Controversial S#!T

The Wendy's in Atlanta -- where a man who fell asleep in his car and essentially received a death sentence by cops -- has been burned down, during a night of protest and civil disturbance.

A video posted on Twitter shows the beginnings of the blaze ... you hear the man shooting the video say, "Look at this white girl. Look at the white girl trying to burn down the Wendy's. This wasn't us."

The fast-food restaurant became a flashpoint Saturday for protests against police brutality and racism.

As TMZ reported all day Saturday, cops got a call that someone in line was sleeping and partially blocking the drive-thru. Cops arrived, and the situation escalated to where Brooks grabbed one of the officer's tasers and began running. As he ran, he appeared to vaguely point the NON-LETHAL weapon behind him, and that's when Brooks was shot 3 times.

The cop involved in the shooting was fired overnight, and the other cop assisting was put on administrative leave. This, as the Police Chief submitted her resignation.

A little perspective ... so in Minneapolis, a call over what at worst was passing a counterfeit bill turned to a brutal murder. And in Atlanta, sleeping in the car ended with death. And, check out the video of a violent confrontation that started with a call that someone might have been smoking weed in a car.

Cities and counties can ban all sorts of police techniques, but until there is a cultural shift, built from the ground up in these departments, where de-escalation becomes the guiding light, this insane violence will continue.

The City of Richmond, CA and a handful of their police officers are being hauled into court over an incident that reeks of police brutality ... and it's all on video.

According to court docs -- obtained by TMZ -- two black men will sue the city, along with three to four cops who were involved in detaining and eventually arresting these guys over a weed bust back in late April. The body cam video tells the story.

Per the lawsuits -- filed by attorney Daniel Horowitz -- Dejon Brown and Johnathan Spragan claim they were roughed up bad and wrongfully arrested for something they never should have been hassled for in the first place.

Long story short ... cops responded to a call for someone sitting in a car and possibly smoking weed in a residential neighborhood, and when they arrived, they came with a bunch of squad cars ... which was met with curious/outraged neighbors watching it unfold.

As the officers dealt with the two men in the car, another man from the sidewalk starts to call them out for bothering them at all. He gets into a shouting match with one of the officers, ID'd in the suit as Ahmed Khalfan, and eventually turned his back on the officer.

Apparently, the cop didn't like that -- or what Dejon said -- and proceeded to rush over and throw him on the ground as more of his fellow officers came over to help detain Dejon. We're told Dejon's brother, Dareron, tried pushing some of the officers off his brother, and then ran away ... which led to a brief chase and eventual tasing, all caught on camera.

Enter Johnathan, a bystander watching this all unfold, who tried intervening to deescalate the situation, per his attorney, Dan Horowitz. You can see what happened to him when he wouldn't back down. He, too, was manhandled and arrested.

What's crazy ...  before they jump on Johnathan, you can hear a couple cops apparently discussing what they could possibly arrest him for ... and bring up not wearing a mask.

Khaled Abdelghany went viral for joining a protest chant during a George Floyd demonstration, and while he'd do it again ... he also wants people to know he's proud to serve in the military.

The D.C. National Guard member tells TMZ ... he was never worried about choosing a side when he chanted, "I'm black and I'm proud," at the May 30 protest, because he says it's true and always has been for him.

He says at the time, he was moved by hearing someone speak at the protest, and wanted to be part of a positive movement ... even though he acknowledges the situation is not as simple as black and white.

Khaled says it's conflicting because he understands what American citizens are feeling and he agrees, but he also has a duty as a guardsman to serve alongside his military brothers and sisters ... many of whom are also people of color.

And, on that note ... Khaled points out there are countless black people in uniform who have used their position and their voice to push for progress and positive change, as well.

Translation: the rank and file are with you, not against you.

The man who manages Justin Gaethje and Khabib Nurmagomedov has a warning to Conor McGregor -- you won't get a title shot until you fight a top-tier opponent like Tony Ferguson.

Ali Abdelaziz -- who also reps champs like Kamaru Usman and Henry Cejudo -- says he's sick and tired of Conor always trying to strong-arm himself into title fights that he doesn't deserve.

"Right now, he's on punishment for his bad behavior," Ali tells TMZ Sports ... "Right now, he needs to sit down."

"Go fight Tony Ferguson, stay busy, stay active. Go fight Jorge Masvidal. Stay active, I want to see activity. Remember, he used to say that to all of us, guess what? Payback is a bitch."

Obviously, Ali doesn't believe Conor's recent retirement announcement will stick -- he thinks it's just another attention grab.

"Same old prostitute, he wants attention."

Ali says he's unsure if either Khabib or Justin would even give Conor a shot -- but an impressive performance against a guy like Tony Ferguson or Jorge Masvidal would help his case.

