July 2024. Blues Vol 40 No.7

GUEST COMENTARY police

GUEST COMENTARY police law news Daniel Carr Officer Involved: Ryan Londregan The first time I watched the body cam footage I was not convinced. I wasn’t convinced either way on this one and I knew that if it wasn’t clear to me - that it would undoubtedly leave negative space for anti-police activists, agenda-driven prosecutors, and the millions who read lots of headlines but zero articles - to make an issue of this case. WHAT HAPPENED on July 31, 2023 Minnesota State Patrol troopers initiated a traffic stop on a vehicle that was driven by Ricky Cobb II on Interstate 94 - because the vehicle did not have working taillights. During the initial contact a Trooper ran Mr. Cobb’s information and found that he had a felony warrant out of Ramsey County. Trooper Londregan attempted to detain Mr. Cobb and instructed him to exit the vehicle. Mr. Cobb refused and argued with the officers. After several minutes of backand-forth, Troopers made the decision to extract Mr. Cobb from the vehicle. This included a Trooper unbuckling his seatbelt. It was at this point that Mr. Cobb accelerated the vehicle in an attempt to flee. Two State Troopers had parts of their bodies inside of the vehicle and were dragged as Mr. Cobb dangerously and selfishly sped away. 24 The Blues - July ‘24 Trooper Londregan then shot Mr. Cobb and he died from his injuries. CHARGES In January 2024 the Hennepin County Prosecutor (Mary Moriarty) filed charges against Trooper Londregan. The criminal complaint charged three counts: second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree manslaughter. The presumptive sentence under the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines for a second-degree unintentional murder conviction would be 128-180 months. ANALYSIS I had been careful to not cover this case on both SubStack nor in my videos on (Tik Tok and You- Tube) as I honestly was not sure what my position was. Upon initially just watching the body/dash cam - it almost seemed as though Trooper Londegran fired his weapon as the vehicle was fleeing. Shooting at a vehicle for only fleeing is never reasonable. However, a careful review clearly shows that two Troopers were in the vehicle (at least partly) as Mr. Cobb drove away. Trooper Londegran’s actions were to save the lives/minimize injury to the other Troopers who were in immediate danger and therefore were within the law and objectively reasonable. For those who do not think that this OIS was justified - please answer the following question, as it must be at the center of your argument, “As Mr. Cobb drove away, dragging the Troopers, what was the appropriate force response from Trooper Londregan (or any other police officer in this situation)?” THE FALLOUT Prosecutor Mary Moriarty was not able to secure a use of force expert from the Minnesota State

Police to testify on behalf of the State. The use of force instructor for the State Police (who actually taught Trooper Londregan) was prepared to testify that he, “acted in accordance with training”. This is evidence that the Prosecutor was more concerned with locking up a cop than properly and thoroughly investigating this case. Mary Moriarty even hired an outside law firm to review the case. A Washington D.C. based firm that was comprised of former Federal Prosecutors. Even Democrat Governor Tim Walz recognized the gross injustice and threatened to remove Moriarty from the case if the charges were not dropped. An unusual move for one Dem to publicly call out another Dem on such an issue. Last week Moriarty dropped the charges against Trooper Londregan citing “new evidence would make it impossible to prove unauthorized use of force.” That is great news, but… No new evidence in this case magically appeared. It was just that the facts of this case finally outweighed the sick desire to add imprisoning a cop to her resume. THE FIGHT What impressed me as a retired cop with a law degree and former police union elected representative was the outpouring of public support from the Minnesota Peace Officers Association and the competent and constant public statements from Trooper Londregan’s legal team. Defense attorney Chris Madel and Police Association Attorney Imran Ali deserve special recognition. The professionalism and relentless pursuit of the truth should be the case study of a course on this for other attorneys/union representatives in this realm. I guess it is a good thing that Imran is a lead instructor for LETAC (law enforcement training services). I had the privilege of attending the 2023 LETAC Use of Force Conference and cannot wait to attend another conference as a student or speaker. FINAL THOUGHTS Even honest prosecutors make mistakes. But, prosecutors with an agenda are a special problem for law enforcement. In these instances having competent, professional, and aggressive representatives is an invaluable asset for police officers. The charges were dropped in this case but there are several others nationwide where officers in (arguably) more “justified” cases are still facing prosecution. Officers like: Christopher Schurr - Grand Rapids, Michigan- Brad Lunsford - Las Cruces, New MexicoMac Bailey Marquette - Decatur, Georgia The Blues - July ‘24 25