Police

A report says the 5 officers involved -- Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr. and Justin Smith -- have been booked into the Shelby County Jail. The charges have not yet been announced.

Answers about Tyre Nichols' death are coming ... Memphis PD says it's preparing to release the graphic body cam footage of the 29-year-old Black man's arrest.

Police Chief Cerelyn Davis updated the public Wednesday night, saying the clip will be released "in the coming days" ... and promising her department will provide full cooperation to investigators surrounding the horrific incident.

She also says she's expecting protests to occur, but asks the community to keep each other safe in the process.

As you know, Nichols' death has sparked outrage across the country after getting pulled over on January 7 for reckless driving in Memphis -- allegedly running away from police on foot, and eventually getting apprehended.

Memphis PD says Nichols started complaining about shortness of breath during his arrest, which is when an ambulance was called -- and he was rushed to St. Francis Hospital, where he passed away 3 days later.

A gruesome image from inside the hospital was released by Nichols' stepfather this week, showing blood on his face and a severely swollen eye. His mother also says he was hooked up to a breathing machine.

Nichols' family, as well as attorney Ben Crump and his legal team, reviewed the body cam footage privately -- with Crump calling it "appalling" and "heinous."

Another attorney in Crump's firm referred to Nichols as "a human piñata for those police officers."

MPD has since fired the 5 officers involved in the arrest of Nichols, saying they violated "multiple department policies, including excessive use of force, duty to intervene, and duty to render aid."

Britney Spears was anything but thrilled to have sheriff’s deputies knocking at her door close to midnight … all thanks to some fans who thought their favorite singer may be in danger.

Sources connected to Spears tell us Brit was left “annoyed” after the unexpected visit. We’re told she understands how deeply her fans care about her and her well-being, so she wasn’t totally surprised things escalated to law enforcement’s involvement … but nonetheless, it was an inconvenience.

TMZ broke the story, deputies from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office paid Britney a visit at her Thousand Oaks home Tuesday night around 11PM to perform a welfare check.

Law enforcement sources told us they received several calls from fans who became concerned for Britney’s safety after she deleted her Instagram account.

We should note, Britney has deleted her IG several times before and our sources say she did it again, this time without a real reason … sometimes, she just feels like it.

The incident comes just days after Britney announced she was changing her name to River Red on IG.

TMZ broke the story, Britney and her husband, Sam Asghari, recently hit Joey in Woodland Hills for dinner — but the evening went awry — witnesses tell us Britney was acting “manic” to the point of Sam leaving.

Video, obtained by TMZ, showed the singer alone at the couple’s table and rambling incoherently.

Sam has since claimed he only left to get the couple’s car.

Dennis Schroder's Wednesday night went from awesome to pretty crappy real quick ... 'cause just after the Lakers point guard helped his team beat the Spurs -- a vehicle he was riding in was stopped by cops in Hollywood.

Cops tell TMZ Sports ... it all went down at around midnight, just a couple hours after the Lakers game had ended. According to an LAPD spokesperson, the stop was initiated after the vehicle allegedly had improper plates.

Video from the scene shows cops spoke with Schroder and what appeared to be his driver for about half an hour after pulling over the ride at a gas station.

It all seemed cordial, according to videos of the interaction ... with Schroder, at times, sporting a big smile on his face.

"I don't know what happened," the 29-year-old told a camera person during the stop. "I'm still surprised."

The LAPD says someone received a citation for improper plates during the stop, though it's unclear who the alleged violator was. Video shows Schroder was allowed to leave the scene without any issue.

Schroder's night had been going very well up until the pullover -- he played 37 minutes in the Lakers' win over San Antonio at Crypto.com Arena, logging nine points, eight rebounds, five assists, four steals and two blocks.

Matt Barnes spit on his fiancee's ex during a heated altercation at the Cowboys vs. 49ers game on Sunday -- video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows -- but the former NBA champ claims the man started it all, threatening him and shoving him.

The incident happened at around 3:40 PM just before the playoff contest began at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara ... when Barnes encountered his fiancee's former husband, David Patterson Jr., in a concourse at the venue.

In the footage, you can see Barnes sprayed the man with spit -- before he later got in the guy's face.

The clip shows the two exchanged words and got in a bit of a wrestling match -- before, thankfully, they separated and walked off in different directions.

According to an application for a temporary civil restraining order filed by Barnes in L.A. County court two days after the incident, the NBA star alleges Patterson Jr. was the aggressor in the situation.

In the court documents, Barnes says Patterson Jr. "hunted me down and aggressively confronted me." He said the 37-year-old yelled profanities and threats at him, called him names, and incited the crowd around them "into a frenzy by yelling out my full name repeatedly."

