Police

"Naked and Afraid" contestant Melanie Rauscher has died under mysterious circumstances in Arizona -- her body was recently found near cans of dust cleaner, TMZ has learned.

Melanie, who appeared on 2 seasons of the popular Discovery Channel show, was dog sitting at a residence in Prescott, AZ while the homeowners were away on vacation, according to Corey Kasun, a rep for the Prescott Police Department.

The homeowners returned on the afternoon of July 17 and found Melanie deceased on the bed in the guest room, Kasun said.

We're told several cans of compressed air -- which can be used to clean dust off computers -- were found near her body. It's unclear if Melanie consumed the contents of the cans.

Cops say there were no obvious signs of foul play, and they did not find a suicide note or drug paraphernalia. The dog was okay.

The Yavapai County Medical Examiner will determine Melanie's cause of death.

Melanie was mainly a contestant on "Naked and Afraid" in 2013 and the spinoff show 'XL' in 2015. Close castmate Jeremy McCaa posted a touching tribute to Melanie on his FB page, saying he was "feeling broken."

Melanie was 35.

The Secret Service barely made it out of the Capitol January 6th along with Vice President Mike Pence ... and never-before-seen video shows just how close they came to calamity.

The January 6th presented video Thursday night showing a portion of the frantic 13 minutes in which the Secret Service tried to snake its way through the riot-torn building and bring the Veep to safety.

You hear and see the sheer desperation as one of the agents says if they don't get out now they may lose their ability to leave the building. They were literally feet from the mob, which was chanting "Hang Mike Pence."

An anonymous White House official testified how grim the scene was -- there were agents asking home base to contact their families to say goodbye. It was that desperate, and you hear and feel it.

Thomas Lane, one of the former Minneapolis police officers involved in the death of George Floyd, has been sentenced to 2 and a half years in prison on a federal civil rights charge.

Lane was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Paul Magnuson following his conviction in February -- as you'll recall, Lane held Floyd’s legs as Derek Chauvin pinned Floyd for nearly 9 1/2 minutes back in 2020.

Federal prosecutors had asked for a sentence of up to 6 1/2 years.

Lane's attorney had requested a little over 2 years for his client, insisting Lane had the least to do with Floyd's death and pointing out Lane asked the other officers twice if Floyd should be turned on his side instead.

The scene at Papi Steak following the March altercation between Colby Covington and Jorge Masvidal was so frantic ... a cop called for multiple units to get there quickly, new 911 audio reveals.

In the clip, obtained by TMZ Sports, a man identifying as an off-duty police officer told dispatch that he had spoken to Covington (whose name was redacted in the file) and said the UFC star had told him Masvidal "sucker punched" him following dinner at the popular Miami eatery.

The cop, with urgency in his tone, can be heard in the audio telling the dispatcher, "Can we send a bunch of, or a few units ..." He later added in the call, "If you could just send units on a three, please."

As we reported, Covington alleged that on March 21, Masvidal attacked him with a flurry of punches ... chipping his tooth and damaging his $90,000 Rolex.

Masvidal was eventually arrested over the incident, and later charged with two felonies.

The UFC fighter -- who had lost to Covington in a match just days before the altercation in the Florida street -- has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He's due in court for another hearing in the case next month.

The Uvalde massacre has traumatized the entire community ... and now we've learned the U.S. government is stepping in to offer mental health services -- to some members of law enforcement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection earmarked a little over $15,000 for a mental health specialist to counsel Border Patrol agents who were present during the shooting.

The agency hired trauma expert Carrie A. Elk -- who runs a practice out of Florida. She'll be providing "psychological health training in response to the Uvalde TX School Shooting for Government personnel"... this according to federal procurement docs obtained by TMZ.

The exact amount USCBP dropped to bring Dr. Elk in ... $15,450. This will cover 6 days of therapy.

We spoke to Dr. Elk ... who wouldn't comment on specifics, but did tell us that she's often contracted by Border Patrol and the military to provide counseling after events like Uvalde.

It's unclear if Elk is doing one-on-one sessions with folks at Border Patrol -- whose agents ended up being the ones to take out the shooter in the slow-moving raid -- but she does say she'll often teach techniques to agents about how to identify emotional triggers, how to process painful memories and how to cope with trauma they experience on the job.

The men who allegedly attacked a Black teen in the same city where Trayvon Martin was killed are being taken to court.

The teenager's parents are suing Howard Hughes and Donald Corsi over the June incident ... where they claim the 2 men and other unidentified adults stopped their son's car while he was simply visiting a friend's house in a Sanford, FL neighborhood.

