MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The investigation into the fatal shooting of a woman by an immigration officer in Minneapolis shouldn’t be overseen solely by the federal government, two of the state’s leading Democrats said Sunday.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and U.S. Sen. Tina Smith both argued that local authorities should participate in the investigation due to the federal government’s prior assertions regarding the incident’s details.
“How can we trust the federal government to do an objective, unbiased investigation when they have already announced what they think happened?” Smith questioned during an interview.
In defense of the officer who shot Renee Good while she was in her car, officials from the Trump administration stated he was acting to protect himself and other agents.
During an interview with CNN, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sidestepped inquiries regarding the circumstances of Good’s shooting, also dismissing complaints from Minnesota officials regarding the lack of local agency involvement in the investigation.
Frey and Noem exchanged criticisms over their public statements post-incident, each asserting their own interpretations of video footage related to the shooting. Frey reiterated that the footage demonstrates “a federal agent recklessly abusing power, leading to someone's death.”
“Let’s have the investigation in the hands of someone that isn’t biased,” he stated.
The killing of Good on Wednesday by an ICE officer, along with a separate incident involving two federal agent shootings in Portland, Oregon, has sparked nationwide protests over the weekend.
Thousands gathered in Minneapolis, where Homeland Security marked its deployment of immigration officers in the area as its largest immigration enforcement operation to date.
The Trump administration maintains both incidents were acts of self-defense by officers against vehicles perceived as threats.
