National Roundup

California
Vanessa Bryant sues LA sheriff over helicopter crash photos
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball star Kobe Bryant, has filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County sheriff claiming deputies shared unauthorized photos of the crash that killed her husband, their 13-year-old daughter and seven others.

After the Jan. 26 crash, reports surfaced that graphic photos of the victims were being shared. Vanessa Bryant was devastated by the reports, her lawyer said.

The suit seeks damages for negligence, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously told news media that eight deputies took or shared graphic photos of the scene and he ordered the images deleted. The sheriff said the department has a policy against taking and sharing crime scene photos, but it does not apply to accident scenes.

The sheriff’s department did not immediately have a comment Tuesday.

Bryant previously filed a claim, a precursor to a lawsuit, in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The suit was filed Thursday.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has not yet signed a bill that would make it a misdemeanor for first responders to take unauthorized photos of deceased people at the scene of an accident or crime. The legislation was prompted by the crash photos.

Louisiana
Trooper who faced firing in Black man’s death dies in single-car crash
A Louisiana state trooper has died following a single-vehicle highway crash that happened just hours after he learned he would be fired for his role last year in the in-custody death of a Black man.

Master Trooper Chris Hollingsworth was pronounced dead Tuesday following a brief hospitalization, Warren Lee, chief investigator for the Ouachita Parish Coroner’s Office, told The Associated Press.

Hollingsworth had been airlifted to Shreveport early Monday after crashing his personal vehicle on Interstate 20 near Monroe. Police have not released any details about how the crash occurred.

Hours before, Hollingsworth had received word that State Police intended to terminate him following an internal investigation into the May 2019 death of Ronald Greene, a case that has drawn mounting scrutiny and become the subject of a federal civil rights investigation.

Authorities initially said Greene died after crashing his vehicle into a tree following a high-speed chase in rural northern Louisiana that began over an unspecified traffic violation. But Greene’s family alleges troopers used excessive force and “brutalized” him while taking him into custody.

State Police, despite growing pressure, have repeatedly declined to release body-camera footage and other records related to Greene’s arrest, citing the ongoing investigations.

Greene’s family called for “the immediate arrest of the remaining men responsible for this tragic and unnecessary death.”

“Trooper Hollingsworth’s family has the finality of knowing exactly how he died as their community mourns his loss,” said Lee Merritt, a prominent civil rights attorney representing the family. “The family of Ronald Greene, however, is still being denied the same finality by the State of Louisiana.”

Greene’s family has filed a federal wrongful-death lawsuit alleging troopers “brutalized” Greene, used a stun gun on him three times and “left him beaten, bloodied and in cardiac arrest” before covering up his actual cause of death.

The controversy deepened last week when Greene’s family released graphic photographs showing deep bruises and cuts to his face, and other photos showing his car with little damage. That raised questions about whether Greene received those injuries in a car crash — as authorities initially told his family — or when troopers arrested him.

State Police have said only that the 49-year-old Greene died “after resisting arrest and a struggle with troopers” who took him into custody. The agency opened an internal investigation into the case last month.

It was not immediately clear what impact Hollingsworth’s death would have on ongoing investigations. Hollingsworth was the only one of the six troopers involved who had been placed on leave. That came Sept. 9 — the same day the AP filed a records request for body camera footage of Greene’s arrest.

Alabama
Lawsuit filed against ex-nurse accused of killing her husband
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) — A woman accused of fatally poisoning her husband with insulin stolen from the Alabama hospital where she worked as a nurse is being sued by his estate for wrongful death.

The estate of James Cappello, 37, filed suit Monday in Madison County Circuit Court against Marjorie Nicole Cappello, 33, and the north Alabama hospital where she was working when he died in September 2018, news outlets reported.

Investigators allege Nicole Cappello gave her husband a fatal dose of insulin, according to Madison County Assistant District Attorney Tim Douthit. Jim Cappello was found dead their garage in Huntsville, with an open grave dug in the backyard, after she reported him missing.

The lawsuit alleges Nicole Cappello stole the insulin from the hospital and used it on her husband. It accuses the hospital of negligence and lack of supervision.

Huntsville police investigator Michael DeNoon testified that Cappello, a private investigator, suspected his wife was abusing drugs, and he was preparing to divorce her, but wanted custody of their daughter. DeNoon said Nicole Cappello told him she mistakenly brought the insulin home.

Nicole Cappello was indicted on a murder charge last fall. Her case has been delayed since then by the coronavirus pandemic. 

Minnesota
Fight follows murder sentence in Ramsey County
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A family fight following a sentencing for murder at the Ramsey County Courthouse caused deputies to lock down the building before gunshots were fired outside nearby in a shooting believed to be related to the argument.

No one was injured in the shooting several blocks from the courthouse Monday.

A judge sentenced Marcus Baker to more than 40 years in prison for fatally shooting of Shawn Jones in the Summit-University neighborhood last November, the  St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

According to Undersheriff Tina McNamara, the defendant’s family had a fight in the lobby of the courthouse and when it began to get physical deputies escorted those involved outside. Soon after deputies heard gunshots fired. Shell casings were found in the area.