According to the docs, obtained by TMZ, Columbus and Niko Jones allege their kid was doing nothing more than driving along with a friend in the passenger seat ... when, all of a sudden, the group of locals launched into them with animosity.

The parents claim the adults, including Hughes and Corsi, hurled insults and threats at the 2 minors ... and eventually, started physically trying to halt the car. According to the Joneses, this came in the form of swinging a traffic cone at one of the doors, and hurling a large rock shattering the rear window.

At this point, the Joneses claim both kids got out, scared for their lives ... with the friend allegedly seeing one of the adults brandish a gun in the crowd, and Hughes allegedly saying they had a permit to do so -- while also insulting their son by calling him a "dumbass."

Soon, the cops showed up … and arrested Corsi and Hughes on a number of charges, including battery and damaging property.

Now, they have a civil case on their hands as well -- the Joneses are suing for assault, infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and more.

A fan being escorted from the MLB All-Star Game went face first, smashing his face on the hard pavement ... during a physical exchange with Dodgers Stadium security, and the insane scene was captured on video!

It's unclear why the fan was removed from baseball's 92nd Midsummer Classic in Los Angeles, only a few innings into the game. What is clear ... the dude went down hard.

The fan -- wearing a No. 22 Clayton Kershaw jersey -- is flanked by 4 members of Dodgers security and 2 police officers, and they're attempting to walk the guy downstairs, presumably out of the stadium.

But, as they reached the bottom, the guy aggressively turned toward security. The other members of the team yanked him back, and the guy was either pulled over or didn't move his feet, and ... thud!

Thankfully, the fan was helped to his feet, and looked to be okay.

"Four of you! Four of you! Four of you! Four of you!" the guy exclaimed as he was being ushered away by stadium security. "How many?" the guy asked, seemingly referring to how many people it took to get him under control.

Bystanders and fans were stunned ... and obviously, concerned for the well-being of the guy who just ate concrete.

Kodak Black claims he had a perfectly good reason for having several oxycodone pills when he was busted last weekend … his legal team insists he needs them to deal with serious pain.

Kodak's attorney Bradford Cohen tells TMZ ... the "Super Gremlin" rapper has battled chronic pain after getting shot in February during a scuffle in L.A. over Super Bowl weekend. Cohen says Kodak was prescribed pain pills to take as necessary to deal with that injury.

What's more, prior to the shooting, Kodak alleged he was assaulted by guards during his stint in a Kentucky federal prison, before Donald Trump commuted his sentence and released him. We're told he suffers ongoing pain from the attack and the meds help with that pain.

Cohen says he's handed over proof to prosecutors that the pills were legally prescribed, in an effort to resolve the matter STAT.

Cesar Millan found himself in the doghouse for having his pooches on a beach pier ... and now cops are using the celeb animal trainer as an example of what NOT to do when visiting the area.

The Redondo Beach PD took to Instagram to let followers know Cesar was recently given a warning for having his dogs on the pier. Lucky for all involved, cops say Cesar was quick to comply ... even snapping a smiley pic with officers, which they included in the post.

The caption continues with a warning for anyone else who might wanna take their pets for a stroll in the area, "We would like to take this opportunity to remind you that dogs are not allowed on the Redondo Beach Pier! Not even the dog whisperer."

Redondo Beach PD thanked Cesar for his understanding, and you gotta imagine, the post will likely lead to fewer people bringing their animals on the pier.

Police in Milan are adamant they did nothing wrong when holding soccer star Tiemoue Bakayoko at gunpoint ... saying while the situation ended up being a "misunderstanding," they were in the midst of searching for someone allegedly involved in a shooting.

"With reference to the video released today, related to a police check carried out against the Milan player Tiemoue Bakayoko, we underline that the check -- occurred during an operation whose context justified the adoption of the highest security measures," police said in a statement to CNN.

Police said the search "was carried out in a manner that was absolutely consistent with the situation of danger" for "self-protection purposes."

"It was a misunderstanding, but colleagues behaved correctly," police said.

The incident involving 27-year-old Bakayoko -- who joined Milan on a two-year loan last summer -- happened about two weeks ago, but went under the radar until video of the incident went viral on social media Monday.

On Monday, AC Milan said the search occurred following a shooting in the nearby area.

Police added once they established Bakayoko's identity and confirmed he had no role in the crime(s) allegedly committed, he was released without further incident.

An indoor football game turned into a wild street fight this weekend ... when players, coaches and fans all brawled in the stands following the conclusion of the action on the field.

It all went down on Saturday night -- after the West Texas Warbirds whooped the Dallas Prime at the Ector County Coliseum in Odessa.

Video shot by spectators at the arena shows as soon as the final whistle blew -- players went after each other off the field.

