Minneapolis leaders urge transparency, independent probe after ICE killing

The mayor of Minneapolis and the local elected officials have called on the administration of US President Donald Trump to “embrace the truth” and guarantee an impartial investigation into an immigration agent’s killing of a city resident earlier this week.

The appeal on Friday came a day after an independent state investigatory body said it had been cut out of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) probe into the shooting of 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent.
The unusual move raised concerns of bias in the federal government’s investigation into one of its own agents.

“This is not a time to hide from the facts,” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a news conference. “This is a time to embrace them, making sure that we’re pushing for transparency every step of the way.”

Trump administration officials had swiftly claimed the incident, which took place in a residential Minneapolis neighbourhood on Wednesday, was an act of “domestic terrorism”, and that the involved agent was acting in self-defence as the victim tried to run him over.

But video evidence has cast doubt over the federal government’s narrative.
Frey said it was deeply “concerning” that the Trump administration had already “come to a conclusion” about the facts of the case, long before any investigation had been completed.

Without the involvement of independent local investigators, he added, any findings by the FBI will be seen as tainted and would only further foment unrest and distrust.
“This is not some radical, way out there group,” Frey said of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which had initially been invited by the FBI to take part in the probe, before being abruptly cut out.

“This is a group that is formed by experts who understand how to investigate, many of them have been police officers themselves.”

The mayor added that people in Minneapolis are demanding “justice and the truth.”Claims without evidence
Protests have continued across Minneapolis and other cities in the US following the killing.

Several videos of the incident on Wednesday show Good parked in the middle of the road in a maroon Honda Pilot SUV as ICE agents walked towards her vehicle.

One officer approached the driver side window, telling Good to exit the SUV, although another agent is seen waving at her, in what some say may have been a conflicting order.

Good’s vehicle is then seen reversing and then driving forward slowly. That’s when an agent standing near the front left bumper of the SUV opens fire. The vehicle continued forward down the road before crashing into a utility pole and another car.

A video of the aftermath appeared to show law enforcement agents refusing to allow an individual who identifies himself as a physician to give medical aid to Good, who was pronounced dead soon after.

Good – a 37-year-old mother of three – was dropping off her youngest child at school.