Minnesota State Trooper charged with murder in shooting of motorist

Prosecutors on Wednesday charged a Minnesota police officer with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a motorist who sped away during a traffic stop in Minneapolis last summer.

The announcement of charges against Trooper Ryan Londregan in the death of the driver, Ricky Cobb II, followed an investigation that exposed tensions between law enforcement and prosecutors.

Trooper Londregan is the first law enforcement officer to Maria Moriarty, The top prosecutor in Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, has reported an on-duty shooting. Ms. Moriarty, a former public defender, was elected in 2022 and has promised sweeping changes in the wake of the 2020 killing of George Floyd, including stronger efforts to hold officials accountable for misconduct.

Legal experts say prosecutors have become more willing to charge law enforcement officers since Mr Floyd was killed by a Minneapolis police officer, sparking national outrage over police abuse and racism. Yet criminal charges in such cases remain rare, and when they are filed, prosecutors struggle to secure a conviction.

In addition to the second-degree murder charge, Trooper Londregan was charged with first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter.

Peter B. Wold, attorney for Trooper Londregan, 27, did not immediately comment on the allegations.

Mr. Cobb, a 33-year-old black man, was fatally shot on July 31 after state troopers, including Trooper Londregan, who is white, pulled him over on Interstate 94 for driving without working taillights. according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.

During the stop, troopers determined that Mr. Cobb had been arrested for a suspected violation of a protective order involving a former romantic partner, officials said.

Police body camera footage which was released shortly after the shooting, the sequence of events showed.

Trooper Brett Seide, one of three officers on scene, asked Mr. Cobb to step out of his car while Trooper Seide stood at the driver's side door. Mr. Cobb, who was alone in the car, can be heard questioning the request and asking if there is a warrant for his arrest.

Trooper Londregan, who was standing on the passenger side of the car, can be seen opening the door and reaching inside in an attempt to force Mr. Cobb out, body camera footage shows. Trooper Seide did the same on the driver's side. Almost immediately you see Mr. Cobb's vehicle lurch forward.

As the car started moving, Trooper Londregan fired his gun twice, hitting Mr. Cobb in the torso, officials said. Troopers Seide and Londregan fell to the ground as the car sped away.

Mr. Cobb drove about a quarter mile before his car came to a stop along the highway. He died at the scene, officials said.

At the time of the traffic stop, Trooper Londregan had been a law enforcement officer for approximately one and a half years. He is now on paid leave.

Prosecutors said the troopers' actions that night were contrary to how they are trained to remove an uncooperative person from a vehicle. It's a matter of policy, the prosecutor's charging document says: “troopers must make every effort not to place themselves in a position that increases the likelihood that the vehicle they are approaching could be used as a deadly weapon.”

Investigators who searched Mr. Cobb's car after his death found a gun on the floor behind the center console. according to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the government agency that investigates police shootings.

The weapon was not visible on police body camera video, and no public evidence has emerged to indicate that troopers knew there was a weapon in the vehicle before Mr. Cobb's death. Mr. Cobb was not allowed to legally own a gun in Wisconsin because he was convicted of domestic violence in 2017, according to court records.

Shortly after his death, Mr. Cobb's relatives and civil rights activists in Minnesota called on elected officials to fire and criminally charge the troopers involved. Relatives of Mr. Cobb Met in August with Gov. Tim Walz, a Democrat, and separately with Ms. Moriarty.

The union representing state forces called the meeting together with the governor being “inappropriate,” arguing that it could unnecessarily impact the criminal investigation.

As prosecutors began investigating the killing, Ms. Moriarty left her office was hindered by State Patrol officers who refused to cooperate.

In recent years, Minnesota prosecutors have tended to refer cases involving police use of deadly force to grand juries, leaving it up to them to determine whether an officer's conduct amounted to a crime. In the Minneapolis area, prosecutors have often asked a district attorney in another county or the state's attorney general to handle cases of fatal police brutality.

When she ran for office, Ms. Moriarty said she hated those arrangements. Her campaign website promised that, if elected, she would make her own decisions about charging police officers, to “let the people of Hennepin County hold her accountable for those decisions.”

In this case, Ms. Moriarty said the decision to file charges was made by her and her team and not by a grand jury.

Ms Moriarty said Wednesday was a difficult day for the families of Mr Cobb and Trooper Londregan.

“Our community continues to deal with the mounting trauma and grief resulting from the tragic loss of our community members at the hands of police,” she said.