Police

Some L.A. County Sheriff's Deputies shared photos of the scene where Kobe Bryant, his daughter, Gigi, and 7 others lost their lives ... and the photos included remains from the gruesome aftermath ... TMZ has confirmed.

It's not clear who took the photos, but it was being talked about by first responders just 2 days after the crash, this according to the L.A. Times.

And, according to the report, at least one L.A. County Sheriff's official had the photos on his cell phone "in a setting that had nothing to do with the investigation."

The report does not say who took the photos and how many deputies and officials at the Sheriff's Dept. saw or shared the photos.

The Sheriff's Dept. contacted families of all of the victims Wednesday ... an official told The Times the reason for contacting them was not because of the allegation but rather because there was a media inquiry over the allegation.

The Sheriff's Department would only say, "The matter is being looked into."

Who ya gonna call? The Ghostbusters ain't in L.A. yet, so instead the Sheriff's Dept. is on the job, searching for a hearse, fully-loaded -- if ya get our drift -- that was stolen from a church.

Yeah, someone boarded the Hell Express and jacked a black Lincoln Navigator Wednesday night from outside a Greek Orthodox church in Pasadena ... according to cops. The luxury ride was carrying a casket containing a deceased woman who was going to be delivered to a different location.

The theft strikes even L.A. cops as especially bizarre ... or macabre.

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department tweeted a helpful hint to the suspect, saying ... "Out of all the bad decisions you have made, at least make one good one & bring back the deceased person & casket inside the Navigator."

If you're in SoCal, the Navigator hearse has the California license plate 7ZDG618.

Look for flames too. If the Sheriff doesn't catch 'em, we're thinking Satan will.

Cedric The Entertainer says the cop who arrested a 6-year-old girl over a school tantrum did more damage than he may realize -- because the kid's probably scarred for life.

We ran into the comedian Wednesday at LAX and asked him to weigh-in on the arrest of Kaia Rolle in Orlando last year -- a disturbing incident that was captured on bodycam footage and just recently released to the public. Cedric didn't hold back on how messed up it is.

He spells it out pretty clearly ... treating children like adults, especially in a legal setting, is absolutely wrong -- and a much different approach should've been taken by all involved.

More importantly, though, he tells us part of the reason youth grow up not trusting law enforcement might have to do with the fact stuff like this can actually happen. He seems to be implying that cops themselves set the tone when they pull these kinds of stunts.

If you haven't seen the video yet, brace yourself ... it's quite upsetting. You see 2 officers -- one of whom has been ID'd as Dennis Turner, who was subsequently fired over this -- enter a room where Kaia is being read a book by a school official. She's then taken out to the police car with a zip tie used to hold her hands behind her back ... and she's fully bawling.

Apparently, cops were called in this case because Kaia had allegedly assaulted some of the campus workers ... but that's no excuse to take her in like this, so says Cedric.

The two Ohio State football players who were kicked off the team last week after they were accused of rape and kidnapping are now facing up to 33 YEARS behind bars ... TMZ Sports has learned.

As we previously reported ... a woman claims she was forcibly raped on Feb. 4 in the Columbus, Ohio area by two Buckeye players, senior corner Amir Riep and senior safety Jahsen Wint.

According to court docs ... the woman claims she went over to Riep and Wint's apartment to watch a movie, but was later restrained by both men and forced to have vaginal and oral sex.

Now, we've learned the two football players -- who were booted from the OSU team just hours after they were arrested -- are facing DECADES in prison over the allegations.

According to the indictment Friday, the two men were hit with 3 felony charges apiece -- two counts of rape and one count of kidnapping.

"If convicted on these charges, both men face a maximum consecutive term of 33 years of incarceration as well as registration of sex offenders," Franklin County District Attorney Ron O'Brien said.

The two men are due back in court for a hearing on the case next month.

Pop Smoke's death wasn't a robbery gone wrong ... it was a targeted hit ... and that conclusion is supported by surveillance video.

People who have seen the surveillance footage from outside the Hollywood Hills home where Pop was killed Wednesday morning tell us ... you see 4 men approach the home at around 4:30 AM and sneak around back.

A couple minutes pass before 3 of the 4 walk back up the side of the home to the front. The 4th apparently walked in the backdoor but no camera was trained on it. The next time you see the man, he exits through the front door of the house.

As we reported, multiple shots were fired inside the home and they only struck Pop Smoke, who was rushed to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

At first, it seemed like it might have been a robbery because the rapper posted a photo earlier in the day of a bunch of gifts ... one of which had his home address emblazoned on it. He also posted another pic hours before the shooting of himself and a friend in a car ... the friend is holding an enormous amount of cash.

But, here's the thing. The folks who have seen the surveillance video tell us the person inside the house -- presumably the shooter -- did not carry anything out. Given that he shot someone, it's doubtful he would take the time to stuff items in his pocket.

