A police officer who distributed an evidence photo depicting Rihanna’s injuries after she was attacked by Chris Brown was properly fired for her actions, a judge ruled Thursday.
Former Los Angeles police officer Rebecca Reyes took a picture of an evidence photo and the image ended up on celebrity website TMZ, although she denies that she sent it to the site.
Reyes snapped the photo to show to other officers and acquaintances, court filings state.
The image was one of several taken by police officers investigating Brown’s February 2009 attack on Rihanna, whose real name is Robyn Fenty.
Superior Court Judge Luis A. Lavin issued a ruling agreeing with the decisions of a disciplinary panel and Police Chief Charlie Beck to fire Reyes in 2012. After reviewing the record, Lavin also concluded that evidence supports that Ryes “participated in the release of the photography showing Ms. Fenty’s injuries to TMZ.”
The judge said he agreed that Reyes should no longer be a police officer.
“At a minimum, the public is entitled to protection from unprofessional employees whose conduct places people at risk of injury and the government at risk of incurring liability,” Lavin’s wrote in his ruling.
Reyes’ attorney Ira Salzman accepted the ruling without argument during a brief hearing Thursday. He said after the hearing that he was disappointed by the ruling and reiterated that his client did not leak the image to TMZ. He disagreed with Lavin’s descriptions of his client as unprofessional, saying she “made a singular mistake.”
“Rebecca Reyes is an outstanding person and was an outstanding officer,” he said.
Read the full story at latino.foxnews.com
