Police

"Dateline" correspondent Josh Mankiewicz knows the bizarre murder/assisted suicide case of South Carolina's Murdaugh family is right up his show's alley -- and he's totally into it -- but he says the location is a bit off.

Josh was leaving The Palm in L.A. Wednesday when we got his take on the endless twists surrounding prominent lawyer Alex Murdaugh, and the unsolved murders of his wife and son.

For starters, Josh, like everyone else, says the case is riveting and people are asking him about it nonstop. Comes with the territory when you're the go-to guy covering true crime cases.

For the uninitiated ... Murdaugh found his wife, Margaret, and 22-year-old son, Paul, shot dead outside their home in June -- and police have yet to make any arrests in that case.

Fast forward to September 4 ... when Murdaugh got shot in the head, but survived. He now admits he hired a hitman to kill him so his surviving son could collect a $10M life insurance policy. The shooter's already been arrested and charged with assisted suicide, and Murdaugh's expected to surrender to authorities Thursday.

Josh is blown away by all of this, and that's coming from a "Dateline" vet who's seen it all ... so, ya know we're in uncharted true crime waters. In fact, he says one of the strangest parts of the case is that it's NOT happening in Florida!

Apologies to the Sunshine State, but y'know ... some insane stuff does happen there. 'Memba this and this??? Anyway, Josh also has a tip for Alex Murdaugh, although we suspect it's too late to help him now.

BTW ... S.C. officials announced they're also opening a new investigation into the 2018 death of a housekeeper at Murdaugh's home. 😲

As more and more states adopt laws making it illegal to make racially biased 911 calls ... a noted author and comedian -- who's called out so-called "Karens" -- is praising the move as a literal lifesaver.

Tyler Merritt jumped on "TMZ Live" on Wednesday and explained the importance of the Caution Against Racially Exploitative Non-emergencies Act (or the CAREN Act) ... a law passed by San Francisco last year, and just recently in Santa Cruz, CA too.

Tyler has no doubt the legal change will save lives ...  mostly for people of color who are being prejudged by people whose unfounded fear triggers them to call 911.

He says the danger is the caller ends up passing their false perception on to cops responding to the scene -- and, as we've seen, that can lead to tragic outcomes.

Perhaps the most famous case went down just last year ... when an NYC woman, Amy Cooper, was caught on video calling 911 and pretending a Black man was attacking her in Central Park. Christian Cooper, a frequent bird watcher, had only asked Amy to leash her dog.

Tyler -- the author of the new book, "I Take My Coffee Black" -- says a 6-foot-2 black man like himself already has a strike against him in society because he's Black ... let alone the added fear that he's being misperceived based on a phone call rooted in ignorance.

A man was arrested after showing up at Ariana Grande's Hollywood Hills home in the middle of the night, then flashing a knife when security tried to get him to leave.

23-year-old Aharon Brown's facing a felony brandishing charge for the incident, which our law enforcement sources tell us went down around 2 AM Friday on Ariana's property.

We're told Brown arrived and demanded to see the singer, and when security told him to beat it ... he refused and pulled a knife. LAPD was called to the scene and arrested him.

It's unclear if Ariana was home at the time, but if she was ... we're told she never came out during the altercation or Brown's arrest.

G-Eazy's in the crosshairs of police in NYC, after his crew allegedly got violent with another group of guys ... with punches and bottles thrown.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... the rapper's been named as a suspect in an NYPD assault report, for an incident that went down around 1 AM Friday at the Boom Boom Room in the Standard Hotel.

We're told G-Eazy's party got into an altercation with a few other guys, and one of them claims a member of G's entourage hit him in the head with a glass bottle.

Our sources say the scuffle moved outside, where G-Eazy allegedly punched another man in the head.

We're told the dude who claims he took a bottle to the head went to the hospital to get checked out ... but the guy G-Eazy allegedly punched refused treatment.

No arrests yet, but we're told police are still investigating the incident.

Vili Fualaau -- estranged husband of the late Mary Kay Letourneau -- was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after nearly hitting a police car ... law enforcement tells TMZ.

A Washington State Patrol rep tells TMZ ... Fualaau was driving erratically on the highway around 4 AM Saturday when he made an abrupt lane change and nearly struck a Seattle PD vehicle.

We're told Vili was pulled over and a state trooper was also called to the scene. Cops say Fualaau had bloodshot, watery eyes and performed poorly in field sobriety tests and after he submitted to a voluntary breath test ... he was arrested.

