Crime & Arrests

Three of the four former Minneapolis cops charged in George Floyd's alleged murder just went in front of a judge for the first time since their arrest.

J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas K. Lane and Tou Thao appeared Thursday in Hennepin County District Court, and the judge set their bail at $1 million for each.

Attorneys for Kueng and Lane tried to shift the blame to Derek Chauvin, noting the 2 officers were rookies and Chauvin was a 19-year veteran. Lane's attorney said his client asked if they should roll Floyd on his side, but claims Chauvin said no. Instead, he kept his knee on Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

The attorney asked the judge, "What was [Lane] supposed to do ... go up to Mr. Chauvin, grab him and throw him off?" He also said that Lane and Kueng had to refer to Chauvin as "sir" ... presumably in deference to his seniority. Lane's attorney also said Lane performed CPR on Floyd inside the ambulance.

The judge said all 3 could post a lower bail amount of $750k each if they agreed to additional bail conditions. A future court date for all three former officers was set for June 29.

As we reported ... Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison charged Kueng, Lane and Thao Wednesday with one count each of aiding and abetting 2nd-degree murder and aiding and abetting 2nd-degree manslaughter.

Chauvin was arrested last week and initially charged by the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office with 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter.

But, the Minnesota AG, who is now heading the investigation and prosecution, filed an additional count of 2nd-degree murder against Chauvin, who is now facing 40 years in prison -- the maximum penalty for 2nd-degree murder.

Chauvin is yet to go before a judge ... and his first court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

The 3 defendants in Ahmaud Arbery's murder will face a judge in a preliminary hearing to determine whether there's enough evidence to move forward with the case ... and TMZ will be streaming live.

The attorneys for Gregory McMichael, Travis McMichael and William "Roddie" Bryan Jr. are slated to appear at Glynn County Magistrate Court in Georgia ... nearly a month after the McMichaels were arrested for murder and denied bond and 13 days after Bryan, who recorded the deadly encounter, was arrested.

The alleged murderers will appear in court via teleconference. All 3 have been charged with murder in the February 23 death of Arbery, who was simply jogging down the street when he was stopped and confronted by the McMichaels. A struggle ensued and Travis shot Arbery. He fell to the ground and died.

Travis and Gregory were arrested for murder May 8. They later faced a judge and were denied bond. Bryan, who recorded the incident, was arrested 14-days later and was slapped with charges of felony murder and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

As we reported ... authorities allege Bryan "did attempt to confine and detain Ahmaud Arbery without legal authority, by attempting to confine ..." adding, Bryan was "utilizing his vehicle on multiple occasions during the above time frame, with the intention of confining and detaining Arbery."

So, the felony is false imprisonment, and if such a felony results in someone's death, that person can be charged with felony murder.

Bryan has claimed he was simply a witness and had no involvement in the killing. He also said he feared for his life after the video was leaked. The handling of the case has drawn scrutiny -- with good reason -- prompting the Georgia Attorney General to formally request the Justice Department get to the bottom of what happened.

We're also told bail may become a bone of contention.

The hearing is set to begin at 6:30 AM PT.

A peaceful protest in Newport Beach over George Floyd's killing was interrupted by a reckless driver in a Mini Cooper rushing through the crowd.

Local news captured the crazy moment as the car sped through the SoCal beach town Wednesday and appeared to come close to plowing into several protesters. The driver did strike a bicyclist, according to reports.

Fortunately, nobody was injured in the incident, and Newport Beach PD caught up with the driver -- a resident of Newport -- and took him into custody. He was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon. He's reportedly cooperating with the investigation, and a police rep says they don't believe this was a deliberate action.

Doesn't make it less scary, though ... and vehicles plowing through crowds during the period of unrest over Floyd's death has become an all-too-common sight.

We've obtained the mugshots of officers Thao, Kueng and Lane ... all 3 are now in custody and have bail set at $1 million.

Attorney General Keith Ellison says the evidence now supports the stronger charge for Chauvin along with the arrests and charges of the other 3 officers.

Ellison asked the public for more patience as they continue to thoroughly investigate and gather evidence, and issued ominous words of caution — winning a conviction "will be hard."

