A progressive Minnesota prosecutor, elected on a platform of police accountability, has reluctantly dropped charges against a state trooper who fatally shot a Black man after a traffic stop. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty stood by her initial decision to charge Trooper Ryan Londregan in the killing of Ricky Cobb II but cited new evidence that made the case difficult to prove.
Moriarty, a former chief public defender for the county, was elected in 2022 with nearly 58% of the vote. Her decision highlights the complexities of charging officers with crimes, even in the county where Derek Chauvin was convicted of George Floyd's murder.
