Rachel Moran, professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law, recently spoke with the Star Tribune about state trooper Ryan Londregan’s trial, and the new use-of-deadly-force statute.
From the story:
The case against state trooper Ryan Londregan may look on paper like a redux of high-profile trials that dominated headlines in Minnesota in recent years: A white law enforcement officer is accused of using excessive force during a routine traffic stop, killing Ricky Cobb II, a Black man.
But this one is different.
Londregan, 27, will be tried under a new state statute, revised after George Floyd’s killing, that sets a higher bar for when law enforcement is legally permitted to use lethal force.
Rachel Moran, who teaches the new use-of-deadly-force statute to her law students at University of St. Thomas, said it might be difficult for Londregan to argue in court that shooting into the car would reasonably prevent death or bodily harm.
The other trooper acknowledged to prosecutors that shooting Cobb didn’t prevent the car from dragging him, according to charges.
“It could have placed the other trooper in greater danger,” Moran said.
