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Breonna Taylor's family attorney wants Louisville police to follow in the footsteps of the NYPD and get rid of plainclothes officers ... something he believes could've saved her life.

One of the Taylor family's attorneys, Sam Aguiar, tells TMZ ... Breonna would still be alive today if plainclothes units were not the ones serving the no-knock search warrant that ended in her death.

The family's legal team thinks the search warrant would have been properly executed if the officers were in uniform. Aguiar says 16 neighbors claim the plainclothes officers didn't announce their presence before going inside, and he doubts things would've gone down the same if the cops were wearing badges.

The way Aguiar sees it ... when police "don’t put on the uniform and they don’t put on the badge, it lets them have the sense that they can just go rogue.”

Aguiar thinks the plainclothes units almost exhibit gang mentality. He says they beat down doors when executing search warrants, never announce themselves as police and make it difficult for bystanders to know they are police because they don't arrive in cop cars.

Louisville should take a page from NYC and disband plainclothes units, Aguiar says, and he thinks change could be on the horizon because over the last few years, the city's plainclothes units have fallen under tremendous scrutiny.

As you know ... Louisville has banned no-knock warrants in the wake of Breonna's death, and is now requiring the use of body cameras by anyone executing a search warrant. But, the Taylor family's attorney wants to see more reforms.

For instance, Aguiar says Louisville Metro PD needs to pay officers more, hire better ones, keep the best and get rid of the bad apples.

A police officer canceled her McDonald's drive-thru order ... because she feared employees were messing with her food -- so she gave a tearful plea to cut cops some slack ... and show some appreciation.

The officer explains in her selfie vid she just got off a long shift and is very hungry, and all she wants is her McMuffin meal with a coffee ... but it's taking a while ... and she seems to suspect something fishy's going on.

She gives the play-by-play of her order delay, and after finally getting her coffee but still no food, she says she tells the Mickey D's employee to keep it ... because she's too nervous now to eat it.

The cop then breaks down, saying she's never been this anxious in 15 years on the job to pick up a to-go order she can't see being made. She adds ... "I don't know what's going on with people nowadays," and pleads for everyone to give cops a break.

Not just a break ... but also to tell them thank you, because she's not hearing that enough lately.

Of course, this officer's meltdown comes on the heels of 3 NYPD officers who feared they were poisoned by shakes from Shake Shack ... but an investigation proved that wasn't the case.

Demi Lovato practiced some serious social distancing out in Joshua Tree ... renting the famous "invisible house" for a romantic getaway with her boyfriend.

The singer spent the weekend in the desert with BF and actor Max Ehrich ... sparing no expense in one of America's most iconic vacation homes, which goes for a cool $2,500 a night!!!

As you can see ... the steel-clad home is stunning, and it draws you in with a mirrored glass exterior that reflects its beautiful surroundings, which makes the house seemingly disappear into the desert.

The "Invisible House" kinda looks like a skyscraper on its side, and the 5,500-square-foot space is decked out with movie projection screen and a 100-foot-long indoor swimming pool ... it's tucked away a scorching hot desert, after all.

There are 4 bedrooms with sliding glass doors opening up to the great outdoors, offering expansive views of the 90-acre property. Like we said, super romantic.

Demi's still beaming over her "amazing weekend in the magical desert" with Max ... she says she went to work on a project, but adds it was really just nice to get away from L.A. for a couple days.

BTW ... the "Invisible House" is available to rent for all types of photo and video shoots, so it's possible she rented the home for her project.

A Black Lives Matter protester probably has a giant knot on his head after getting socked by a counter-protester, and what's startling about the video is a cop's response.

Ya gotta see the video from this weekend in Bethel, Ohio ... a solo white guy was demonstrating for #BLM in the middle of a huge crowd of counter-protesters when someone came up from behind him and landed a punch square on the back of his noggin. Mind you, a police officer appeared to witness the blow from just a few feet away.

The man who was smacked doesn't flinch much, and keeps his composure for a few moments before complaining to the cop. The officer didn't do much, other than joining the mob of people in telling him to get outta town and go protest somewhere else.

Other cops eventually escort the BLM protester away from the hoard of angry white folks ... who yelled at him, "motherf***er" and "mama's boy."

If this video doesn't already show it ... the Bethel protest turned ugly quick, with hundreds of anti-protesters showing up with Trump gear, allegedly shouting racist slurs and carrying rifles. Police had originally only planned for about 100 people to show up ... but that number swelled to nearly 1,000.

As a President once said ... "Very fine people."

DeMario Jackson -- who crossed interracial dating lines in 'Bachelor' nation -- says the franchise's first black leading man is gonna get blasted for his final rose pick ... there's just no way around it.

Matt James has a tough road ahead of him, including chock-full of scrutiny about the women with whom he connects on the show ... according to DeMario. His take is if Matt chooses anyone but a dark-skinned black girl, he'll draw unwarranted outrage from blacks and whites.

DeMario uses his own experience on Rachel Lindsay's historic season of 'Bachelorette' as well as 'BiP' -- where he hooked up with Corinne Olympios -- to back up his argument.

