Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty's office will begin considering whether charges will be filed in the fatal shooting of a Black motorist by a Minnesota state trooper earlier this summer.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension on Tuesday handed over its investigation to Moriarty, who said in a statement that some State Patrol employees refused to cooperate with an effort that spanned roughly seven weeks. The BCA notified Moriarty on Monday that the case submission was imminent, so Moriarty said she met with the family of Ricky Cobb II to alert them of the development.
Cobb, 33, of Plymouth, died of multiple gunshot wounds in north Minneapolis after he was pulled over about 1:50 a.m. on Monday, July 31, on Interstate 94 for driving without taillights. During the stop, troopers attempted to remove Cobb from the vehicle after learning that he'd been accused of violating a standing domestic order for protection out of Ramsey County.
The Ramsey County Sheriff's Office had issued a 72-hour request for agencies to pick up and hold Cobb for questioning of the felony-level violation that grants officers probable cause to detain. The order for protection was filed by the mother of Cobb's young children, relatives have said.
Squad and body camera video showed three troopers attempting to order Cobb out of the vehicle. He resisted instructions and repeatedly questioned why he was being detained. Less than a minute later, they forced open the doors and rookie Trooper Ryan Londregan was partly inside Cobb's car when he drew and fired his handgun.
At some point Cobb's car lurched forward, knocking down Londregan and another trooper, Brett Seide. A third trooper identified by the BCA as Garrett Erickson was also on the scene.
Moriarty said in the statement that she met with Cobb's family to alert them of receiving the case and "recommit to a fair decision-making process." She thanked the BCA and said her office would begin "a thorough review of the case immediately."
"We have learned from the BCA that there are State Patrol employees who have thus far refused to cooperate with the BCA's investigation. These are individuals who are not the subject of the investigation but may have relevant information," the statement read. "We are disappointed by this lack of cooperation as the family, the community, and the troopers involved in this incident all deserve answers. For our part, I am committed to ensuring that our office utilizes all resources available to us to conduct a complete and thorough review, and reaches a decision as quickly as possible."
