“This is just a tremendously sad situation,” state patrol head Col. Matt Langer said during a press conference Tuesday. The soldiers’ identities have not been revealed.
Law authorities have not recognised the slain motorist, but his family has identified him as Ricky Cobb II. The man’s face is obscured in a body-worn camera video released by the state police on Tuesday.
“I’m so hurt. I’m befuddled. “I’m speechless,” Cobb’s mother, Nyra Fields-Miller, said during a press conference Tuesday.
According to Langer, the deadly contact started when officers pulled down a vehicle driving on Interstate 94 without its taillights turned on.
“Troopers discovered that the driver was wanted by law enforcement in Ramsey County for a felony Order for Protection violation,” Langer said.
The body camera video shows a trooper chatting to Cobb via the driver’s side window. “We just have some stuff to talk about,” the trooper adds as he urges him to come out of the vehicle.
The driver, who is Black, requests a more complete explanation. When Cobb asks whether the stop is linked to a warrant, the trooper responds, “No, it’s not a warrant.” Cobb then refuses to get out of the automobile.
A second officer unlocks the front passenger-side door, followed by the first trooper opening the front driver-side door and forcibly removing Cobb, according to the body camera and dashboard camera video. The dashboard camera video shows the automobile moving ahead and then hearing gunfire.
“A state patrol trooper discharged their firearm during this incident,” Langer added. Langer claimed the trooper who shot was positioned at the front passenger-side door.
The clip shows both troopers collapsing as Cobb drives away. A third trooper can also be seen standing adjacent to the automobile.
The troopers then chase the man’s car in their patrol cars, ultimately catching up to it as it slowly moves near a railing, as seen in the video. The troopers use their cars to pin the automobile against the railing.
The footage shows troopers trying to provide first aid to Cobb. “I don’t have a pulse.” “I’m going to start CPR,” one trooper adds.
Langer said he couldn’t immediately explain why the trooper believed lethal action was warranted.
“I simply don’t know what they were thinking,” he remarked.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, a different state law enforcement body, is investigating the incident. The matter will then be handed over to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, deciding whether to bring charges.
“This is an important decision that affects everyone in our community, including Ricky Cobb’s family and friends, the troopers involved, and our broader community,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a prepared statement. “I take both police accountability and the integrity of the legal process very seriously.”
Cobb’s mother claimed his loss has been “devastating” for his children and siblings.
“I’m in so much pain from my heart, soul, and body,” Fields-Miller said. “I want justice for my son.”
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