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Suspect in Louisville police shooting charged with assault and wanton endangerment

Larynzo Johnson is accused of shooting two police officers during protests in response to a court ruling in the Breonna Taylor case.  (Louisville Metro Police Department)
Larynzo Johnson is accused of shooting two police officers during protests in response to a court ruling in the Breonna Taylor case. (Louisville Metro Police Department)

A man accused of shooting two Louisville police officers during protests related to a court ruling in the Breonna Taylor case was arrested Thursday.

Larynzo Johnson, 26, has been charged with wanton endangerment and the assault of a police officer.

The officers were shot on Wednesday night while conducting protest response and crowd control activities.

A police complaint claims Mr Johnson "intentionally used a handgun to fire multiple bullets at officers."

The complaint claims Mr Johnson had a handgun in his possession at the time of his arrest and that a video from the protest captures him firing at police officers.

The two officers who were shot are in the hospital and being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Protesters filled the city's streets Wednesday night after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against the Louisville police for their role in Ms Taylor's death.

The only charges the grand jury issued were three counts of wanton endangerment against officer Brett Hankison - who has since been fired - for shooting into a home next to Ms Taylor's.

Ms Taylor was killed when she was shot multiple times by Louisville police officers who burst into her home during a narcotics raid. The police were granted a warrant that was connected to an individual who didn't live at the apartment, and police found no drugs in the home.

Benjamin Crump, an attorney representing Ms Taylor's family, said the decision was "outrageous and offensive."

Kentucky attorney general, Daniel Cameron, said that the officers who shot Ms Taylor were acting in self defense, alleging that Ms Taylor's boyfriend shot at them first.

“According to Kentucky law, the use of force by [Officers Jonathan] Mattingly and [Myles] Cosgrove was justified to protect themselves,” Mr Cameron, who is the state's first black attorney general, said. “This justification bars us from pursuing criminal charges in Miss Breonna Taylor’s death.”

Mr Cameron - a Republican and protege of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - said an FBI crime lab determined that Mr Cosgrove fired the bullet that killed Ms Taylor during a shoot-out with her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker.

Mr Walker allegedly began firing at police as they entered the apartment and hit Mr Mattingly.

Marches took place in major cities across the country, including New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta and Philadelphia, according to the Associated Press.

Mr Johnson will be arraigned on Friday.

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