Pop Smoke was only 20 and already making a name for himself in music. His song, "Welcome to the Party" was remixed by Nicki Minaj and he appeared on Travis Scott's latest project "JACKBOYS." His mix tape charted #7 Tuesday on the Billboard 200.

Gareth Pursehouse -- the man accused of murdering Drew Carey's ex fiancee, Dr. Amie Harwick -- has been arrested again and charged with her murder.

Pursehouse was re-arrested Wednesday on a no bail warrant and was charged with one count each of murder and first-degree residential burglary with the special circumstance allegation of lying in wait ... according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

Gareth is facing the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole, if convicted. The D.A. says no decision has been made on whether to seek capital punishment.

We broke the story ... Amie was murdered this weekend after cops say Pursehouse attacked her, causing her to fall from a third-story balcony in the Hollywood Hills.

Amie and Gareth dated years ago and as we reported ... Harwick filed for 2 restraining orders against him in 2011 and 2012, claiming he attacked her multiple times and even threw her out of a vehicle on the side of the freeway.

Pursehouse was initially arrested for murder Saturday afternoon, but he bonded out of jail Tuesday night after being held on a $2 million bail.

Now, Pursehouse is back in custody and the D.A. says on Thursday he will be arraigned.

Two cops walk into a bar, but they're refused service ... this ain't a setup for a joke, it allegedly happened in Vegas ... and now police are PISSED!!!

Here's the deal ... two Las Vegas Metro Police Department graveyard patrol officers say they were refused service from the bartender at The Lodge Cactus in Enterprise, NV when they stopped by Thursday for a bite on duty.

The officers say the bartender started shaking his head "no" as soon as they approached the counter, and motioned his fingers across his neck as if to say, "stop." The officers say they asked to take a seat and order some food, but claim the bartender told them, "We don't serve you guys here any more."

At first, the cops say they thought the bartender was joking ... but when they realized it was for real, they left the establishment without further incident.

Las Vegas Police Protective Association President Steve Grammas tells TMZ ... they are "disgusted" this happened, but believe restaurant management supports law enforcement and they're actively talking with ownership to resolve the issue.

The Lodge tells us folks from the corporate office came to the restaurant Friday, grabbed surveillance video and interviewed the bartender.

LVMPD also tells us ... it's a private restaurant and they can refuse service to who they want.

James Brown was NOT murdered, regardless of what a woman who knew him is now suggesting ... so says the doctor who signed the legendary singer's death certificate.

Dr. Marvin Crawford tells TMZ ... the Fulton County D.A.'s Office is wasting its time in looking into so-called evidence from Jacque Hollander because he claims there was no evidence of foul play when he examined Brown right after he died.

Crawford says Brown suffered a heart attack on December 23, 2006, and was hospitalized. He suffered a second heart attack not long afterward ... and that's what killed him on Christmas Day.

The doctor tells us Brown had a long history of diabetes and hypertension, which contributed to his death ... and that's it.

Crawford admits he's never met Hollander and doesn't know how she's come to believe The Godfather of Soul might have been murdered.

As we reported ... Jacque presented Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard with a bin full of items and investigators have been directed to interview her. If her evidence holds up, Howard says he's open to launching a full-scale death investigation.

Crawford clearly believes that would be useless, and there's something else ... he denies he ever hinted otherwise.

As we told you, in a 2017 CNN interview Crawford did raise questions about Brown's death because the doctor reportedly wondered if James' heart attack was triggered by a toxic substance or an OD.

However, Crawford tells us ... "CNN said I said that but I didn't say that about the drugs."

Brown was 73 when he died.

A college football player straight-up body slammed a cop during his arrest in Ohio this week ... and police video of the incident is INSANE.

Cops say on Monday they got a call from a woman at a Grove City, Ohio business who said Michael Harris -- an Eastern Kentucky University linebacker -- was acting erratic.

In the call, according to police docs obtained by TMZ Sports, the woman claimed 19-year-old Harris was being "aggressive" and "did not seem to be 'all there.'"

When officers arrived on the scene ... things took a horrible turn -- because cops say after they confronted Harris, it got violent.

You can see in police footage of the stop, the officers got into a wrestling match with Harris ... and at one point, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound linebacker picked up one of the cops.

The video of what happens next is wild ... you can see Harris puts the male officer over his shoulders and drops him to the ground with force.

Fortunately for the cop, he avoided serious injury in the fall ... and was able to help restrain Harris.

Eventually, cops say they were able to subdue the football player ... but instead of taking him directly to jail, they sent him to the hospital to get checked out.

Cops claim he remained aggressive there ... so he was sedated by medical personnel before he was eventually hauled off to jail.

Cops say in a search of Harris' vehicle after the arrest, they found pills and a digital scale that is "consistent with drug use." But the officers note in the report that Harris stated he was NOT taking medications or "illicit drugs."

