The family of Renee Good, one of two US citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, sued the Trump administration on Thursday. Minnesota officials are also seeking access to evidence to independently investigate the shootings, including those of Good and Alex Pretti, alleging the federal government reneged on its promise to cooperate.
The lawsuits highlight a significant conflict between state and federal authorities over transparency and accountability in investigations of federal law enforcement shootings, potentially impacting public trust and the ability of states to conduct their own probes into incidents involving federal agents.
The family of Renee Good, one of two US citizens fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, sued President Donald Trump's administration on Thursday over her killing during deportation sweeps. Minnesota officials have also sued the Trump administration for access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers, including the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
The lawsuit claims that the federal government reneged on its promise to cooperate with state investigations after a surge of federal law enforcement in Minneapolis and is seeking a court order demanding compliance. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty stated, “We are prepared to fight for transparency and accountability that the federal government is desperate to avoid.”
State officials insist they need to conduct their own probes because they do not trust the federal government to investigate itself. Moriarty said Tuesday that the federal government “has adopted a policy of categorically withholding evidence,” calling the practice unprecedented and alarming. The lawsuit follows formal demands for evidence after the federal government blocked Minnesota investigators from accessing evidence related to the shootings.
In addition to the Pretti and Good cases, the lawsuit demands access to evidence in the case of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot and wounded by a federal agent in January. Federal officials initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of assaulting an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, but charges were later dropped, and authorities opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration officers lied under oath about the shooting.
The Department of Justice said in January it was opening a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti’s killing but stated a similar federal probe was not warranted in the killing of Good. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the department’s Civil Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that circumstances must warrant an investigation.
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