Barnes added that Patterson Jr. eventually "shoved me, and I was forced to push him off of me." He continued, "I did not want the altercation to physically escalate further, and out of frustration with him seeking me out and his unrelenting repeated harassment I spit in his direction in disgust."

Cops tell us they were called to the scene to investigate an allegation of battery -- where they say the alleged victim ID'ed 42-year-old Barnes as the suspect. They said an investigation into the case remains ongoing.

As for Barnes' request for the TRO, he says Patterson Jr. has been terrorizing him for months -- believing the man "is jealous of my relationship with his ex-wife." He said at one point in 2022, Patterson Jr. threatened to shoot him with his gun. He's asking the court to restrict Patterson Jr. from coming within 100 yards of him.

Barnes, who played three seasons in the Bay Area with the Golden State Warriors in his NBA career, appeared to go on with his Sunday night without further incident ... seeming to be in great spirits as he watched the game from suite seats.

Britney Spears' fans believed something was seriously wrong with the singer after her Instagram account disappeared ... calling the cops to her home to see if she was in danger.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Britney deleted her Instagram account -- something she's done many times -- at some point within the last 12 hours. For whatever reason, fans became alarmed, believing the deleted account meant Britney was in trouble ... and called the Ventura Co. Sheriff's Office.

Deputies from the sheriff's office then went out to Britney's home and determined there was no reason to believe she was in danger. It's unclear if they spoke to Britney directly, or if someone else assured them she was OK.

The incident comes less than two weeks from when Britney was spotted at a local restaurant where witnesses tell us she became "manic," frustrating her husband, Sam Asghari, to the point of getting up and leaving. Video, obtained by TMZ, showed Spears babbling nonsense at the table.

As we reported, Britney recently changed her name on her Instagram account to River Red, posting a video dancing and announcing, "I changed my name to River Red" ... and including, "don't underestimate the power of purity."

TMZ broke the story, Britney recently started showing her Calabasas home off-market to potential buyers. She only bought the home last year -- but we're told she was never really a fan of the place -- buying it for $11.8 million and now selling it for $12 million.

The welfare check was conducted at the home she's lived in for years in Thousand Oaks.

Rick Ross has a ton of cars in his collection, but one he won't add is a Tesla … as he believes the electric whips are nothing but entrapment on wheels!!!

Rozay explained his anti-Tesla stance Tuesday while speaking to fans on Instagram … the rapper believes the U.S. government can tap into the cars at any given time and in his case, haul him off to jail for questioning!!! 😂

He then hilariously paints the picture of being at one of his Wingstop franchises when his Tesla is overpowered ... and redirected toward the precinct where an agent awaits.

Lawmaking officials may not have a habit of jailbreaking everyday citizens’ Teslas, but Rozay doesn’t have to settle for the trend.

Angry Drake fans are calling out the NYPD for what felt like electronic surveillance at his sold-out Apollo Theater show -- and after a clip of officers recording ticketholders went viral, the cops say it's not what it seems.

NYPD law enforcement sources tell TMZ Hip Hop the video shows officers outside the Apollo recording concertgoers as they exited the theater. We're told that video was shot for a social media post to show how police work with venue security to keep concerts safe for fans.

For angry fans, it felt like blatant profiling and surveillance intended to capture and save images of Drake's fans -- but NYPD's scoffing at that notion. Our sources say the community affairs officers seen with the video cameras are not affiliated with the detective bureau, and do not investigate serious crimes.

There are also dozens of city surveillance cameras around the Apollo ... and the whole city, for that matter. The reality of life in the 21st century is we're all being recorded throughout the day without ever knowing it.

Drake was uptown for 2 nights, and inside the venue, a brief but tense moment occurred during the second show when a fan fell over the mezzanine balcony ... onto the crowd below.

The show was briefly paused for about 15 minutes when a spokesperson announced the fan wasn't terribly injured, and that the show would go on.

Hometown heroes Cam'ron, Jim Jones and Juelz Santana of Dipset were brought out and a tour with his "Her Loss" costar 21 Savage was teased.

Multiple first responders rushed to Pensacola Beach earlier this month to tend to Peyton Hillis after the former NFL star nearly drowned while trying to save his children ... new police video, obtained by TMZ Sports, shows.

In the footage, captured on an Escambia County Sheriff's deputy's body camera, you can see Hillis was in bad shape on the Florida sand after he was pulled from the water on Jan. 4.

The ex-Cleveland Browns running back, who did not have a shirt on, appeared to be breathing heavily ... and seemed to be in a great deal of pain.

But, at least four medics on the scene provided him aid ... administering an IV while checking his vitals.

At one point, they even helped him roll over on his side to make him more comfortable -- while providing a beach towel as a pillow. They also urged him to keep talking in an effort to make sure his condition wasn't worsening.

