Star Tribune
Trooper charged in fatal shooting of Black motorist to make first court appearance Monday
Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan is scheduled to make his first court appearance Monday afternoon after he was charged last week with murder and manslaughter in the fatal shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II.
Londregan will appear before Hennepin County District Judge Tamara Garcia at 1:15 p.m.
He has remained out of custody since Wednesday when Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty filed charges of second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter in the July 31 shooting of Cobb, 33, of Plymouth. Moriarty said her office is not seeking bail, rather conditions of supervised release for Londregan.
It’s unclear if Garcia will order Lundregan to be booked today for mugshot or fingerprints.
Troopers pulled Cobb over on Interstate 94 for driving without taillights around 2 a.m.. They attempted to remove him from the vehicle after learning he’d been accused of violating a standing domestic order for protection.
Londregan, 27, who has less than two years of law enforcement experience, shot Cobb, 33, about 2:15 a.m. July 31 during a traffic stop on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights. Troopers had tried placing Cobb under arrest for violating a domestic order for protection and attempted to remove him from the vehicle. As Cobb shifted into drive and took his foot off the brake, the car started moving, dragging another trooper and Londregan shot Cobb from the passenger side.
Londregan became a trooper trainee in February 2021 and was appointed seven months later, according to his public employee file. He remains on paid leave, according to the agency.
Defense attorney Chris Madel filed motions Wednesday asking to dismiss charges against Londregan because the trooper used deadly force to protect himself and a fellow trooper who was dragged by Cobb’s vehicle as it lurched forward during the stop.
Moriarty said when announcing the charges that the use-of-force was not justified and Lundregan violated trooper policy.
The State Patrol’s general orders of operation prohibit shooting at moving vehicles, except when deadly force is authorized. It says that firearms shall not be used “when there is substantial risk to the safety of other persons, including risks associated with vehicle crashes.”
Troopers “should make every effort not to place themselves in a position that would increase the possibility that the vehicle they are approaching can be used as a deadly weapon against them or others,” the policy states.
Fleeing, in itself, is not cause for deadly force, said Greg Hestness, former deputy chief of the Minneapolis Police Department and retired chief of the University of Minnesota Police Department.
In 1985, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that under the Fourth Amendment, an officer may use deadly force to prevent the escape of a fleeing suspect only if the officer believes the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.
Troopers rarely use deadly force. The only other killing by a trooper in recent years happened in April 2022. Megan Boser, a four-year member with the State Patrol, and Dale Haberer, with the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office for 10 years, shot Charles Bangs, 59, outside of Bowlus, Minn.
Morrison County Attorney Brian Middendorf said that shooting was justified because Bangs was armed with a gun and pointed it at Boser. He cleared officers of any criminal liability.
The BCA said early on that at no point was Cobb seen holding a gun, although one was later recovered on the floor behind the center console.
Transforming the heart of both downtowns, which have much larger buildings than old warehouses, is going to take a lot more money, creativity and time. Josh Talberg, managing director at downtown Minneapolis brokerage JLL, said with no major apartment buildings on the drawing board in either downtown, the fleet of empty office buildings present a golden opportunity to create more housing and lead both cities in a new direction.
“You can can certainly see the fundamentals improving, and you can feel that vibrancy, and that’s ultimately the foundation that’s needed to get investors to reinvest in the city,” he said. “But it’s not as if these 18-wheelers can turn on a dime.”
The Minnesota Department of Transportation closed part of a state highway Wednesday evening near Austin because of a “major hazardous materials release” in the area.
Hwy. 56 from Hayfield to Waltham, a stretch covering about five miles, was closed in both directions and drivers were directed to follow a detour to Blooming Prairie on U.S. Hwy. 218.
No information on the hazardous materials released was immediately available.
A federal judge dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II during a 2023 traffic stop.
The decision is the latest development in a case that has drawn heated debate over excessive use of force by law enforcement. Criminal charges against Londregan were dismissed by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in June, saying the prosecution didn’t have the evidence to proceed with a case.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Nancy E. Brasel granted Londregan’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, arguing he acted reasonably when he opened fire as Cobb’s vehicle lurched forward with another state trooper partly inside.
Londregan’s attorney Chris Madelsaid Wednesday that it’s been a “long, grueling journey to justice. Ryan Londregan has finally arrived.”
On July 31, 2023, the two troopers pulled over Cobb, 33, on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights and later learned he was wanted for violating a felony domestic no-contact order. Cobb refused commands to exit the car.
With Seide partly inside the car while trying to unbuckle Cobb’s seatbelt, the car moved forward. Londregan then opened fire, hitting Cobb twice.
In her decision, Brasel said the troopers were mandated by state law to make an arrest given Cobb’s domestic no-contact order violation. She said it was objectively reasonable for Londregan to believe Seide was in immediate danger as the car moved forward on a busy highway, which would make his use of force reasonable.
