Two Louisville police were shot and more than 100 people were arrested during overnight protests over Breonna Taylor case.
Two Louisville police officers were shot and more than 100 people were arrested Wednesday night after protests and violence erupted in the Kentucky city over a grand jury decision to not directly charge any cop with the shooting death of Breonna Taylor. Hundreds took to the streets following the announcement that the only charges were three counts of wanton endangerment against fired officer Brett Hankison for shooting into a home next to Taylor’s with people inside.
On Thursday, authorities said Larynzo Johnson, 26, had been arrested in connection with Wednesday's shootings and had been charged with two counts of first-degree assault of an officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment of a police officer. He was scheduled to appear in court on Friday.
Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said both officers received non-life-threatening injuries and one was undergoing surgery.
They were shot while investigating reports of gunfire in a large crowd at an intersection, he said.
There were 127 arrests overnight as protests continued after a declared 9 p.m. curfew and looting and fires broke out, authorities said.
Gunfire could be heard in downtown Louisville as protesters tried to avoid police blockades, an Associated Press journalist reported. Demonstrators ran for cover as police lobbed pepper balls and swarmed the area in riot gear, according to the wire service.
The violence escalated Wednesday after prosecutors said two officers who fired their weapons at Taylor, a Black woman, were protecting themselves after facing gunfire from her boyfriend, who said he fired his gun because he thought the plainclothes officers, who were serving a no-knock warrant, were intruders.
Demonstrators also marched in New York, Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia.
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