Police

Three Arkansas sheriff's deputies have been benched after a video shows them wailing on a homeless man with alleged mental health issues.

The Crawford County Sheriff's Department confirms two of the men in uniform seen are their own deputies, and a third officer belongs to the Mulberry Police Dept. They were all teaming up Sunday on a young man -- kneeing him, slamming his head on the concrete and punching him in the face in order to restrain the man.

The brutal beating happened outside Kountry Xpress gas station, where the cops responded to a call for threats made to one of the clerks inside ... allegedly made by the man getting detained. Reports say the man was cooperative at first, but then things went south.

One report says the man allegedly tried to attack an officer, which is what apparently led to the beatdown. Regardless of what happened in the lead-up, the force shown by the officers is extreme.

At one point, the officers notice they're being filmed, and yell at bystanders to get lost. The Arkansas State Police is currently investigating.

Former AEW star Jake Atlas told cops he was "an international trained superstar" and then slammed his boyfriend as "terrible at sex" in a rant during his arrest back in May ... new police video shows.

In the footage, obtained by TMZ Sports, you can see a police officer was trying to ask an agitated Atlas questions about an alleged domestic violence incident between him and his BF outside of his Orlando, Fl. home on May 23.

But, the wrestler, whose boyfriend had accused him of roughing him up during an argument earlier in the evening, appeared to be in no mood to play ball with the cop.

Instead, Atlas told the officer about his wrestling resume, all while bashing his boyfriend and their relationship repeatedly.

"I am an international trained superstar," said the 27-year-old, who is openly gay. "I have worked across the country, across the world, with my name. He is a nobody."

Atlas, real name Kenny Sanchez Martinez, went on to call the man a "f**ing bitch ass, f***ing p***y" ... before ultimately telling the cop, "[he] is a terrible boyfriend and he's terrible at sex."

The cop tried repeatedly to get Atlas to tell his side of the story and explain the events that had gone down earlier in the evening, but the wrestler never seemed to cooperate. Atlas was eventually arrested on the scene and later booked on a domestic violence battery charge.

Atlas' charges were eventually dropped, however ... with officials writing in court documents, "this case is not suitable for prosecution."

The wrestler later commented on the case following its disposition in July, apologizing "for my wrongdoing and any hurt, disappointment and complication I may have caused to my colleagues and fans."

Atlas said he participated in an outpatient program to deal with "a dual diagnosis in substance abuse and mental health," and is continuing to seek treatment.

Gary Busey is facing criminal charges out of New Jersey after cops claim he made inappropriate contact with people, among other things.

The actor was hit with four charges Friday by the Cherry Hill Police Department -- two counts of criminal sexual contact, one count of criminal attempt/criminal sexual contact and one count of harassment.

Cops say this stems from a report of a sex offense during the weekend of August 12-14 at the Doubletree Hotel. They describe more than one incident that people reported during the Monster Mania Convention -- for which he was booked to appear -- but the details of any alleged acts are unclear at this point. CHPD didn't go into detail about what was reported.

There's no doubt Gary was in attendance for this thing BTW -- he took multiple photos with fans throughout the three days. Just check his tagged section on IG, and you'll see 'em all.

Unclear if Busey is still in town or not, or what the process will look like to have to answer for these charges in Jersey if he has, in fact, left the state. He, of course, lives in California ... and it doesn't sound like he was arrested there on the spot last week.

We've reached out to Gary's reps ... so far, no word back. TMZ has also reached out to Cherry Hill PD for more info on what this is all about -- but they haven't responded yet.

Vanessa Bryant just talked about Kobe Bryant, Gianna, the crash and the photos that officials took of their bodies while on the stand -- and she was overcome with emotion while trying to explain how awful it all has truly been for her.

Using a handkerchief to wipe away tears after nearly every sentence -- Vanessa said she first learned of the crash after an assistant informed her of it at her home. She said L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was the one who eventually told her there were no survivors.

Vanessa said on the stand that she begged him to secure the area, as she was concerned about paparazzi. She testified he didn't tell her at the time that his deputies had photographed her family members' bodies.

She later said she learned of the graphic photos through the Los Angeles Times report -- and, while speaking through sobs, she said it gutted her.

"I felt like I wanted to run down the block and scream," she said in the courtroom. "I can’t escape my body. I can't escape what I feel."

She added that she was "blindsided, devastated, hurt and betrayed" to know that authorities had snapped pics at the scene.

"I trusted them," she said. "I trusted them to not do these things."

