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The former North Carolina cop captured on video hanging a K-9 by its leash will not face criminal charges for the horrifying incident that already cost him his job.

The Rowan County District Attorney’s Office just announced its decision not to bring charges against James Hampton, the former officer who came under fire last month when video surfaced showing him manhandling the hell out of Zuul, the police dog with which he was partnered.

The D.A. says a review of the incident didn't turn up enough evidence to warrant criminal charges, but they admit the optics for Hampton don't look great. In fact, the D.A. added that while the video might show a "bad act," and a controversial one that violates police procedures ... that doesn't mean they had sufficient evidence of a crime.

During its investigation, the D.A.'s Office interviewed Hampton's fellow officers, who said Zuul was disciplined incorrectly, but they didn’t believe Hampton acted with malice or bad intent -- despite the video evidence.

The D.A. also says Hampton's former supervisor said he loved his previous K-9s, and paid thousands out of his own pocket for veterinary bills.

Brett Favre is weighing in on the Derek Chauvin verdict ... saying he truly believes the ex-cop did NOT intentionally kill George Floyd, but his actions were downright inexcusable.

Chauvin was found guilty on all 3 charges stemming from the May 2020 incident on Tuesday ... and is now facing up to 40 years behind bars.

The NFL legend spoke about Floyd's death on his "Bolling With Favre" podcast on Wednesday ... condemning Chauvin's handling of the situation, but explaining why he feels it's "hard to believe" he intended to kill the 46-year-old man.

"I’m aware of the outcome. I find it hard to believe, and I’m not defending Derek Chauvin in any way. I find it hard to believe, first of all, that he intentionally meant to kill George Floyd," Favre said on Wednesday.

"That being said, his actions were uncalled for. I don’t care what color the person is on the street, you do not, I don’t know what lead to that video that we saw, where his knee is on his neck, but the man had thrown in the towel."

Favre continued ... "It was just uncalled for. Much like the video that surfaced last week of the cop who pulled over the African-American service man, who was afraid to pull over in the dark and chose to ride it out until he got to a gas station. Understandably so, especially in today’s world."

"And the cops actions, of course he was fired immediately, was uncalled for. Just absolutely uncalled for, and wrong. So Derek Chauvin, I obviously don’t know him, know anything about him, but he should not, he should’ve gotten up.

"Long before that. I didn’t watch the day-to-day ins and outs of the trial, but I’m really not surprised at the outcomes. Fair or not, he deserves something. What, I don’t know, but he was absolutely wrong."

Favre also addressed the backlash he faced last week after his comments about wanting to keep politics out of sports ... saying he stands by what he said.

Jacob Blake's reaction to Derek Chauvin being found guilty of George Floyd's murder is joy for Floyd's family, admiration for the people who fought for the verdict ... and hope that it's the first big step in changing the world for the better.

Blake -- who's paralyzed after a Kenosha, Wisconsin cop shot him -- told TMZ he's "extremely happy" justice was served in Floyd's death, and gives shout-outs to everyone who helped ensure the outcome ... family, friends, lawyers, advocates, protesters and the judge and jury in Chauvin's trial.

Jacob says of Chauvin being convicted of murder, "We got one ... let's get the rest of 'em."

Though Blake's elated over the outcome, he's mindful there's a long way to go when it comes to police brutality, adding ... "Y'all gotta stop killing us. You have to. If you don't, this world ain't gonna last."

As you know ... stories of police brutality and fatal shootings have definitely not stopped after George Floyd's death, and Blake's shooting in August was another lightning rod situation that sparked mass protests and criticism of policing in America.

The world would know nothing of George Floyd's death without the civilian video showing his murder at the hands of then-Minneapolis cop Derek Chauvin ... so say George's brother and family attorney.

Philonise Floyd and Ben Crump joined us on "TMZ Live" Wednesday and we asked if they believe Floyd's murderer would still be on the police force if 17-year-old Darnella Frazier hadn't stopped and hit record on her camera phone.

Philonise says his brother would be "just another dead man" if not for Darnella's video, which Crump says has been viewed over 50 million times around the world.

Crump believes Derek Chauvin may never have been prosecuted without the shocking footage, because as he points out ... police departments often try to sweep critical details under the rug in cases like George's, or omit them completely.

Before Darnella posted the video of what really happened, the initial police report made no mention of Chauvin pressing his knee on George's neck for over 9 minutes ... and Crump says the teen is the unsung hero in the Floyd family's fight for justice.

In the end, Darnella's video was crucial in the family getting some justice with Chauvin's guilty verdict, which Philonise tells us was bittersweet.

It's a powerful conversation ... and Crump tells us why the upcoming trial of the other officers involved in Floyd's fatal arrest could be enormously significant in terms of police reform.

