A Minnesota state trooper is facing a murder charge over the fatal shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II who was killed during a traffic stop in July last year.
The murder charge against the trooper was announced on Wednesday and involves the incident where Cobb II failed to get out of his car during a traffic stop. The victim was then said to have taken his foot off the brake of his vehicle when officers tried to arrest him.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the charges against the state trooper, which include second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter. He added that Trooper Ryan Londregan's use of deadly force against Cobb II, a 33-year-old Black man, was unjustified.
Moriarty noted that as with all Minnesota law enforcement officers, state troops are only allowed to use deadly force when it is necessary to protect a person from a specific identified threat of great bodily harm or death that was reasonably likely to occur, as per the Associated Press.
On the other hand, Londregan's attorney, Chris Madel, hailed his client as a hero, saying that the 27-year-old state trooper was trying to protect himself and a fellow trooper during the incident. The attorney filed papers that sought to have the entire case dismissed or at least have Moriarty removed from it.
In a video statement, Madel argued that the county attorney was "literally out of control," adding that open season on law enforcement must end. The murder charge comes as Londregan has not been arrested and Moriarty said that her office will not seek to hold him on bail.
However, she did say that they would ask the court to require the state trooper to surrender his passport and firearms. She expects the defendant's first court appearance to be scheduled for later this week or early next week.
The county attorney's decision to charge Londregan with murder came after a thorough investigation that was conducted by Moriarty's office and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, according to ABC News.
Moriarty added that a critical component of the work of the Minnesota State Patrol is engaging with drivers during motor vehicle stops. She said that Londregan did not follow his training during his encounter with Cobb II.
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Traffic Stop Death
Following the fatal incident and amid the investigation, Londregan and two other troopers who were involved in the traffic stop were placed on paid administrative leave. The primary defendant remains on paid leave pending an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety's Internal Affairs Division.
The situation comes as legal experts said that prosecutors have become more willing in recent years to charge law enforcement officials since the fatal incident with George Floyd. That particular death sparked a national outcry over police abuses and racism.
The initial traffic stop that resulted in the death of Cobb II started out with state troopers pulling him over for driving without working tail lights. At the time, troopers determined that the Black man was subject to arrest over a suspected violation of a protective order that involved a former romantic partner.
When Trooper Brett Seide, one of the three at the scene, asked Cobb II to get out of his car, he stood by the driver's side door. The Black man questioned the orders before Londregan tried to force him out of the car through the passenger's side window.
This caused Cobb II to immediately drive his car away and as the vehicle started moving, Londegran fired his gun twice, striking the Black man in the torso. Then he and Seide tumbled on the ground as the car sped off. Cobb II drove roughly a quarter-mile before dropping dead inside his car, New York Times.
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