MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's note: The attached video first aired in March 2024
The family of Ricky Cobb II, who was fatally shot during a traffic stop in 2023, announced on Monday their intention to file a lawsuit against a Minnesota State Trooper.
Cobb's family is suing Ryan Londregan, the Minnesota State Trooper charged with murder in the death of Cobb II.
In a news release on Monday, Cobb's family said they plan to speak at a 10 a.m. news conference on Wednesday, April 17 in the Hennepin County Government Center, along with "nationally renowned civil rights attorney Bakari Sellers and Harry Daniels, as well as F. Clayton Tyler."
Cobb II was shot and killed by Londregan on July 31, 2023, after he was initially pulled over on Interstate 94 for a tail light violation, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS).
DPS said troopers learned Cobb was wanted in Ramsey County in connection with a felony-level violation. Records show Cobb was in violation of a no-contact order.
Body camera video released by Minnesota State Patrol officials showed troopers trying to detain Cobb, as the trooper at the driver’s side went to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt. The video showed Cobb’s hand moving toward the gear-shifter and Londregan firing from the open passenger door as the car lurched forward. Troopers Brett Seide and Londregan received minor injuries after falling to the ground as the car pulled away.
Cobb crashed about a quarter-mile away and was pronounced dead at the scene from the gunshot wound.
In January, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced her office filed charges against Londregan, including second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter.
Londregan is scheduled to be back in court on April 29.
Londregan is the first officer to be charged by Moriarty since she was elected after running a campaign promising police accountability. Since the charges were filed there have been questions raised about Moriarty's decision to charge Londregan by law enforcement leaders and even Governor Tim Walz. Some are calling for the case to be reassigned to the office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.
“The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office own hired expert found Trooper Londregan acted lawfully. Now we’re hearing that State Patrol’s own trainers, who Moriarty interviewed in and out of the grand jury, say he also acted lawfully," said Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association President Brian Peters in a statement released Tuesday. "It’s past time to reassign this case away from Moriarty to best serve a fair and honest judicial system – and not an unjust prosecution. Governor – for the sake of fairness and for the sake of our public safety and judicial system – transfer this case away from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.”
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