George Floyd's brother, Philonise, has a message for the Las Vegas Raiders -- he's not offended by the team's "I Can Breathe" post and is not demanding they take it down.

We spoke with Philonise moments ago ... and he told us he does not believe the message was intended to be negative and he hasn't had any negative thoughts about it all.

In fact, Philonise kind of agrees with the post -- explaining how the world can finally take a breath now that the man who killed his brother has been convicted and will be held accountable.

As we previously reported, Raiders owner Mark Davis took responsibility for posting "I Can Breathe" on the team's social media accounts on Tuesday, moments after Derek Chauvin was found guilty on 3 counts in the murder of George Floyd.

Davis has said the post was inspired by the comments Philonise made at a news conference following the conviction when he explained, "Today, we are able to breathe again."

David and the Raiders have been getting a TON of pushback online from people who feel the post was insensitive -- considering Floyd told officers "I can't breathe" more than 20 times during the May 2020 encounter with Chauvin.

On Tuesday evening, Davis said he's sorry IF the tweet hurt the Floyd family ... "If I offended the family, then I'm deeply, deeply disappointed."

Clearly, Philonise feels no apology is necessary.

A cop was so concerned for Marshon Lattimore after finding a gun near his groin during a police stop last month that he straight-up warned the NFL star, "You're gonna shoot your dick off."

... and the whole incident was caught on police video obtained by TMZ Sports.

Lattimore and three others were stopped in Cleveland on March 26 after cops say the driver of the vehicle had committed multiple traffic violations.

In video of the stop, you can see officers swarmed the car immediately ... and confronted Lattimore right away.

In the clip, cops say they smelled a strong odor of marijuana coming from the car ... and then asked Lattimore if there were firearms inside the ride.

Eventually, Lattimore revealed he DID have a gun on his person ... and told cops it was located in the groin area of his jeans.

"You're gonna shoot your dick off," one officer said as he removed the firearm from Lattimore's pants.

"Get yourself a holster, brother," another cop told the New Orleans Saints corner.

As cops were conducting searches around the car, one of the officers apparently realized Lattimore was an NFL player ... and said out loud, "You play for the Saints?!"

The cop then scolded the 24-year-old for putting himself in the position ... explaining, "It's not like you're a, you know, f***ing chump out there, bro!"

Ultimately, cops say they found Lattimore's gun showed up in the system as stolen ... and they arrested him, booking him on charges of failure to notify and receiving stolen property.

FYI, the stolen property charge is a 4th degree felony -- which carries a maximum punishment of 18 months in prison. So yeah, that's a big deal.

The other three passengers in the car were also arrested.

Lattimore's case is currently playing out in the court system.

Lattimore is one of the best defensive players in the NFL ... and is expected to ink a massive contract extension with the Saints when his rookie deal expires after the 2021 season.

Pretty Ricky's Baby Blue is in critical condition after cops say he was shot in Florida during an attempted robbery.

According to police, the rapper was shot Monday around midnight while in the parking lot of SpareZ Bowling Alley in Davie, Florida. Cops say Baby Blue and a friend were next to their vehicles when two armed male suspects approached.

A physical altercation erupted when the men tried to steal a gold chain necklace ... and cops say it was during the scuffle that Baby Blue was shot in the left shoulder area. It's unclear if the suspects took off with the chain.

Baby Blue, who was in town for a release party for his new track, "Jerry Rice," was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition. Cops say the two suspects fled before cops arrived on scene.

George Floyd's family getting justice -- with Derek Chauvin being found guilty of murder -- is providing a morale boost for Daunte Wright's family, even as they prepare for a very difficult day.

Daunte's aunt, Naisha Wright, tells TMZ ... with Tuesday's verdict, she feels like real change has begun in this country, and Daunte's loved ones are feeling more confident they will also get justice for his killing at the hands of police.

Naisha says there's a major parallel in the 2 cases, in that Floyd's killing was a cold-blooded murder that people across the world witnessed on video ... and she believes her nephew's killing is the same situation.

She says now that they've seen Floyd's family get justice, it's helping lift their spirits as they prepare to lay Daunte to rest. The 20-year-old's wake is being held Wednesday, and the funeral will be on Thursday -- it's obviously a very heavy time, but Naisha tells us the Floyd family has been incredibly supportive throughout this tragedy.

She says the Floyds are truly an amazing family and even though it's sad they had to meet under these circumstances ... she's happy they've been there for the Wrights.

As we've reported ... Daunte was killed last week during a traffic stop in Minnesota by ex-Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter. Potter fatally shot Daunte as he was trying to get back into his car, but claims she meant to fire her Taser.

Potter resigned after the incident and was arrested and charged with second-degree manslaughter shortly afterward.

