Man charged with wanton endangerment over Louisville cop shooting – same as Breonna Taylor cop

A suspected gunman has been charged with ‘wanton endangerment’ after two Louisville cops were shot during protests over the Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to bring murder charges against the officers involved in Breonna’s Taylor’s death.   

Larynzo Johnson, 26, was arrested Wednesday night over the cop shootings and charged with first-degree assault of a police officer and first-degree wanton endangerment – the latter being the very same charge brought against the only cop to be indicted over Taylor’s slaying. 

Only one officer Brett Hankison was charged in connection to the botched raid that resulted in Taylor being shot six times and killed in her apartment back in March.

He was handed just three counts of wanton endangerment – a far cry from the murder charges protesters and Taylor’s family demanded.   

The first-degree charge, a Class D felony which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, relates to Hankison shooting into the neighboring apartments during the incident.

No charges were brought against him in relation to the death of Taylor and the other two officers that between them fired 24 shots into the black EMT’s home were not charged.

Johnson was charged with two counts of assault of a police officer and 14 counts of wanton endangerment after he shot at the officers Wednesday night, striking one in the thigh and the other in the abdomen below their bulletproof vest.  

His arrest citation says Johnson ‘intentionally used a handgun to fire multiple bullets at officers… causing serious physical injury’ to two cops struck by the gunfire, reported the Courier Journal.  

A total of 127 protesters were arrested during unrest in Taylor’s home state of Louisville last night, with dozens more taken into custody amid demonstrations across America including in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.  

In Seattle, Washington state, 13 people were arrested on charges including property destruction, resisting arrest, failure to disperse and assault on a police officer after one cop was hit over the head with a baseball bat. 

Meanwhile, shocking footage surfaced online of a Seattle cop pushing a bicycle over the head of a protester who was lying on the ground.  

Louisville Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said the shooting of the two officers took place at Brook Street and Broadway about 8.30pm when officers were responding to a large crowd of demonstrators. 

Both of the officers, who have not identified, were rushed to University of Louisville Hospital.   

They were both in a stable condition and one was undergoing surgery last night. 

‘I am very concerned for the safety of our officers,’ said Schroeder at a press conference just after 10pm Wednesday. 

‘Obviously we’ve had two officers shot tonight. That is very serious and a dangerous condition. I think the safety of our officers and the community we serve are of utmost importance.’

President Donald Trump took to Twitter soon after and said he was praying for the officers injured. 

‘The Federal Government stands behind you and is ready to help,’ he tweeted. ‘Spoke to [Governor Andy Beshear] and we are prepared to work together, immediately upon request!’  

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Key developments in the Taylor case and subsequent protests: 

• A grand jury indicted Brett Hankison on three charges of first-degree wanton endangerment for shooting into neighbors’ homes on the night he and two other officers stormed her house with a narcotics warrant
• Protests erupted immediately after the indictment was announced as hundreds of people began marching through Louisville and facing off with police 
• Two Louisville officers were shot while trying to disperse crowds ahead of the city’s 9pm curfew
• President Donald Trump tweeted prayers for the injured officers and said he’d offered to send additional support to Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear 
• At least 46 people were arrested for protesting before 11pm – including a suspect in the officer shooting 
• More protests erupted in New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, Philadelphia and Atlanta 
• Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron defended the grand jury decision and hit out at celebrities who accused him of botching his four-month investigation into the Taylor case  

The shooting took place just 30 minutes before curfew went into effect in the city.

Bystander video showed a group of people walking down a street when gunfire erupted several hundred yards away where police cars were parked with their lights flashing. 

At least 14 shots rang out at the person holding the camera started running away from the source. 

A livestream from the LMPD also captured the first few moments of the shooting before it was cut off. 

Johnson was arrested at 8:40 p.m., according to his arrest citation, which says the suspect ‘showed an extreme indifference to the value of human life’ and put officers at risk of death or serious injury. 

Witnesses identified him as the man seen firing a gun at the cops and running from the scene and he was armed at the time of his arrest, the citation reads. 

