Crime

The police chief says there is no bodycam footage and the officer should have been wearing a face covering due to the pandemic, and he's extending an invitation to sit down personally with the man to hash things out.

A Black man was yanked from his family and put in handcuffs in a mall because he matched the description of an alleged credit card fraudster ... but cops had the wrong guy.

This happened Saturday at the Lynnhaven Mall in Virginia Beach, where the guy in question was in the food court with his family when, suddenly, a cop comes up behind him and slaps on cuffs -- seemingly without any explanation other than to say he wants to talk outside.

The man and his wife, who recorded the encounter, were understandably pissed as cops walked him out of the mall in front of several other people -- it amounted to a humiliating perp walk for the man ... who, again, was NOT the guy cops wanted.

Eventually, the officer releases the man ... who's irate. His wife stuck around for an explanation, and it's this -- VBPD got a call about a Black man with dreads wearing all black using stolen credit cards ... who was accompanied by a child wearing red. The real suspect was also driving a black truck, which the wife repeatedly notes they do not own.

Interestingly enough, while the cop explains all this ... the wife pans the camera to her right and sees cops talking to another party with that same matching description. Long story short, the cop here jumped the gun and did apologize.

Too little too late though ... the family is outraged, as they say the whole situation was handled incorrectly -- cops didn't ask questions or assume innocence, and instead treated him as the culprit immediately. As the pissed of man repeatedly yelled at the cops ... this is why people are protesting for Black Lives Matter.

VBPD says it understands the family's anger, and is looking into the incident to see if the officer's actions were warranted -- but also points out he was respectful throughout the incident.

NYC is getting wild when it comes to COVID-19 ... cops raided a club filled with more than 160 patrons who were not wearing masks, in clear violation of the state's COVID-19 restrictions.

The bust went down at around 2:45 AM Sunday in Queens when NYC Sheriff's deputies entered the joint to find the place packed like sardines. According to cops ... the shoulder-to-shoulder partygoers were entering the building through an alleyway.

Making matters worse ... the building is NOT set up to be a club -- so, on top of violating COVID restrictions, the operators were violating fire safety codes and didn't even have a liquor license.

The Sheriff's Dept says 5 people were charged with multiple offenses ... including violation of emergency orders.

In New York, there's a strict mandate prohibiting indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than 10 people who are not living in the same household.

This is not the first time cops in NYC have had to shut down illegal establishments. Cops busted one last month in Midtown Manhattan where nearly 400 people were partying their asses off.

A man in NYC opened fire into a parked car from close range as he walked by on the sidewalk -- and miraculously, the people inside survived his barrage of bullets.

Check out this insane shooting that went down in Brooklyn last weekend, which cops are desperately trying to solve with the public's help. They posted surveillance video of the shooting on their NYPD News account, and asked anyone with info to come forward.

As for what led up to this ... it's not entirely clear. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ this unidentified man seems to unload on the parked Saturn for no apparent reason. Although he fired into the driver's side window, it was only the passenger who ended up getting struck.

Our sources say the female passenger was hit twice in the left arm, and the driver was somehow spared. She was taken to a hospital, where she was treated. The man who walked off like nothing had happened is still at large ... and the NYPD is on the hunt.

We're told there's no known motive at this time ... it appears to have been a random act of violence. That can happen in the Big Apple -- Rick Moranis knows that all too well.

A woman suspected of shoplifting at a grocery store in central California got dragged out by security -- and by that, we mean she was literally yanked across the tile floor like a mop.

This wild incident went down Wednesday at a WinCo in Visalia, CA -- where this woman and a male friend were allegedly caught red-handed trying to make off with some pricey tequila.

What happened next was brutal, according to eyewitnesses who captured some of the mayhem on camera. The woman, 27-year-old Victoria Vargas, was manhandled by the security personnel and literally pulled by the arms out of the store ... all while she screamed.

You can hear the guy recording say it's illegal for them to do that, but the fellas doing the dragging didn't seem to care. The action then went outside, where things got chippy with folks who didn't appreciate how Vargas was being dealt with.

It looks like a couple guys try to jump in and help her fight off the security guards, but security held their ground and kept the woman pinned until cops eventually arrived.

Vargas and her alleged male accomplice were arrested and booked for robbery, conspiracy to commit a crime and a slew of other charges. Unclear if they've posted bond yet.

NBA star Rajon Rondo is being sued by a woman who claims she was cussed out and beat up by Rondo and his girlfriend in a heated parking lot dispute -- and the accuser says she has video of the entire incident.

