For Immediate Release: June 6, 2024
Contact: [email protected]
In Hennepin County, Color Of Change, Minneapolis NAACP, Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council – MN, Sex Workers in Minnesota and Minneapolis School Board Member Adriana Cerrillo Express Dismay at Dismissal of Charges Against Trooper Londregan, Criticize Police Union and Governor
HENNEPIN COUNTY – In January 2024, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced charges against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan for the killing of a Black man, Ricky Cobb II, during a routine traffic stop. The decision to pursue charges in this case was an essential step towards bringing justice to Cobb’s friends and family, who are grappling with the tragic murder of their loved one. However, on Sunday, June 2nd, County Attorney Moriarty announced she would drop the charges against Londregan.
This decision was made amid intense backlash from law enforcement groups and elected officials. In March, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) asked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to reassign the case to the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. This request came alongside calls from the Minnesota congressional delegation for the case to be reassigned. Governor Walz recently told the press that he planned to use his legal authority to remove her from the prosecution.
Color Of Change, Minneapolis NAACP, Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee, Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council – MN, Sex Workers in Minnesota and Minneapolis School Board Member Adriana Cerrillo are issuing the following statement in response to the dismissal of the charges against Trooper Londregan:
“We are disappointed by County Attorney Moriarty’s decision to drop the charges against Ryan Londregan, the state trooper who killed Ricky Cobb II. Right from the start, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), Minnesota’s largest law enforcement union, has sought to sabotage the case and enlisted the support of allies. The MPPOA repeatedly peddled misinformation and used intimidation tactics to threaten Moriarty’s decision to charge the trooper. This is the police union playbook. Across the country, they are standing in the way of the reform and accountability that Black (and Brown) communities deserve,” says Michael Collins, Senior Director of Government Affairs State and Local Affairs.” We also condemn the actions of Governor Walz, who succumbed to political pressure at the instigation of the MPPOA, and attempted to interfere with this prosecution. We call on the U.S Department of Justice to remedy this egregious misstep of justice by taking on the case. Ryan Londregan, along with the entire agency, needs to be held accountable for the life he stole. Black lives matter.”
“Our communities of color continue to experience systemic harm and generational trauma at the hands of a political system that upholds white supremacy. The call to address the trooper’s killing of Ricky Cobb II was undermined by those who are set to maintain the status quo, including Minnesota’s police unions and political establishment. As long as the status quo continues, we can never repair historic inequities and harm. We call on the Department of Justice to take over this case,” says Dr. Raj Sethuraju, Criminal Justice Chair, Minneapolis NAACP.
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About Color Of Change:
Color Of Change is the nation’s largest online racial justice organization. The organization helps people respond effectively to injustice in the world around them. As a national online force driven by millions of members, Color Of Change moves decision-makers in corporations and government to create a more human and less hostile world for Black people in America.
About Minneapolis NAACP:
The Minneapolis NAACP carries forward the NAACP’s mission, prioritizing Black lives in all spaces and doing the actual work of eliminating racial hatred and discrimination while ensuring equal rights for all.
About Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council – MN:
Wrongfully Incarcerated and Over-Sentenced Families Council – MN represents the loved ones of the wrongfully incarcerated and over-sentenced in Minnesota.
About Minnesota Incarcerated Workers Organizing Committee (MIWOC)
MIWOC is a union of people in prison, loved ones, and communities working across the wall to increase safety and reimagine justice without prison slavery or mass incarceration. We can be reached at [email protected] or facebook.com/tciwoc.
About Sex Workers in Minnesota:
SWIM is a new grassroots collective of Sex Workers in Minnesota located in Minneapolis that advocates for the human rights and dignity of sex workers and the full decriminalization of their labor.