Authorities expect ballistics to prove the shots fired came from the handgun in his possession.  

Johnson has no previous arrests for violent crimes or felony convictions, reported the Journal. 

He is being held at Louisville Metro Corrections and is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning. 

Two of the 127 people arrested in the city last night were reporters with the Daily Caller who were charged with misdemeanors related to breaking curfew and unlawful assembly after not dispersing when ordered by cops.  

Louisville was thrown into turmoil after a grand jury decided not to charge the officers. Instead, it handed down its decision to indict just one of the officers involved in Taylor’s killing, Brett Hankison, on charges of wanton endangerment for shooting into the homes of the 26-year-old EMT’s neighbors when they executed a warrant on March 13. 

Hundreds of protesters began marching through the streets immediately after the announcement. Tensions quickly boiled over as protesters confronted lines of police officers who fired pepper balls and used wooden batons to drive them back. 

Hundreds of demonstrators also took to the streets of cities like New York, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Las Vegas following the decision.   

Cellphone footage captured the moment a cop in Seattle pushes his bike over the head of a protester during demonstrations in the city.

The shocking video shows a wall of cops cycling and pushing bikes or walking down the road. 

A protester is seen lying on the road as a cop wheels his bike over their head.

Seattle Police said it wa saware of the video and had referred the incident to the city’s Office of Police Accountability for investigation. 

The department also said ‘multiple officers’ were hurt during the night’s events.

One officer was struck over the head with a baseball bat, causing their helmet to crack, police said. 

Clashes also erupted between protesters and law enforcement in other parts of America with authorities unleashing chemical agents on Atlanta demonstrators after they tried to climb on a SWAT vehicle. 

In Buffalo, New York, a protester was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a driver in a pickup truck accelerated into a group of demonstrators outside City Hall striking a person on a bicycle.

People chased down the vehicle as the driver fled the scene.

Protesters claimed the woman driver had been shouting at them earlier in the night.  

Wednesday’s grand jury announcement marked the end of a four-month investigation into the death of Taylor, who was shot and killed over six months ago by officers who stormed into her home with a narcotics warrant. 

The EMT’s death set off months of protests, policy changes and a call for the three Louisville Metro Police Department officers who performed the raid to be criminally charged.  

The grand jury chose to charge Hankison with three counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. The Class D felony, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, relates to Hankinson shooting into the neighboring apartments during the raid, not Taylor’s death. 

Hankinson was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in June after officials said he violated policy by ‘wantonly and blindly’ firing his gun during the raid. 

Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who were also present at the time of the fatal operation, were not charged. 

In Jefferson Square Park in Louisville, people were seen breaking down in tears and screaming when the decision arrived as law enforcement helicopters surveyed the scene from above. 

‘That’s it?’ some questioned, while others called to burn the city down. ‘We don’t get no murder charges?’ another asked. 

Many were angered that Hankison, the sole cop charged with three counts of ‘wanton endangerment’ of Taylor’s neighbors, was required to post just a $15,000 bond. 

‘It tells people, cops can kill you in the sanctity of your own home,’ Linda Sarsour, a Palestinian American activist, told the New York Times of the decision. 

‘It’s unjustifiable,’ added Desaray Yarbrough, a Louisville resident who came out to watch the march as it went by. 

‘The lack of charges is getting ready to bring the city down.’  

Protesters quickly came together to begin marching, despite the incoming 72-hour curfew and large parts of the city being closed down. 

Members of far-right groups including the Boogaloo Boys and the Proud Boys were seen fully armed as they made their way downtown to challenge protesters in the afternoon, but appeared to have dispersed by nightfall. 

By 2.15pm, the Times reported that 250 protesters were already marching with two dozen police cruisers in pursuit. 

The group initially march through the closed sections of the city as they chanted: ‘If we don’t get it, shut it down.’ 

Video showed a U-Haul van pulling up to the edge of the barricaded area and offloading a cache of supplies including shields and signs that read: ‘Abolish the police’ and ‘Abolition now’.  

