Able & Baker: Episode 22-Analysis of the Ricky Cobb II Shooting

Former Minneapolis police officers, Chris and Karina Kelley, discuss the shooting of Ricky Cobb II on July 31, 2023 at around 2 am Monday morning by the MN State Patrol.

Mr. Ricky Cobb II was driving on Interstate 94 near Lowry Avenue when he was pulled over by the MN State Patrol due to barely visible rear tail lights. A traffic stop was conducted, and Troopers were later notified by MDC or dispatch that the RO (Registered Owner) had a PC Pickup out for felony violation of a restraining order. Troopers asked Mr. Cobb to exit his vehicle and at some point, Mr. Cobb either put the vehicle into drive, or accidentally shifted the vehicle into drive, causing both Troopers to be dragged. The passenger side Trooper fired into the vehicle striking Mr. Cobb who later took off in his vehicle, but later crashed. Twin Cities media has extensively covered this incident and we have taken some media quotes and included them into our show to provided context and analysis. Chris and I based on our former training and experience hope to provide some clarity and explanations as to why certain things happened on this tragic evening; in no way would we try to explain why the Trooper shot Mr. Cobb because we cannot presume to be inside the Trooper's head. A thorough investigation is being conducted by the MN Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and we await it's findings as well as the future court proceedings.
We want to express our condolences to the family and underscore that situations like this are extremely tragic for all involved.

In this episode we also honor the lives of law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty. It is important that we remember who they are and the sacrifice they made:
Police Officer Matthew Hare (Easley Police Department-South Carolina)
Sergeant Pedro Torres-Santos (Trujillo Alto Police Department-Puerto Rico)
Deputy Marshal Barry Giglio (Ville Platte Marshal's Office-Louisiana)
Deputy Sheriff Alejandro Martinez (Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office)
Deputy Sheriff David Bosecker (Eastland County Sheriff's Office-Texas)
Sergeant Edwin Maldonado-Garcia (Puerto RIco Police Department)

* CBS/AP (2023, August 3-6:45 am) CBS News: "Family of Ricky Cobb II, Black man fatally shot during traffic stop, calls for troopers involved to be fired".
*Editorial Board (2023, August 3-5:30 pm) Start Tribune Digital News
*ODMP.org (Officer Down Memorial Page) Twitter