He says history has shown there will be clear challenges in getting guilty verdicts for the cops but pointed out that his partner on the case, Hennepin Co. Atty Mike Freeman is the right man for the job ... he’s the only lawyer in Minnesota to convict a cop of murder.

The AG also asked anyone who has information about Floyd’s death to come forward, and made it clear he will not rush the case to trial ... because he wants everything to be completely ready to go and as strong as possible when they go to court.

The 3 officers who stood by as Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd have all been arrested and charged with crimes, and Chauvin now faces a 2nd-degree murder charge.

As for the 3 officers -- Thomas Lane, J. Alexander Kueng and Tou Thao -- they've all been charged with felonies -- aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter.

It's interesting ... the complaint calls the 2nd-degree murder charge "unintentional while committing a felony." So, they're charging Chauvin on felony murder for the excessive force that led to Floyd's death.  The underlying felony is excessive force and an assault against Floyd.

It's extremely significant because the 3 officers who stood by will be noticed by every other cop in the country. Now, when a cop crosses the line and another cop observes it, that second cop will presumably think twice before just watching and doing nothing.

Chauvin now faces 40 years in prison -- that's the maximum penalty for 2nd-degree murder.

As for the other 3 ... they face 40 years each -- the same punishment for 2nd-degree murder.

Attorney Lee Merritt, who reps the Floyd family along with attorney Ben Crump, tells us the reason he and others have been pushing so hard for the officers involved in Floyd’s death to be held accountable ... is to encourage all cops to start becoming part of the solution to police brutality.

Lee hopes George’s murder case sends a message -- cops need to oppose bad cops in order to be good cops. He says this can be a positive step toward changing a system that’s enabled mistreatment of black people for so long ... and there’s already signs it’s happening.

Meanwhile, Ben Crump calls the upgraded charge for Chauvin and the arrest of the 3 other former officers a "bittersweet moment" for the Floyd family. He says ... "This is a significant step forward on the road to justice" and is providing some peace for George's family in this painful time.

You can clearly see it was more than just Derek Chauvin kneeling on Floyd's body ... with 3 ex-officers total on him at one time.

The independent autopsy at the behest of Floyd's family revealed he died from asphyxia as a result of neck and back compression.

The Atlanta police officers involved in the violent arrest and tasing of 2 black college students who were in their vehicle during protests this weekend are now facing charges ... on the heels of 2 of them losing their jobs.

The Fulton County DA has charged 6 cops for using excessive force during the incident with Messiah Young and Taniyah Pilgrim Saturday night.

Four of the cops have been charged with aggravated assault -- Mark Gardner, for tasing Pilgrim; Ivory Streeter, for tasing Young and pointing a gun at him; Lonnie Hood for using a Taser on Pilgrim and Young; and Willie Sauls for pointing a Taser.

Another officer, Armond Jones, has been charged with aggravated battery for forcefully throwing Young down on the street and pointing a gun at him. The sixth officer, Roland Claud, is charged with criminal damage to property ... the couples' car.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms fired both Gardner and Streeter almost immediately after learning of the incident, and the other 4 were placed on desk duty.

The students claim they were out getting food when they got caught in traffic and the chaos around them. They later spoke about the scary ordeal, saying they felt lucky to be alive ... and demanded change so similar incidents stop happening.

The mother of George Floyd's daughter is coming to grips with the fact he's going to miss every milestone in their child's life ... and it's heart wrenching to see.

Roxie Washington had tears streaming down her face Tuesday as she stood alongside 6-year-old Gianna at Minneapolis City Hall. Through her sobs, Roxie hammered home the point ... Gianna's father was taken away from her abruptly and brutally.

Referring to Derek Chauvin, and the 3 other ex-cops as yet uncharged ... Roxie said they all get to go home and be with their families, but Gianna will never again go home to her father.

Roxie really broke down when she talked about George never getting to see Gianna grow up, graduate and walk down a wedding aisle.

You can see, feel and hear how the loss is taking a toll on George's loved ones ... and Roxie is still wondering why some of the others have not been arrested and charged.

You'll recall, George's younger brother, Terrence, was in Minneapolis Monday, calling for peace and an end to the riots and looting -- and earlier today, hundreds of Houstonians rallied for George who was from there.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights has filed a complaint against the Minneapolis PD in the wake of George Floyd's killing.