Earlier a group of 150 people had blocked an intersection of Broadway and 6th Street, just outside a barricade that authorities have established around city buildings to keep protesters away. 

Cops quickly arrived and demonstrators moved along, watched over by more police cars.  

Tensions already began to mount as police blocked the crowd from accessing certain roads and leaders tried to keep the group together. 

At one point, protesters stopped to taunt officers waiting inside a vehicle. 

At around 3pm the crowd had grown to several hundred people as they stopped to organize at an intersection with shields to the front. 

Many shouted at those watching from their homes to begin participating.

Tensions rose further still as businesses began to be targeted and several windows were smashed. 

Some protesters were seen knocking over tables and chairs in front of a restaurant before meeting with a white citizen group who were patrolling in front of businesses to keep them secure.

Other videos showed demonstrators hurling insults and water bottles at police officers who linked arms to push back the crowds. 

At about 4.30pm officers began telling protesters that they were engaging in an unlawful assembly and ordered them to disperse immediately.  

‘If you do not do so we may dispense chemical agents and you will be arrested,’ officers told residents via loud speaker.  

Cops were photographed aggressively arresting several protesters by throwing them to the ground and holding them down as they were placed in handcuffs.   

The situation escalated as the curfew drew near and officers began telling people to head home. 

Protesters set fire to piles of trash and Gov Beshear deployed 500 National Guard members to help enforce a city-wide 9pm curfew.   

The two cops were shot around 8:30 pm and, soon after, Gov Beshear tweeted a video of himself urging protesters to pack up for the night.  

‘Sadly we have seen at least one individual turn what were nonviolent ways of expressing ourselves into the shooting of at least two law enforcement officers,’ Beshear said. ‘We know that the answer to violence is never violence, and we are thinking about those two officers and their families tonight.

 ‘So I’m asking everybody, please, go home. Go home tonight. There will be many times over the coming days where there will be an opportunity to be heard, and so many people are listening right now.’

But protesters ignored Beshear’s plea and stayed on the streets as police ramped up efforts to corral them. 

The Daily Caller reported that two of its correspondents were detained on a sidewalk alongside dozens of others who were placed in zip ties. 

By 11pm at least 46 people had been arrested in connection with protests, according to the LMPD. 

Louisville began preparing for potential unrest last week after Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said the grand jury decision would be released ‘soon’. 

City officials began erecting barricades around Jefferson Square Park – which has been at the center of 100 days of protests over Taylor’s death – and boarded up police and federal buildings in anticipation of protests.  

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer declared a state of emergency on Tuesday night and announced a 72-hour curfew for the city beginning at 9pm, with exceptions for those going to work or to seek medical treatment. 

‘I urge everybody to choose peaceful and lawful protest,’ Fischer, a white Democrat, said shortly before Cameron’s announcement. 

‘This is obviously a really important time for our city. I want us to think about our kids and our grandkids and get this right.’  

After the announcement, Fischer pleaded for peace, saying: ‘Let’s turn to each other, not on each other.’  

Other protests erupted in cities nationwide as thousands gathered to decry the Taylor decision. 

In New York City, hundreds of people descended on the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, where they took a knee in Taylor’s honor and listened to various activists speak, and outside Grand Central Station in Manhattan.  

To the north in Buffalo, a protester was hit by a pickup truck during a demonstration in the city’s Niagara Square. The protester was hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries, officials said, and the driver of the truck was pulled over. 

In Illinois, Gov J.B. Pritzker said had spoken to the National Guard about being prepared for protests and was in touch with Mayor Lori Lightfoot of Chicago.  

About 300 people gathered in Palmer Square Park on Chicago’s northwest side before setting off on a march Wednesday evening, chanting Taylor’s name. The march was monitored by police officers on bicycles. 

Other demonstrators gathered in downtown’s Millennium Park chanting demands for justice as passing motorists on Michigan Avenue honked their horns.

Activist priest the Rev Michael Pfleger told protesters gathered in the middle of an intersection that they should peacefully let those who represent the status quo know of their unhappiness with the Taylor decision.

