Hennepin County Attorney drops charges against trooper in fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II

County says dismissal due to new evidence

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty has dismissed the murder case against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II. 

Moriarty, who has come under ferocious criticism from law enforcement groups for bringing murder charges against the trooper over Cobb’s killing on July 31, 2023, announced she would be dropping the case “following disclosure of new evidence by the defense.”

Londregan and another trooper were on either side of Cobb’s vehicle when he drove off during a traffic stop on I-94, with Londregan opening fire and striking Cobb, who crashed into the median barrier a short time later. While a gun was found in Cobb’s vehicle, it was behind the center console, and bodycam footage showed he did not reach for it.

Moriarty says that the new evidence set to be introduced at trial was Londregan’s “prospective testimony,” which was allegedly set to claim “he saw Ricky Cobb II reach for the trooper’s firearm shortly before Londregan fired the shots that killed Mr. Cobb.”

“Additionally, an MSP trainer provided a declaration claiming he never instructed officers to refrain from shooting into a moving vehicle during an extraction, even though that is best practice,” Moriarty’s statement added.

Following these disclosures, her office consulted with a use-of-force expert and, as a result, believes it would be “impossible for the State to prove that Mr. Londregan’s actions were not an authorized use of force by a peace officer.”

“Ricky Cobb II should still be alive today,” Moriarty said. “Today’s necessary decision does not change that fact, nor does it exonerate Mr. Londregan or the methods his supervisors used to train him in difficult situations. The question of whether we can prove a case at trial is different than clearing a person of any wrongdoing.

“There are so many points at which Mr. Londregan could have handled the situation differently, and if he had, Ricky Cobb might still be alive. But that is not the question before us as prosecutors; the only question is whether we can still prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a crime occurred given this new evidence.

“The answer to that question is no, and I would violate my ethical duties if I nonetheless continued with the case.”

Moriarty’s decision to charge Londregan has made her the target of repeated criticism from Minnesota policing unions and right-wing media, with Democrats, including Gov. Tim Walz, also expressing reservations over the case. Her office has contacted Cobb’s family to explain the decision, and in a letter to them she says dropping the charges is “one of the most difficult [decisions] I’ve made in my career.”

Regarding the new pieces of evidence, Moriarty said: “First, in a court appearance a couple of weeks ago, Trooper Londregan’s lawyer claimed, for the very first time, that Londregan would testify that he thought Mr. Cobb was reaching for his gun.

“We would have to disprove this claim beyond a reasonable doubt. The video doesn’t clearly refute that claim (nor does it support it).

“Second, Trooper Londregan’s trainer has recently provided a declaration stating that he did not train Trooper Londregan to refrain from physically extracting people from a running car, which is what set these events in motion.”

Moriarty’s prosecutorial team has produced a report of recommendations for state law enforcement following the dismissal of the case. That includes a recommendation that the Minnesota Commissioner of Public Safety “must ensure” in the case of fatalities caused by state law enforcement, there should be “prompt and complete cooperation be provided to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.”

It also calls on the Minnesota State Patrol to require its members who witness uses of force to “submit written reports promptly and provide voluntary interviews within 48 hours of the event,” place a “greater emphasis on de-escalation in its use of force policies and training,” and that its use of force policy “should be amended to prohibit shooting into or from a moving vehicle.”

This article is courtesy of Bring Me the News.