Vanessa told the courtroom one of the most disturbing things to her was that because of where Gianna was located at the crash scene, she believed officials had to have moved the 13-year-old's body in order to photograph it.

"They took advantage that Daddy couldn't protect her," she said. "He was at the morgue."

Vanessa testified that if the photos ever got out, and if she were to somehow see them, it'd rip her apart.

"I don't ever want to see my babies in that way," she said, explaining to the courtroom that she lives in constant fear that the photos could surface. "Nobody should ever have to see their family in that way."

As we reported, Vanessa arrived at the courtroom earlier Friday morning in a black dress, black coat and dark sunglasses. She wore a "Mama" necklace -- and appeared to be confident, flashing a smile on her way into the L.A. building.

The 40-year-old is suing L.A. County officials after learning deputies had taken and shared graphic photos from the wreckage scene.

Marcell Ozuna pulled the celeb card during his DUI arrest on Friday morning -- telling a cop during the stop, "Sorry, I'm Ozuna from the Braves" ... this according to a new police report obtained by TMZ Sports.

In the docs, a Norcross Police Dept. officer said he pulled over Ozuna -- who was driving in a black 2021 Mercedes-Benz -- at around 3:35 AM after he says the MLB slugger was speeding in a 35 MPH zone while failing to stay in a lane.

Moments after being stopped, Ozuna allegedly told the officer, "Sorry, sorry, I'm Ozuna from the Braves." The baseball player's car reeked of booze, the police officer said in the report. The officer also claimed Ozuna had red and watery eyes.

Ozuna told the cop, according to the docs, that he was in Norcross heading to "the party." The officer said that he later learned the 31-year-old was on his way to "a nearby after-hours nightclub."

When Ozuna went to hand his driver's license to the cop, the officer said in the docs he also handed over an MLB ID card showing that he played for the Braves.

According to the report, just before administering field sobriety tests on Ozuna, the outfielder admitted he had drank "like three or four" beers before getting behind the wheel.

"If I'm drunk, if I can't drive, I do like this," the officer said in the docs, claiming Ozuna -- who allegedly had $8,000 in cash in his pocket -- "motioned for me to take his car key."

After administering three tests, the officer arrested Ozuna. But, according to the cop, Ozuna refused both a breath test and a blood test.

Records show he was eventually booked on charges of DUI and failure to maintain lane.

Hours before the arrest, the Braves had won a huge game over the Mets in Atlanta -- but Ozuna did not play in the contest.

This is the second time Ozuna has been arrested in the last 15 months -- he was previously taken into custody in May 2021 after he was accused of roughing up his wife in an incident in Sandy Springs, GA.

Ozuna -- who agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion program to close out the case a few months after the incident -- was suspended 20 games by the MLB over it all.

He later said before this season began that he apologized to his teammates, adding, "I made a mistake."

Ozuna has played in 107 games for the Braves this season ... batting .214 with 20 home runs.

Dog the Bounty Hunter is getting a slew of tips on the disappearance of 16-year-old Kiely Rodni -- the girl who vanished near the Lake Tahoe area earlier this month -- but he's reluctant to do anything right now because of the blowback he got in the Gabby Petito murder investigation.

Dog's rep tells TMZ, some of the tipsters offer vague clues -- something he's used over the years to eventually develop solid leads -- and he's also been getting a slew of emails from people who just want him to jump in because of his track record in finding missing persons.

Here's the problem. When cops were setting their sights on Brian Laundrie, the man who murdered Gabby, Dog was honeymooning near the Florida home where Brian's sister lived, and he decided to jump in and help. The video of Dog knocking at the sister's door made the rounds and was heavily criticized ... some claiming he was meddling in a police investigation.

It's kind of a case, Dog thinks, of no good deed going unpunished. His rep says the way he operates ... he will not get involved in a missing person's investigation unless one of 2 things happen -- either he's invited by a family member or law enforcement to get involved, or 21 days have passed since the person was declared missing.

The reason for 21 days ... Dog says that's when missing persons cases typically go cold.

So, Dog is now waiting ... waiting for an invite or for 3 weeks to pass. He's also waiting for solid clues on where Kiely might be.

A famous drag queen is denying stealing a massive amount of cash from a guest who claims the performer straight-up jacked her in plain sight ... a moment that was captured on video.

Bryan Watkins -- who currently performs as 'Shannel' for the 'Drag Brunch' show in Vegas -- was accused of lifting somewhere between $500 and $700 from the purse of a woman named Meggy during a performance last weekend. Video from the event appears to show Bryan taking money, although it's unclear how much.

