Minnesota trooper is charged with murder in shooting of motorist Ricky Cobb II during a traffic stop

By Steve Karnowski and Trisha Ahmed | The Associated Press FILE – Family members of Ricky Cobb II, a Black man who was shot and killed by a Minnesota State Patrol trooper, speak at a news conference outside Hennepin County Government Center, Aug. 2, 2023, in Minneapolis. On Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, prosecutors charged Minnesota State Patrol Trooper Ryan Londregan with murder and two other counts in the shooting death of Cobb during a stop in July 2023. (AP Photo/Trisha Ahmed, File) MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota State Patrol trooper was charged with murder Wednesday in the shooting of motorist& Ricky Cobb II& after he refused to get out of his car during a July traffic stop. Trooper Ryan Londregan is charged with second-degree unintentional murder, first-degree assault and second degree manslaughter in the death of Cobb, a 33-year-old Black man, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said at a news conference. “As with all Minnesota law enforcement officers, state troopers may only use deadly force when it is necessary to protect a person from a specific identified threat of great bodily harm or death that was reasonably likely to occur. That did not exist in this case. Ricky Cobb II...