MINNEALPOLIS — The family of a Black man fatally shot by a White Minnesota trooper last Summer expressed anger and disappointment after prosecutors announced on Sunday they planned to dismiss murder and manslaughter charges against the trooper.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty filed a notice to dismiss murder charges against Trooper Ryan Londregan, 27, after his defense team revealed during a court hearing in April testimony that Londregan believed Ricky Cobb II was reaching for a firearm, and a statements from a Minnesota State Patrol trainer who said he never instructed officers to refrain from firing their weapon into a moving vehicle.
Cobb, 33, was fatally shot as he tried to pull away from a traffic stop. Troopers pulled Cobb over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on July 31 because the lights were out on his vehicle. During the stop, the troopers discovered Cobb was wanted for violating a protection order in a neighboring county. Cobb was shot twice as he tried to drive away after troopers ordered him to get out of the vehicle.
Bakari Sellers, an attorney representing Cobb’s family, told the Star Tribune that Cobb’s family was disappointed with the prosecutors.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the decision to drop charges was made because the evidence would have made it impossible for prosecutors to prove the trooper’s actions were not authorized use of force by a peace officer.
Londregan pleaded not guilty May 15 in the death of Cobb. His trial was set to begin Sept. 9.
More on the fatal shooting and dismissed charges.
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