Charges dropped against Minnesota state trooper who killed black motorist
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
MINNESOTA - Prosecutors in Minnesota on June 2 dismissed charges against a state trooper accused of unintentional murder and manslaughter in the death of black motorist Ricky Cobb II in 2023, citing new evidence that weakened their case.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said prosecutors were not exonerating State Trooper Ryan Londregan, only that they no longer believed they could meet their burden of proof at trial.
Asked about the dismissal of charges, defence attorney Christopher Madel said in an e-mail: “It’s about... time”.
Mr Cobb’s killing took place in the same city where Mr George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in 2020, which set off global racial justice protests and put a spotlight on police killings of black citizens across the US.
During a traffic stop in July 2023, troopers informed Mr Cobb he was wanted for another offence, and they planned to arrest him, according to the criminal complaint.
State Trooper Londregan shot Mr Cobb after he put the car in gear and took his foot off the brake, the complaint said.
Upon announcing charges, prosecutors said they believed Mr Londregan failed to follow his training against firing into a moving vehicle.
But since then, a trainer of state troopers said officers were never instructed to refrain from shooting into a moving vehicle, only that it was best practice, prosecutors said in a statement.
Additionally, in a pre-trial hearing in April, defence attorneys told the court that Mr Londregan was prepared to testify he saw Mr Cobb reach for his gun, the statement said.
Those two developments led the state to dismiss the case, the statement said.
“Ricky Cobb II should still be alive today,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in the statement. “The question of whether we can prove a case at trial is different from clearing a person of any wrongdoing.” REUTERS
