State Patrol releases identities of those involved in Cobb’s death  

On Thursday, the Department of Public Safety released the identities of those involved in the killing of Ricky Cobb II, who was shot on Monday morning during a traffic stop. The three state troopers involved in the shooting are Brett Seide, Garrett Erickson, and Ryan Londregan.

Ryan Londregan was the trooper who fired the fatal shots that killed Cobb. Londregan relocated to the Twin Cities in 2019, from New England. He studied business administration at St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vt., and worked as an unpaid intern for the Vermont State Police. He also worked at a college and shellfish farm, and as a private investigator in the Twin Cities, before becoming a Minnesota state trooper in 2021. In May, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Minnesota awarded him “Outstanding Rookie” for his work in “removing” impaired drivers from Twin Cities roadways, as well as two “Hat Trick” awards from the Office of Traffic Safety for arresting three impaired drivers in one shift in 2022.

The two other troopers involved did not use force, and although they have more law enforcement experience than Londregan, they are also relatively new to the state patrol. Both Brett Seide and Garrett Erickson, the other troopers involved, have a combined five years of law enforcement experience from other jurisdictions in the state. Both happened to be in the same trooper training class that began in July 2022, and were appointed as full troopers in October 2022. 

Seide, who pulled Cobb over, previously worked as a deputy for the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office from July 2020 to June 2021.  He submitted his resignation two days after his last day in June 2021, with Seide saying in his resignation letter he wanted to “enhance my career in law enforcement.” After he left, he was nominated for a Medal of Meritorious Service award for supporting a St. Francis police officer who continued to pursue someone even after being shot at. 

Seide has an associate’s degree in law enforcement from Hennepin Technical College. Between his time at Anoka County and at the Minnesota State Patrol, he rented out party equipment. In the past decade, he worked at UPS, as a performer and attractions maintainer at a haunted house in Wyoming, Minn., and as a custom fishing-rod technician. 

Seide himself has had trouble with the law. He was cited for speeding in November 2021, and failing to yield to merging traffic in February 2022. Both Erickson and Londregan have no criminal record in Minnesota.

Erickson has the most experience in law enforcement, having worked at three city police departments in Becker and Wadena counties in northwestern Minnesota from 2020 to 2022. The State Patrol sustained a complaint against Erickson, in which he left a person in a vehicle involved in a crash overnight on Christmas Eve 2022.