TMZ Sports has obtained the lawsuit filed by Toktam Jorshari, who claims she lives in the same L.A. apartment building as Rondo's girlfriend.

In her suit, Jorshari claims on July 28, 2020 ... Rondo parked his $300,000 Rolls Royce SUV in a handicapped parking space at the complex, despite the fact the car did not have a handicapped placard.

Jorshari says she had parked in the adjacent parking space to unload a newly purchased table -- inadvertently blocking access to the driver's side door of Rondo's vehicle.

When Rondo saw his car was blocked, he allegedly flew off the handle, according to the lawsuit.

"Bitch, why do you think you can park here?" Rajon allegedly shouted at Jorshari.

Jorshari claims Rondo was wearing a COVID mask at the time of the incident ... but was screaming so angrily, it slipped down under his nose -- causing her to fear for her health and safety.

But, Jorshari says things escalated from there -- and at one point, Rondo "with an extended arm, pushed and shoved [Jorshari] against her vehicle."

Jorshari says the push "was so violent and forceful that [Jorshari's] sandal shoe flew off her foot and her keys which she held in her hand flew out of her hand and broke into two pieces when the key fell onto the ground."

Once she was on the ground, Jorshari claims Rondo's girlfriend "proceeded to repeatedly physically attack [Jorshari] by striking her in the area of her head and upper body."

Jorshari claims she did not fight back -- and insists it was Rondo who gave his GF the "green light" to attack in the first place.

And get this ... Jorshari claims the entire incident was caught on surveillance video in the parking garage -- and she's currently in possession of the videotape.

Jorshari claims she was physically injured in the attack ... with some of the injuries resulting in "permanent disability."

Jorshari is suing both Rondo and his girlfriend for assault and battery, infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy. She's seeking unspecified damages in excess of $1 MILLION.

We've reached out to Rondo for comment, so far no word back yet.

Rondo was a member of the L.A. Lakers at the time of the alleged incident -- but was not inside the NBA Bubble in Orlando because he had left to tend to an injury on his right thumb.

Rondo is now a member of the Atlanta Hawks.

File Under: TOTALLY NOT COOL!!!

Soccer star Reece James was about to bring holiday cheer to a bunch of kids this Christmas season ... until some scumbag broke into his G-Wagon and stole all the toys!!

The 21-year-old Chelsea defender shared the unfortunate event on Instagram ... saying he was participating in a food giveaway with the Felix Project in London when someone smashed the window to his Mercedes and jacked all the presents he was going to donate.

"Unfortunately, I was met with huge disappointment when returning to my car," James said. "During the event, someone felt the need to break in and steal gifts that I was due to go and donate later in the day."

Seriously -- here's a dude doing everything he can to give back to the community during the holidays ... and some Grade-A dirtbag had to ruin it!?!

James added he's sure the culprit will get what's coming to them ... saying, "What goes around comes around."

Shoutout to James for trying to do the right thing.

Joe Exotic's legal team is throwing a Hail Mary in hopes of getting his pardon request in front of Donald Trump before he leaves office -- and they want a judge to force the issue.

The 'Tiger King's' legal team just filed new docs asking a court to compel the Office of the Pardon Attorney -- the wing of the White House that vets pardon requests -- to get Joe's application on Trump's desk for a final decision, as they say only he can make it.

It's kinda technical, but long story short ... Joe's team says they initially filed for a pardon in early September, and also a waiver to be exempt from a rule that says you have to wait 5 years after being convicted before you can ask for a pardon.

Joe was convicted for the murder-to-hire plot against Carole Baskin in 2019 ... so he's very early in his ask.

Joe's lawyers claim that no more than a few days after Joe filed, the Pardon Attorney's office got back to him with a flat-out denial of his request to get that waiver. No explanation was provided, and the decision was final ... according to Joe's team.

They believe Joe's application never went through the normal screening process ... which would have POTUS weigh-in for a final decision, with the Pardon Attorney's recommendation attached for consideration.

In their docs, Joe's team cries foul ... claiming the Pardon Attorney overstepped their authority and tried sweeping Joe's application under the rug due to the 5-year rule. In the docs, the team doesn't explain under what grounds Joe should be exempt, but they want his app pushed through to the Oval.

Remember, Joe's team seemed confident earlier this year they'd be able to get Trump's say-so springing Joe from prison. They'd made a couple trips to D.C. and circled the White House in a huge tour bus.

