Charges Dropped Against Minnesota State Trooper Who Shot Black Motorist
A top prosecutor gave notice Monday that her office would drop the criminal charges against a Minnesota state trooper who fatally shot a Black motorist during a traffic stop in Minneapolis last year, saying she did not believe it would be possible to convict the officer at trial.
Trooper Ryan Londregan, 27, was charged in January with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter in the death of Ricky Cobb II the previous summer. Londregan pleaded not guilty.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty explained in an open letter to the community that Londregan’s lawyers had recently revealed “for the very first time” that the trooper was preparing to testify that he feared for his partner’s life that night, believing that Cobb was reaching for his gun.