Governor Tim Walz asked today about Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty dismissing charges against Londregan.
Walz saying he hoped Moriarty would get to this decision.
"I find it a bit of a stretch, that making the case that there were problems in this case, there were things that needed to be addressed," Walz said Monday. "And that was an admission today, that position was exactly correct."
As for if he would have eventually re-assigned the case to the Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office? Walz says that was happening next if the case didn't get dismissed.
"At some point had this decision not been made, yes, we would have done that," says Walz.
The governor also mentioned Monday that he didn't see this as a political decision.
"There certainly was no politicization in this," says Walz. "We need to make sure that our justice system is fair. And I think what became apparent to many folks is that there were problems in this prosecution from the beginning. This was the right place it needed end."
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said that she and her team, plus a Washington DC firm hired to help in the Ryan Londregan manslaughter and murder case, were ready to prosecute. Instead, they made the announcement Sunday evening that they were dropping the charges against the Minnesota State Trooper who shot and killed Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop last July on Interstate 94 in north Minneapolis.
Speaking Monday at the Hennepin County Government Center in downtown Minneapolis, Moriarty said she felt Londregan used unreasonable force when he shot Cobb as he tried to flee the scene.
She blamed a lack of training and lax policy for state troopers, which she believes set off a chain reaction that resulted in Cobb's death.
The Star Tribune has reported Moriarty said Walz was biased against her, and thinks "it's because I'm a queer woman in this role."
"Well that's false. Next question," Walz said when asked about it by reporters.
Walz has been saying since charges were filed that he along with Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison had doubts about prosecuting Londregan. He also questioned bringing in an outside firm to handle the case.
"A request could have been made to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison for help," Governor Walz said in early May. "A request could have been made to Ramsey County for help. A request could have been made to anyone. That is a normal procedure, to ask. Those requests were not made."