Governor Tim Walz announced the launch of the civil rights investigation, which will look into last week's incident involving the 4 officers who arrested Floyd ... in which one of them, Derek Chauvin, pressed his knee on George's neck for nearly 9 minutes, and long after he became unresponsive.

All 4 officers have been fired and Chauvin's been arrested and charged with third-degree murder ... but the other ex-cops have not been charged yet.

The investigation will not only focus on the Floyd incident, though. Gov. Walz says it will examine the practices, policies and patterns of the department over the past 10 years to determine if police have engaged in systemic violations of human and civil rights.

Here's Chauvin's mug shot after getting transferred to Minnesota's only Level Five maximum-security prison.

Derek Chauvin -- the former Minneapolis PD officer charged with the murder of George Floyd -- has a new jail cell for now ... he's been transferred to a maximum-security prison.

Chauvin's been sent to the Minnesota Correctional Facility-Oak Park Heights near the city of Stillwater, after spending part of Sunday at the Hennepin County Jail. It's protocol for inmates to get new mug shots when they're transferred.

The ex-cop was originally held at the Ramsey County Jail after being arrested Friday and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter in Floyd's death.

According to the Department of Corrections ... the Oak Park Heights prison is the highest custody level in Minnesota's system, and several inmates -- like Chauvin -- need a higher level of security.

DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell says this kind of transfer is not uncommon -- the same thing happened when former Minneapolis cop, Mohamed Noor, was taken into custody in the killing of Justine Damond -- and it was requested by the Hennepin County Sheriff.

Chauvin was one of 4 officers fired over Floyd's death, but so far he's the only one arrested and charged. Chauvin was the cop who pressed his knee on Floyd's neck for close to 9 minutes ... including more than 2 minutes after Floyd was unresponsive.

Still, there's outrage that the other cops have still not being arrested. The entire incident -- along with other cases of black people being unjustly killed -- has incited several straight days of protests, riots, looting, violence and destruction across several major cities in the U.S.

Faith Evans has found herself in some legal trouble ... 'cause we've learned the singer was arrested after allegedly attacking Stevie J.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... Faith was arrested earlier this week at around 1 AM after cops got called to their L.A.-area home. We're told Faith and Stevie got into a heated argument, and at some point, it turned violent.

Our sources say when cops showed up they noticed visible marks and scratches on Stevie's face. It's unclear what triggered the argument. But, in any event ... cops arrested Faith and booked her for felony domestic violence. Faith bonded out later that day.

The arrest comes nearly a year after the couple desperately tried to downplay rumors their marriage was in trouble. As we first reported ... there was palpable tension after our camera guy got the couple leaving the Essence Festival in New Orleans.

Our guy asked them if there's trouble in paradise after Faith and Stevie unfollowed each other on social media ... not to mention Stevie's cryptic string of tweets from, "Drunk people always speak their truth," and "Ones insecurities can damage them" to "All that glitters ain't gold" and "Cherish what you love just know nothing will last forever."

Joe Exotic's meteoric rise from farm boy to 'Tiger King' fame is all laid out in an upcoming comic book ... and TMZ has the first look at Joe's origin story and its special edition cover.

TMZ obtained a couple pages from Michael Frizell and TidalWave Production's new project, "Infamous Tiger King," which hits the shelves at the end of June, and it's pretty wild.

The graphic novel (AKA serious comic book) picks up where 'Tiger King' left off, with Joe behind bars and Jeff Lowe running the zoo ... and it depicts Joe as a larger-than-life character as it dives into his crazy journey from rural Kansas to pop culture icon.

Joe's nemesis, big cat animal rescuer Carole Baskin, even graces one of the covers alongside him ... and another features a tiger wearing a crown and Joe's signature earrings.

L.A. Chargers LB Kyzir White is accused of driving like a maniac earlier this year ... and now, he's officially facing a charge of reckless driving over the incident, TMZ Sports has learned.

According to court docs, 24-year-old White was stopped in Orange County, Calif. back on March 14. Specific details of what went down during the stop are still unclear -- we're working on it.

