Charges dropped against state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II
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Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced Sunday she will drop charges against state trooper Ryan Londregan in the death of Ricky Cobb II. Cobb was killed during a traffic stop in Minneapolis last year.
In a court hearing last month, Londregan pleaded not guilty to murder, manslaughter and assault charges. He also asked for a speedy trial in the case.
Moriarty said new evidence would make it impossible to prove unauthorized use of force.
Moriarty held a news conference Monday morning to further explain her decision — and she also chastised Londregan’s defense, law enforcement groups and Gov. Tim Walz for their actions during the case.
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In light of the new evidence, Moriarty said Monday, prosecutors could not ethically proceed with the case.
“But also practically — we know we’re not going to get a conviction in this case. And what would that mean? That would mean that, you know, once again, community would say the system didn’t work,” she said. “Mr. Londregan and MPPOA would be able to talk about, ‘hey, there was a jury verdict.’ And we then would not really be able to talk as effectively about the systemic barriers that set that up to happen. And so going to trial would also have been a set-up here for everyone involved.”
Watch the press conference here
The MPPOA — the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association — was among the groups sharply criticized by Moriarty on Monday, as well as Londregan’s defense.
“The same day we announced charges, the defense posted a video attacking me personally as being out of control and declaring that there was a war on law enforcement, which was going to end in this case,” she said. “I felt personally threatened by that video. But as the case went on, I came to realize that their strategy essentially was to use scorched earth tactics to attempt to intimidate anybody involved in this case, or anyone who might consider trying to hold a police officer accountable in the future.”
Moriarty also criticized Walz, who had questioned the case earlier in the year.
“Why is it appropriate for a governor who has never picked up the phone to call me, who is not a lawyer, who does not understand the nuances of this case, to talk about it publicly?,” Moriarty said.
New evidence
In announcing on Sunday that the charges would be dropped, Moriarty wrote that “specifically, in an open court hearing on April 29, 2024, the defense revealed the substance of Mr. Londregan’s prospective testimony, claiming he saw Ricky Cobb II reach for the trooper’s firearm shortly before Londregan fired the shots that killed Mr. Cobb.”
“Additionally,” Moriarty added, “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 said due to this evidence, the state would be unable to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that deadly force was not justified.”
Christopher Madel, Londregan’s attorney, has strongly criticized Moriarty’s actions during the case and outlined his critique in a three-page letter last summer. When contacted by MPR News about the county attorney’s decision to drop the charges, he said via email, “It’s about goddamned time.”
Reaction to Moriarty’s decision from the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association was swift.
“Open season on law enforcement needs to end — on the streets and in the courtroom,” Brian Peters, the group’s executive director said in a statement. “Trooper Londregan should never have been charged and we are glad this political case is over. Enough is enough.”
The association’s general counsel and former Washington County prosecutor Imran Ali criticized Moriarty’s handling of the case.
“The justice system is not a science experiment. Prosecutors are ministers of justice. This case was an example of an injustice that has been corrected, but the damage remains,” Ali said. “This prosecutor divided our communities all in the name of politics. Shame on you, Mary Moriarty.”
Londregan was charged in January with murder in the shooting death of Cobb during an early morning traffic stop last summer in Minneapolis.
Londregan was one of three troopers on the scene along Interstate 94 at about 2 a.m. on July 31, 2023. He’d pulled up to assist other troopers and then to help take Cobb into custody after they learned Cobb was wanted on “probable cause arrest for a felony order-for-protection violation” in Ramsey County, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Body camera video provided by the state Department of Public Safety shows Cobb starting to drive away as the troopers try to pull him out of the car. Londregan, the trooper on the passenger side, fires several shots into the car before falling to the ground as Cobb drives away.
The car then traveled about a quarter mile down the interstate and stopped against a highway divider. Cobb died at the scene. The BCA said a handgun and two cartridges were found behind the center console of Cobb’s car but that none of the video shows him holding the gun.
Moriarty said before she announced the dismissal of charges, she and others met with Cobb’s family. She also wrote a letter to the community.
“Ricky Cobb II should still be alive. Our decision to not go ahead with charges does not exonerate Trooper Londregan. There are so many points where this night could have gone differently,” Moriarty said in the letter.
Moriarty also said the special prosecutors developed a report and analysis of the new evidence. It includes recommendations of what they think could prevent similar situations in the future.