‘We’re here tonight because we do care,’ Pfleger said. ‘And we’re here because we want to say: ‘We object and we don’t accept it. Somebody has to be held accountable.”

In Atlanta, Georgia State Police were seen deploying tear gas canisters on protesters who refused to disperse. 

Another large crowd formed in the nation’s capital of Washington DC as city officials started shutting down streets.   

Fury as just one cop is charged with ‘putting neighbors at risk with wild firing’ in Breonna Taylor’s death and two others walk FREE

Jefferson County Circuit Judge Annie O’Connell on Wednesday announced the grand jury’s decision to charge former detective Brett Hankison with three counts of wanton endangerment in connection to the police raid on the night of March 13. 

The first-degree charge, a Class D felony which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, relates to Hankinson shooting into the neighboring apartments during the incident, not Taylor’s death.  

Hankinson was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in June after officials said he violated policy by ‘wantonly and blindly’ firing his gun during the raid.  

Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who were also present at the time of the fatal operation, were not charged.

Neither the grand jury nor the presiding judge elaborated on the charges.

State Attorney General Daniel Cameron addressed the long-awaited decision shortly after the announcement in a news conference in Frankfort. 

Cameron revealed the investigation found: 

• Sergeant Mattingly and detectives Cosgrove and Hankison had no known involvement in the obtainment of the search warrant executed on March 13.  
• Mattingly was the first and the only officer to enter the residence, where he saw Taylor’s boyfriend Kenneth Walker open fire. 
• There is no evidence to support that sergeant Mattingly was hit by friendly fire from other officers.  
• Mattingly returned fire with six shots. Almost simultaneously, detective Cosgrove also in the doorway, shot 16 times. 
• In total, six bullets struck Taylor, but only one was determined to be fatal.    
• Detective Hankison fired his weapon ten times, firing bullets into apartment 4 and apartment 3.
• At the time, three residents of apartment 3 were at home including a male, pregnant female, and a child. 
• There is no conclusive evidence that any bullets fired from detective Hankison’s weapon struck Taylor. 
• The ballistics analysis did not identify which of the three officers fired the fatal shot. 
• The FBI investigation later concluded the fatal shot was fired by detective Cosgrove.  
• Investigation found Mattingly and Cosgrove were justified in the use of force after Walker opened fire.

He gave a detailed account of the months-long investigation into the events leading up to deadly shooting, which he said had been pieced together by ballistics reports, 911 calls, and witness interviews, due to the lack of bodycam footage. 

But Cameron, who is the state’s first Black attorney general, said that the officers were not charged because they acted in self-defense after Taylor’s boyfriend fired at them.  

‘I certainly understand the pain that has been brought about by the tragic loss of Miss Taylor. I understand that as an attorney general … I understand that as a black man,’ Cameron told reporters. 

‘This team, myself, and the representatives of the Attorney General’s office have taken a lot of criticism and scrutiny. But that scrutiny in many ways was misplaced because there was not a day that people in this office didn’t go to sleep thinking about this case. 

‘Criminal law is not meant to respond to every sorrow and grief, and that is true here. But my heart breaks for the loss of Miss Taylor,’ the AG said. 

Investigators believe Cosgrove was responsible for firing the bullet that took Taylor’s life. Taylor was shot at least five times after officers barged into her apartment while acting on a search warrant for a drug investigation. 

Her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, opened fire when police burst in, hitting Mattingly. Walker was charged with attempted murder of a police officer, but prosecutors later dropped the charge.

Walker had told police he heard knocking but didn’t know who was coming into the home and fired in self-defense. 

Cameron said Cosgrove and Mattingly were not charged after investigators determined their actions were justified because Walker opened fire.

‘According to Kentucky law, the use of force by (Officers Jonathan) Mattingly and (Myles) Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,’ he said. ‘This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.’

The three officers did not take part in the obtaining of the warrant, he said. 

