A Minnesota State Trooper has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II, a 33-year-old black man, during a routine traffic stop on July 31, 2023.
On Wednesday, Officer Ryan Londregan, 27, was charged with second-degree manslaughter, first-degree assault and second-degree murder, according to a news release from Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty. The charges against the defendants followed an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Office of Criminal Apprehension.
Ricky Cobb II.
Cobb was initially pulled over because his vehicle had no tail lights. Authorities then learned he had a felony-level violation, according to the criminal complaint, the Associated Press reports. Authorities attempted to detain Cobb. He then allegedly refused to get out of his vehicle and dislocated his leg from the fracture. The officers then tried to remove Cobbs, but in their attempt, the car drove off.
Londregan then fired his gun and hit Cobb, the Associated Press reports.
“This county state attorney [Mary Moriarty] provided killers and kidnappers with love affairs, and today she’s charging a hero,” Londregan’s attorney, Chris Madel, said in a video statement. “This district attorney is literally out of control. Open season on law enforcement must end, and it will end with this case.”
Madel filed documents seeking either to have the case dismissed or to remove Moriarty from the case, the Associated Press reported.
Moriarty said Londregan’s use of deadly force against Cobb was not justified. She added that “a key component of the Minnesota State Patrol’s work is interacting with motorists during motor vehicle stops.” She explained that the accused “did not follow this training.”
According to Moriarty’s statement, the Hennepin County District Attorney’s office is not seeking bail. The office asked the court to require Londregan to follow all court-ordered conditions, including surrendering his passport and firearms.
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Minnesota State Patrol Col. Matt Langer on Aug. 1, 2023, in St. Paul, Minn.
Reness Jones Schneider/Star Tribune via Getty
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“We want to thank this district attorney’s office for their courage,” the Cobb family’s attorney, Harry Daniels, said during a news conference Thursday with the family and their attorneys.
“Despite the naysayers and the polarizing comments, because it shouldn’t matter whether you wear a badge, a shield or a star,” Daniels said. “This is not a black and white thing, no matter who wants to do it it’s a black and white thing. This is not a law enforcement thing against citizens. This is right versus wrong.”
“I want justice for my son. I stand firm as a rock,” said the victim’s mother, Nyra Fields-Miller. “Thank you to everyone who stood by me and believed that there was and will be justice for Ricky Cobb II.”
“I will say to any father who has lost a child, this takes you to another level of being strong. I had to be strong for my children,” the victim’s father, Ricky Cobb Sr., said during a press conference:
“I hope my son can rest in peace a little bit after this,” he added. “Because right now the family is not resting, there is no peace. We close our eyes, but it is not peaceful.”
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The deceased’s twin brother Rashad Cobb added: “We want equality. We want justice. We do not seek the world, we only seek what is rightfully ours.”
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Source: HIS Education