Several relations of Ricky Cobb II expressed gratitude and a hope for justice a day after the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office charged a Minnesota State Trooper with murder in Cobb’s killing last summer.
“We wish equality, we would like justice,” said Rashad Cobb, Ricky’s twin brother, during a Thursday news conference on the Hennepin County courthouse in downtown Minneapolis. “We’re not asking for the world, we’re asking for what’s righteous and what’s ours.”
The family and their attorneys thanked Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office while also acknowledging that the costs are only step one within the long process toward justice for Cobb’s killing.
“We commend the county attorney’s office for standing up for bravery and taking their oath seriously,” said Harry Daniels, the family’s attorney. “They usually are not just looking for to arrest and lock people up, but to be true ambassadors of justice.”
Trooper Ryan Londregan was charged with second degree unintentional murder, first degree assault and second degree manslaughter, the county’s top prosecutor Mary Moriarty announced on Wednesday. In an announcement released shortly after the costs were announced, Cobb’s family called the choice vital for the family and for promoting accountability of law enforcement going forward.
“Ryan Londregan stole my son from me. He gunned Ricky down my son for no reason while he was defenseless,” Nyra Fields-Miller, Cobb’s mother, said within the statement. “Nothing can ever make up for that. But today’s decision is step one toward closure and justice.”
Moriarty explained that her office determined Londregan shooting Cobb was an instance of unnecessary use of deadly force after examining State Patrol training policies. The training outlines extract someone from a vehicle using one or two troopers, and that shooting someone is unlikely to stop them from driving away – two policies that weren’t followed by Londregan throughout the traffic stop with Cobb, she said.
Cobb, a Black motorist, was killed in July on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis during a traffic stop initiated by Londegran and two other troopers for driving without taillights. The troopers tried to arrest Cobb after learning he had violated a protective order, and because the troopers opened Cobb’s doors, Cobb appeared to have attempted to drive off. Londregan then shot at Cobb, killing him.
“As with all Minnesota law enforcement officers, state troopers may only use deadly force when it’s needed to guard an individual from a particular, identified threat of great bodily harm or death that is fairly more likely to occur,” Moriarty said. “That didn’t exist on this case. Ricky Cobb II needs to be alive today.”
The killing reignited feelings of shock and exasperation at law enforcement that prompted 1000’s to flood the streets in protests following the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and killing of Daunte Wright in 2021 that has sustained calls for police accountability since.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) accomplished its investigation and handed their findings to Moriarty’s office in September. Within the months that followed, Cobb’s family and other community members expressed frustration at how long it was taking for Moriarty to announce a charging decision, but Moriarty said Wednesday that the wait was so her office could do its due diligence before making a choice.
“We desired to be thoughtful in regards to the decision on this case, understanding how vital it’s to Ricky Cobb’s family, to Trooper Londregan and to our community,” she told reporters. “We were careful, thoughtful and obtained all of the knowledge that we knew we wanted to make that call, and in order that’s why it took that much time.”
Law enforcement groups, alternatively, got here out in support of Londregan and criticized the choice.
The Minnesota State Patrol Troopers Association (MSPTA) said in an announcement that it stands firmly with Londregan, who it said found himself in a “potentially life-threatening” situation that “necessitated using deadly force” when Cobb attempted to drive away. The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) echoed that sentiment, releasing an announcement reiterating that Londregan’s actions were driven by his lawful duty to apprehend Cobb.
“MPPOA will vigorously defend our trooper who’s unjustly charged because of this of acting in accordance along with his legal responsibilities,” said MPPOA Executive Director Brian Peters. “The State Troopers used their training and acted accordingly to arrest the driving force and address the approaching threat to each law enforcement personnel and the general public at large as the driving force unlawfully and dangerously attempted to flee in his vehicle.”
Col. Matt Langer, chief of the Minnesota State Patrol, said in an announcement that Londregan will remain on paid leave because the Department of Public Safety’s Internal Affairs division completes its own investigation, as per the troopers’ union contract. That investigation will then inform whether Londregan stays employed by the agency.
Langer said the State Patrol can be conducting its own “critical incident review” in an effort to look at and inform possible changes to the agency’s training and other policies.
Londregan is predicted to make his first appearance before a judge later this week or early next week, at which point he’ll hand over his firearms and passport as a part of his conditions of release.