Digital imagery

Los Angeles County has agreed to settle the claims of two of the four families who filed suits over crash scene photos taken by emergency responders at the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash. The January 26, 2021 crash killed nine people including Bryant and his 13 year-old daughter.

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A US Magistrate judge has ruled that Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby will have to appear for an “apex” deposition in a lawsuit over photo-taking at the scene of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash last year. If the term “apex” deposition sounds unusual, it is. Read on.

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A Colorado man who was arrested following a traffic stop in 2019, has filed suit against a fire department medic and several police officers for their roles in his arrest. Steven Reycraft filed suit today in US District Court naming the Manitou Springs Fire Department, Paramedic Ashley Wardell, four Manitou Springs police officers, the City of Manitou Springs, and a doctor/medical director.

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A Kentucky fire chief is under investigation after a 20-year-old photo of him wearing blackface makeup surfaced. The Anderson County Fire District started the investigation following the disclosure of the photo during a contentious disciplinary hearing for a former battalion chief on August 19, 2021.

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A Los Angeles City fire captain is under investigation for a social media rant about the city’s new COVID19 vaccine mandate. Captain Cristian Granucci posted the video on YouTube yesterday condemning the city for enacting it and the union for being in "lockstep with total tyranny."

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Massachusetts lawmakers are considering a bill to criminalize phototaking by first responders. One of the advocates of the law, Michelle Mathieson, is the mother of a woman who was murdered in 2011. Local police officers took and shared cellphone images of her body.

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The Los Angeles County Fire Department is now facing a fifth lawsuit arising out of the photo-taking scandal surrounding the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash. The January 26, 2020 crash killed nine people including Bryant and his daughter.

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A Denver firefighter was arrested at work today on sexual exploitation of a child charges. Eric Trujillo was arrested by the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, following a tip from an internet task force.

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The city of Denver has approved a $100,000 settlement with a female firefighter who was the victim of a digital peeping-Tom case perpetrated by a lieutenant at her station. Daniel Flesner was found guilty of criminal invasion of privacy and attempt to commit tampering with physical evidence last October.

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A New York man who was transported to the hospital on Thanksgiving Day, 2019, has filed suit against FDNY and an EMT alleging that the EMT posted his confidential medical information on Facebook. Jermaine Williams is suing FDNY and EMT Diane Wagerik in New York Supreme Court.

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Allegations surfaced today that two members of the Los Angeles County Fire Department could be (or have been) fired for their role in a photo-taking scandal in the aftermath of the Kobe Bryant helicopter crash in January, 2020.

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An Akron fire lieutenant who sprayed water at a local activist who was filming at a crime scene, has been suspended for 80 hours. The incident occurred on March 27, 2021 as firefighters were washing down a sidewalk where a fatal stabbing occurred.

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A Glastonbury firefighter is facing criticism for an off-hand comment that he made to a BLM activist Sunday. The activist, Ivelisse Correa, videoed the exchange she had with the firefighter.

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A Connecticut firefighter has been charged with violating a state law that makes it a crime for first responders to take photos of victims at emergency scenes. Steven Frischling, 45, the public information officer for the Chesterfield Fire Company, was arrested Tuesday.

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