The result of his test has not been disclosed, but it clearly didn't help get him off the hook -- Vili was taken to the Snohomish County Jail and booked on a DUI charge.

As you'll recall ... Fualaau is best known for his notorious relationship with his teacher, Letourneau, which made headlines in the late '90s. She was 34, married and had 4 children when she began having sex with him -- her 6th-grade student. He was either 12 or 13 at the time.

Mary pled guilty in 1997 to 2 counts of felony second-degree rape of a child and ended up serving 7 years in prison, but also gave birth to 2 of Vili's kids ... and after she was released, they got married in 2005.

Chris Brown's home got another visit from cops ... but this time, he wasn't the one causing the problems.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... police were called to CB's San Fernando Valley home around 10 PM this week for an alleged battery involving his security team.

We're told a man came riding up to the property on a motorbike, and Chris' hired muscle lit the guy up with a flashlight to figure out whether he was a guest or just a dude cruising the neighborhood. They stopped him and asked why he rode up to the house.

The man apparently didn't like being questioned ... we're told he spit in the guard's face and rode off into the night.

Our sources tell us LAPD took a battery report, but so far no arrests have been made.

It's at least the 3rd time in 5 months cops have been called to Chris' home. As we reported, LAPD broke up his massive birthday party in May and in June they responded to another battery call at the home after a woman claimed Breezy smacked her weave off.

Rayshard Brooks' widow wants someone to pay for his shooting death ... so she's suing the City of Atlanta and the 2 police officers involved in the incident that killed him.

Tomika Miller just filed a lawsuit on behalf of Rayshard's estate ... claiming her late husband's shooting death in a Wendy's parking lot on June 12, 2020, was "senseless and unjustified."

According to the lawsuit, obtained by TMZ, Tomika claims Rayshard remained "calm, polite, cordial and cooperative" with cops during a 41-minute interaction until officer Garrett Rolfe began handcuffing Brooks to arrest him and threw him to the ground.

In the suit, Tomika claims the other cop, Devin Brosnan, then threatened Rayshard with a Taser while he was on the ground ... even though she claims Brosnan had not completed the police department's mandatory Taser certification course.

Tomika claims Rayshard stood up while being threatened and gained control of Brosnan's Taser ... and that's when Rolfe grabbed his own Taser and shot Rayshard with the Taser darts.

In the docs, Tomika claims Rayshard turned his back on the cops and started running away after being tased, with Rolfe chasing after him and firing 3 bullets from his gun, 2 of which struck Brooks in the back and caused him to crumple to the ground.

Tomika claims the cops didn't give Rayshard medical aid after shooting him, and instead, Rolfe went over and kicked Brooks.

In her suit, Tomika claims Rolfe acted with actual malice and an intent to injure Rayshard by using deadly and excessive force.

Rayshard's widow claims the officers acted with deliberate indifference by not rendering medical aid after shooting him.

Jason "Mayhem" Miller, troubled ex-MMA fighter, was arrested for felony domestic violence in L.A. ... after allegedly getting physical with a woman, TMZ Sports has learned.

40-year-old Miller was taken to jail ... and his bail has been set at a whopping $1.385 million.

He is still currently in custody.

Our law enforcement sources tell us cops in the San Fernando Valley received an emergency call before 3 AM Friday morning ... made by a female who was screaming on the phone.

Police -- lights and sirens blaring -- raced to the scene code 3 ... and found the female caller with visible marks on her face and neck.

At that point, cops *attempted* to arrest Miller inside the home ... but, he didn't cooperate.

A struggle ensued, and LAPD tased him.

Finally, police were able to cuff Miller ... and he was taken to the hospital to be checked out by doctors.

Miller was ultimately booked for felony domestic violence.

It's not the first time Mayhem's lived up to his name ... he's got a (very long) rap sheet.

In 2011, Miller was arrested for allegedly putting his sister in a headlock ... and refusing to release her.

Then in 2012, he was arrested for allegedly going into a church and spraying a fire extinguisher, before getting buck naked.

In 2015, Jason was locked up for allegedly trying to use a ceramic tile as a weapon against cops ... before being tased and arrested.

Police in our nation's capital are gearing for the upcoming rally at the Capitol ... with plans to send officers out in droves to protect DC and prevent anything like January 6 from happening again.

Sources within Capitol Police tell TMZ, there's an all-hands-on-deck policy, with all field officers expected to show up for the protest so they won't be outmanned and underprepared like they were back on that fateful day in January.

