The family of Ricky Cobb II announced they will be filing a civil suit against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan for shooting Cobb on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis last July.
The lawsuit comes amid the ongoing court case against Londregan, which has become highly politicized.
Family attorney Bakari Sellers says the commentary from politicians and law enforcement groups surrounding the criminal case isn’t their concern or their focus.
"The politics aside, we'll let people get reelected, we'll let people support who they support, but we stand squarely on our toes, and we will go toe-to-toe with whomever is in front of us to get to that goal of justice," says Sellers.
The lawsuit states that as a direct result of the troopers' wrongful acts and omissions, Cobb's family has suffered financial losses in an amount that will be determined by a jury.
Along with their attorneys, the Cobb family was joined for the first time by both mothers of Cobb's three children. The mother of Cobb's two older children, Danielle Pickett, shared how they have been dealing with his loss.
"Imagine your children, walking out the door every day to go up to school and having to say goodbye to an urn instead of their actual parent," says Pickett. "An urn is waiting for them every day when they come home after school. And we're left to raise little boys without their dad."
The suit accuses both troopers Ryan Londregan and Brett Seide of unreasonable seizure and excessive use of force.
The case gained prominence after Londregan's defense claimed Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty chose to ignore the input of a use-of-force expert, who said Lodregan "acted in accordance with his training." Moriarty has said that testimony has been taken out of context.
There have been numerous calls for Governor Walz to take the case away from Moriarty and transfer the case to the state attorney general's office, something that has been done only once before.
Walz was asked about where he stands on a possible decision Wednesday morning and was still noncommittal.
"The goal has been all along, we want justice to be served, we want fairness, trust our justice system and I take this move of removing a case, either at the request of the Attorney General or by our move, very seriously," says Walz. "So, I think we're still in that holding pattern."
Londregan claims he shot Cobb in self-defense as Cobb began to drive away while he and his partner were clinging to the vehicle. Londregan is charged several counts, including murder.
Just Tuesday, the state's largest police organization reiterated their call for Moriarty's office to be removed from the case, asking Governor Walz to allow the Attorney General's office to take it instead.
