Star Tribune
State Patrol shooting poses complex legal questions, experts say
One day after body camera footage was released in the fatal shooting of a Black motorist by a Minnesota state trooper, legal experts say that what’s depicted on video shows nothing conclusive about whether lethal force was justified — or might result in future criminal charges.
“I don’t know how anyone, from a legal perspective, could be definitive at this point,” said former Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner.
Ricky Cobb II, 33, died of multiple gunshot wounds in north Minneapolis early Monday, shortly after being pulled over for driving without taillights. During the stop, troopers learned that Cobb was wanted for questioning in relation to an alleged “felony-level violation” of a standing domestic order for protection in Ramsey County.
Squad and body camera video depicts three troopers attempting to order Cobb out of the vehicle along Interstate 94. He resisted instructions and repeatedly questioned why he was being detained. Less than a minute later, they forced open the doors and a trooper on the passenger side of the vehicle fired as Cobb’s hand moved toward the gear shift. The car rolled forward, knocking down two troopers.
“By law, they have every right to order you out of the vehicle,” said David Thomas, a national use-of-force expert and professor at Florida Gulf Coast University. “But being a Black man, I also understand the apprehension of not wanting to exit the car.”
An examination of the video footage left legal observers with lingering questions. It’s not clear whether the vehicle began moving before or after the trooper fired multiple rounds.
Thomas, a retired Georgia police officer, questioned why one trooper lunged into the passenger’s side with his gun drawn — putting his partner in the line of fire — when another trooper on the driver’s side seemed to “have it under control.”
“That wouldn’t be a position I’d want to put myself in,” he said. When asked if this case might result in criminal charges, Thomas surmised that it will depend on a multitude of factors, including how much political pressure is placed on elected officials.
“This one is a crapshoot,” he said.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating the shooting — as it does with nearly all critical use-of-force incidents committed by Minnesota law enforcement. The state agency will eventually report its findings to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who will be tasked with deciding whether lethal force was justified.
Cobb’s case reignited public debate about when an officer should be permitted to use deadly force in response to a perceived threat — and whether they resort to such measures too quickly. That split-second decision can be inherently subjective, experts say, but must be seen as “objectively reasonable” to save themselves or others from death or grave bodily harm.
“A rush to judgment after a fatal shooting often occurs, but the county attorney’s decision needs to be made much more carefully,” said Gaertner, who cautioned the public against drawing any firm conclusions based on a single body camera video.
For many, Cobb’s death evoked similar high-profile fatal encounters between Black motorists and Twin Cities law enforcement that drew intense protests, including the shooting deaths of Philando Castile in Falcon Heights and Daunte Wright in Brooklyn Center.
The defense for Kimberly Potter, the former officer who was convicted of manslaughter in Wright’s 2021 death after she mistakenly pulled her service gun instead of her Taser, argued unsuccessfully that she was legally justified in using deadly force because her partner might have been seriously injured if Wright had sped off, dragging the officer with him.
The trooper involved in Cobb’s case is likely to lodge a similar defense, alleging they had a reasonable fear for their safety, said Mitchell Hamline School of Law professor T. Anansi Wilson.
“When does that rise to the level of taking someone’s life?” Wilson said, noting that officers should also be conscious of the motorist’s perspective.
“Looking through the eyes of a Black citizen in this community, being surrounded on all sides by officers,” it is reasonable that Cobb felt some level of anxiety and may have wanted to flee, he said.
On Wednesday night, around 40 community activists joined Cobb’s family for a rally outside the Hennepin County Government Center to demand that the unnamed trooper be fired and criminally charged.
Marcia Howard, a civil-rights activist at George Floyd Square, said she thinks the footage makes it clear that police were wrong in killing Cobb. “This story stinks to high heaven; everyone who has seen the video and knows the circumstances of Ricky Cobb II’s murder knows this: He was unjustly killed,” Howard said.
The case has also drawn the ire of Democratic politicians like U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips, who condemned the video as “deeply troubling.”
“I’m heartbroken by another senseless loss of life,” he wrote. “Law enforcement is a very difficult and risky job, but shootings like this are unjustifiable and more must be done to prevent them.”
In response, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association released a statement urging caution before rushing to judgment.
