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By Liz Collin
A state trooper has been charged with murder and Minnesota’s largest police organization is calling for people to show their support for State Trooper Ryan Londregan as the case nears a critical next step on Monday.
Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, joined Liz Collin Reports this week. The organization is asking law enforcement supporters to gather at 8 a.m. on April 29 at the south courtyard of the Hennepin County Courthouse ahead of the 9 a.m. hearing where Londregan’s attorney will argue to have the case dismissed.
People can also pick up t-shirts that have been made to stand as a group in support of Trooper Londregan.
Londregan has been charged with murder, despite a use-of-force expert for the prosecution saying he committed no crime, according to court filings.
Meanwhile, sources say lead prosecutor Josh Larson has removed himself from the case, Alpha News first reported.
UPDATE: Sources say Senior Asst. Hennepin Cty Atty Joshua Larson has removed himself from the case against Trooper Ryan Londregan. Pointing to more chaos for Moriarity ahead of critical hearing on Monday where Londregan’s atty will argue to have charges dismissed. pic.twitter.com/uJqXzqRAvc
— Liz Collin (@lizcollin) April 24, 2024
“Ryan and his family are going through a lot and we want to show support not only for him, but for the profession. Not many people know Ryan and his family are not from Minnesota, so they don’t have a huge support network and we want to be there to show our support for him and his family as well as the profession,” Peters said.
“We’re asking people to show up at 8 a.m. in the south courtyard, eventually going into the skyway level to be there when Ryan goes through security to show support. During his first court appearance, we had over 100 law enforcement professionals show up in support and we want it to be bigger this time and we want to continue to do it because it’s important. This is an injustice that is occurring here and we want to expose it and keep exposing it,” Peters said.
In addition to the use-of-force expert, three police trainers have signed sworn declarations stating that Trooper Londregan followed his training during a traffic stop last July when Ricky Cobb, a convicted felon, ignored police commands and took off in his vehicle, dragging another trooper when Trooper Londregan responded with deadly force.
Trooper Ryan Londregan attends a vigil with his wife in February for three fallen Burnsville first responders. (Alpha News)
“This case is frankly chaos. What evidence does Mary Moriarty have? The people that she deposed in that grand jury have now come out with declarations saying he followed policy. Those same people that she used for her criminal complaint to say that Ryan violated policy and then, as we all know, the use-of-force expert that she hired also came out to say he was not within violation of his training. So what do we have? This is just based off politics, in my opinion, but it’s unraveling,” Peters said.
“On Monday, there will be another bombshell declaration that will be coming out that will be public,” Peters said.
Minnesota’s Republican delegation, led by Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach, wrote a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan asking Congress to investigate Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty’s office. The MPPOA has also called for Moriarty to be “criminally investigated.”
“That was something that the congresswoman took on her own, which we appreciate, and this is bipartisan. This isn’t just one party asking for this. This is a bipartisan effort, whether it’s at the state legislature level or the federal level. It’s obvious to the layperson what is happening here,” Peters said.
“This is just an injustice and it’s appalling,” he added.
The MPPOA also sent a letter to Gov. Tim Walz asking him to reassign the case to Attorney General Keith Ellison. Peters said he is in frequent conversation with the governor’s office about the case.
“I think this is going to be how we handle these cases and it’s important that our members know that we’re going to fight and do everything that we can for them. And that’s what we’ll continue to do … as far as the sentiment of law enforcement out there right now, it’s bad. That’s sad to say, we don’t have a lot of people coming into this profession and we have a lot of people that are going to be able to retire in the next two years. So, demonstrating that we will be that voice for rank and file, we will be the voice to fight whether it’s at the legislature or whether it’s this case against Mary Moriarty, we’re going to continue to do that,” Peters said.
“The men and women of law enforcement go out and risk their lives every day and to have to worry about politics or a rogue county attorney like Mary Moriarty shouldn’t be what they’re worried about, but they are.”
This article originally appeared at Alpha News and was reprinted with permission.
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