Bryan -- who competed on season 1 of "RuPaul's Drag Race" -- says he absolutely did NOT take the large amount Meggy is claiming.

Now, as for the actual accusation here -- Meggy outlined it pretty clearly in a viral TikTok video ... saying Bryan was going around the room for some sort of purse gag, and eventually came to hers -- which had $1,300 in there for her birthday blowout.

Meggy claims Bryan rifled through her bag and plucked a significant wad of cash -- and that when she confronted him about it ... he kicked her out of the show, without returning any of the cash.

Bryan admits to taking some loot, but says it was only a couple bucks as a gag, not hundreds like Meggy claimed. He says the venue's management refunded the woman's tickets and even offered to pay her $700 as a good-faith apology ... but that wasn't enough.

Meggy claims to have gone to the cops over the alleged theft ... but a spokesperson for the Las Vegas Metro Police Department tells us they don't have a record of the incident.

The hits keep coming for Britney Spears' first husband Jason Alexander ... after serving his sentence for crashing Britney's wedding, he's now facing felony charges for an old alleged crime.

The Napa County Sheriff tells TMZ ... Jason was booked today on an arrest warrant issued back in 2016 stemming from an alleged jewelry theft, and he's been charged with two felonies.

We're told Jason is charged with grand theft and buying/receiving stolen property ... and he was picked up Tuesday from Ventura County jail by Napa authorities after serving a 60-day sentence for crashing Britney's wedding.

TMZ broke the story ... Jason had a felony warrant out for his arrest in Napa County when he got busted in June at Britney's ceremony. Cops in Napa say Jason swiped a $2,000 bracelet from a woman there in 2015 when he was a houseguest.

As we first told you ... cops say Jason had been living in the woman's house for only a few weeks when she claims she noticed jewelry missing from her bedroom. Police say Jason later admitted to the woman he stole her diamond and sapphire tennis bracelet, valued at $2k, and pawned it off.

Now, the alleged theft is coming back to bite him.

Anne Heche was trapped in her vehicle as fire quickly spread and onlookers worked desperately to get her out ... and the panic plays out in the 911 call from the scene.

The caller -- who appears to be a neighbor of the home Anne crashed into -- tells the dispatcher Anne's car went through the home "very fast." At first, it doesn't appear the caller is aware of the fact Anne is trapped in the car, but you can hear people yelling in the background making it clear that someone is in trouble.

The call gets much more desperate when smoke starts to surround the vehicle -- and the caller works to get a water hose to the crash scene.

You can start to hear sirens in the background as the caller states the smoke is getting really black and fire breaks out ... and there's more shouting in the background about someone being trapped.

TMZ broke the story, it was August 5 when Anne crashed into the home -- an event that put her in a coma and eventually killed her. Law enforcement sources told us the actress had cocaine and possibly fentanyl in her system at the time of the crash.

The FBI is wrong about Alec Baldwin pulling the trigger on the set of 'Rust' -- so says the actor's attorney, who thinks the Bureau's report is flawed.

Luke Nikas, AB's lawyer, gave his take to Fox News Monday -- this as Halyna Hutchins' death was officially deemed an accident the same day -- saying the feds are incorrect to conclude Alec pulled the trigger ... because the testing they did doesn't show that.

Nikas says, "The FBI report is being misconstrued." He adds, "The gun fired in testing only one time -- without having to pull the trigger -- when the hammer was pulled back and the gun broke in two different places. The FBI was unable to fire the gun in any prior test, even when pulling the trigger, because it was in such poor condition."

Essentially, Nikas seems to be suggesting either the report's findings are misrepresented -- seeing how they've only been reviewed/reported on by ABC -- or the FBI simply misstated what they actually did in the lab to get to the bottom of this. Either way, he claims it's bunk.

You'll recall ... the FBI, per ABC, said there was no way the gun Alec used went off without him pulling the trigger, as they tried firing it by just manipulating the hammer -- which is what Alec said he did. They insisted ... when the gun's working properly, that's impossible.

While it was unclear from ABC's report (and the language cited from the report) whether the FBI had actually tested the old revolver in question, Nikas appears to be implying they did.

Here's another thing ... Nikas says the FBI's report on the gun doesn't even matter, big picture, because the Santa Fe Medical Investigator's Office came back with its own pivotal finding over Halyna's death ... and they've officially deemed it an accident.

Nikas says, "The critical report is the one from the medical examiner, who concluded that this was a tragic accident. This is the third time the New Mexico authorities have found that Alec Baldwin had no authority or knowledge of the allegedly unsafe conditions on the set, that he was told by the person in charge of safety on the set that the gun was ‘cold,’ and believed the gun was safe."

