The charges against Minnesota State Patrol Officer Ryan Londregan in the shooting death of Ricky Cobb II may have been dropped Sunday evening. But the fallout of the past 10 months is far from finished.
A bit of a war of words broke out between Hennepin County Mary Moriarty, Longregan attorney Chris Madel, and even Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. The governor said Monday that if those charges weren't dropped, he was ready to step in and remove the case from Moriarty's office.
That led to Moriarty making claims that Walz was biased against her because of her sexual orientation, saying, "it's because I'm a queer woman in this role." Walz quickly denied that when asked about the comment Monday afternoon.
Moriarty, on The WCCO Morning News Tuesday, responded and blasted Walz. Moriarty told Tom Hauser that the governor never called her about the case, but instead consulted with other legal experts.
"Why would the governor pick up the phone and call a legal expert who does not have the facts of this case," asked Moriarty. "Because facts are always very important. The idea that the governor cannot pick up the phone to call the people with the most information about it is really pretty shocking and disturbing."
Moriarty is not backing down from her suggestion that Governor Walz is treating her harshly because she is a gay woman either.
"Why wouldn't he listen to me, the prosecutor in this case? And I'd pose to you, that didn't ever happen with (former county attorney) Mike Freeman and probably wouldn't happen to other prosecutors in this state," claimed Moriarty.
Moriarty succeeded Freeman, who retired after 16 years as Hennepin County attorney. Like Walz and Moriarty, Freeman is a Democrat. Moriarty ran on a very progressive agenda, promising to prosecute police-involved matters as much as any other crime in the county following the killing of George Floyd by former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin.
"When I was elected by the people of Hennepin County, I was very clear in my campaign that I was not going to be making decisions for political reasons, that we were going to make ethical, courageous decisions," says Moriarty.
The attorney for Londregan also responded Monday saying that the prosecution of police by Moriarty has gone too far.
"Because it's not just this matter," says Longregan attorney Chris Madel. "She's denigrating the first responders over and over again today. These men and women are doing this every day for us."
Madel says villifying his client only to have the charges dropped is unfair to law enforcement across the state.
"What I heard over and over again today is I am so sorry for the Cobb family," explained Madel. "How about somebody being a little bit sorry for what Ryan Londregan had to go through? How about one apology from the county attorney for putting him through this mess?"
The Cobb family is expected to react later on Tuesday to the decision to drop charges in the case.
The president of the Minnesota State Troopers Association says Longregan is relieved that manslaughter and murder charges against him were dropped.
"We're relieved," said Minnesota State Troopers Association president Mike LeDoux on Monday. "The appropriate thing was done here. That relief soon changes to anger. Obviously we're angered that not only trooper Londregan, but the entire profession has had to watch this go on for almost a year now, when it never should have been charged out in the first place."
LeDoux also says the case against Londregan never should have gone forward
"Prosecuting Trooper Londregan not only jeopardized his well being, but it sends a chilling message to law enforcement and it can create situations that potentially deter officers from making necessary split-second decisions to protect themselves, and then of course, most importantly, the public," LeDoux said on the WCCO Morning News.
On July 31, troopers pulled the 33-year-old Cobb over on Interstate 94 because the lights were out on his car. They found that the Spring Lake Park man was wanted for a violating a domestic no-contact order in neighboring Ramsey County. Londregan arrived to assist. While the troopers were telling Cobb to get out of the car, he shifted into drive and took his foot off the brake. When Cobb’s car began to slowly move forward, Londregan reached for his gun. Cobb stopped. Londregan pointed his gun at Cobb and yelled at him to get out. Cobb took his foot off the brake again while another trooper’s torso was at least partially in the car. Londregan then fired twice at Cobb, striking him both times in the chest.