We're told officers will get an official briefing Friday on strategy for the September 18 rally ... and Capitol Police brass are expected to field questions from the rank and file.

As we've reported ... many CPD officers have been angry for a long time about leadership not having a set game plan for a potential repeat of January 6. We're told many of them see today's briefing as a good first step.

Our sources say officers will seek answers regarding use of lethal force, and whether to retreat or fight back if perimeter fences and barriers are breached?

D.C. Metro Police are also getting prepared for the Sept. 18 rally, activating the entire department of 3,300 officers ... something that did not happen on Jan. 6.

A 911 caller attempted to get Daffney help while she was still alive and emotionally broadcasting on Instagram Live ... but tragically, cops could not locate her before her death.

The call, obtained by TMZ Sports, reveals a man who identified himself as a friend of a friend of Daffney's trying to get police in Georgia out to the ex-wrestler on Sept. 1 before she could harm herself.

In the audio, the man can be heard saying Daffney -- real name Shannon Spruill -- was on the social media platform, appearing to be suicidal.

"She is on Instagram Live about to commit suicide, reading suicide letters," the man said.

"Talking about where to donate her things. Crying. Won't answer her phone. Certainly needs a wellness check."

The man provided what he believed to be a current address for Daffney, but, sadly, cops tell TMZ Sports it was not a correct one.

Cops say another caller dialed in a short time later with a different address, but said that caller did not have an apartment unit number for the former WCW star.

At 11:25 PM -- some time after the two initial calls -- cops say a caller had found what they believed was Shannon's car at an apartment building ... but still had no answer for which unit she was in.

Cops tell us they tried asking people at the building for the location of Daffney -- but got no answers. They added that they "checked around the building and saw no signs of any disturbance and no one reported anything out of the ordinary" like gunshots or screaming.

Around 12:50 AM, maintenance was contacted and they unlocked a door they believed to be Daffney's, however, an "interior lock was engaged." Police did not believe they had enough cause to force their way into the unit.

Eventually, hours later around 2 AM, cops say they received another call with credible information. Police returned to the address, and had the fire department breach the door, but tragically it was too late.

In a police report, cops say Daffney was found dead at the apartment by officers with an apparent gunshot wound to the chest.

"Certainly this is a tragic situation but our officers did all they could within the boundaries of Georgia law and departmental policies," a spokesperson for the Gwinnett Police Dept. tells us.

"They made a good faith effort to locate Shannon each time they got updated information."

Daffney -- who wrestled in WCW from 1999 to 2001 and later starred in Total Nonstop Action Wrestling from '08-'11 -- was 46 years old.

Larry Elder is the victim of a hate crime -- that's how L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is viewing a woman's attempt to egg the gubernatorial candidate, and he's calling out "woke" politicians over the incident.

Villanueva hopped on the Sheriff Dept.'s Twitter account to sound off about Wednesday's campaign trail incident ... wondering out loud how it's not a hate crime?

If you missed it, Elder -- the conservative talk radio host-turned candidate -- was in Venice Beach when a white woman wearing a gorilla mask with pink hair threw the egg (she missed) and punched one of Elder's security staffers.

The Sheriff answered his own question, tweeting ... "'woke privilege' means a white woman can wear a gorilla mask and attack a black man without fear of being called a racist."

He also, mockingly, wondered why all the normally outraged politicians aren't speaking up in Elder's defense.

Villanueva clearly thinks it's hypocrisy, and there's no outrage purely because Elder is a conservative, who's also the leading Republican candidate in California's recall election.

As we reported, someone also fired a pellet gun Wednesday, hitting one of Elder's staffers. No one was injured, but cops are searching for that suspect as well as the egg tosser and a bald man ... also seen striking one of Elder's staffers.

We spoke to Elder at his next stop, and he chalked up the incident to folks being angry about the homeless situation. He also shaded Newsom.

James Corden is getting protection from a woman he claims keeps showing up at his home, venting her frustration over his wife and imagining them getting hitched.

"The Late Late Show" host's legal team beelined it to court and got a temporary restraining order ... to protect James and his family from a 30-year-old woman he claims has been harassing them for months.

According to new legal docs, obtained by TMZ, James claims the woman staked out his Los Angeles home on multiple occasions, including a 6-day stretch this summer where he says she was camped outside his residence in her car and only left when cops got involved.

