Case dismissed against Ryan Londregan
Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty announced the dismissal of charges against State Trooper Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II last summer.
According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO), defense attorneys presented several new pieces of evidence that would prevent the State from proving that Londregan’s actions did not constitute an authorized use of force by a law enforcement officer. the peace.
At a public hearing on April 29, the defense revealed the substance of Londregan’s testimony, saying he saw Cobb grab a soldier’s gun just before Londregan fired shots that killed Cobb.
The HCAO also says an MSP trainer said they never instructed officers to refrain from shooting at a moving vehicle during an extraction, even though it is a good practice.
Following these revelations, the prosecution team consulted with a use of force expert and reassessed whether the State could still prove beyond a reasonable doubt that deadly force was not justified.
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Moriarty, working with the prosecutors assigned to the case, determined that the state could no longer meet its burden of proof and made the decision to dismiss the case, according to the HCAO.
The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office will hold a news conference at 8 a.m. Monday to further discuss the decision.
The special prosecutors retained in this case have developed a detailed report that includes an analysis of the impact of the new evidence. A summary of this report can be viewed below:
Moriarty also released an open letter to the community which can be read below:
After the decision was made, Minnesota Republicans Michelle Fischbach, Tom Emmer, Pete Stauber and Brad Finstad released the following statement:
“It was clear months ago that Ms. Moriarty was abusing her position to falsely accuse Private Londregan. When she refused to listen to the facts of the case and the law, we asked Governor Walz to intervene and remove the case from his jurisdiction. Ultimately, after several months of unnecessary conflict, Ms. Moriarty came to the same conclusion as the experts: that Private Londregan was absolutely justified in using force to protect his partner’s life. We still share the same concerns that we expressed to the Governor as well as the House Judiciary Committee about Ms. Moriarty actively working to demonize law enforcement. We are committed to doing everything we can to protect our brave officers from corrupt officials like her.
Londregan was charged with manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and assault in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II, who was shot after trying to drive away from a traffic stop on I-94 the last year.
Click here for KSTP’s complete coverage of Ryan Londregan.