Ali also talked about the upcoming UFC 251 main event between his two clients Kamaru Usman and Gilbert Burns -- and how they won't let their friendship stand in the way of a ferocious brawl on Fight Island.

"Best two fighters in the division that's gonna fight. Buy the Pay-per-view and you're gonna find out."

A racist woman in L.A. brought hammers to a face-off with her neighbors -- whose car she proceeded to smash up ... which got her an ass-whooping.

Check out this video that was shot earlier this week in Chatsworth, just outside of central L.A. in the San Fernando Valley. The video picks up with this older white-looking woman using two hammers to bang up the side of her neighbor's sedan. You only see her hit it twice once the camera starts rolling, but if you take a good look along the exterior ... it looks like she went to town on it beforehand.

The woman proceeds to walk toward the neighbors with both hammers in hand, almost as if she's going to attack -- but she stops, and tells them to "get the f*** out of this neighborhood." She then tells 'em to call the cops, but the neighbors are way ahead of her.

While one of the neighbors is heard off-camera talking to an operator describing the situation, this new 'Karen' knocked over their recycling bin with a hammer, and headed back to her stoop. What happened next is wild -- another nearby neighbor came over and manhandled this woman on their own.

The guy who posted these videos -- Edy Perez -- tells us he and his roommates moved into the house next door to this woman early last year ... and says she's been hurling racial epithets at them since day one. He says they never retaliated ... just ignored her.

Fast-forward to Wednesday, and he says his sister heard banging from insider their house ... and low and behold, he says she saw this next-door neighbor of theirs doing this for no reason at all. That's where things get rolling in the clip, and it's all downhill from there.

Now, Edy says this woman was arrested ... but got cut loose the next day due to COVID-19. We checked the L.A. County Sheriff's Office site, and sure enough ... a woman by the same name was in fact arrested that day and cut loose less than 24 hours later.

A 27-year-old African-American man was shot in the back and killed by Atlanta police Friday night, after someone complained he was sleeping in his car at a Wendy's drive-thru.

TMZ obtained video of what went down around 10:30 PM ... cops got a call that the car in which the man was sleeping was blocking other cars in line. The other customers could still pick up their food ... they just had to go around him to the window.

According to the police report, 2 officers tried placing Rayshard Brooks under arrest -- after they say he failed field sobriety testing. In the video, you can see the officers wrestling with Rayshard on the ground for nearly 30 seconds.

When Rayshard stood up, cops say he had taken a taser from one of the officers -- the other cop opened fire with his taser, and Rayshard started running away. Both cops started chasing him from behind ... and within seconds 3 shots were fired at Rayhsard.

He was taken to a hospital where he died during surgery.

Additional details surrounding the shooting are unclear. The GBI said one of the APD officers suffered minor injuries ... he was treated at the hospital and released.

Several bystanders witnessed the incident and were enraged and yelled at the cops moments after the shooting.

This is reportedly the 48th officer-involved shooting the GBI has investigated this year.

A Black Lives Matter protester lifted an injured white, counter-protester up onto his shoulders and carried him to safety ... and the images are striking.

Saturday proved another day of demonstrations in London, with many taking to the streets to decry the death of George Floyd and to support BLM. At the Waterloo train station, they were met by a reported group of far-right counter-protesters ... and things got ugly.

Videos began circulating online of some of the counter-protesters getting whooped on by some of the BLM protesters. Cops were on the scene as well trying to maintain order, but it was mostly utter chaos.

Now, local reports say this guy being carried was one of the dudes on the steps leading up to the Royal Festival Hall. Apparently, he'd suffered some type of head injury before a black man with the BLM crowd stepped in and swooped him up.

He and at least one other protester escorted him through the crowd and whisked him out of the area. It's unclear if the guy received medical attention or not, but him being carried to safety in itself is incredible to see.

A NYC woman had a meltdown after being rightfully called out for not wearing a mask inside, which caused her to start hawking up phlegm ... and it's all on video.

The incident recently went down in Astoria, Queens at a bagel shop called New York City Bagel Coffee House -- and, apparently, one of the customers who was wearing a mask noticed this gal without one while coughing, not covering her mouth ... and going mask-less.

The masked patron suggested to one of the staffers that they enforce a mandatory mask-on policy while inside the building -- and after overhearing her complaint, this woman lost it.

You can see for yourself what exactly she does and how she starts to conduct herself -- but here's a hint ... it's a lot of childish name-calling and then straight up flagrant coughing. It's crazy, 'cause once this woman turns around and sees she's being recorded ... she makes a face that basically says, "S***, I've been caught on camera acting like a jackass."

She sure was, and not only that ... people online are ID'ing her and finding out where she works, etc. The typical 'Karen' treatment if you will, only this is the COVID-19 edition.

