MPPOA asks Walz to take Londregan case from Hennepin County Attorney, give it to AG
MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association on Friday sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz requesting that the attorney general take over the case of a state trooper who killed a man during a traffic stop in Minneapolis last summer.
Ryan Londregan shot and killed Ricky Cobb II in the early hours of July 31 on Interstate 94 near Lowry Avenue in Minneapolis. Londregan pulled Cobb over for not having his tail light on, according to the Department of Public Safety.
MORE: Ricky Cobb II's family speaks out after trooper charged in his death
Londregan was charged in January with second-degree unintentional murder, along with first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter.
Earlier this week, however, Londregan's lawyers accused the Hennepin County Attorney's Office of ignoring police use-of-force expert Jeff Noble's legal opinion in the case.
Court filings from Londregan's lawyers say Noble told the prosecutors the use of force was reasonable because Londregan believed his fellow trooper's life was in danger. However, Moriarty's office argued that Noble's analysis was preliminary, and he didn't reach any legal conclusion.
A spokesperson for Moriarty's office on Monday said in part, "The defense has selectively quoted a partial sentence of a lengthy document...[that] excludes critical facts where the expert acknowledged information he would need to fully analyze the case."
The MPPOA, in a letter to Walz, said Moriarty's office decided to "manufacture a basis, no matter how flimsy, to bring the charges they intended to bring from the very start" and sought to "minimize the chance that Noble's analysis could be used against them."
"The law enforcement community is united in outrage over this ongoing abuse," the letter goes on to say.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office responded with a statement which reads:
We are disappointed but not surprised to see MPPOA's request that the Governor give special treatment to this case and, for just the second time in the history of the state, remove a case from our jurisdiction. We will not talk about the facts of this case. That's for the courtroom.
MPPOA is right about one thing - there is a crisis in confidence, but it is not because of attempts at accountability. It is because of well-documented and horrific instances where some officers abused their power and used unauthorized force. These abuses have fallen disproportionately upon the shoulders of black and brown Minnesotans. It is unfortunate to see MPPOA fail to acknowledge this history and fail to try to repair it.
The governor's office said they received and are reviewing the letter. "The Governor takes this matter seriously," a spokesperson said.
Last spring, Walz assigned Attorney General Keith Ellison to take over the prosecution of those accused in the murder of 23-year-old Zaria McKeever. McKeever's family disagreed with Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty who, when she had the case, was not pursuing prison time for the juvenile shooter. It was the first time in state history a Minnesota attorney general took over a criminal case without the greenlight from a county attorney. Moriarty called the decision "undemocratic."
Note: The above video is from March 11, 2024.