Be it racist white dudes in his DMs telling him to stay away from "their" women, or black people encouraging him to exclusively date his own race -- DeMario says everyone will have something to say to Matt throughout his season.

In his opinion, America ain't ready to see the first black 'Bachelor' pick a white woman ... IF it plays out that way.

DeMario's already banking on a scenario like that. Fortunately, he's got some advice for MJ on tuning out all the chatter, regardless of who he falls in love with on the show.

UNLV has said adios to Hey Reb! ... the school just canned its famous on-campus mascot statue -- and now, its sports teams' nicknames could be next.

The university removed the heavy bronze bust -- which sat outside the Tam Alumni Center -- on Tuesday, with the school's president appearing to acknowledge it's because of its controversial Confederate ties.

"In recent conversations with the donor," President Marta Meana said in a letter to students, "We mutually agreed it was best to remove the statue and return it."

Meana seemed to strongly indicate the future of the school's "Runnin' Rebels" nickname and the mascot that comes with it could be in doubt as well.

"I have had discussions with multiple individuals and stakeholder groups from campus and the community on how best the university can move forward given recent events throughout our nation," she said.

"That includes the future of our mascot."

Of course, in the wake of George Floyd's tragic death ... protestors all over the nation have called for the removal of statues and figures that honor America's Confederate roots.

Sculptures all across the country have been torn down ... while NASCAR has even banned Confederate flags from its racetracks forever.

So, could this officially spell the end for the "Rebels" name at UNLV??

With salons and barbershops taking a backseat, these stars had to take matters into their own hands over the last few months ... and they got a little creative with the colors!

Stars like Taylor Swift, Ruby Rose and Shaun White spiced up their quarantine with these eye-catching colors ... and plenty of other celebs have joined in on the pigment creations to make their locks pop!

Get a good look at all the stars that shared their new 'dos by scrolling through our gallery of colorful celebrity quarantints ... maybe grab some inspo for your next look!

Andre Royo -- best known for his role as "Bubbles" on "The Wire" -- is about to live life in the single lane, his wife's filing for divorce after 22 years of marriage.

The actor's wife, Jane Choi, filed the divorce petition in L.A. County Superior Court to end the marriage, citing irreconcilable differences ... this according to docs obtained by TMZ. She lists the date of separation as December 5, 2019. They were married on November 21, 1997.

It seems this divorce case has all the makings of a smooth sailing -- they have 1 daughter together but she's not a minor. Jane also checked the box blocking the court from awarding either of them spousal support.

One of the last Chicago Bulls jerseys Michael Jordan's ever rocked is about to hit the auction block ... and is expected to sell for half a MILLION dollars!!

The threads are from the '97-'98 Eastern Conference Finals -- MJ's last season with Chicago -- when his Bulls squad battled Reggie Miller's Indiana Pacers.

His Airness wore the jersey during game 3 AND 4 of the series ... May 23 and May 25, 1998. Jordan dropped 30 and 28 points ... but the Bulls took 2 L's -- tying the series at 2 games apiece.

Chicago ended up winning the series in a nail-biting 7 games ... regarded as one of the toughest playoff series throughout the Bulls' 6-championship run.

The super-rare jersey is about to hit the auction block at Goldin Auctions ... and GA believes it will sell for around $500k!

"We expect this to set the all-time record for most valuable Jordan Jersey ever sold,” Ken Goldin tells TMZ Sports.

After the 7-game war, the Bulls went on to beat Karl Malone and John Stockton's Utah Jazz team ... culminating with MJ's dagger J in Bryon Russell's face (yeah, push-off, we know).

The rest is history ... the Bulls 3-peated for a 2nd time and Michael retired from basketball.

California native Mitzi Kapture was in her late 20s when she gained fame after landing the role of the sex detective, Sergeant Rita Lee Lance -- who solved crimes revolving around sex in the swanky Palm Beach, Florida neighborhoods -- on the late-night '90s crime drama, "Silk Stalkings."

Mitzi Kapture was cast on the CBS series alongside Rita's Captain, Harry Lipschitz, played by Charlie Brill ... and of course, her detective partner Sergeant Chris Lorenzo played by Rob Estes.

Kapture is also known for her character, Alex Ryker, on the classic beach babe show, "Baywatch."

One of Jay-Z and Beyonce's songs, "Black Effect," leans heavily on a Jamaican artist, who claims she was never given proper credit or compensation ... despite being the leading voice on the track.

Dr. L'Antoinette Stines says she's renowned in Jamaica for "her artistry and wisdom" -- and to that point, she says the Carters sought her ought in March 2018 to provide dancers for a video promoting their upcoming tour.

According to a lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, Dr. Stines claims she hooked 'em up with dancers, and then Jay and Bey wanted to record her views on love. She claims she was told the interview would be used in the video ... "for promotional purposes" only.

In the docs, obtained by TMZ, she says she was shocked when she heard "Black Effect" -- from The Carters' "Everything Is Love" album -- because the whole first minute of the track is just her voice.

Hearing herself on the song -- uncredited, mind you -- left Dr. Stines feeling "artistically raped" ... according to her lawsuit.

