LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky man who authorities accuse of requesting $30,000 to shoot police officers in Louisville in a social media video while he was brandishing a gun has been arrested.
According to a criminal complaint, Cortez Lamont Edwards, of Louisville, made the statements Wednesday on a Facebook Live video, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky said in a statement.
Authorities said Edwards, 29, was requesting the money to shoot officers who were in the street in front of his residence during a disturbance.
Federal and local authorities executed a search warrant on Edward’s home on Sunday and found him sleeping on a couch. The statement said authorities also found a gun on that couch, and a toddler in the house.
An investigation revealed that Edwards was a convicted felon, and he has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm. It is not clear if Edwards had an attorney who could comment.
“Louisville needs healing and safety for its citizens, not armed felons seeking bids to shoot police,” U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman said in the statement. Louisville police thanked authorities on Twitter after Edwards’ arrest was announced, saying “the actions of this person were unacceptable!”
If convicted, Edwards could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Two officers were shot and wounded Wednesday night during the demonstrations in Louisville expressing anger over the killings of Black people at the hands of police. Other cities across the U.S. have also seen protests after a Kentucky grand jury brought no charges against Louisville police for Breonna Taylor’s death.
Taylor, a Black emergency medical worker, died when she was shot multiple times by white officers who entered her home during a narcotics investigation in March.
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