By Luke Sprinkel
HENNEPIN COUNTY, Minn. – A second use-of-force expert working with the prosecution in the Ryan Londregan case has left. This development is the most recent setback encountered by Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and her prosecution team since the often-criticized case against the Minnesota state trooper began.
In January, Moriarty brought three felony charges against Trooper Londregan, including second-degree unintentional murder. The charges were connected to a July 2023 incident that resulted in the death of Ricky Cobb II.
Since then, an initial use-of-force expert left the prosecution, multiple State Patrol trainers issued sworn declarations that Londregan acted in accordance with his training, the lead prosecutor departed the case, and Moriarty hired an outside team of Washington, D.C. lawyers to manage the prosecution.
The continued drama from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office has drawn the attention of both the public and elected officials, even Gov. Tim Walz.
Furthermore, law enforcement organizations and Republican politicians have publicly questioned Moriarty’s decision to charge Londregan, called for the case to be removed from the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, and demanded that the charges against Londregan be dropped.
According to KARE 11, a use-of-force expert named Jody Stiger has just recently left the prosecution after outside lawyers from Steptoe LLP were hired by Moriarty to prosecute the case.
In a statement regarding the departure of Stiger, the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) said, ”The whole nation is watching the chaos explode at the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.”
“The head of the criminal division who signed Mr. Londregan’s complaint has resigned, the lead prosecutor asked to be removed, and with no prosecutors ethically willing to handle the case, the county attorney has hired million dollar lawyers from DC,” said Imran Ali, general counsel for the MPPOA.
“If that wasn’t bad enough, we learned today that another use of force expert has departed this unjust prosecution. Why in the world does this continue?” added Ali.
Londregan’s defense team made a motion Thursday requesting that the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office (HCAO) turn over “all communications and statements with all experts, including potential experts, contacted by the HCAO relating to this case immediately.”
According to Londregan’s legal team, the prosecution “deliberately chose” not to disclose past communications with Stiger at a May 15 court hearing. As such, Londregan’s defense attorneys are asking the judge to compel the HCAO to turn over all communications with any experts involved in the case.
“At 2:13 p.m. today (May 23, 2024), i.e., approximately three hours after the KARE11 story went live on the internet, Steptoe emailed defense counsel with approximately 60 pages of the HCAO’s communications with Stiger. The HCAO’s newly produced emails with Stiger go back to Feb. 12, 2024 — over three months ago,” the motion says. “Therefore, at the May 15 hearing, Steptoe had the opportunity to disclose the HCAO’s past communications with Stiger and deliberately chose not to do so.”
This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.
