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Crime, Law and Justice
MPR News Staff

Minnesota BCA releases case file on fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II by state trooper

A photo of a screen playing a body cam video
A screenshot from a body-worn camera shows Minnesota state troopers during the traffic stop of Ricky Cobb II in Minneapolis in July 2023. A state trooper fatally shot Cobb during the traffic stop.
Screenshot via video

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The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has released a case file from the investigation into last year’s fatal shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II by a state trooper. The file contains an interview with a trooper involved in the incident.

Trooper Ryan Londregan was charged in January with murder, manslaughter and assault in connection with the shooting during an attempted traffic stop along Interstate 94 in Minneapolis in July 2023. But those charges were dropped in June. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said there was new evidence that made it impossible to prove that Londregan’s use of force was unauthorized.

The BCA case file includes hundreds of pages of documents showing the investigation was active as late as May 30 — just days before the charges were dropped — when BCA investigators gathered evidence from one of the responding troopers’ squad cars.

There are photos and video, though body camera and squad car video of the shooting had previously been released just days after the shooting.

The BCA file also includes the audio of an interview conducted during the investigation with trooper Brett Seide, who made the initial traffic stop of Cobb.

Seide told investigators that he was partly inside the driver’s side door of Cobb’s car when Cobb started to drive forward, and that he was nearly pulled under before Londregan shot Cobb from the passenger side.

“My opinion is that trooper Londregan pulled his firearm out and pointed it at Mr. Cobb because we were in process of making that arrest and the vehicle could be used as a weapon. Not necessarily that he was fleeing, but the fact is, we were now in danger,” Seide told investigators.

“I do know that trooper Londregan saved my life in using force. At that time Mr. Cobb could have accelerated faster, he could have swerved, he could have dragged me out into traffic, he could have crashed into another vehicle,” Seide said.

Cobb’s family has filed a federal lawsuit against both Seide and Londregan, alleging the two troopers used excessive force and violated Cobb’s civil rights during the traffic stop.