Vanessa Bryant, the widow of basketball star Kobe Bryant, filed a lawsuit against the Los Angeles County sheriff arguing deputies shared graphic photos of the helicopter crash that killed her husband and 13-year-old daughter Gianna.

The lawsuit obtained by USA Today argues that after the fatal crash photos of the victims were being shared between deputies.

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

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva previously told NBC News that eight deputies took or shared graphic photos of the crash site and he ordered the images to be deleted. Villanueva also noted that the sheriff's department has a policy against taking and sharing crime-scene images, but it does not apply to accidents.

"That was my No. 1 priority, was to make sure those photos no longer exist,'' Villanueva said. "We identified the deputies involved, they came to the station on their own and had admitted they had taken them and they had deleted them. And we're content that those involved did that.''

Vanessa Bryant's lawsuit claims that the sheriff's actions may have instigated the unauthorized image sharing. She also fears that the photos could still exist.

"Mrs. Bryant feels ill at the thought of strangers gawking at images of her deceased husband and child and she lives in fear that she or her children will one day confront horrific images of their loved ones online,'' the lawsuit states.

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.

However, a statement Tuesday from the sheriff's department claimed that Villanueva approved the bill, which only lawmakers can do. The bill has not yet been signed into law.

"Shortly following this tragic crash, Sheriff Villanueva sponsored legislation which now makes it a crime for public safety personnel to take and share non-official pictures of this nature," the statement said. "Due to the pending litigation, we are unable to offer further comment.''

There was a total of nine victims in the helicopter crash which happened on Jan. 26.

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