The raid had been widely reported by the media as a ‘no-knock’ warrant however, further investigations later proved the cops had knocked before entering.  

Walker had also told investigators he did hear knocking, but maintained the cops had not identify themselves as police. 

They knocked on Taylor’s apartment door and announced their presence outside, which Cameron said was corroborated by a neighbor who witnessed the arrival.  

Getting no answer, Cameron said police officers ‘breached the door’ and gained entry into the apartment. 

Mattingly entered first, and at the end of a corridor saw Taylor and with Walker who was pointing a gun.

Walker fired, injuring Mattingly in the thigh. Mattingly returned fire, and his colleagues began shooting soon after, Cameron said. Hankison fired 10 bullets, Cameron said.

Six bullets hit Taylor, though there is no ‘conclusive’ evidence that any came from Hankinson’s gun, Cameron said. Bullets fired by Hankison traveled into a neighboring apartment.  

The last moments of Breonna Taylor’s life: Cops shouted a warning before knocking down door, her boyfriend shot first and she died next to him in the hallway after police fired 32 bullets, investigation finds  

The three officers involved in the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor fired 32 times after barging into her apartment, but only one shot was determined to be fatal, investigators found.

The Jefferson County grand jury on Wednesday announced the results of its inquiry into the death of 26-year-old EMT, who was killed in her apartment during a police raid on March 13.  

Louisville Officer Brett Hankison, who was fired in June, was charged with three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into Taylor’s neighbors’ homes. 

Sgt Jonathan Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove, who were also present during the deadly raid, were not indicted. 

In a press conference shortly after the grand jury’s decision, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron gave a detailed account of the sequence of events, which he said was pieced together by ballistics reports, 911 calls, and witness interviews, due to the lack of bodycam footage.  

The investigation shed light into Taylor’s final moments, revealing she was shot a total of six times while standing in the hallway of her home alongside boyfriend Kenneth Walker.

Earlier reports had said Taylor was sleeping in bed when officers barged in and opened fire. 

It also confirmed cops did indeed knock after serving a warrant at apartment 4 of 3003 Springfield Drive in the early hours of March 13. 

According to investigators’ findings, Taylor was shot a total of six times, but medical evidence indicated that only one shot was fatal. 

‘Further medical evidence shows Ms Taylor would have died from the fatal shot within a few seconds to two minutes after being struck,’ Cameron said.   

Walker was determined to have fired the first round, striking Sgt Mattingly in the leg. 

Mattingly was the only officer to enter the apartment, where he said he found Walker holding a gun. 

‘In his statement [Mattingly] says that the male was holding a gun, arms extended, in a shooting stance,’ Cameron said. 

‘Sergeant Mattingly saw the man’s gun fire, heard a boom and immediately knew he was shot as a result of feeling heat in his upper thigh.’

Cameron confirmed Walker shot Mattingly in the leg and there was no evidence to support the cop was hit by friendly fire from other officers. 

During the shooting, Mattingly fired six shots, Cosgrove fired 16, and Hankinson fired 10, according to the report. 

Walker also previously admitted that he fired one shot and was the first to shoot. 

‘Sergeant Mattingly returned fire down the hallway. Mattingly fired six shots. Almost simultaneously, detective Cosgrove also in the doorway, shot 16 times. This all took place in a matter of seconds,’ Cameron said. ‘In total, six bullets struck Ms Taylor.’

Meanwhile, Detective Hankison, who was the only cop charged in the case, had fired his weapon ten times including from an outside sliding glass door and through a bedroom window. 

‘Some bullets traveled through apartment 4 and into apartment 3 before some exited that apartment,’ Cameron said. 

‘At the time, three residents of apartment 3  were at home including a male, a pregnant female, and a child.

‘There is no conclusive evidence that any bullets fired from detective Hankison’s weapon struck Ms Taylor,’ Cameron said. 

The AG said initial ballistics reports were unable to determined which of the three officers fired the shot that killed Taylor.

Cameron then commissioned the FBI Crime lab to conduct a separate analysis to see if they reached the same results. 

