The family of an unarmed Black driver who was killed in Minnesota during a traffic stop in an incident that led to murder charges against a white police officer has accused the police union and local politicians of interfering with the cop’s prosecution.

Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan was charged in January for the killing of Ricky Cobb II with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second-degree manslaughter more than six months after a pretextual traffic stop led to what critics say was unnecessary police violence.

Reacting to an affidavit filed by a Minnesota State Patrol use of force expert who tried to justify Londregan resorting to lethal measures, attorneys representing Cobb’s family said they refuse to let anybody move the goalposts surrounding the case.

“This isn’t about justice. If it was, politicians and the police union wouldn’t be trying to influence an active prosecution,” civil rights attorneys Bakari Sellers, Harry Daniels and F. Clayton Tyler said in the statement sent to NewsOne on Monday. “This is about trying to subvert the wills of the grand jury and the people of Hennepin County.”

The statement continued:

This family has one ask: that this be treated like any other murder case. We call on Governor Walz to put justice before politics and let County Attorney Moriarty bring this prosecution without any further interference. Reassigning this case would create a clear conflict of interests and removing it from the County Attorney should not be an option. Mr. Cobb’s family has suffered enough. They don’t deserve this too.

The police union may want to defend a murderer who gunned down an unarmed man. The Governor should not.

The attorneys were speaking out just about a week after Cobb’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit seeking $25 million in damages.

One day after the lawsuit was filed, Sgt. Jason Halvorson, coordinator of the Minnesota State Patrol Training and Development Section, claimed that Londregan “acted in accordance with training” when he shot and killed Cobb.

Halvorson’s claim contradicted previous findings from a noted criminologist who played a pivotal role in legal proceedings surrounding George Floyd’s police murder.

In January, Dr. Geoffrey Alpert — an internationally recognized law enforcement expert who testified as a witness in the civil lawsuit filed by Floyd’s family against the city of Minneapolis and the four officers convicted for their roles in the police murder — pointed to video footage recorded via body and dashboard cameras as showing evidence supporting criminal charges against Londregan.

The criminologist at the University of South Carolina who specializes in police use of force found that “Review of the body-worn camera video raises serious questions and red flags about policy violations and the use of excessive force.”

Alpert, whose testimony helped secure a historic $27 million settlement for Floyd’s family, also noted: “The video can be used as an example of what a police officer should not do and if the officers had followed protocol and accepted police practices, it is likely that Ricky Cobb II would be alive today.”

Video from the incident was released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety (MDPS) and showed Cobb, 33, was pulled over for not having his rear lights on. While three officers responded to the initial incident, Londregan was the only one to discharge his firearm.

“Watching this video is like watching a trainwreck,” Sellers previously noted. “No one tried to de-escalate the situation. No one tried to protect his life. Trooper Ryan Londregan pulled the trigger, but he’s not the only one responsible for Ricky Cobb’s death.”

What happened to Ricky Cobb II?

On July 31, 2023, 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II was pulled over by state troopers on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis.

During the traffic stop, officers tried to arrest Cobb and take him into custody for allegedly violating a restraining order. As they tried to take him out of his vehicle, Cobb took his foot off of the brake pedal and was promptly shot in the chest by Londregan. Cobb died on the scene.

In the days after the fatal shooting, Cobb’s family was joined by Black Lives Matter Twin Cities, the Racial Justice Network and Black Lives Matter Minnesota as they rallied in front of Hennepin County Government Center demanding Gov. Tim Walz hold the officers involved in Cobb’s death accountable.

Cobb’s mother, Nyra Fields-Mille, previously described her experience following her son’s death.

“I’m exhausted,” Fields-Miller said at the time. “My heart is heavy every day for the last three days. Waking up, I have migraines. And I’m hurt. I would like those officers to man up.”

In January, Cobb’s family filed a complaint with the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) about the events that led to the untimely death. POST put new changes in place in May that allow the board to revoke the license of an officer for violating its conduct guidelines without being charged or convicted of a crime.

The rule was put in place after Derek Chauvin murdered Floyd in 2020.

Londegran was finally charged in January.

This is America.

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