Cobb family’s supporters praise murder charges against trooper

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.”

During the stop, troopers attempted to remove Cobb from the vehicle after learning he had been accused of violating a standing domestic order for protection in Ramsey County. As the car started moving, dragging along another trooper, Londregan shot Cobb.

Surrounded by Cobb’s family members and supporters, Daniels brushed aside comments he’s hearing that Londregan was a hero who was only trying to protect his partner.

“‘Why are we prosecuting a hero?’ " Daniels quoted those who defended Londregan. “Well, there was a hero on that day. Because as the defendant was firing his [gun], Ricky was shielding ... the partner from bullets. Think about that. As the other officer reached around, his partner was shooting. But for Ricky’s body, the other officer would have been shot.”

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.”

The final words were left to Pastor Madalyn Fields, who counts the Cobb family among her congregation at Immanuel Baptist Tabernacle in Robbinsdale.

Fields offered prayers for the Cobb family and Moriarty’s staff “that you would bless that they have the strength and the courage to right the wrong.”

Fields made sure to include prayers for the trooper who shot Cobb.

“We pray, oh God, that you would stir in his heart and that he would stand and decide that right is right and wrong is wrong. We ask that you would bless him and bless his family, for God we too know that only love will cause this world to change in the direction that it is going.”