All of these findings -- the FBI's and the medical investigator's -- have been sent off to New Mexico officials for further consideration. The D.A. has yet to make a decision on criminal charges.

Alec, of course, has already been dragged into court civilly ... but denied any responsibility.

Eric and Eliza Roberts had a frightening encounter with an intruder who apparently set his sights on her as she walked up her driveway in the dead of night.

Eliza tells us ... her daughter drove her to San Fernando Valley home Friday night at around 9 PM. Eliza got out of the car at the curb, said goodbye to her daughter and entered the code on her security gate. It opened and she walked up the long driveway to the home.

Just as Eliza walked inside, Eric walked outside and came face-to-face with the intruder, who was just feet from the front door.

The man looked at Eric and said, "I know you" ... presumably the guy recognized Eric from his work in film. Eric was taken aback and asked the guy why he was there. The man didn't give a clear answer and Eric was alarmed, telling the guy to beat it.

The man went back down the driveway in the dark, and Eric went inside. He and Eliza then realized the guy might still be lurking in the bushes so they called the cops.

Police arrived a short time later but there was no sign of the intruder.

Kodak Black says the Florida cops who arrested him for allegedly trafficking oxycodone are still holding onto his car and thousands of dollars in cash nearly a month later ... and now he's out of patience and wants it all back.

Kodak is asking the court to make the Florida Highway Patrol officers who busted him return a Dodge Durango and $74,960 in cash they seized during the arrest ... this according to legal docs obtained by TMZ.

Kodak's lawyer, Bradford Cohen, says his client can prove the car and cash belong to Kodak and were not involved in any illegal activity.

For starters, Cohen claims the Durango is registered to Florida-based record label Sniper Gang, and Kodak is a manager of that entity.

Since Kodak has already turned over the prescriptions for the pills found in the vehicle, Cohen claims there is no legal basis for the police to continue to hold the Durango and should return it pronto.

As for the roughly $75K in cash, Kodak's attorney says he carries so much dough around because he's a rapper and it goes with the territory ... claiming Kodak needs large sums of money on him to pay various expenses on tour. Also, he's often paid in cash for his gigs.

Remember ... cops pulled Kodak's car over last month and say the ride reeked of weed, prompting a search that turned up the cash and 31 oxycodone pills ... this according to cops.

Kodak's attorney claims he ended up providing cops with a prescription for the pills ... and insists there's no basis for cops to continue holding the car and cash as evidence.

The court has yet to rule.

R. Kelly was once prosecuted for allegedly abusing a minor -- an infamous case from 2008 in which she never testified ... but that's all about to change now as he heads to trial anew.

The disgraced singer, who's already been convicted of sex crimes in New York and faces 30 years behind bars, has another day in court ahead of him. Come Monday, his federal trial in Chicago -- for which he's facing similar charges and sentencing -- is going to begin.

On top of the 4 accusers in this Chicago case -- all of whom will testify -- the woman who Kelly was accused of urinating on on tape at just age 14, among other heinous crimes, is set to take the stand as well ... to speak on the '08 case and her experience with him in general.

Per new court filings, cited by AP, prosecutors say the unidentified alleged victim from back then -- now in her 30s -- will address claims that R. Kelly rigged the 2008 case in an attempt to obstruct justice ... including allegedly paying off/threatening this woman at the time.

Many will recall ... Kelly was acquitted and went free, largely because the alleged victim refused to cooperate and testify. Now, it appears she'll explain why that happened, from her perspective, for the first time ever. Her identity has remained hidden all these years.

There's more ... these new filings say prosecutors plan to play that same VHS tape from '08 in court again as this current trial fires up. In addition to that, there are reportedly going to be at least 3 other videos presented as evidence in court. Unclear if they all pertain to 2008.

Prosecutors claim that R. Kelly had sex with/recorded the 2008 alleged victim hundreds of times between 1998 and 2000, a period when she was as young as 13 years old. They also acknowledge that some of these sex tapes had been stolen and peddled on the street.

The FBI has concluded that Alec Baldwin must have fired the gun normally on the set of "Rust" -- which took Halyna Hutchins' life ... this according to a new report.

ABC News published a bombshell story Friday, claiming to have obtained a copy of the forensic analysis report recently completed by the Bureau ... which was examining all facets of the fatal accident in a broader investigation to see if criminal charges are warranted.

Per ABC, citing part of the FBI report, the feds found that the revolver in question -- a single-action .45 Colt caliber F.lli Pietta -- could not have been fired without someone pulling the trigger ... a determination they made after conducting accidental discharge testing.

