Ethics complaint filed against Hennepin County Attorney after dropped prosecution of State Trooper Londregan

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is the subject of an ethics complaint filed Tuesday by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

The complaint alleges that Moriarty knowingly made false statements and tried to prejudice a jury during the now-closed murder and manslaughter case against Minnesota State Trooper Ryan Londregan.

Londregan had been charged in the death of Ricky Cobb II during a Minneapolis traffic stop in July of 2023.

Attorney Jim Schultz joined the MPPOA in the filing.

"She had one fundamental motivation to successfully prosecute a police officer in Hennepin County, no matter the facts of the case, and no matter the law," Schultz says. "And those things, that is lying to the court and to the public, and doing so with an intent to prejudice the jury are violations of the ethical conduct that all attorneys are obligated to follow."

Schultz says accountability is warranted in this case.

"We have to ensure that Minnesotans, police officers and all Minnesotans can trust our justice system right now," explained Schultz. "I think a lot of people feel, including myself, that in this case and many other cases that the conduct, that Mary Moriarty already routinely engages in, is unethical. And that she needs to be held accountable for it."

“This is an unsurprising action by the MPPOA, an organization that has consistently lobbied against attempts to hold law enforcement accountable and opposed regulations that would ban law enforcement from being involved in white supremacist groups," said a statement from Moriarty's office. "That’s all we will say on the matter, and will instead continue doing our work.”

The charges against Londregan were dropped in June after Moriarty said new evidence would make it impossible to prove unauthorized use of force.

There was fairly widespread criticism of Moriarty throughout the case, including from Governor Tim Walz who said he considered taking the case away from Hennepin County and having the Attorney General's office handle the prosecution prior to the charges being dropped.

"At some point had this decision not been made, yes, we would have done that," Walz said at the time of the dismissal. "We need to make sure that our justice system is fair. And I think what became apparent to many folks is that there were problems in this prosecution from the beginning. This was the right place it needed end."

In an open court hearing on April 29, the defense revealed the substance of Mr. Londregan’s prospective testimony, claiming he saw Ricky Cobb II reach for the trooper’s firearm shortly before Londregan fired the shots that killed Mr. Cobb.

Additionally, a state trooper trainer provided a declaration claiming he never instructed officers to refrain from shooting into a moving vehicle during an extraction, even though that is best practice.