Alas, sounds like that was all done in vain, because the paperwork never even got to Trump.

Of course, Trump is well aware of Joe Exotic -- since he mentioned him by name in a press conference once -- but it's kinda now or never.

Peruvian cops take their sting operations quite seriously, especially around the holidays, as you can see in this drug bust featuring Saint Nick ... bashing in a door with a hammer!!!

This drug raid in Lima was captured on camera, and it shows 2 Peruvian police officers disguised as Santa and an elf literally busting into the home of a suspected drug dealer in town. Looks like they mighta been right, as they found tons of weed.

Imagine how deep undercover this duo had to go to make this collar. If it required sitting in as a mall Santa for even one day, they deserve medals!

BTW, apparently, this police force has gone undercover before as homeless people and street sweepers. In any case, their latest operation made for a dramatic payoff. It's not everyday ya get to see Santa and an elf hop out of a van, break down and a door ... and leave with a sack full of ganja.

In addition to the marijuana ... cops say they found guns and drug paraphernalia.

Carjacking is a dangerous proposition ... just ask these 2 men who nearly got trampled by a pissed off driver, and it's all on video.

The attempted carjacking went down this month, and you see 2 men on a scooter trying to stop a car as it pulls out of a driveway. One guy pulls something from his waistband and points it at the driver's window and tries to open the door, but the car peels off.

The would-be car jackers give up, and hop on the scooter to try to make a quick getaway, but not before the driver of the car hits the brakes and comes flying down the street in reverse, and smashes into them.

The moment of impact did some heavy damage to the scooter, but the men survived and started running down the street. The car driver must've been seriously pissed off ... because they continued racing after the suspects as they tried to flee.

Machine Gun Kelly will soon be reunited with his stolen purple Aston Martin ... TMZ's learned cops found it almost a week after it had been reported stolen.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... LAPD officers were out on patrol late Sunday night when they spotted the whip -- someone drove it past their patrol car. The officers weren't in position to immediately go after it, but did later search the area and spotted the British sports car.

Our sources say cops found it abandoned in the driveway of a house with the engine running. We're told the suspect, or suspects, were gone by the time cops got there. Good news for MGK ... cops impounded the Aston Martin and say it's still in good shape.

As of Monday, the car's still at the impound lot, but we're sure MGK's anxious for a reunion. This is the same Aston Martin he was seen riding around in with Megan Fox back in May -- so yeah ... good memories!

"Flipping Out" star Jeff Lewis was the one who let it out of the bag last week that MGK's car had been stolen ... claiming on his "Jeff Lewis Live" show on SiriusXM that he got a call from the new owner of his L.A. crib, who is now MGK's neighbor.

The moment a crazed gunman was shot to death on the steps of an NYC church was captured on camera -- and the video is absolutely intense.

NYPD officers rushed to St. John the Divine Cathedral Sunday in Harlem, responding to reports of a guy opening fire into the air at an outdoor concert. Fortunately, nobody was hurt and folks were able to either escape outright or take cover inside the cathedral -- but it quickly led to a tense standoff right out front.

A man across the street recorded the fatal moment the gunman was struck by a bullet, which took him down. Prior to that though, he repeatedly dodged several shots from cops by taking cover behind a pillar at the cathedral's front doors.

You can hear cops demanding he drop his gun and surrender ... and at one point the guy screams "kill me" multiple times. NYPD says he was hit in the head, and later pronounced dead at a hospital.

The gunman was the only reported casualty or injury.

A ton of folks who'd taken shelter inside were safely evacuated -- and you can tell they're all rattled. So far, there's no suspected motive for the attempted shooting ... the only thing cops are saying is he came armed with multiple firearms -- including semi-automatic weapons -- some knives, rope, gasoline, wire and a bible in his backpack.

What happens in Vegas didn't stay in Vegas for this one -- a guy climbed onto an airplane wing, and bopped his head after a hard fall ... only to be met with handcuffs down below.

This went down Saturday at McCarran Airport, where an Alaska Airlines flight that was set to take off for Portland got an unwelcome visitor that prevented it from taking off. It was this dude, who's said to have come out of nowhere -- but somehow made his way onto the wing.

People were amused at first, snapping photos of the guy as he sat out there awkwardly. Eventually cops were called and tried intercepting the guy -- but it was tricky, as officers had to scale the plane themselves and get out there on the wing with him.

