Federal judge dismisses Ricky Cobb II’s family’s lawsuit against state police – InForum

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has dismissed a civil lawsuit against Minnesota state police over the fatal shooting of a man during an attempted traffic stop on a Twin Cities highway last year.

Judge Nancy Brasel granted Trooper Ryan Londregan’s request to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the family of Ricky Cobb II.

Cobb, 33, was pulled over on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis around 2 a.m. on July 31, 2023, after officers said they could not see his car’s tail lights. When troopers arrived at the vehicle to arrest Cobb for allegedly violating a Ramsey County protective order, Cobb began driving. Londregan fired several shots into the vehicle, fatally wounding Cobb.

The lawsuit, filed last April, alleged that Londregan and the second officer at the scene, Brett Seide, used excessive force and violated Cobb’s civil rights. Londregan filed a motion to dismiss in May, and a hearing on that motion was held in late July.

In an order filed Wednesday, Brasel wrote that the court “cannot conclude that Londregan violated a clearly established right in making the decision to shoot Cobb.”

Brasel wrote that Londregan was entitled to qualified immunity, a legal doctrine that protects police and other officials from civil suits unless they knowingly violated a clearly established constitutional right.

Brasel also wrote that evidence at the scene contradicted the allegations made in the lawsuit, writing: “It is objectively reasonable for an officer to use deadly force to subdue what he reasonably believes is a risk of serious physical harm to others, including a police officer.” officer.”

Londregan also faced criminal charges in connection with Cobb’s death. Those charges were dropped in June after Hennepin County Prosecutor Mary Moriarty said it was impossible to prove unauthorized use of force.

Seide, the second police officer named in the Cobb family’s civil suit, also moved to dismiss the case. The hearing on this motion was held on October 9; A decision is awaited.

This story was first published on MPRNews.org.