James claims the woman's harassing behavior keeps escalating, and he says she even showed up at "The Late Late Show" set claiming she was there to marry him.

Marriage seems to be a theme here, even though James says he doesn't know the woman. He claims she told cops they were planning to travel to Las Vegas to get hitched, and says she's expressed frustration that his wife "stole" him from her and once his wife is "out of the picture" they can be together.

James says she's concerned the woman was able to find his home and keeps coming back ... and he fears she poses a threat to his wife and kids.

A bodybuilder sent Kobe Bryant a letter in 2003 offering to kill his rape accuser ... and the guy later asked for $3 MILLION to do the deed -- this according to newly released FBI docs.

The papers -- obtained by TMZ Sports -- were released by feds earlier this month ... and they reveal new details from the '03 case against Patrick Graber.

The docs, in which Graber's name is redacted, show how feds say they got Graber to fess up to attempting to get cash from Bryant in exchange for making his "problem" disappear.

Federal investigators in the docs say Graber -- who they say was a gym rat -- mailed a FedEx letter to Bryant with the offer ... adding that Bryant's team immediately turned it over to local authorities.

In the docs, officials say they then set up meetings with Graber ... and he allegedly told them the price tag he wanted in order to make Kobe's "problem" go away.

Investigators in the docs say deputies traveled to Kobe's accuser's residence in Colorado to tell her of the possible threat.

Graber was eventually arrested after a lengthy investigation ... and was hit with several charges, including solicitation to commit murder.

The woman who accused Delmon Young of domestic violence made several calls to police prior to the ex-MLB star's arrest Monday ... and in one of them, she said she believed Young was "trying to kill" her.

It's all in police audio, obtained by TMZ Sports, in which you can hear the woman tell multiple 911 dispatchers that she needed help because Young was in her Florida home terrorizing her.

It should be noted Young also put in a call to law enforcement ... one in which he told an operator that his accuser was "drunk" and breaking his stuff.

"She tried hitting me and started doing a bunch of s***," Young said on the call ... before adding, "I'm just trying to avoid her."

As we previously reported, Young was arrested Monday night after cops say a woman, who ID'ed herself as the former baseball player's ex-girlfriend, told them he punched her in the chest and shoved her.

In the police report, cops say they saw surveillance video showing Young hitting her and "screeching in pain."

In her 911 calls prior to the alleged punch and shove, you can hear the woman claim Young was attacking her.

At one point in one of the calls, the woman said, "He broke my TV and he punched me in the face." She later added, "I have blood all over me."

In the calls, you can hear Young in the background denying ever hitting the woman.

Young was ultimately arrested and booked on four charges, including domestic violence.

Larry Elder didn't seem to win over any voters in Venice, CA where a campaign stop turned ugly as a woman tried to egg him, threw punches ... and someone even fired a pellet gun!!!

The conservative talk show host, and Republican leader in the CA Governor recall election -- made the trip to the beach community Tuesday to address the homeless crisis, but got a very hostile greeting from at least one woman wearing a gorilla mask.

Video shows the woman hurl an egg, just missing the back of Elder's head ... and then one of his staffers quickly got in her face. She didn't back down and loudly threatened the man, before hauling back and punching him. He did not retaliate, but then another man stepped up and barked threats at Elder and his team.

The nasty face-off continued until security whisked the candidate into a waiting SUV.

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... someone from the crowd fired a pellet gun -- although it's not on video -- and struck a member of Elder's team. We're told cops are investigating, but no one's been arrested yet.

Larry's getting lots of attention as the top Republican candidate in a crowded field looking to replace incumbent California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who is up for a recall.

Tuesday is the deadline to cast a vote, and it's getting hot coming down the home stretch.

Kodak Black wants to ensure the daughter of a cop who died from COVID can go to college -- he's making a hefty donation after hearing about the officer's story.

Here's the deal ... Fort Lauderdale police officer Jennifer Sepot recently died after contracting COVID-19 and experiencing complications related to the virus, leaving behind a 2-year-old daughter.

Kodak's attorney, Bradford Cohen, tells TMZ ... the rapper read an article about the cop's COVID death, saw she had a young daughter and said ... "Make sure that kid is straight. Pay for her college fund."

Kodak donated $20,000 to a college fund for the little girl, and we're told he was so moved by Officer Sepot's story because he also battled COVID.

Cohen says Kodak contracted COVID several months ago and suffered from body aches, headaches and difficulty breathing for about 10 days.