But wait, there's more ... according to the woman who was coughed on, the employees didn't do a damn thing and they STILL served this wacko ... supposedly, not even checking on the victim or anything. That left the cough-ee furious and vowing never to return.

New rule (apparently): Where there's a park, there's an angry white woman -- aka "Karen" -- spewing hateful, racist words ... and this winner does her biz in a Southern California park. Meet Torrance "Karen," everyone.

Her tirade went down Wednesday at the Charles H. Wilson Park in Torrance, CA ... because she was pissed a young woman was using a set of stairs to exercise. Now, she claims "Karen" intentionally walked through her workout ... and, as you see in the vid, she said "Jesus" ... which set off "Karen.'

She jumped in headfirst, threatening violence ... "Next time you ever talk to me like that, you're gonna get your ass kicked by my family. They're gonna f**k you up!"

She continued to unload profanities, and then quickly got racial.

"Karen" screamed, "Get the f**k out of this world, get the f**k out of this state, go back to whatever f***ing Asian country you belong in. You little f***ing bitch! This is not your place. This is not your home. We do not want you here!"

The vile woman then tells her to post it on Facebook and threatens more violence, before finally -- and strangely -- laying into her for wearing black clothes in the California sun. Seriously? Pick your beef "Karen!"

The young woman working out told reporters she was in shock over the lady's attack and it's left her shaken and afraid about returning to the park.

Torrance PD is investigating the incident.

Taylor Swift is on a crusade to rid her home state of racist statues honoring "villains" ... and she wants to give them the boot forever.

The singer opened up in a big way Friday, zeroing in on monuments in Nashville celebrating "racist historical figures who did evil things."

Taylor says it makes her sick that men like Edward Carmack and Nathan Bedford Forrest are honored with statues in Tennessee ... she says they are both "despicable" figures who should be remembered and treated as such.

Taylor's first salvo took aim at Carmack's statue, which was sitting inside the state Capitol in Nashville until last week, when Black Lives Matter protesters tore it down.

Tennessee has vowed to replace the toppled statue -- it's part of state law -- but Taylor says it's a waste of state funds and missed opportunity to do the right thing.

Carmack was a state lawmaker and newspaper publisher in the early 1900s, who published editorials against Ida B. Wells. Taylor says he was also a white supremacist.

Next, Taylor turned her ire to NBF -- the Ku Klux Klan's first grand wizard and a confederate general.

Taylor calls his statue, which is still standing, a "monstrosity." She says she's tired of stomaching 'Nathan Bedford Forrest Day' in Tennessee, which until now was observed in the state each July 13.

But, Taylor isn't stopping at just toppling statues ... she says that alone won't "fix centuries of systemic oppression, violence and hatred that black people have had to endure."

Taylor says statues honoring folks who "perpetuated hideous patterns of racism" should be retroactively changed from heroes to villains and removed ... because "villains don't deserve statues."

Taylor's imploring the Capitol Commission and Tennessee Historical Commission to stop fighting to preserve these monuments.

Bottom line for Taylor ... "When you fight to honor racists, you show black Tennesseans and all of their allies where you stand, and you continue this cycle of hurt."

Rep. Eric Swalwell says District Attorneys across the country should not prosecute cops they normally work with on cases -- there are just too many conflicts of interest, perceived and real.

The Congressman from CA joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to talk about the police reform bill Democrats are proposing, and he said the challenges of prosecuting has to be addressed. Swalwell, a former prosecutor himself, says D.A.s and cops are partners who develop bonds over time.

As you know ... the D.A.s in nearly every major city are the ones tasked with investigating officer-involved shootings and police brutality incidents ... like we've seen in Minneapolis, Atlanta and Buffalo.

Swalwell's thought about this problem, and you have to hear his solution. He laid it out for us ... describing a system that would greatly reduce, if not eliminate, all conflict of interests when putting bad cops on trial.

Eric thinks the tide is turning after George Floyd's death, and believes it's time for the country to make major changes and reforms that could go a long way toward ensuring justice for all.

An NFL owner has FINALLY come forward and voiced his support for racial justice ... with Ravens honcho Steve Bisciotti delivering a powerful message alongside his players Friday.

The video -- in which players, staffers and Bisciotti himself talk about the need to end racism -- runs for roughly 10 minutes ... and it's emotional.

Everyone from star QB Lamar Jackson to backup QB Robert Griffin III to kicker Justin Tucker, who's white, delivers messages promoting unity and equality.

But, the most notable is obviously Bisciotti ... who's now become the first owner in the league to step forward and voice his support on video for his players in the fight for racial justice.

"Ask the questions, ask the uncomfortable questions," Bisciotti says. "And you will come to the conclusion -- I hope -- that I have, that you don't feel it enough, and that you don't live it enough if you're not willing to say it: Black Lives Matter."