‘Ballistics analysis concluded the fatal shot was fired by Detective Cosgrove.

‘Our officers looked at both reports to determine if there were major differences in the procedures used by each lab that would have led the FBI to identify who fired the fatal shot. 

‘Both law enforcement agencies used similar equipment and analysis. Each lab is highly respected for their work. 

‘There was nothing our investigators could point to nor anything provided by the respective agencies that directly explains why one lab made the call while another did not,’ Cameron said. 

Trump says Kentucky AG Daniel Cameron is a ‘star’ and has handled the Breonna Taylor case ‘very well’ when asked to comment on today’s grand jury decision

President Donald Trump praised Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron’s ‘fantastic’ handling of the Breonna Taylor case after a grand jury indicted a single officer in connection with her killing. 

Trump called Cameron ‘really brilliant’ and a ‘star’ when asked about the result of the attorney general’s investigation on Wednesday afternoon.  

It came after Cameron announced that fired officer Brett Hankison had been indicted on three charges of wanton endangerment for the botched raid that killed 26-year-old Taylor on March 13. 

The charges related to Hankison shooting into the homes of Taylor’s neighbors, not her death. The other two officers involved in the raid were not charged.  

The grand jury decision was met with immediate backlash as hundreds of protesters began marching through downtown Louisville and clashing with police. 

Trump, who has repeatedly railed against Black Lives Matter protesters, applauded Kentucky Gov Andy Beshear’s decision to deploy the National Guard as tensions mounted in the city.   

The president’s press conference came to an abrupt end when he said he had to take an ’emergency phone call’ as a reporters tried to ask him more questions about the Taylor case.  

‘Mr. President, just one more question if I can about Breonna Taylor. People are protesting in the streets. What is your message to that?’ a reporter asked right before Trump walked out. 

Trump briefly addressed the case earlier in the afternoon, but punted when asked if he believed justice had been served.  

The president spoke instead about his own record – once again comparing it to Abraham Lincoln’s – and said he would comment on the case later. 

A reporter had asked Trump: ‘Do you believe that justice was served in he Breonna Taylor case in Kentucky, and what is your message to the black community who believe that perhaps justice was not served by the decision which was rendered by the decision that was rendered by the grand jury in Kentucky?’  

He responded: ‘Well, my message is that I love the black community. And I’ve done more for the black community than any other president. And I say, with the possible exception of Abraham Lincoln,’ Trump said, before rattling off accomplishments, some of which built on existing programs or included Democratic buy-in.

‘And mean that with opportunities zones and with criminal justice reform, with prison reform, with what we’ve done for historically black universities, colleges, schools, what we’ve done – nobody has done more. 

‘Abraham Lincoln, let’s give him the nod, but beyond that, nobody’s done more. I love the black community.’ 

He steered clear of any substantive language on the verdict itself, as authorities in Louisville declared a curfew and lined the streets to quell unrest.  

‘I don’t know enough about it. I heard the decision was just made. We’ve been together here, and so we haven’t discussed it. But after I see what the decision is, I will have a comment on it,’ Trump said.

Rival Joe Biden made similarly vague remarks when asked about the grand jury decision on a tarmac in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

The Democratic presidential nominee claimed he hadn’t received enough information to comment fully but said: ‘My heart goes out to [Taylor’s] mother.’

He also urged protesters to keep their demonstrations peaceful.  

‘Do not sully her memory or her mother’s by engaging in any violence. It’s totally inappropriate for that to happen,’ Biden said. ‘She wouldn’t want it, nor would her mother, so I hope they do that.’ 

Biden’s running mate, Sen Kamala Harris, also declined to share her opinion on the indictment.  

‘I haven’t read it fully yet, but there’s no question that Breonna Taylor and her family deserve justice yesterday, today and tomorrow so I’ll review it,’ said the Senate Judiciary Committee member.

Harris tweeted back in June: ‘The officers who murdered Breonna Taylor nearly three months ago still have not been charged. We can’t forget about Black women in our quest for justice.’