Investigators identify Minnesota trooper who killed Black driver, activists call for charges

Minnesota officials on Thursday identified the state trooper who shot and killed a 33-year-old Black man during a traffic stop this week, as activists and family members called for the officers involved to be fired and charged.

Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan shot Ricky Cobb II early Monday during a tense confrontation seen on body-worn camera footage released this week, according to the Minnesota Public Safety Department’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The three troopers have been placed on administrative leave. But Cobb's relatives and several activists groups gathered in Minneapolis this week to demand they be fired and prosecuted. Nyra Fields-Miller broke down at a news conference as she described the pain of losing her son in the latest deadly traffic stop to spark backlash.

“I’m very confused and very, very hurt,” she said Tuesday.

“I want justice for my son."

What happened during the traffic stop?

Trooper Brett Seide spotted a car driving on Interstate 94 without rear lights early Monday morning and pulled over the driver, Cobb, according to the BCA. Seide learned Cobb was wanted in connection with a felony order-for-protection violation, and Londregan and another trooper, Garrett Erickson, arrived on the scene.

Body-worn camera footage released Tuesday shows the troopers asked Cobb to get out of the car, but would not tell him why. As Cobb continued to ask why he was being asked to get out of his car, troopers attempted to pull him out.

"Londregan fired his handgun during that attempt, striking Cobb II," the BCA said in a statement. "Londregan and Seide were knocked down as Cobb II pulled away."

The troopers then followed Cobb about a quarter of a mile down the interstate in their vehicles, according to the BCA.

"When they caught up to him, Cobb II's vehicle was slowing to a stop against the interior divider," the statement said. "The troopers attempted life-saving care, but Cobb II died at the scene."

Governor promises 'swift, thorough investigation'

Investigators found two cartridge casings, a cell phone and handgun in Cobb's car, according to the BCA. The weapon was found on the floor behind the center console in the back of the vehicle and at no point on available video was Cobb seen holding it, the BCA said.

BCA agents are combing through video of the incident and will present the findings of the investigation to the Hennepin County Attorney's Office for review. Gov. Tim Walz said on social media he spoke with Cobb's mother.

"I assured her that a swift, thorough investigation has already begun, and that we will do everything we can to get to the bottom of what happened," Walz said.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement she has asked the BCA to prioritize the investigation.

"Once the case is submitted to us for review, we will use all the resources available to analyze the evidence and make a charging decision as quickly as possible," she said. "We cannot discuss the case further until the BCA has completed their investigation."

Community calls for officers to be fired, charged

Black Lives Matter Twin Cities Metro, the Racial Justice Network, Black Lives Matter Minnesota and Cobb’s relatives gathered outside the Hennepin County Government Center Wednesday to demand the governor fire the state troopers involved in Cobb’s death and the local prosecutor charge them.

“The circumstances simply did not require the use of deadly force,” Nekima Levy Armstrong, a civil rights attorney and founder of the Racial Justice Network, said in a statement. “Those officers acted recklessly and they must be held accountable.”

Danielle Pickett, mother of two of Cobb’s children, said at a news conference Tuesday she felt the shooting was "completely unnecessary."

“It is incredibly sad and disgusting that another life has (been) taken,” she said.

Why traffic stops turn deadly for people of color

Traffic stops are among the most common interactions between police and civilians, and the vast majority of them end uneventfully. But policing experts say the stops can quickly escalate into violent, fatal struggles – particularly for people of color – in part, due to the way officers are trained.

In Minnesota, where the global protest movement sparked by the murder of George Floyd began in 2020, protests erupted after the killings of Daunte Wright and Philando Castile, who were killed after being stopped by police for traffic violations. Another wave of outrage came in January, when 29-year-old Tyre Nichols died three days after he was beaten by Memphis police officers during a traffic stop. 

Since 2017, more than 600 people have been killed by police after an initial encounter related to a traffic violation or traffic-related offense, according to Mapping Police Violence, which collects data on police killings. More than a quarter of fatal police shootings of unarmed Black men and women between 2015 and 2021 occurred during traffic stops, an NPR investigation of the killings found. 

Part of the reason traffic stops can become violent is that officers are trained to view the routine encounters as "especially dangerous" because they "never know who's going to be behind the wheel," Jordan Blair Woods, professor at the University of Arizona College of Law previously told USA TODAY. But his research suggests traffic stops rarely result in random violence, and when they do, it's often because of officers' reactions.

Stops can escalate when officers don't like the way drivers or passengers respond to their commands, a reaction which "is very much tied to perceptions about danger and race," Woods said.

Contributing: The Associated Press