Minnesota prosecutors are asking the public for evidence in the killing of a 37-year-old Minneapolis woman by an ICE agent on Wednesday after the Trump administration froze local law enforcement out of the investigation.
“Every moment in these cases is precious,” said Attorney General Keith Ellison at a news conference in Minneapolis on Friday. “If you have information bearing on the outcome of this matter in any way, please share it.”
The Attorney General’s Office and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office set up a portal for people to submit photos, videos and other evidence they think may help prosecutors understand the case and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will catalogue the submissions.
The BCA typically investigates police shootings and was on the scene at Portland Avenue near 34th Street collecting evidence after an ICE officer, who has been identified as Jonathan Ross, shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in her Honda Pilot.
But on Thursday, the agency announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office had made the unusual decision that the FBI would be the sole investigative agency, effectively freezing out local law enforcement.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” BCA superintendent Drew Evans said. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”
Gov. Tim Walz and other state Democrats have expressed doubt that the public could trust the results of an investigation conducted solely by the federal government.
“Now that Minnesota has been taken out of the investigation, it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome,” Walz said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a Thursday news conference that local officials “have not been cut out. They don’t have any jurisdiction in this investigation.”
The standoff over jurisdiction adds to a contentious fight between state leaders and the Trump administration over fraud in state social service programs and a surge of thousands of federal agents and officers in what the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is calling its largest operation ever.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty emphasized that local officials have the authority to both investigate the shooting and potentially bring criminal charges based on the evidence.
“We do have jurisdiction,” Moriarty said. “We cannot make any decision, however, if there is not evidence submitted to our office.”
Moriarty said the FBI has possession of key evidence, including Good’s car and the shell casings from the officer’s gun. She also acknowledged they have really no access to federal law enforcement officers for interviews.
She said she does not have concerns about the integrity of the FBI, but rather that they won’t turn over their findings for state prosecutors to review.
“In the past, the FBI has invited us to see a high level overview of their investigation, but we were prohibited from seeing the entire investigation or talking about what we saw,” Moriarty said.
Prosecutions of federal law enforcement officers are also complicated by the fact that they have immunity from state prosecution for carrying out their duties.
But legal experts emphasize that immunity does not extend to officers who use unreasonable and excessive force.
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