Bisciotti added in the video, "To say stick to sports is the worst possible thing that you can feel and say."

"If my players, both white and black, don't speak out about this injustice to their communities, then they're considered sellouts or hypocrites. If I don't defend my players, then I'm the worst kind of hypocrite."

Bisciotti's move is a big step for the NFL ... even though Roger Goodell publicly admitted to bungling kneeling protests and vowed to do more to combat racial injustice -- league owners have been widely panned for staying quiet on the issue.

In fact, Richard Sherman just went after Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones for his lack of vocal support on the matter ... saying this week, "his silence speaks volumes."

"It’s not pulling [NFL owners] like it is the rest of the country,” the 49ers cornerback added. "Because if it was, then they’d speak."

DeAndre Hopkins FOR THE WIN!!

The University of Clemson's Board of Trustees voted Friday to remove John C. Calhoun's name from the Honors College immediately, citing his racist pro-slavery beliefs.

Hopkins was a big part of the campaign to get Clemson to change the name -- with the NFL superstar claiming it made him uncomfortable during his time as a Clemson student considering Calhoun's well-documented racist history.

FYI, Calhoun was the Vice President of the United States from 1825 to 1832 and the University sits on land he once owned -- but he was also super racist and was a staunch proponent of slavery.

Well, the Board met and not only voted unanimously to remove Calhoun's name effective immediately ... they're changing names on other University buildings as well.

For example, Tillman Hall -- the school's most famous building -- will also undergo a name change.

Tillman Hall was named after Benjamin Tillman -- a racist former Governor of South Carolina who openly mocked black people and defended lynching.

Tillman Hall will be officially changed to Main Building -- but will likely go by its former nickname, Old Main.

Shout out to DeAndre, Deshaun Watson and all of the students who brought this issue into the light and got real change!!!

Houston Texans head coach Bill O'Brien says he will join his players if they kneel during the national anthem this upcoming season ... saying he's "all for it."

B.O.B. has been one of the more outspoken coaches in sports since George Floyd's death ... and even attended his funeral service earlier this week alongside J.J. Watt.

Not only does O'Brien say he will support his players if they decide to demonstrate against social injustice during the season ... he'll join them by taking a knee.

"Yeah, I’ll take a knee, I’m all for it," O'Brien said, according to the Houston Chronicle.

"The players have a right to protest, a right to be heard and a right to be who they are. They're not taking a knee because they're against our flag. They're taking a knee because they haven't been treated equally in this country for over 400 years."

O'Brien is the first coach to confirm he will take a knee this upcoming season ... but Redskins HC Ron Rivera has also expressed support for protests after Adrian Peterson said he will "without a doubt" kneel.

Starbucks is now saying "my bad," and will allow employees to wear Black Lives Matter attire ... after getting intense backlash for banning it.

The coffee store giant announced Friday morning it's reversing its policy prohibiting workers from wearing anything highlighting the Black Lives Matter movement. And, to take things a step further ... Starbucks will distribute 250k BLM themed t-shirts to its employees.

The move comes just days after Starbucks said it feared employees wearing BLM attire could be misunderstood by customers and incite violence. But, after customers called for a boycott, Starbucks is now saying it hears their employees and supports them standing up for justice.

Starbucks announced, "Together with our Black Partner Network, we've designed a Starbucks t-shirt for every U.S. and Canada partner to express our solidarity during this historic time. Until these arrive, we’ve heard you want to show your support, so just be you. Wear your BLM pin or t-shirt. We are so proud of your passionate support of our common humanity."

It should be noted ... Starbucks hands out pins and special attire to celebrate LGBTQ rights and marriage equality even though there's a policy in place against wearing personal, political or religious attire.

It's not the first time Starbucks has been schooled on racial equality. You'll recall back in 2018 the coffee chain closed its stores for anti-bias training after 2 African-American men got hauled off to jail for hanging out and waiting for a friend inside a Starbucks in Philly.

The incident created an uproar and triggered protests.

The mayor of the nation's capital is calling for Washington's NFL team to finally ax the "Redskins" nickname ... saying it's "past time" to come up with something else.

The name controversy has raged for years -- with U.S. Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez most recently calling out the team and demanding a re-brand.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser spoke about the issue to The Team 980 & 95.9 FM .. and she's siding with AOC.

"I think it’s past time for the team to deal with what offends so many people and this is a great franchise with a great history that’s beloved in Washington," Bowser says. "And it deserves a name that reflects the affection that we’ve built for the team."

Bowser was also asked if the team's name is hurting its chances of getting a new stadium in D.C. ... and she believes it's an "obstacle."

"It’s an obstacle for us locally but is also an obstacle for the federal government who leases the land to us."