They eventually got the 36-year-old off the beach and into a helicopter ... which flew him to a nearby medical facility for treatment.

Hillis' initial prognosis wasn't good -- his uncle said in a Facebook post he suffered damage to his lungs and kidneys in the swimming accident -- but, thankfully, his longtime girlfriend said last week he had a breakthrough and was "on the road to recovery."

Hillis now seems to be in far better condition -- he was just seen smiling in his hospital bed on Thursday after Dallas Cowboys legend Emmitt Smith popped by his room for a visit.

Lil Tjay is turning his recent run-in with NYPD into artistic content ... splicing footage of the arrest into the music video for his new single, "Clutchin My Strap."

The new track finds Tjay detailing his PTSD from being shot last summer, and how he and his crew will mob with guns going forward!!!

In addition to clips of the arrest, director JLShotThat mixes clips of concert performances with scenes of Tjay making gun hand signals to drive home his point!!!

The Trench Kid relives the June 2022 shooting with cinematic flair, rapping on the track, "Whаt уоu dіd tо mе І tооk ѕеvеn, уоu tооk thrее/Вut thеѕе flеѕh wоundѕ bеttеr thаn а bullеt tо thе ѕkі/Аllеgеdlу, ’саuѕе І dоn’t еvеn rеаllу knоw whаt hарреnеd І’m јuѕt rарріn’, but І bеt І’m ’bоut thаt асtіоn."

That notion to arm oneself illegally is allegedly what derailed Tjay's attempt at a video collab with Ice Spice earlier this week.

TMZ Hip Hop broke the story ... Tjay's attorney Dawn Florio thinks the rapper was subjected to an illegal search on January 15 when he and several others were arrested for gun possession ahead of the video shoot with Ice Spice.

He's since posted bond and is back to updating streaming services with more music about blickies and being loaded on drugs.

Joe Exotic is speaking out about his alleged 2020 beatdown at the hands of 8 correction officers in an Oklahoma jail.

The "Tiger King" star released a new audio clip on Twitter, explaining what allegedly happened to him -- in grisly detail -- during an apparent phone convo from behind bars. The clip is from the "Lauren Interviews" podcast.

Joe angrily says, "They beat the f*** out of me, 8 guards, tied me to a chair butt naked, put me in a shower so long that I blacked out and I woke up with skin off my arms from the straps."

As we reported, Joe claimed in court docs that he was sexually assaulted while tied to a chair and beaten by jail guards with his arm flesh removed. Joe was petitioning-then President Donald Trump to pardon him in 2020 after he was convicted and sentenced to 21 years in prison.

The alleged assault occurred at the Grady County Jail in Oklahoma, where Joe was being held during his federal murder-for-hire trial. At the time, a rep for the jail declined to comment, but a law enforcement source told us Joe made the whole thing up ... correction officials found no proof of an attack on any of the facility's recorded cameras.

Local law enforcement made contact with Kevin Nash after he hinted at having suicidal thoughts earlier this week ... and thankfully, the WWE legend stated he has no plans to harm himself.

The Volusia County Sheriff's Office in Florida tells TMZ Sports ... deputies reached out to 63-year-old Nash following the comments he made about his son's death on the 'Kliq This' podcast.

We're told Kevin explained to the VCSO that he has no intention to act on what he said ... and he was seemingly doing okay when they checked on him in person.

As we previously reported, Kevin spoke about 26-year-old Tristen's passing on Monday ... and his remarks were troubling.

"Today is week 12 that I lost my boy," Nash said. "Time flies when you got a gun in your mouth. I mean -- time flies when you're having fun."

Sean Oliver, Nash's cohost on the show, warned the WWE Hall of Famer not to joke around like that, especially since he owns guns.

However, Nash defiantly told Sean, "I can do whatever the f*** I wanna do. Long as I leave a note."

The conversation then switched to how Kevin has been coping with Tristen's loss ... and how it's been an uphill battle for the pro wrestling legend.

Nash's comments sparked concern throughout the wrestling community ... with fans flooding social media with support for him.

The feds finding Carole Baskin's first husband alive is all the buzz on the internet -- but that would be news to local authorities, who tell TMZ they haven't heard from the feds, and still consider Don Lewis missing.

Here's the deal ... Twitter users started chirping Wednesday when a lot of them discovered -- for the first time, apparently -- a 2021 interview with Carole about an alleged report the Dept. of Homeland Security found Lewis living in Costa Rica. The purported DHS report came to light during the second season of "Tiger King."

Like we said, Carole already spoke about it, and we reported on it too ... but for some reason, everyone seems to think the mystery was solved 2 years ago. It really wasn't.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office -- which is in charge of Don's missing person's case -- tells TMZ its had no communication with federal officials to suggest they've located Don Lewis. Obviously, the FBI would've shared that info, so as far as the Sheriff's Office is concerned, nothing's changed -- Lewis is still a missing person, and the case remains a priority for HCSO.

