Prosecutors ignored expert who found no criminal conduct in state trooper murder case, defense attorney says

Attorneys for Minnesota state trooper Ryan Londregan are asking a judge to order the release of all communications between Hennepin County prosecutors and a use-of-force expert, alleging in court documents that prosecutors stopped consulting with the expert after his opinion did not support their theory that Londregan acted criminally when he fatally shot motorist Ricky Cobb II last summer.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office denied the allegations, saying defense attorney Chris Madel used “cherry-picked” quotes in the court motion filed Monday that add up to an inaccurate description of the expert’s statements.

”It is simply false that any expert engaged by the State came to any legal conclusion related to Mr. Londregan’s conduct,” office spokesman Nick Kimball said in a statement Monday. “In fact, the expert characterized the meeting as a preliminary discussion with the State. Once again the defense is abusing the legal process to initiate inaccurate pretrial publicity in this case.”

The expert in question is Jeffrey Noble, a retired Irvine, Calif., deputy police chief hired by Moriarty’s office to consult during the charging review process. Prosecutors have provided Londregan’s defense team with some emails they exchanged with Noble, as well as a summary of an Oct. 13 video conference meeting. But the defense says there are more communications the prosecution must disclose.

According to Londregan’s motion last fall Noble told Moriarty and six other members of the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office that “a reasonable officer in Trooper Londregan’s position would have perceived that [the other trooper on the scene] was in danger of death or great bodily harm, specifically from being dragged by the vehicle as it continued to accelerate.”

“Noble also dismantled the HCAO’s other theories of Trooper Londregan’s fault in this case,” the motion reads. “In sum, on October 13, 2023, Noble, the HCAO’s handpicked expert, told the HCAO that Trooper Londregan committed no crime.”

Kimball quickly countered the allegations in comments to the Star Tribune and a public statement, saying “the defense has selectively quoted a partial sentence of a lengthy document provided to them in the course of the confidential discovery process.

“The cherry-picked sentence excludes critical facts where the expert acknowledged information he would need to fully analyze the case. Specifically, he stated that he did not know the new use of force legal standard in Minnesota or how to interpret it and he did not have a statement from Trooper Londregan,” Kimball said. “Additionally, [Noble] did not have the information from the three months of investigation that occurred after this initial conversation, including grand jury transcripts detailing the extensive training that Londregan received on how to effectively and safely handle traffic stops involving potential fleeing drivers.”

Noble declined to comment when reached by phone Monday.

In light of the defense filing, Republicans in the Minnesota House called for Moriarty’s resignation. House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, accused Moriarty of “putting her personal anti-law enforcement bias ahead of pursuit of facts and justice.””It’s disturbing that Mary Moriarty would disregard or even try to change the opinion of a use-of-force expert hired by her office in her pursuit of what appears to be a very politically motivated and targeted prosecution of a heroic state trooper,” Demuth said during a news conference.

Londregan, 27, is facing second-degree murder, manslaughter and first-degree assault charges for shooting and killing Cobb during a traffic stop on the highway on July 31. Other troopers had pulled Cobb over for driving without lights on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis. Troopers learned Cobb was wanted for violating a domestic order for protection. Cobb ignored orders to step out of the car.

Trooper Brett Seide opened the driver’s door and Londregan opened the passenger door in an attempt to get Cobb out. Cobb shifted the car into drive, charges said, and the car began moving forward before Londregan shouted “Get out of the car now!” and shot Cobb twice..

Prosecutors received the investigation into the fatal shooting from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) in September to consider charges against Londregan. At that time, Moriarty held a news conference saying her office had already identified a use-of-force expert to examine evidence. She didn’t name the expert, but described the independent review as a “critical” piece of the process.

A month later, Noble provided his initial review in an Oct. 13 video conference with prosecutors.

“Mr. Noble offered that, if Trooper Londregan shot Mr. Cobb simply to prevent him from fleeing, he would deem the use of deadly force to be unreasonable,” according to notes of the meeting provided by prosecutors to the defense attorneys and cited in court filings. “However, Mr. Noble stated that his opinion would change if Trooper Londregan shot Mr. Cobb because he feared for Trooper Seide’s safety. Mr Noble stated that, given Trooper Seide’s position in the vehicle at the time of the shooting; the likelihood that Trooper Londregan perceived that Mr. Cobb was attempting to drive away; and the likelihood that Trooper Londregan perceived that Mr. Cobb’s vehicle was in motion, a reasonable office in Trooper Londregan’s position would have perceived that Trooper Seide was in danger of great bodily harm, specifically from being dragged by the vehicle as is continued to accelerate”

Noble told prosecutors that he was prepared to opine that it was a “bad idea” for Seide to reach into the vehicle, but even if Seide’s actions were unreasonable, that does not necessarily make Lodrengan’s use of deadly force unreasonable. “Trooper Londregan still was authorized to reasonably respond to the danger to Trooper Seide,” according to notes from the Oct. 13 meeting.

According to court records, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office contract with Noble runs from Aug. 21, 2023 until Aug. 20, 2024. The agreement includes payment of $450 per hour, plus a flat rate of $3,000 for the first four hours of deposition and witness services and $650 for every additional hour.Prosecutors said in court filings last week that they stopped communicating with a “witness,” and asked the unnamed person to hold off on any further work on the case.

The defense said in the filings this week that prosecutors “ignored Noble and charged Trooper Londregan.” The motion says lead prosecutor Joshua Larson told Noble to to stop working on the case.

Londregan’s defense is asking prosecutors to provide all Noble-related documents, according to court rules that prosecutors must disclose any information that could aid in the defense of someone accused of a crime, known as the Brady doctrine. Moriarty’s office said it provided relevant material already and that a report from Noble doesn’t exist.

”The State has no knowledge that this witness drafted or finalized any report related to this case. The State has conveyed this information to the defense...and the defense also is aware that any draft or preliminary opinions held by this witness at any point during the developing investigation would be based on an incomplete record” prosecutors wrote in court filings last week.

Kimball added that a use-of-force expert could still be used as evidence before a jury, but the office was able to determine appropriate charges without an expert report.

On Monday afternoon, Madel sent an email to Moriarty and Larson suggesting he would publish the previously sealed documents in full.

“If your Office truly believes we ‘cherrypicked’ something, I am confident that you will have no objection to this publication. Alternatively, please be advised that the defense has no objection to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office publishing the entire October 13, 2023 Statement on its website.”

The Star Tribune asked Madel and Kimball to provide the Oct. 13 meeting summary, but neither did so.

Both parties are back in court March 21 to argue over whether the state has to provide further Noble-related communications to the defense.

Noble, who declined to say over the phone Monday whether he was still under contract with Moriarty’s office, was previously consulted in other high-profile use-of-force cases including the police shooting of Philando Castile.

Noble testified in the trial of St. Anthony police officer Jeronimo Yanez, who shot Castile during a 2016 traffic stop. He found Yanez was not justified in shooting Castile.

Despite Noble’s expert testimony, a jury acquitted Yanez of all charges.

Noble is frequently tapped on to serve as an expert witness with police on trial. He has also published various opinions on law enforcement, including that George Floyd’s death was a foreseeable consequence of the officers’ actions.

Star Tribune staff writer Ryan Faircloth contributed to this story.