines traveled — sometimes hundreds of miles — to honor him at the sites where his talent once made them smile.In front of Estadio Diego Armando Maradona, the stadium of Argentinos Juniors, where Maradona first played professionally.Credit…Supported byContinue reading the main storyPhotographs by More

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    Diego Maradona, Argentina's Icon

    Diego Maradona brandishes the World Cup won by his team after a 3-2 victory over West Germany in 1986.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSkip to contentSkip to site indexOne Nation, Under MaradonaImages from the life of one of soccer’s — and Argentina’s — biggest icons.Diego Maradona brandishes the World Cup won by his team after a 3-2 victory over West Germany in 1986.Credit…Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesSupported byContinue reading the main storyBy More