But, in the docs, prosecutors claim White was going 100 MPH ... and also made an unsafe turning movement while on the road.

White was officially charged shortly after the incident with one misdemeanor count of reckless driving -- which carries a maximum of 90 days in jail and a fine if convicted.

Court records show White was also hit with speeding and "unsafe turn or lane change" infractions.

We've reached out to White's camp for comment ... but so far, no word back, yet.

White was a fourth-round pick by the Chargers in the 2018 NFL Draft ... and he's started 10 games for the team since.

Derek Chauvin, accused murderer of George Floyd, has a camera focused on him round-the-clock, and cops check on his cell regularly -- all the hallmarks of a suicide watch.

A source at Ramsey County Jail in St. Paul, MN -- where Chauvin is detained -- tells TMZ, he was brought in late afternoon Friday, and didn't make eye contact with anyone upon his arrival ... before beginning the check-in process.

We're told Chauvin was put through an unclothed body search to look for any hidden contraband. Then, he put on a jail uniform and they led him off to a single cell in a special wing of the facility for high-profile cases.

For now, our source says Chauvin is in isolation and being watched constantly. There's a camera in his cell watching him 24/7, as well as guards monitoring the feed 24/7. On top of that, he's getting checked on in-person every 15 minutes.

While our source wouldn't use the term suicide watch to characterize Chauvin's circumstances -- other law enforcement sources tell us, yes, that's effectively what's happening at the jail.

That's not to say officers there believe Chauvin is suicidal, per se -- we're told the 15-minute checks are standard for that section of the jail ... but in the same breath, our sources say they want to make sure nothing happens to him while he's in custody.

Our source says Chauvin will be in his cell 23 hours a day -- with one hour of rec time in an enclosed area. He has access to books, pencils and paper -- not much else. He's also got a bed bolted to the floor with a pillow sewn to it.

We're told, as of Friday, the jail staff was unaware of any threats against Chauvin's life. He faces 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter charges for kneeling on George's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds.

Although George Floyd's alleged murderer's been arrested, his family still might not see justice served ... according to Eric Garner's mother, who's been down this very road.

Gwen Carr tells TMZ ... she has her doubts about the system working in Floyd's favor, because she went through this nightmare when her son was choked to death during his 2014 NYC arrest.

Gwen says the cops involved in George's killing absolutely deserve to be held accountable, but she's warning Floyd's family not to bank on it, because she sees it as a roll of the dice in these cases.

Eric's mother tells us she's pleased Derek Chauvin -- the fired cop who pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds -- has been charged with murder. However, she also believes Minneapolis police were playing politics when they fired and arrested Chauvin.

Gwen says more needs to be done to stop the widespread riots, and while she's not promoting or condoning the violence, she tells us she understands folks' frustrations all too well. She's been there.

As you know ... the footage of Eric's death infamously captured his final words, "I can't breathe."

His mom says she thought it was a slam dunk the involved officers would be charged with murder because her son was killed on camera -- but only one cop was ever arrested, and all charges were eventually dropped.

Eric's daughter, Emerald Garner, tells TMZ ... police would think twice about killing unarmed black people if there were laws specifically for cops involved in incidents like Garner's and Floyd's.

Eric's mother added some friendly advice for the Floyd family -- she's encouraging them to not sit on the sidelines and let law enforcement handle the case.

Gwen says, in her experience, George's loved ones must speak out to anyone who will lend an ear -- especially lawmakers -- and adds they should not be discouraged by the uphill battle they're already facing.

George Floyd had the weight of 3 full-grown men on him -- not just Derek Chauvin on his neck -- when he was killed ... as a new angle of the deadly incident reveals.

The video, obtained by NBC News, is from the opposite side of the street from the original video ... so, for the first time, we can see the other 2 now ex-officers, who not only subdued him in handcuffs ... but kept him pinned down for more than 8 minutes.

Throughout the 16 seconds of video, you can hear George saying he can't breathe and begging, "Please let me stand."

In the horrific original video, we only saw Chauvin with his knee on George's neck. This new clip was shot sometime earlier.

As we reported, Chauvin maintained his knee on George's neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds ... according to the criminal complaint. Also, for 2 minutes and 53 seconds of that time, the 46-year-old man was non-responsive.

