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BCA identifies state troopers involved in shooting of Ricky Cobb II

The BCA said three Minnesota State Patrol troopers responded to the traffic stop involving Ricky Cobb II, but only one fired his weapon during the encounter.

ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has identified the State Troopers involved in the fatal shooting of Ricky Cobb II on Interstate 94 on July 31.

According to the BCA, Trooper Ryan Londregan fired his gun, killing Cobb II. Londregan has about a year and a half of law enforcement experience.

Trooper Brett Seide, who initiated the traffic stop for Cobb, did not use force, the BCA said. He has two years of law enforcement experience. Both Londregan and Seide were minorly injured.

A third trooper, Garrett Erickson, who has three years of law enforcement experience, did not use force and was not injured, the BCA said.

All three officers remain on standard administrative leave.

Two months ago, Londregan was presented with the "Outstanding Rookie Award" at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving - Minnesota (MADD Minnesota) Statewide Recognition Awards. A post about the award says Londregan joined the state patrol in Oct. 2021 and was assigned to the Minneapolis "dogwatch" overnight station, where his focus was traffic enforcement DWI response.

Early Monday morning, Cobb was pulled over in Minneapolis by state troopers for driving without taillights. The officers learned that Cobb was wanted in Ramsey County in connection with a felony-level violation. Documents from the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office show it was in violation of a no-contact order. 

Body-worn camera and squad car video released by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety on Aug. 1 showed the exchange between Cobb and the troopers from the driver's side, passenger's side and back of Cobb's vehicle.

Watch the State Patrol video below. Warning: this video contains graphic images and language. Viewer discretion is advised.

According to their preliminary investigation, the BCA said during the stop, officers asked Cobb to get out of his car and attempted to remove him from the vehicle because he refused to do so. At that point, the BCA said Londregan fired his department handgun and hit Cobb.

The video showed the officers fall out of Cobb's vehicle from both the passenger and driver's side doors, before running back to their squad cars and engaging in a short pursuit. When officers caught up with Cobb's car about a quarter-mile away they began life-saving efforts, but he was eventually pronounced dead at the scene.

The BCA said while processing Cobb's car after the shooting, investigators found two cartridge casings, a cell phone and a handgun on the floor in the back seat, but added that at no point on the bodycam or car video was Cobb seen holding the firearm.

"This is a tremendously sad situation," State Patrol Chief Col. Matt Langer said at a press conference releasing the bodycam and squad car video Tuesday. "It's sad from every perspective and for everyone involved."

Cobb's family and local activists have called for the release of the full, unedited video from the night of the shooting, and also called on Governor Tim Walz to fire the troopers responsible for Cobb's death.

WATCH BELOW: Family members of Ricky Cobb II and activists spoke Tuesday prior to the state releasing four videos — three body-worn and one squad — of the deadly shooting.

On Wednesday, Twin Cities civil rights attorney Nekima Levy Armstrong laid out a list of demands for the state’s top officials in response to Cobb’s fatal shooting.

Armstrong called on the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expand the scope of its excessive force investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department by including departments in St. Paul, surrounding suburbs and in greater Minnesota, saying the issues they see in policing are systemic.

“For some reason, they only set their sights on one police department when the problem is systemic,” she said. “We are not safe as Black people.”

Following Cobb's death, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty issued a statement saying that once the BCA submits its investigation to her officer for review, "we will use all the resources available to analyze the evidence and make a charging decision as quickly as possible."

This is a developing story. KARE 11 will provide more details as new information becomes available.

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