Soon after, others got involved ... and you can see in the footage, one coach appeared to rip off a player's helmet and then start throwing haymakers.

All hell then broke loose ... with players from both teams jumping in the action.

Eventually, a Dallas Prime player made his way into the stands and got into it with a fan -- appearing to strike the guy in the head with a left hook.

Somehow, authorities were able to take control of the situation after about 10 minutes of fighting.

Addressing reporters afterward, Ector County Sheriff Mike Griffis said, thankfully, it appeared "no one sought medical treatment or went to the hospital" following the melee.

Texas lawmakers digging into the Uvalde disaster seem astounded 21 people were killed after so many cops -- nearly 400 -- responded to the shooting scene, and they're blaming “egregiously poor decision-making.”

The 80-page investigative report, released by a committee from the Texas House of Representatives Sunday, reveals a total of 376 officers responded in May to the tragedy at Robb Elementary School, yet it's “almost certain” at least 100 shots were fired inside before they entered.

According to the report, no one assumed command once arriving on the scene, despite there being hundreds of officers from all over the area.

A commander of a Border Patrol tactical team also waited for a bullet-proof shield to arrive for them, as well as a master key for the classrooms, further delaying the response inside.

Pete Arredondo, the now-former Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District Police Chief, tried locating keys as well, but no one checked to see if the doors were locked, according to the report.

The report says he also considered the shooter a “barricaded subject,” because he didn't have visual contact with the gunman.

One Uvalde officer said he heard about 911 calls coming from inside a classroom -- his understanding was that police on a certain side of the building were fully aware that victims were trapped inside, yet nothing was done.

The report puts the blame on law enforcement, saying "they failed to prioritize saving innocent lives over their own safety.”

It's a sign of the times ... a glass door shattering was enough to turn the Vegas strip into full-blown panic.

Tourists heard loud sounds Saturday night on the Strip, which they mistook for gunfire ... and it created a domino effect, sending hundreds of terrified folks running for their lives.

Turns out it was just a glass door shattering, but that was enough to send people scrambling. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said, "There is no evidence of gunfire in the area and the event is under investigation."

People ran out of the MGM Grand and New York-New York. One person suffered minor injuries after falling during the stampede out.

One person was detained ... the one who broke the glass door. That individual was stopped on suspicion of destruction of property. Unclear if there were any arrests.

It's really a scary situation ... you see cops descending on the area with guns drawn as they try to figure out if there is indeed an active shooter.

The World Series of Poker was interrupted by the incident but the gamblers soon returned.

Kodak Black's weekend is off to an unfortunate start … the "Super Gremlin" was arrested after cops say they found a bunch of oxycodone pills in his car.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Kodak was traveling in a Dodge Durango Friday in Ft. Lauderdale with what cops believed was an illegal window tint.

After pulling the rapper over, cops say they smelled a strong odor of marijuana and eventually searched the car. Officers claim they found 31 oxycodone pills and $74,960 in cash during the search.

Our sources say Kodak's license and tags were also expired.

Kodak was then arrested and hauled off to Broward County jail.

Cyndi Lauper's son may have just wanted to have fun ... but cops say he broke the law when they found him inside a stolen vehicle.

The NYPD tells TMZ ... 24-year-old Declyn Lauper -- a rapper with more than 2 million Instagram followers -- was taken into custody early Thursday morning after cops say they found him in the driver's seat of an illegally double-parked Mercedes.

We're told police ran the plates as part of their investigation, and the plates came back as registered to a different car. After checking the VIN number, they say the Mercedes he was in had been reported stolen 2 years ago.

Declyn was taken to a nearby police station and booked for felony unauthorized use of a vehicle.

The artist, who has a music career under the name Dex Lauper, posted about the incident alongside some choppy videos of the supposed arrest.

Boosie Badazz says Twitter is the only social media platform he has left ... and he's using it to fire off a series of hate-filled messages to the FB and IG honchos he blames for banning him.

In the rants, which continued Friday after an initial wave on Thursday, Boosie IDs Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and Instagram's Adam Mosseri for shutting down his @americasmostwantedig handle -- and he drags their families into it too, while spewing some pretty foul things.

He went so far as to wish they died in a helicopter crash, instead of Kobe Bryant.

Boosie thinks body cam video in Georgia prompted IG's latest deletion of his account, and he's vowing to get revenge by starting a new Instagram account.

As of the time we posted, his 62 followers don't exactly represent the rallying cry he's hoping for, but maybe the weekend will bring in more support?

TMZ broke the story ... Boosie's been fuming since he was handcuffed earlier this week in Georgia during a traffic stop where he was the passenger.

While in cuffs, he ranted the cops were targeting him. The cops say they weren't rapper profiling, just following protocol.