A Minnesota trooper who fatally shot a black man during a routine traffic stop last July has had his charges dropped.
The charges against Ryan Londregan, the white state trooper suspected of killing Ricky Cobb II, 33, include second-degree unintentional homicide, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter. He had earlier pleaded not guilty.
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On Sunday night, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the dismissal of the charges against Londregan. The dismissal comes after the defense said that Londregan will testify that he saw Cobb “reach for the trooper’s firearm” and that a Minnesota State Patrol trainer stated that “he never instructed officers to refrain from shooting into a moving vehicle.”
As a result of this new information, prosecutors felt they could no longer prove beyond a reasonable doubt “that Mr. Londregan’s actions were not an authorized use of force by a peace officer” and chose to abandon the case.
During a press conference Monday morning, Moriarty expressed disappointment that she would be unable to bring the case to trial.
“Ricky Cobb should be alive today,” she explained. “That makes our inability to continue all the more difficult for Mr. Cobb’s family and our community.” And for that, I really apologize.
The Cobb family’s civil rights attorneys, Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels, and F. Clayton Tyler, blasted the county attorney’s office, alleging they had “bowed to political pressure to drop the charges.”
“Apparently, all you have to do to get away with murder is bully the prosecutors enough, and the charges will just go away,” the lawyers said in a statement. “The people don’t believe the excuses, and neither do we.”
On July 31, 2023, around 1:50 a.m., troopers initially pulled Cobb over because his taillights were out. When troopers stopped him, they discovered he was wanted for violating a protective order in a nearby county and were asked to take him into custody, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
Bodycam footage shows two troopers chatting with Cobb while standing outside the automobile. The troopers attempted to apprehend Cobb, but he allegedly refused to vacate the vehicle and attempted to drive away. According to the body camera video, one of the troopers attempted to grasp the steering wheel to stop him, but he continued driving. Officials identified Londregan as the trooper who shot Cobb multiple times before he hit a median and died at the scene.
In a press conference Monday, Londregan’s attorney, Christopher Madel, characterized Moriarty’s claim that her team was unaware of the trooper’s allegation that he shot Cobb while attempting to protect himself and his partner as “absurd.” Madel also demanded Moriarty’s resignation following remarks she made comparing Londregan supporters to “Jan. 6” rioters.
“I do take great offense to that,” Madel replied. These individuals stood up for a hero facing a murder charge. “When did that become wrong?”
Cobb’s family accused Londregan and Minnesota State Trooper Brett Seide of “unreasonable seizure” and “excessive use of force” in a federal complaint they filed in April.
In a press conference announcing the complaint, Cobb’s 7-year-old son’s mother, Olivia Stroh, asked for justice in the case and highlighted the pain her son is going through.
Stroh expressed his pain at having to inform his son that Londregan, the person he looked up to and expected to protect and serve, had shot his father. It’s heartbreaking to inform him of this; he’s only seven years old. And he doesn’t deserve this. Ricky does not deserve this. His four other children do not deserve this, and he demands justice.
Cobb’s father, Ricky Cobb Jr., stated at a news conference in January that he was battling to remain strong for his family.
“This is a hard one,” he said. “I will tell any father who has lost a kid that this pushes you to a whole new level of strength.” I had to be strong for my children.
