The Minnesota state trooper who fatally shot a Black motorist during a traffic stop Monday on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis is a rookie with less than two years of law enforcement experience.
BCA names troopers involved in fatal shooting on I-94 in Minneapolis
Ricky Cobb II died after being shot about 2 a.m. Monday on I-94 near 42nd Avenue N. following a traffic stop.
August 3, 2023 at 11:27PM
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said Ryan Londregan fired his department-issued handgun during an encounter with Ricky Cobb II after troopers stopped him about 1:50 a.m. near Dowling Avenue N. for driving without taillights.
Londregan and trooper Brett Seide attempted to pull Cobb from his vehicle after learning he was wanted for questioning in relation to an alleged felony-level violation of a standing domestic order for protection in Ramsey County.
Seide opened the driver's side door and Londregan opened the passenger side door in an attempt to get Cobb to exit the vehicle. Video released Tuesday showed a trooper identified as Londregan shouting "Get out of the car now!" before firing multiple shots. The car lurched forward, knocking down both troopers, footage from squad's dashcam and troopers' body-worn cameras showed.
Seide did not fire his weapon, the BCA said.
Londregan and Seide were injured as Cobb pulled away. A third trooper identified by the BCA as Garrett Erickson was also on the scene. The BCA is leading the investigation into the incident.
The state agency will eventually report its findings to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who will be tasked with deciding whether lethal force was justified.
Londregan and Seide caught up to Cobb's vehicle at 42nd Avenue N., where he had struck a concrete median after leaving the scene of the traffic stop. The troopers tried to resuscitate Cobb, the BCA said.
In one of the videos released Tuesday, a trooper is heard saying "Stay with me" as he rendered aid. Cobb, 33, of Plymouth, died at the scene of multiple gunshot wounds, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said.
Officials investigating Thursday said they found two cartridge casings, a cellphone and handgun on the floor behind the center console in the back of Cobb's vehicle. At no point on available video is Cobb seen holding the gun.
The three troopers have been placed on administrative leave.
Londregan's attorney Chris Madel did not respond to requests for comment. Madel is assigned to represent Londregan through the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association's legal defense fund.
Cobb's death has sparked protests by activists and family members who want the troopers to be fired and charged.
On Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz tweeted his condolences to Cobb's family and confirmed that an investigation has started.
"We will do everything we can to get to the bottom of what happened," he said in the tweet.
Erickson and Seide were hired as trooper trainees July 17, 2022, and appointed troopers Oct. 26, 2022. Londregan became a trainee Feb. 22, 2021, and was appointed Oct. 22, 2021, according to their public employee files provided by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety
Erickson is the only trooper involved in the fatal stop with a sustained complaint on record. On June 28, he received a letter of reprimand for leaving a passenger "in a vehicle overnight in subzero temperatures," according to the statement of charges.
An internal investigation into the crash that occurred Dec. 24, 2022, sustained the allegations. It found that Erickson, who was still in probationary training with a field training officer (FTO), left the man in the crashed vehicle after arresting the driver for impaired driving. Erickson didn't check the passenger for injuries or his license before taking the driver to jail. Under policy, troopers are expected to provide assistance to all parties involved in a crash.
"In a worst case scenario, their actions could have delayed appropriate medical care. It also creates substantial legal liability and reputational harm for MSP and themselves," charges say, adding that Erickson's conduct was "inconsistent with the core values of the State Patrol."
Londregan has a clean record in Minnesota. Seide has two driving infractions, including a November 2021 citation for reaching speeds up to 70 mph on 109th Ave NE. in Blaine where the posted speed limit is 55 mph. A Blaine police officer observed Seide, in a black Honda, "traveling eastbound and appeared to be moving at a high rate of speed." After the officer activated his lights, Seide slowed down and "admitted to driving over the speed limit."
In January 2022, he was cited for violating the duty to drive with due care, a petty misdemeanor. Court documents accuse Seide of causing a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 694 at E. River Road in Fridley. Seide was driving a Ford F-350 truck when he failed to stop in merging traffic. He slammed on his brakes, but "he was unable to stop in time. He honked his horn and then rear ended" one car, which then hit the vehicle in front of it. Property damage was reported in the citation issued by the Minnesota State Patrol.
Prior to Cobb's death, the Minnesota State Patrol had been involved in at least 13 other fatal use-of-force incidents since 2000, according to a Star Tribune database. Ten of the people killed were white, one was Black, one Hispanic and one Native American. The most recent of those was the April 2022 shooting of Charles Bangs near Bowlus, Minn., by a state trooper and a sheriff's deputy.
Staff writer Jeff Hargarten contributed to this story.
Republicans across the country benefited from favorable tailwinds as President-elect Donald Trump resoundingly defeated Democrat Kamala Harris. But that wasn’t the whole story in Minnesota.