The complaint also says one of the other 2 officers, seen in this new video on George's back and legs, suggested they flip him on his side when he said he couldn't breathe.

Chauvin's mugshot has just been released.

Former Minnesota police officer Derek Chauvin has been charged with 3rd-degree murder and 2nd-degree manslaughter, and according to the complaint he created "an unreasonable risk and taking a chance of causing death or great bodily harm to George Floyd."

The D.A. announced the charges Friday and said Chauvin is in custody, but the other 3 officers are still under investigation and no charges have been filed ... at least not yet.

According to the complaint, an officer approached George Floyd's car and ordered him out at gunpoint, claiming he passed counterfeit currency. Once Floyd put his hands on the steering wheel, the cop holstered his gun.

The complaint says George "actively resisted being handcuffed." Once in cuffs, however, he became compliant, according to the complaint.

The complaint is based, in part, on the various body cam videos the D.A. reviewed. Cops told George he was being arrested for passing bogus money, and then walked him across the street to a squad car, where George "stiffened up, fell to the ground, and told the officers he was claustrophobic."

At that point, according to the complaint, Chauvin arrives on scene in his squad car. According to the complaint, cops made several attempts to get George in the back of the squad car, but he would not voluntarily go and struggled.

While standing outside the car, George repeatedly said he could not breathe. This is before Chauvin put his knee on George's neck.

At 8:19 PM, Chauvin pulled George out of the squad car and Floyd went to the ground, handcuffed. There are 2 other officers on George's back and legs -- you can't see them in the video, but this is the moment when Chauvin placed his left knee on George's neck.

George keeps saying, "I can't breathe" and "Mama" and "please." The officers said to George, "You are talking fine." One of the other officers said, "Should we roll him on his side?" and Chauvin replied, "No, staying put where we got him."

Another officer said, "I am worried about excited delirium or whatever." Chauvin said, "That's why we have him on his stomach."

At 8:24 PM, George stopped moving, and at 8:25 PM video appears to show him cease breathing or speaking.

At this point, another officer checks George's wrist for a pulse and says, "I couldn't find one." None of the officers moved from their position. At 8:27 Chauvin finally removed his knee. In all, Chauvin had his knee on George's neck for 8 minutes, 46 seconds ... 2 minutes, 53 seconds of that was AFTER GEORGE BECAME UNRESPONSIVE.

According to the complaint, "Police are trained that this type of restraint with a subject in a prone position is inherently dangerous."

The autopsy says George had underlying medical conditions, including coronary artery disease and hypertensive heart disease. The M.E. said, "The combined effects of Mr. Floyd being restrained by the police, his underlying health conditions and any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death." These are preliminary findings pending toxicology tests.

The M.E. does say there were no "physical findings to support diagnosis of traumatic asphyxia or strangulation."

The 3rd-degree murder charge carries a max sentence of 25 years.

Music producer David Jassy says a magical thing happened while producing a mixtape inside San Quentin State Prison -- rival gang members found common ground in their love for music.

The award-winning producer, and formerly incarcerated man at San Quentin, joined us Friday on "TMZ Live" to download us on his groundbreaking achievement, a 17-track mixtape written, recorded and produced inside one of America's most notorious prisons.

David says the project, dubbed "San Quentin Mixtape, Vol. 1," quickly brought together members from rival sets within the highly-segregated prison.

When he started making beats on a keyboard inside his cell, David says he noticed inmates from different gangs congregating outside -- a super rare occurrence for any prison, let alone San Quentin.

David seized on the opportunity and ran with it ... pairing rival gang members on the same tracks to further boost camaraderie and ease years of tensions.

In the end, David managed to get 17 different inmates to rap about their struggles behind bars without using profanity, while teaching them the ins and outs of the music industry, production and artistry.

The end result goes way beyond creating a record -- as David told us the inmates learned valuable skills they can use in the future. In other words ... true prison reform.

The mixtape dropped Friday on all streaming platforms ... and as we first reported, David already got a huge shout-out from Kim Kardashian, who had visited him at San Quentin before Governor Gavin Newsom commuted his sentence just a couple months ago.