Minnesota authorities cut out of ICE shooting investigation

By J.D. Davidson
The Center Square

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriaty said the community could be left in the dark after the FBI refused to cooperate with local authorities to investigate Wednesday’s fatal shooting of a Minneapolis woman by ICE officers.

The FBI reversed course after initially saying the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the FBI would conduct a joint investigation into the killing of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. Instead, Minnesota authorities will have no access to evidence, materials and interviews.

“After the FBI rescinded its cooperation agreement with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, our office immediately began exploring all options to ensure a state level investigation can continue,” Moriaty said in a statement. “If the FBI is the sole investigative agency, the state will not receive the investigative findings, and our community may never learn about its contents. We are speaking to our local partners on paths forward that will allow us to review the investigation and be transparent in our decision making.”

TCS was unsuccessful prior to publication of getting comment on the change in an email request to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said in a statement the investigation could be questioned without local, state and federal cooperation.

“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Evans said. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full cooperation and jurisdictional clarity.”

Evans also said he expects a thorough and complete investigation by the FBI, and the full file will be shared with state and federal prosecutors.

The city plans to remove a barrier around a memorial for Good, a mother of three, at some point today.

An agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shot and killed Good. She had driven into a roadway where agents were conducting enhanced immigration enforcement.

Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of Homeland Security, said Good’s vehicle was “attempting to run over our law enforcement officers.” She also said the officer feared for his life and fired defensive shots.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristie Noem called Good’s actions an “act of domestic terrorism.”

City and state leaders called the Trump administration’s version of events wrong and have said ICE’s presence in the community is creating chaos and harm.

Federal officials said an agent struck by Good’s vehicle was treated and released from a hospital.

On Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance said Good might have been part of a rise in leftwing protests and violence.