brett – The Philadelphia Observer https://philadelphiaobserver.com Just another WordPress site Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:40:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 Minnesota Prosecutor Faces the Million-Dollar Question: Did This Cop Have to Kill Ricky Cobb II? https://philadelphiaobserver.com/minnesota-prosecutor-faces-the-million-dollar-question-did-this-cop-have-to-kill-ricky-cobb-ii/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 14:40:36 +0000 https://philadelphiaobserver.com/?p=5302

Screenshot: Facebook

Sighhh. Here we go again, y’all. Another prosecutor must decide from the results of an investigation if a police officer was justified in fatally shooting a Black man. Though, word has it that not all the officers swept into it agreed to cooperate with the investigation.

So, how thorough really was the probe?

In July, 33-year-old Ricky Cobb II was pulled over for his taillights being out when Trooper Brett Seide found an arrest warrant on a order-for-protection violation. The Minnesota Public Safety Department’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Seide then tried to arrest Cobb by pulling him out of his car. Two other officers arrived to help yank him out. Cobb kept his hands gripped on the wheel and allegedly tried to drive off. Seide then shot into the car. Cobb drove a short distance before the car stopped and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

After sifting through the body camera footage and with the help of a use-of-force expert, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty is expected to decide on whether the three officers involved deserve criminal charges. Though, there may be some missing information.

Read more from The Associated Press:

But she also said she was disappointed to learn from state investigators about a lack of cooperation from some patrol employees who weren’t the subject of the investigation but potentially had useful information. She stressed that “the family, the community, and the troopers involved in this incident all deserve answers.”

Bakari Sellers, who represents Cobb’s family, said in a statement that while it was troubling that some patrol staff wasn’t cooperating, the days of “turning a blind eye are over.”

“Accountability,” Sellers said, “is coming no matter how hard you try to hide.”

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