According to court records, Harris has been hit with a felony charge of assault for the incident, as well as three misdemeanor charges -- disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and obstructing officials business.

Harris -- a top recruit who signed with Auburn out of high school -- just officially transferred to EKU this month. In fact, in a press release about EKU's Signing Day class last week, head coach Walt Wells said of Harris, "He brings size, explosiveness and speed to the inside linebacker position. He is a physical player."

We reached out to EKU officials for comment, but so far, no word back yet.

Toronto Blue Jays catcher Reese McGuire -- a former MLB first-round pick -- was arrested last week after cops say he was caught exposing his penis in a Florida parking lot.

The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office tells TMZ Sports ... deputies were called to a public parking lot in Dunedin, Fla. on Friday after a man was seen inside of an SUV exposing himself.

FYI, Dunedin is the spring training home of the Toronto Blue Jays -- and pitchers and catchers were expected to report to camp today.

Cops say when they arrived ... they identified McGuire as the suspect, and say he was "cooperative and did not deny the allegations."

Police say they arrested the 24-year-old ... and booked him for misdemeanor "exposure of sexual organs."

Cops say McGuire is due in Florida court in mid-March -- a spring training off day for the Blue Jays -- to face charges.

For their part, Toronto says it's aware of the allegations against its catcher ... writing in a statement, "[McGuire] has been in communication with the club and we are working to gather more information."

"Out of respect for the legal process, neither he nor the club will comment any further at this time."

McGuire has played 44 games for the Blue Jays since 2018 ... batting .297 with seven home runs.

He was selected with the 14th overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 2013 MLB Draft ... and was later traded to the Jays in a deal that included Francisco Liriano in August 2016.

Blac Chyna claims Rob Kardashian didn't suffer any REAL injuries or pain in her alleged beat down of her ex -- so she wants his lawsuit against her tossed.

Chyna just filed new docs, obtained by TMZ, claiming her baby daddy grossly exaggerated his injuries from their alleged fight way back in December 2016.

As ya know, Rob alleges BC tried to choke him with an iPhone charging cable before repeatedly hitting him ... all while she was high on booze and drugs.

However, BC says the only harm Rob suffered that night relates to his heartbreak over Chyna leaving his ass. As we reported, Chyna moved out of Kylie Jenner's home where she and Rob were living back then with their newborn, Dream.

She's also laughing off, almost literally, an incident involving a gun.

Chyna says Rob testified she pointed his gun at him, and told his friends she would kill him if he "messes up." In her docs, BC says everyone knew it was a joke, and she had NO intention of pulling the trigger.

She asking the court to dismiss Rob's lawsuit for assault simply because she says there was no assault and the guy wasn't hurt. Case closed, at least to her ... we'll see what the judge says.

Jessica Simpson will have extra venue security going forward on her book tour ... thanks to a bevy of anti-fur protesters who seem to be following her every move.

The "Open Book" author's already had events in NYC and L.A. interrupted by angry animal rights activists storming in and yelling. So, the upcoming venues on her tour are on notice ... and we're told they are being proactive about it.

At least 2 people who run venues Simpson will visit this week tell TMZ ... security will be beefed up in various ways in an attempt to keep protesters from striking again.

At one of the locations ... all guests entering will be subject to a search, in which security will be checking for all the normal red flags like weapons ... but will also be on the lookout for protest materials like signage or noisemakers.

We're told, as an added safety measure, all guests will have to have purchased a ticket and a copy of Jessica's book to be allowed entry.

We broke the story ... Simpson was being interviewed by Katherine Schwarzenegger at the Aratani Theatre in L.A. Monday night when anti-fur peeps popped in and made a scene, but Jessica laughed it off as they were escorted out.

Of course, just days earlier in New York ... Simpson's book signing at a Barnes & Noble was disrupted by protesters, and she got accosted by a couple more hours later as she was leaving a restaurant.

Jessica's worn fur in the past, but it's unclear if she still does or why the activists are so hellbent on making her the focus of their scorn and ridicule. One thing's for sure though ... she's not alone.

Jussie Smollett is facing felony charges in Chicago again -- the special prosecutor just announced an indictment against the actor for the alleged homophobic attack against him last year.

A grand jury handed up the new indictment against Jussie on Tuesday. Dan Webb was appointed special prosecutor for the case last summer. We're told he's now facing 6 felony counts for lying to law enforcement. The indictment calls the 6 charges "disorderly conduct," but all 6 involve allegations of lying to cops.

This effectively re-opens the controversial case that led to Smollett getting fired from "Empire."

Special Prosecutor Webb says Jussie "planned and participated in a staged hate crime attack, and thereafter made numerous false statements to Chicago Police Dept. officers."