“We ask everyone, including elected officials, to let the investigation and legal process continue without interruption or influence,” wrote Imran Ali, a former Washington County attorney who now serves as the organization’s general counsel. “Comments by elected officials only undermine the importance of due process and our rule of law.”
In a brief interview, Ali criticized Phillips for characterizing the shooting as “unjustifiable” — a legal conclusion that can only be made after examining the entire case file.
Gov. Tim Walz also weighed in on the case for the first time Wednesday, saying that he spoke with with Cobb’s mother, Nyra Fields-Miller, and promised her a “transparent, thorough and fast investigation.”
“‘We want answers, we want you to do it right,'” he recalled her saying. “‘We want to trust that this is being done the way it should be.'”
Staff writers Louis Krauss and Christopher Vondracek contributed to this report.
Mohamed Omar is the new board chair of Hennepin Healthcare System, the organization that runs HCMC, making him Minnesota’s first Somali American hospital board leader.
The health care system board permanently appointed Omar to the position Wednesday at their regular meeting. He had served as interim chair since Babette Apland stepped down in September.
Omar has been on the volunteer board for three years, working on the finance, investment, audit and compliance committees. He is the chief administrative officer at the Washburn Center for Children and previously was chief financial officer at the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.
In a statement, Omar said he was excited to lead a hospital board in the state with the largest Somali American population in the U.S. He said he shared the health system’s dedication to providing “equitable, high-quality care.”
“My commitment is to deepen our community engagement, build more authentic connections between patients and team members, and build a confident future together,” Omar’s statement said.
CEO Jennifer DeCubellis and Nneka Sederstrom, chief health equity officer, praised Omar’s selection to lead the board. They said more inclusive leadership with a commitment to ending health disparities are key to HCMC’s success.
Hennepin County Board Chair Irene Fernando, who is also on health system board, said she was excited to work with Omar. She said county leaders are dedicated to good stewardship of the “state’s last public safety-net hospital.”
“As the first Hennepin County Board Chair of color, I know how impactful it is for our communities to see themselves represented in public leadership,” Fernando said.
DULUTH – The Superior National Forest has lifted its forestwide campfire ban, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, effective Friday.
Recent rain and humidity have improved conditions across the national forest’s 3 million acres, forest officials said in a news release.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has also lifted fire restrictions in Cook, Koochiching, Lake and northern St. Louis counties.
Fire danger is still a concern this time of year, said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist.
“As leaves fall and vegetation continues to dry out, it’s important for people to be cautious with anything that can cause a spark,” she said.
The national forest imposed its broad campfire ban nearly two weeks ago, after a third wildfire, named for Bogus Lake, was discovered on forest land. No significant fire activity has been reported in recent days for any of those three fires. A fourth fire inside the forest, the 8.5-acre Pfeiffer Lake Fire, started Oct. 17. It was contained within 24 hours, the Forest Service said.
Much of northeast Minnesota is still classified in the “severe drought” stage by the U.S. Drought Monitor.
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris was asked this week if she thought Donald Trump was a fascist, and she replied ‘’Yes, I do.’’ She subsequently called him the same thing herself, saying voters don’t want ‘’a president of the United States who admires dictators and is a fascist.’’
But what exactly is a fascist? And does the meaning of the word shift when viewed through a historical or political prism — especially so close to the end of a fraught presidential race?
An authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is often associated with the far right and characterized by a dictatorial leader who uses military forces to help suppress political and civil opposition.
History’s two most famous fascists were Nazi chief Adolf Hitler in Germany and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Known as Il Duce, or ”the duke,” Mussolini headed the National Fascist Party, which was symbolized by an eagle clutching a fasces — a bundle of rods with an axe among them.
At Mussolini’s urging, in October 1922, thousands of ”Blackshirts,” or ”squadristi,” made up an armed fascist militia that marched on Rome, vowing to seize power. Hitler’s Nazis similarly relied on a militia, known as the ”Brownshirts.” Both men eventually imposed single-party rule and encouraged violence in the streets. They used soldiers, but also fomented civilian unrest that pit loyalists against political opponents and larger swaths of everyday society.
Hitler and Mussolini censored the press and issued sophisticated propaganda. They played up racist fears and manipulated not just their active supporters but everyday citizens.
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