The two Louisville Metro Police Department officers who were shot and injured on Wednesday night are recovering.
Maj. Aubrey Gregory and Officer Robinson Desroches were injured in the shooting, which occurred around 8:30 p.m. Interim Police Chief Robert Schroeder said Gregory was shot in the hip, while Robinson was hit in his abdomen.
“I’m very concerned about the safety of our officers. We’ve had two officers shot tonight, and it’s very serious and very dangerous,” Schroeder said during a press conference on Wednesday night. “The safety of our officers in the community we serve is of utmost importance.”
Police arrested 26-year-old Louisville man Larynzo Johnson, who is facing two counts of first-degree assault of a police officer and additional counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.
Schroeder said Johnson is facing 14 counts of wanton endangerment “all directed against police officers.”
Gregory joined Louisville’s police force in 1999 and serves as LMP’s special operations commander. He was one of several officers who testified before Louisville Metro Council last week about the city’s response to protests.
During his testimony, Gregory said he was the person who called all police downtown on the first night of protests for Breonna Taylor on May 28. He added that it was his call to first use tear gas on protesters, following a shooting outside Metro Hall.
Desroches is a second division officer who joined the LMPD in March 2019. He is stable and recovering.
“Last night’s situation could have been so much worse for our officers and for the people who were protesting when the gunfire rang out,” Schroeder said. “We are extremely fortunate these two officers will recover.”
In body camera footage of the shooting, shouts of “officer down” can be heard after the sound of gunshots.
More than 100 arrests were made on Wednesday, during a day and night of protests following a grand jury decision not to bring charges against police for the killing of Taylor during a drug raid earlier in 2020.
