The Latest: State investigators say they can’t access ICE shooting evidence after FBI takes case
The head of Minnesota’s state investigations agency said Thursday that the U.S. attorney’s office has barred it from taking part in the investigation into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement that after the agency consulted with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. attorney’s office and the FBI following the Wednesday shooting of 37-year-old mother of three Renee Good, “it was decided that the BCA Force Investigations Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI” and that the “BCA responded promptly to the scene and began coordinating investigative work in good faith.
He said the FBI informed the BCA later Wednesday that the U.S. attorney’s office had changed the plan.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Evans wrote.
The Latest:
What to know about the rules for officers firing at a moving vehicle
— When can officers fire at a moving vehicle? There is no universal training standard for law enforcement. But most police departments and federal guidance bar shooting at a moving vehicle unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the car itself.
— Why are shootings at vehicles restricted? Experts say firing at a moving car is one of the riskiest forms of lethal force, increasing the chance of stray gunfire or a loss of vehicle control that can endanger bystanders.
— Are officers expected to move out of the way? Yes. Justice Department policy says deadly force is allowed only when no reasonable alternative exists, including stepping out of the vehicle’s path.
Read more about regulations on using deadly force in these situations
Democratic leaders eye Homeland Security funds after ICE shooting
Outraged by Good’s death, Democratic leaders in Congress pledged to conduct strong oversight of what happened in Minneapolis, but stopped short Thursday of immediate calls to defund ICE or impeach Noem.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the killing of Good an “abomination, a disgrace.”
“We all are outraged by what took place in Minneapolis, and we will respond decisively,” said Jeffries of New York. “Blood is clearly on the hands of those individuals within the administration that have been pushing an extreme policy,” he said.
“We support the removal of violent felons in this country who are here illegally — but that’s not what this administration has been doing,” he added.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said he watched the video and “you felt like your stomach was being punched.”
Schumer said senators are discussing next steps as they consider funding in the annual Homeland Security bill, and he demanded a “full investigation.”
‘The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI’
The head of Minnesota’s state investigations agency says the U.S. attorney’s office has cut off its access in the fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent.
“The investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement.
It had been decided that the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension would investigate Good’s shooting death along with the FBI, but that later was changed by the U.S. Attorney’s office, according to Evans.
The BCA “has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation,” Evans wrote.
Anti-immigration enforcement protests spread across the US
Beyond Minneapolis, citizens also took to the streets or were expected to do so in New York City, Seattle, Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Antonio, New Orleans and Chicago.
Protests are also scheduled in smaller cities later this week in Arizona, North Carolina, and New Hampshire.
Woman killed by ICE agent in Minneapolis was a mother of 3, poet and new to the city
Renee Nicole Macklin Good was a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to Minnesota.
She was a U.S. citizen born in Colorado and appears to never have been charged with anything involving law enforcement beyond a traffic ticket.
In social media accounts, Macklin Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” She said she was currently “experiencing Minneapolis,” displaying a pride flag emoji on her Instagram account. A profile picture posted to Pinterest shows her smiling and holding a young child against her cheek, along with posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.
Read more about who Macklin Good was
Minneapolis shooting by ICE agent brings debate over police force and moving vehicles back into focus
The fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle?
At the center of the debate are policies that for years have limited when officers may fire at vehicles, generally barring gunfire at fleeing cars unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the vehicle itself. Those restrictions, embraced by many police departments and reflected in federal guidance, were intended to curb what experts long warned was among the most dangerous and unpredictable uses of lethal force.
Read more about why police agencies moved to restrict shootings at moving vehicles
‘Why this big flood here now?’
Patrick Riley was one of the people who came out Thursday morning at the federal building to express outrage after the death of Macklin Good on Wednesday.
“We are peacefully demonstrating. We’re trying to let this organization know that they’re not welcome,” said Riley.
Riley questioned why the Trump administration had made the Minneapolis area such a high priority.
“Why this big flood here now? This is our place. This is our country. This is our freedom to to protest,” Riled added.
Protesters and police clash
Police at one point threw devices releasing smoke to break up the crowd, which carried signs and shouted profanities at them.
The crowd was directed farther away from the entrance as the protest reached the two-hour mark on Thursday.
Council warns tribal citizens to avoid federal law enforcement
In a post on the Facebook pages of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians tribal council and the tribe’s embassy in Minneapolis, the council said tribal citizens should expect ICE agents to detain and harm them.
“We all need to be careful, and we must assume that ICE will not protect us,” the post stated. “We realize that we will not receive compassionate treatment by anyone associated with the Trump administration.”
In the warning to citizens, the tribal council said it sees the “obvious purpose of ICE is to terrorize Americans who do not agree with the administration’s policies, and actions” and called for “an end to the president’s blatant lies.”
There are about 8,000 Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians citizens in the Twin Cities and surrounding areas, according to the post. The council asked tribal members to document interactions with ICE by contacting the tribe directly. The tribe’s embassy in Minneapolis has also been closed for the rest of the week.
‘We deserve to be safe in our community’
Protesters are carrying signs and chanting, including some signs that say, “ICE Out Now,” “We deserve to be safe in our community,” and “Resist Fascism.”
Chants include “We Keep Us Safe,” “ICE Out Now,” “ICE Go Home,” “Quit Your Job” and “Justice Now!”
What’s happening on the ground
Scores of people bundled up in heavy coats gathered as dawn began to break Thursday in a parking lot near the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling. The building houses several federal agencies, including an immigration court.
The crowd was chanting and holding American flags and signs calling on ICE to leave Minnesota.