The doc claims a contract for her services was only thrust in front of her on the day of the shoot, and she alleges the Carters' reps told her not to worry ... after all, her interview would only be used for promotion.

So, she signed, but she's pissed she never got a chance to have it reviewed by her own lawyer -- and worst of all, claims she hasn't been paid a dime for her vocal work.

Dr. Stines is suing Jay and Bey for copyright infringement and violation of her right to publicity ... PLUS damages, of course. She also wants a writing credit, and everything that comes with that ... meaning, cash money.

"Siesta Key" star Alex Kompothecras got fired on what was supposed to be a big day for him and the MTV reality show ... TMZ has learned.

The show's star, Alex was fired ahead of Tuesday's season premiere ... and our sources say he got canned because of racist social media posts and comments that have only recently come to light.

Fans of the reality show quickly noticed Alex's air time was significantly reduced during Tuesday's episode, and his name was scrubbed from the opening credits ... and now we know what's behind the stark change.

Honchos at MTV tell TMZ ... "We’ve made the decision to cut ties with Alex and are editing the current season to minimize his presence. He will not be in future seasons of 'Siesta Key.'"

MTV also scrubbed Alex's bio from the show's website, and the season premiere was slashed by over an hour.

A mural of Kobe Bryant is shining on CA unobscured once again ... TMZ Sports has learned HBO ordered the immediate removal of a billboard covering Mamba art in L.A. on Tuesday.

Our sources tell us shortly after an HBO ad was placed over a piece of artwork dedicated to the Lakers legend this week ... officials at the company called to have it taken down.

We're told HBO was NOT aware the billboard would be placed over the Kobe art ... and once it saw it was concealed, the network realized the look had to go ASAP.

Fortunately, we're told the signage was ripped away in a swift manner ... and the Kobe artwork was NOT damaged in any way.

It's good news for Los Angelenos ... who have taken every precaution necessary to preserve public Kobe tributes since the 41-year-old tragically died in a helicopter crash in January.

Remember, even amid chaos, rioting and looting during protests earlier this month ... not a single Mamba mural was touched.

However, we're told this specific piece -- which is located near the famous Grove shopping center in West Hollywood -- could be obstructed by ads from time to time in the future.

Our sources say the vendor who owns the mural has plans to hang billboards over it eventually -- so long as the Kobe art goes undamaged and can be seen by all after the campaigns end.

The elderly man who was shoved to the ground by police officers in Buffalo was as badly injured as he appeared on camera -- he has a crack in his skull and, for now ... he can't walk.

Martin Gugino's attorney, Kelly Zarcone, says the 75-year-old suffered a fractured skull from the push and fall. She added that Martin is unable to get up on his own 2 feet for the time being while he recuperates. He was released from ICU last week, but remains hospitalized.

Zarcone also released a statement directly from Martin, who says ... "I think it's very unnecessary to focus on me. There are plenty of other things to think about besides me."

This is the same peaceful protester President Trump recently suggested -- without evidence -- might've been an Antifa-tied provocateur there to cause dissent and chaos. Martin's lawyer shot that down as completely false and incredibly offensive.

Meanwhile, on the legal front, the 2 officers who were charged with second-degree assault charges have pled not guilty, and remain suspended without pay.

The so-called "it" couple from Netflix's "Too Hot to Handle" are on the outs ... Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey have ended their relationship.

Francesca made the announcement Tuesday afternoon with a YouTube confessional she dubbed "Our Break Up." She was pretty emotional during the entire 5-minute video and she said ultimately what it came down to was this -- "He decided to break up with me because he couldn't do long distance anymore."

Francesca said she was obviously heartbroken about the ordeal ... adding she tried to make it work but in the end just couldn't make it work. The announcement comes less than a month after they hit up UCLA for a workout.

Francesca -- a model from Vancouver -- and Harry -- who hails from Australia -- were one of the couples that immediately hit it off on the show. But, their chemistry also cost the group some money since they broke a ton of the rules set from the get-go ... like making out and hooking up. If you're unfamiliar with the show, that's a huge no-no.

Welcome to the future!!!

A gym in Southern California has installed workout pods made out of shower curtains to safely return from its COVID-19 closure ... and the scene is pretty surreal.

Check out photos of Inspire South Bay Fitness in Redondo Beach ... the new weight room looks a hell of a lot different -- and the gym says it's all in an effort to keep people healthy.

Peet Sapsin -- the facility's owner -- told KTLA the new setup took three days to put together ... but he believes it -- and other safety measures -- will allow customers to feel normal being back in a gym.

Peet says everyone that comes through the door will sanitize their hands, have their temperature taken, sign a waiver and then will be given a pod to lift weights in.

Peet claims the gym will only operate at about half capacity with the new setup ... but he adds, "now that we’ve come up with this solution, it’s a lot more affordable and, now, we can reopen back up a little more safer and healthier for our clients."

As we previously reported ... gyms in California were ordered to close up shop way back in March in order to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

But, government officials gave the green light to gyms to re-open just a few days ago ... and, slowly, fitness centers across the state are making moves.

So, could pod-workouts be coming to a facility near you in 2020??

Stay tuned ...