A Minnesota State Patrol trooper has been charged with murder for shooting Black motorist Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop in July.
Trooper Ryan Londregan has been charged with “second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter” in connection with Cobb’s death, according to the Associated Press.
“As with all Minnesota law enforcement officers, state troopers may only use deadly force when it is necessary to protect a person from a specific identified threat of great bodily harm or death that was reasonably likely to occur. That did not exist in this case. Ricky Cobb II should be alive today,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Attorney Chris Madel, representing Londregan, defended his client, calling him “a hero,” and expressed a broader concern about the treatment of law enforcement officers in the legal system.
“This county attorney is literally out of control. Open season on law enforcement must end. And it’s going to end with this case,” attorney Chris Madel said in a video statement.
Londregan has not been arrested, but Moriarty’s office plans to request him to surrender his passport and firearms. His first court appearance is expected by early next week.
During the traffic stop on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis, Trooper Brett Seide pulled Cobb over for a tail light issue, according to the Minnesota Public Safety Department’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which investigates police shootings.
The bureau has said previously that Seide checked Cobb’s record and found he was wanted for a “probable cause arrest for a felony order-for-protection violation” issued by the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office.
During the stop, Londregan shot Cobb after attempts to pull him out of the car after arriving on the scene. Cobb managed to drive a short distance before stopping, and according to the bureau, despite efforts to save him, he died at the scene.