Derek Chauvin's conviction was a stunning statement by a diverse jury that brutalizing a citizen will even get cops punished, but it's critical to know how close Chauvin came to getting away with it.

The way these cases have gone in the past ... the police department issues a statement, and if there's no citizen-generated video, it's often the end of it. In Chauvin's case, the initial police report -- written before any video surfaced -- made absolutely no mention of his conduct ... cutting off George Floyd's air supply for more than 9 minutes.

The Minneapolis PD issued a statement after Floyd's death on May 25, 2020, passing his death off as a "medical incident."

The day after Floyd's death, the PD put out a statement, saying police responded to a "forgery in progress" and advised the suspect "was sitting on top of a blue car and appeared to be under the influence."

The statement goes on ... "Two officers arrived and located the suspect, a male believed to be in his 40s, in his car.  He was ordered to step from his car. After he got out, he physically resisted officers. Officers were able to get the suspect into handcuffs and noted he appeared to be suffering medical distress. Officers called for an ambulance. He was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center by ambulance where he died a short time later." It went on to say "At no time were weapons of any type used by anyone involved in this incident."

The statement notes there was body cam video, but there was no mention of what it showed.

MPD eventually updated their release to call it a "critical incident" and to say that as more info became available, it'd been determined the FBI was going to get involved.

The case flew under the radar until Darnella Frazier posted video of what REALLY happened. There was a clear cover-up by cops who never said anything about Chauvin's knee, and we may never have known what really happened if it weren't for 17-year-old Darnella and her cellphone.

Remember ... Chauvin had issues with excessive force on the PD before he encountered George Floyd, yet he remained on the force and he might still be a cop if it weren't for Frazier's video.

Ma'Khia Bryant, a 16-year-old from Columbus, OH, is dead after a cop shot her 4 times ... and newly released body cam shows why police were called, and why the incident's sparked new protests over another police-involved fatality.

The incident went down Tuesday -- about a half-hour before Derek Chauvin's guilty verdicts -- when police responded to a call for a fight between a few teenage girls ... one of them being Ma'Khia. The body cam shows a chaotic scene when cops arrived in the driveway of a home.

One girl was thrown to the ground at the feet of one of the officers, and you hear him yelling, "Hey, hey, hey, hey. Get down!" as Ma'Khia's seen apparently lunging with a knife at a different girl.

You see the officer quickly draw his gun and then fire 4 shots at Ma'Khia, who immediately falls to the ground. You can see a man standing nearby yell at the cop in shock, "You didn't have to shoot her. She's just a kid, man."

The cop responded, "She had a knife. She just went at her."

The shooting prompted protests near the scene of the incident, and in downtown Columbus. The officer's reportedly been taken off the streets while the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigates.

Ma'Khia was reportedly taken to Mount Carmel East Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Neighbors say she was living in a foster home on the block where she was shot.

This is Derek Chauvin ahead of his first night in jail as a convicted murderer ... he had his new mug shot taken Tuesday evening after he was led out of court in handcuffs.

Chauvin is being held in Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office checked him into the jail -- which he'll call home, until sentencing in about 8 weeks -- around 5 PM Tuesday, immediately after he was found guilty of murdering George Floyd.

We know Chauvin prepped to make at least one phone call after arriving at the jail -- TMZ broke the story, Chauvin scribbled the phone number for Eric Nelson, his defense attorney, on the palm of his left hand. The smudged pen marks were visible on his hand as the bailiff led him out of the courtroom.

Chauvin posed for his first mug when he was arrested for the murder of George Floyd in May 2020.

Peloton's Tread+ treadmill is a killer machine ... literally, according to a new class-action lawsuit filed by a woman who claims the fitness equipment is utterly unsafe for anyone with kids ... or even pets.

In the suit, Shannon Albright says Peloton's $4,295 treadmill is marketed as a device that'll give you "Your hardest training session" on "Your softest road" thanks to a shock-absorbing belt that's built with 59 individual slats.

Shannon's issue is that, although Peloton does have warnings on the machine ... she feels they're not sufficient to alert customers to the true danger -- which is that the treadmill's design allegedly makes it "extremely susceptible" to children and pets getting trapped underneath the machine.

In docs, obtained by TMZ, Albright claims some customers have had "children approach the machine, out of eyesight of the parent, and those children [have] been trapped and injured by the Tread+ machine.”

The lawsuit mentions at least one child has died as a result of the Tread+ ... and at least several dozen more have been injured. Albright claims injuries range from bruising and abrasion to broken bones, permanent brain injury and death.

What's more ... Albright claims Peloton has essentially ignored the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s warning that directs consumers to "stop using the Peloton Tread+ if there are small children or pets at home." There's even a video apparently showing 2 kids playing on the Tread+ and one child getting trapped.