It's also worth noting .... as a legal matter, Don's been presumed dead since 2002. And of course, Joe Exotic sees it that way too.

Joe's attorney, John Phillips says the 'TK2' doc and Carole's ITV interview don't make a difference in their minds about her alleged involvement in DL's disappearance ... adding the doc was floated as having veracity, when it doesn't at all. He also insists Joe will be vindicated in due time.

As for Carole, she reiterates what she told us back in 2021 ... which is that she does not know if the alleged DHS doc 'TK2' producers showed her is real. She's always maintained she had nothing to do with his disappearance, or possible death.

Julian Sands, a British actor with dozens of movie and TV credits over four decades in Hollywood, is missing ... and he was last seen hiking a mountain outside Los Angeles.

Law enforcement identified Julian as the missing hiker who vanished after going for a hike in the Mt. Baldy area, which is currently blanketed in snow and ice.

Search efforts are underway to find Julian, but severe winter weather on the mountain is making it difficult for rescue teams.

Julian's family reported him missing Friday, but he wasn't publicly identified as the missing hiker until Wednesday -- several inches of snow fell on the mountain since he disappeared.

The 65-year-old was born in England but now calls North Hollywood home ... and his acting career dates back to the 1980s, with appearances in movies like "A Room With a View," "Arachnophobia," "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Warlock."

Julian was also on episodes of "Dexter" and "Smallville" ... and he had a role in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo."

Police investigating the Idaho quadruple murder say they found a "possible animal hair strand" inside alleged killer Bryan Kohberger's home, and cops think it could be a direct connect to the site of the slayings.

A search warrant for Kohberger's home, obtained by TMZ, says police seized several other notable items from the raid ... including items with dark red and brown stains.

The search warrant notes there was a significant amount of blood spilled in the murder house, with investigators saying they believe the killer would have blood evidence on their body or clothing.

Police were looking for trace evidence of blood stains in Kohberger's apartment, and the docs say there was a pillow with a "reddish/brown stain" and an item with a "collection of dark red" spotting.

The hair strand could be huge -- there was a dog in the students' home at the time of the murders, and the killer spared the pooch. According to the docs, cops went looking for hair at Kohberger's apartment, and found the possible animal hair ... as well as strands from humans.

The docs say a dog was heard barking at 4:17 AM the night of the murders ... the dog, Murphy, belonged to victim Kaylee Goncalves, and was found unharmed in her room.

Other items seized from Kohberger's place ... a computer tower, a disposable glove, mattress covers, receipts and a vacuum cleaner's dust container.

The docs say cops also searched Kohberger's office at Washington State University, where he was a graduate student studying criminology, but police didn't seize anything.

While cops say they found Kohberger's DNA on a knife sheath found inside the murder house ... the actual knife was not found in the search of Kohberger's home, or anywhere else for that matter.

Police are investigating a pretty horrifying clip of cops pummeling a woman ... and we're told it all started after a complaint about lack of cheese on a Big Mac.

In the vid, you can see 2 officers attempting to detain Latinka Hancock Monday in Butler Township, Ohio. After some arguing, you can see one of the cops punch her in the head multiple times before getting the cuffs on her.

Police now say they're looking into the incident caught on camera.

Hancock's attorney Michael Wright of Wright & Schulte tells TMZ ... it all went down after Hancock ordered and paid for a Big Mac at McDonald's with extra cheese -- but she claims the order didn't come with the extra cheese.

Wright says employees ended up calling the cops on Hancock after things got heated ... and insists she was confronted by Butler Township PD after trying to leave.

Multiple gunshots rang out at the end of a high school basketball game in Oklahoma on Tuesday ... sending fans scrambling for their lives -- and the horrifying incident was all captured on video.

It happened at Del City H.S. after the school's boy's basketball team beat Millwood High, 62-58.

In a broadcast of the game, you can see as fans were leaving John Smith Fieldhouse ... two shots went off, causing chaos in the gym.

Spectators immediately bolted for cover ... as the broadcasters of the game threw their stream to commercial break, and then ducked underneath the scorer's table to cover themselves.

DCHS Principal Steve Gilliland said in a statement following the contest that a gun was fired after a fight had occurred at the conclusion of the game.

"The Del City Police Department is onsite and investigating the incident," Gilliland said.

One adult male was shot, police told KOCO ABC 5 News, and taken to the hospital. His condition is currently unknown.

Cops told TMZ Sports on Wednesday they hadn't received any reports of students who were injured in the incident. No arrests have been made ... and an investigation remains ongoing.