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Real cops shoot 'Cops' sound man

Also in Tattle: “Sons of Guns” canceled after rape accusation, Jimmy Fallon to honor Jay Leno, New “Bachelor” is a Soules man.

WHATEVER happened to the good old days of Tattle when our lead stories were about Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Tiger Woods?

Oh, what we wouldn't give for a good sex scandal instead of so much violence.

Although we'd love to write about the lunacy of giving a 9-year-old girl shooting lessons with an Uzi (see anywhere that loves viral videos), fitting in better with our entertainment motif is this story out of Omaha, Neb., in which police officers who opened fire during a robbery at a Wendy's killed a "Cops" crew member as well as the suspect.

The "Cops" crew member was a sound operator working with the responding unit who followed the police into the Wendy's.

Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said witnesses and officers thought the robbery suspect's Airsoft gun looked and sounded real, but discovered later that it fired only plastic pellets. The suspect, who was struck by the officers' nonplastic bullets, fled the restaurant before collapsing.

Officers continued to fire on the suspect as he exited the Wendy's, and that was when "Cops" crew member Bryce Dion, 38, also was struck, Schmaderer said. Dion was even wearing a bulletproof vest, but a single bullet that hit his arm "slipped into a gap in the vest" and entered his chest, Schmaderer said.

Video captured by another "Cops" crew member shows the chaotic situation. Police released still shots from the video showing a hooded and masked person pointing what looks like a gun at police. Schmaderer said that police would not release the full video, but that it would be part of the grand-jury investigation into the shooting.

The suspect was identified as Cortez Washington, 32, who was on parole until June 2017 and had a lengthy criminal record.

Schmaderer said the incident began when one of the officers called about the robbery at the Wendy's and requested backup. The "Cops" crew members were with the backup.

When police entered and confronted the suspect, Dion got separated from the cameraman, Schmaderer said.

"Cops" co-creator John Langley and executive producer Morgan Langley attended the police news conference in Omaha yesterday.

"Bryce has been with us for seven years," said Morgan, who hired Dion. "This is very hard for us."

John Langley said the crew had been filming all summer in Omaha and had only one week left.

Schmaderer said police were taking the shooting very hard. "Bryce was their friend," he said.

* The Discovery Channel has canceled reality star Will Hayden's "Sons of Guns" show after his arrest on aggravated rape charges.

The East Baton Rouge Parish, La., Sheriff's Office says Hayden was arrested Tuesday, accused of raping a 12-year-old girl. His bail was set at $250,000. He was already facing charges of child molestation and aggravated crime against nature stemming from a previous arrest in the same case on Aug. 9.

Discovery Channel spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg said in a statement yesterday that production of the show was halted and the series canceled due to "the serious and horrific nature of the charges."

The show was about Hayden, his adult daughter and their company, Red Jacket Firearms.

TATTBITS

* Big changes are coming to porn's AVN Awards.

In 2015, for the first time, VOD-only titles will be considered. Prenominations, whatever those are, begin next month.

The AVNs, which seem to have more categories than the Grammys, recognize all aspects of the adult-entertainment business. That means that categories not only include "Best Anal Release" (Don't they mean "Discharge"?) but "Best Romance Movie." "Best Screenplay" and "Best Screenplay Parody" (Aren't they all screenplay parodies?). "Best Makeup" and "Best Lubricant Manufacturer."

Something for everyone.

Jimmy Fallon will lead top comedians in saluting his "Tonight Show" predecessor Jay Leno with the nation's top humor prize in October at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

The performing-arts center announced yesterday that Fallon will join Chelsea Handler, Jerry Seinfeld, Wanda Sykes, Betty White, Kevin Eubanks and others in honoring Leno with the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

Leno will receive the prize on Oct. 19 in Washington. The show will be broadcast nationally Nov. 23 on PBS stations.

* There's a new "Bachelor."

Tattle and ABC congratulate this year's third-place "Bachelorette" finisher, Chris Soules, 32, an Iowa farmer.

"My focus is gonna be to make the girls that are on the show as comfortable as possible," he said.

Oh, that will be compelling TV.

- Daily News wire services

contributed to this report.

Phone: 215-854-5678

On Twitter: @DNTattle