Bookended with prayers that echoed in the atrium of the Hennepin County Government Center, Ricky Cobb II’s family members voiced gratitude that the state trooper who shot their loved during a traffic stop last summer in Minneapolis now stands charged with murder.
“The bells of justice have now started ringing,” said Atlanta attorney Harry Daniels, speaking on behalf of Cobb’s family in the atrium.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced the decision Wednesday to charge trooper Ryan Londregan with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter in the July 31 shooting of Cobb, 33, of Plymouth. Cobb was pulled over about 2 a.m. on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis for driving without taillights.
“I want to thank the District Attorney’s Office for the bravery and courage, despite the naysayers’ polarizing comments,” Daniels said. “It shouldn’t matter if you wear a badge, a shield or a star. It’s not a Black and white thing, no matter who wants to make it a Black and white thing. It’s a law enforcement vs. citizen thing. … It’s about right and wrong.”
Ricky Cobb Sr., with his pastor standing nearby, confessed as strangers passed by and news media chronicled: “I was probably not the best father, but I was there, like I’m here now.”
He said his hope is not so much for justice, but, “I’d rather have the truth. Justice is on my back burner, but that’s just me personally.”
He also asked himself rhetorically whether collecting money in connection with his son’s death matters to him.
“Is it about money?” Cobb Sr. said. “No. I’d take all of it back. Give me my son for one minute, one minute.”