Unclear if they did this testing with the same exact gun Alec used, or a separate but identical one -- but what the FBI notes in their reports is ... that gun, when working properly, will not release a bullet and primer simultaneously by just fiddling with the hammer alone.

That's what Alec said he was doing when the shooting occurred. You'll recall ... in a sit-down interview with ABC, he claimed all he'd done was pull the hammer back and pose it for the camera while Halyna coached him on positioning. When they were done, he released the hammer ... and says it fired without him pulling the trigger. The rest, of course, is history.

Well, that just doesn't make sense to FBI officials. Their report, per ABC, notes they set the hammer at varying angles and positions to see if they could make it fire without pulling the trigger ... but they say they couldn't. The only thing the hammer COULD do when de-cocked and then directly struck on its own (without pulling the trigger) was detonate the primer.

That essentially means it could set off the actual gunshot sound itself, without discharging a bullet, according to the FBI -- but that's obviously not what happened in AB's case.

Now, this conclusion doesn't necessarily mean Alec is in hot water quite yet -- again, we don't know if the testing they did here was with his gun or another ... it's totally possible the revolver he used that day did, in fact, malfunction and that he's telling the truth.

These findings have been sent off to law enforcement officials in New Mexico, who are still conducting their investigation dating back to October. One of the things they're still waiting on, per an official statement from the Santa Fe Sheriff's Office, is phone records from Alec.

L.A. cops have a dark culture when it comes to grizzly death scenes, keeping "ghoul books" with photos of famous people who met violent deaths.

As we reported, Vanessa Bryant is suing the L.A. County Sheriff's Dept. among others after learning 8 deputies took personal cellphone photos of the remains of Kobe and Gianna Bryant, and then passed them around to co-workers, family, friends and even strangers.

Deputy Doug Johnson testified he did not regret taking photos of the remains, claiming he was ordered to do so by a higher-up, even though that higher-up had said he gave no such order.

Johnson said he took 25 photos, although another officer claimed it was more like 100.

The deputy admitted he took shots of Kobe's remains, although he says he didn't know at the time it was the famed basketball star. He also took pics of a body in a ravine near the crash site ... a body of a black child with long hair ... presumably Gianna.

Johnson stuck to his story, saying he would not have done anything differently.

Vanessa, who is suing for, among other things, emotional distress, broke down at times during the testimony.

Cops circulating crime scene photos isn't unique to the Kobe Bryant crash -- it's been happening since the O.J. Simpson murder case -- with an ex-LAPD officer testifying he saw a polaroid of Nicole Brown Simpson's dead body.

Former Los Angeles Police Department officer Adam Bercovici, an expert witness hired by Vanessa Bryant's legal team, testified he and other cops at his station saw a close-up of Nicole's body following her June 1994 murder.

The former police officer testified illicit photos of human remains -- so-called "death books" -- are common among law enforcement ... and not something unique to the Kobe crash.

Bercovici testified there were no legitimate reasons for the deputies to take photographs of the remains.

Despite this being an issue that's painful for the family and friends of the deceased, Bercovici says not nearly enough has been done to end the practice.

Luella Weireter, wife of an LAFD fire captain also took the stand, testifying she witnessed a group, including another fire captain, view the photos at a local awards show about three weeks after the fatal crash.

Weireter, who says she did not look at the photos, overheard another man say "I can't believe I just looked at Kobe's burnt-up body and now I'm about to eat."

It's just one of the ghastly and gruesome moments from the trial ... which started earlier this week, and has been very emotional for Vanessa and her family.

Bryant sobbed in court Thursday during opening statements, when her attorney told the 10-person jury that 8 L.A. County Sheriff's deputies snapped pics of Kobe and Gigi's bodies at the helicopter crash scene for nothing personal use.

Vanessa's lawyer says she lives "in fear, anxiety and terror" that the pics will someday be released ... saying she will be forever haunted by the deputies' actions.

Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who was Kobe's agent, took the stand Thursday and was barely able to speak when talking about his close relationship with KB.

On Thursday, the jury heard from a bartender in L.A. ... who testified a deputy showed him crash scene photos at his bar. Bryant's attorney showed screen grabs from surveillance video that appeared to show the bartender laughing after seeing the grisly photos.

In her lawsuit, Vanessa claims the deputies' conduct caused her severe emotional distress, saying the photos were an invasion of privacy. Lawyers for L.A. County say Vanessa's emotional distress is a result of the fatal crash, not the photos.