Albright claims Peloton has known or should have known about its defective machine ... so she's trying to form a class action and is suing for more than $5 million in damages.

A Louisiana mother believes a doctor refused to perform surgery on her son after racially profiling him over a Christmas sweater that jokes about Santa being a "gangsta wrapper."

Shelly Jack claims her 17-year-old son was refused medical service by a surgeon at Mercy Regional Medical Center in Ville Platte because the guy was offended by the funny shirt, allegedly believing it to be an endorsement of gang activity.

Jack says her son made an appointment to get a bullet removed from his leg by a surgeon, but after they arrived she claims the doctor went off about how the "gangsta gear" was disrespectful ... and told them he wouldn't help a gang member.

But, Shelly tells KATC3 ... her son is not involved with any gang -- he was shot trying to pull a friend away from a fight at an apartment when shots rang out and he got hit.

Fortunately, Jack says her son was able to make an appointment with another surgeon several days later, but she's filed a complaint with Mercy Regional.

Lamar Odom is going to war for the Kardashians ... saying anyone who believes men are suffering from a "Kardashian Curse" after relationships with the sisters are straight-up "dumbasses."

The ex-NBA star was asked this month how men -- including himself and guys like Kanye West -- seemingly fall apart after getting into serious relationships with the Kardashians ... and that's when he raced in to defend the famous family.

"That's stupidity,” Odom said of the "curse" during an interview with Vlad TV that aired over the weekend. "Because everybody goes through s***, you dumbasses."

Odom continued, "If I had your family on tape, and see all the s*** your family was going through, people would be like, 'This f***ing family is crazy!' People would see all the drug addicts, all the sex, they share their life with you, so you see everything."

Odom was married to Khloe Kardashian from 2009 to 2016 ... and the former Lakers player had far more downs than ups during the relationship.

But, Lamar says NONE of that has to do with the circus that surrounds the Kardashians ... explaining he feels he's actually "lucky" to have been at one point accepted by the family.

"I know in some ways it's the reason why I'm still relevant to this day," the 41-year-old said. "'Cause I'm not playing ball no more. Ain't no more highlights on me no more."

Odom continued, "The looks that I still get is due to -- a lot of it is because of the love that they gave me ... And f**k anybody that goes against that."

Odom and Khloe officially divorced back in December 2016. He's since apologized publicly for the way he acted toward her during the relationship, even saying back in 2019, "I couldn't believe how I was treating that queen."

TMZ now knows what was on Derek Chauvin's hand ... he wanted to make sure he had his lawyer's phone number in case he was convicted and sent directly to jail.

Chauvin's lawyer, Eric Nelson, tells TMZ, his client wrote the number ahead of the conviction, because the convicted former cop knew if the jury found him guilty of second-degree murder he'd almost certainly have his bail revoked and he'd be remanded to custody.

Chauvin clearly knew given his former profession, he would have limited access to a phone but would be allowed to call his lawyer ... thus the scribble on his left hand. Chauvin has been in court many times, so he clearly knew a conviction would lead to swift incarceration, with no opportunity to speak to his lawyer in court after the verdict.

Nelson didn't say what the nature of such a call might be, but clearly, Chauvin wanted to discuss the next steps with his attorney. There are issues of sentencing and appeal that the defense will certainly address.

We're guessing Chauvin wrote the phone number on his hand because he was concerned if he wrote it on a piece of paper it might be confiscated when he was booked into jail.

The Las Vegas Raiders tried to enter the chat after the Derek Chauvin verdict on Tuesday -- but they're getting torn apart on social media for what some are saying is an insensitive post.

After Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd on Tuesday, the Raiders' social media account tweeted out, "I CAN BREATHE" with the date and the team logo.

The problem ... people feel it's very tone deaf because Floyd told officers, "I can't breathe" more than 20 times while being forcefully detained by Chauvin, who at the time was a member of the Minneapolis Police Department.

On top of that ...  while the verdict is a step in the right direction, there's clearly so much work to be done.

The reaction to the Raiders' social media post has been overwhelmingly negative ... with THOUSANDS of responses piling in on Twitter.

Here's a sampling ...

-- "Wow this is a huge miss"

-- "Delete this s**t."

-- "Donate money to the inner cities of Oakland & delete this post."

-- "Delete this wtf is this omg"

-- "This is what it looks like when u try to join the 'woke' side of social media and fail miserably"

NBA guard Isaiah Thomas also voiced his displeasure ... saying, "Y’all can’t be serious."

NFL receiver Torrey Smith added ... "Folks get paid to avoid stupid stuff like this smh delete this @Raiders"

Emmanuel Acho -- "I keep double checking to see if the @Raiders verified account actually tweeted this."

The tweet is still up as of 5 PM PT ... but given the backlash, that could change.