Webb adds the new charges -- pared down from 16 to 6 -- were re-filed "in the interest of justice." Webb was critical of the State's Attorney who dismissed the case, saying Kim Foxx's office had no additional evidence from what the Grand Jury had when they indicted Smollett in the first place, so the dismissal made no sense.

Jussie and his attorneys had staged a legal battle against the special prosecutor, saying it would expose him to double jeopardy. That effort was shot down in court. You'll recall Cook County prosecutors dropped all 16 felony counts against Smollett in March 2019 ... calling it a "just disposition and appropriate resolution," but not an exoneration.

That decision pissed off Chicago law enforcement -- and in August, Webb was appointed special prosecutor to investigate how the case was handled, and if there was any reason to renew charges.

FOX32 in Chicago first reported the indictment.

A source connected to Jussie tells us, "The officers who re-investigated the case are the same ones who originally investigated it. These officers are currently being sued by Smollett. They have also spent taxpayer money on having these officers go to Los Angeles and harass members of Smollett's team and friends."

We're told Jussie still maintains his innocence, and finds the timing of the indictment interesting -- because Cook County State Attorney Kim Foxx is up for re-election next month. He plans to plead not guilty.

Jussie will be arraigned February 24. We're told he faces up to 3 years in state prison if convicted.

You'll recall, Jussie claimed he was attacked on a frigid night in Chicago by 2 white men who put a rope around his neck and doused him with bleach while yelling racial and homophobic slurs.

However, 2 black men -- brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo -- were eventually detained, and told police Jussie paid them to stage the whole attack.

After the new indictment, the Osundairos' attorney, Gloria Schmidt, says they remain "fully committed to the public knowing the truth" about the so-called attack -- and will cooperate with the investigation. However, they did not testify before the new grand jury. Instead, the panel relied on the brothers' previous testimony.

Megan Thee Stallion's setting the record straight about a prior arrest, and if you think she can rap ... wait till you see her tell a story!!! Despite the circumstances, it's kinda hilarious.

The "Hot Girl Summer" MC came clean Tuesday about getting busted in 2015 after she, admittedly, put hands on her 6-foot-10 BF at the time. Meg opted to share the full story with her fans after her mug shot from the Texas arrest was posted on a blog.

Right off the bat, she called it a "toxic relationship," and said things boiled over at a SXSW concert when she found out the BF cheated and had a kid with another woman.

She says that triggered a violent argument, with the guy allegedly roughing her up and stomping on her phone. That prompted her to take matters into her own hands -- Megan says she was punching him when cops showed up.

You gotta watch her description of what happened at that point. Getting arrested is rarely funny, however, all these years later ... Megan's found some humor in how it all went down.

The whole case was dismissed in April 2016, after the BF didn't show for court and didn't want to press charges.

Audio of Mike Bloomberg defending stop and frisk policing against minorities has the Presidential hopeful on the ropes, and it's drawing one particularly rich shot ... from President Trump.

The audio is reportedly from a 2015 speech the former NYC Mayor gave for the Aspen Institute ... where he discussed police targeting minorities, and flat-out said ... it's the best way to get guns off the streets.

Bloomberg said, "95% of your murders, murderers and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it, and pass it out to all the cops. They are male, minorities, 16-25. That's true in New York, that's true in virtually every city."

The billionaire went on to explain that the majority of police officers are deployed in minority neighborhoods "because that's where all the crime is. And the way you get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them up against the wall and frisk them." He said it's the best way to deter kids from carrying weapons because they won't want to get busted.

Of course, the Democratic candidate for Prez is getting skewered on social media ... and that includes a shot from the Commander-in-Tweet. Early Tuesday President Trump retweeted the audio with the caption, "WOW. BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!"

If that hits you as kinda hypocritical, apparently it also did for someone in the White House -- who might have reminded Prez Trump about his immigration policies -- or the fact he himself has publicly supported "stop & frisk." The tweet was deleted.

We've reached out to Bloomberg's campaign ... no word back yet.

Jamie Lynn Spears' baby daddy got arrested for burglary after police say he was linked to a rash of thefts.

Cops in Mississippi busted Casey Aldridge back on Dec. 30, and he's now been charged with 5 counts of burglary of a storage house and one count of burglary of a dwelling.

Police say Casey was arrested after he was linked to the burglaries of several campsites in the areas surrounding Gloster, MS.

As you know ... Casey and Britney Spears' younger sister have one daughter together, 11-year-old Maddie.

Jamie Lynn was only 16 when she got pregnant way back in 2007. Casey was 18 at the time, and they were briefly engaged before breaking things off.

TMZ broke the story ... Casey was also arrested for drug possession last February when cops say they found him passed out behind the wheel of a vehicle.

While Casey's been on a tough streak, Jamie's the exact opposite. She's now married to Jamie Watson, and in 2018 they had a little girl, Ivey Joan, together.