Vanessa Bryant's attorney accused Los Angeles County officials of exploiting Kobe Bryant's death and sharing photos from the scene of his helicopter crash "for a laugh" in opening arguments of a civil trial that started on Wednesday.

Bryant is suing the county for invasion of privacy, arguing that Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and firefighters took and shared grisly photos from the scene of the 2020 crash that claimed the lives of her husband and Los Angeles Lakers icon Kobe Bryant, their 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven others.

Per the Associated Press, Bryant's attorney Luis Li argued in his opening statement that the photos were taken on cell phones and shared in nonprofessional personal settings that he described as "visual gossip." Bryant wiped away tears as Li made his case.