The man did not want to go quietly, as you can see ... he avoided the cops and went out even further on the wing tip. Then, he removed his socks and shoes -- tossing them on the runway -- and proceeded to try and clip what little wing there was left to grab.

Long story short ... it didn't end well for this fella. He lost his grip and then tumbled down to the ground, where he hit his head first and then fell limp like a rag doll. Cops didn't hestitate though -- they pounced on him and threw on the cuffs. Reports say he was arrested.

The Las Vegas Metro Police Department also says they believe the guy hopped over a perimeter fence at McCarran and ran rampant onto the grounds. They said he might have mental issues too.

An Ohio couple says they were brutalized by cops during a simple traffic stop for tinted windows, but the Police Chief says there's way more to this story than the video shows.

It went down in Hamersville, when cops stopped a car driven by a young woman who did not have a license. Her aunt, Tammy Hampton, came with her husband Carl to take the car back home. Police Chief Guy Sutton tells TMZ, Tammy was ordered to stay clear of the car the cops stopped but she defied orders. Tammy says she was cuffed, kicked in the legs and told she was being arrested for resisting.

That's when her 65-year-old husband got involved and things got hot. He told cops, "Get your hands off my wife," and things escalated into a wrestling/punching match. The Chief says his officers took Carl to the ground after he got in the face of one of the officers.

The cop pulled a stun gun, and that's when someone screamed Carl just had heart surgery, so the officer backed off. Carl was taken into custody for obstruction and resisting arrest. Carl suffered a black eye and abrasions, but did not need hospitalization.

Tammy and Carl were not taken to jail because of COVID concerns. They were given citations and released.

The youth football coach who smacked a 9-year-old player TWICE will be hit with child abuse charges, prosecutors announced.

"The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office along with our local state attorney’s office have reviewed this case and the decision has been made that charges for child abuse will be filed, regardless of parent’s decision not to press charges," Maj. Jacob Ruiz said.

"The actions of this person are despicable and there is zero-tolerance when it comes to the abuse of a child."

As we first reported, law enforcement already launched a child abuse investigation into Gerrell Williams over the Dec. 7 incident that took place at a youth football event in Kissimmee, Florida.

During the course of the investigation, officers spoke with the victim's mother who said she did NOT want to move forward with criminal charges against Williams.

It can be tough for prosecutors to get a conviction without a cooperating victim -- but in this case, officials feel the video and witnesses will be enough to prove his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Williams was fired from his job as a counselor at the Chatham County Sheriff's Office detention center as a result of his actions in the video.

He later issued a video apology -- in which he admits to smacking the child and says, "I’m gonna apologize for my actions."

A robbery suspect went after residents of the home he was in with a hammer before being shot dead by a responding officer in the nick of time ... and it was captured on body cam.

Police footage of the terrifying Las Vegas incident from the early morning hours Tuesday shows the cop arrive to check out a report of a burglary. The officer says he can see the suspect through a window in the house, then goes to the front door.

The officer tries to get the 2 homeowners -- who are 73 and 76 years old -- to open up quickly to let him in, and thankfully they do ... because a second later the suspect charges with a hammer.

The cop shouts "No!" several times as the suspect tries to attack one of the residents, and as he raises the hammer to strike ... he's shot several times.

He reportedly died at the scene.

The Clark County Coroner has identified the dead man as 40-year-old Nathaniel Sironen. According to police, he broke into the residence armed with the hammer and demanded money and car keys from the homeowners, and told the female resident she was "coming with him."

A police officer stopped a driver and begged him to cooperate, but after a standoff, he unloaded his gun on the suspect ... and this could be a case of suicide by cop.

It happened Tuesday night in Hillsborough County Florida. The officer was trying to serve an arrest warrant on Dylan Scott in a McDonald's parking lot. Scott was wanted on charges of grand theft and resisting arrest.

The officer asks Scott to put his hands up but he refuses. The cop begs Scott, telling him, "I don't want to do this. It's not worth it."

As Scott remains steadfastly uncooperative, the officer tells him if he makes a bad decision it could cost him his life, but still ... Scott refuses to cooperate.

The officer pled with Scott for 4 minutes, to no avail. He begs Scott to put his hands up, repeating he does not "want to do this." It then gets even more tense, when the cop apparently sees Scott reaching for something. He begs him not to, and says "Whatever you've got in your hands, drop it." Scott still refuses, and the officer tells a fellow cop, Scott has a gun.

You then hear a series of shots from the officer's gun. No gun was found in Scott's car.

Scott was taken to the hospital where he died.