Noem insists that ICE agent who fatally shot woman in Minneapolis did nothing wrong : NPR

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

A day after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ph) fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is questioning whether there will be a fair and impartial investigation. Authorities initially said that Minnesota police would work hand in hand with the FBI to sift through evidence in the killing of Renee Good. But this morning, state officials said that the FBI had reversed course and would go at it alone. Joining us from Minneapolis with the latest is reporter Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio. Hi, Matt.

MATT SEPIK, BYLINE: Hi.

SUMMERS: Matt, a lot has happened on this story since yesterday, and today we heard from the vice president I know. Tell us the latest.

SEPIK: Yesterday morning, the ICE agent who’s been identified in unrelated court documents as Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, after she had partially blocked a Minneapolis street. Good was driving away from a group of agents who were on foot when Ross shot her in the head through her windshield. President Trump called Good a professional agitator, and today, Vice President JD Vance doubled down and defended the ICE agent’s actions, saying that he fired in self defense.

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JD VANCE: Everybody who has been repeating the lie that this is some innocent woman who was out for a drive in Minneapolis when a law enforcement officer shot at her, you should be ashamed of yourselves.

SEPIK: But several witnesses recorded video of the incident. In the footage, agents order Good to get out of her vehicle, and one tries to open her car door. But she backs up, then drives forward and turns to the right, away from the officers. It does not appear that she was trying to run them over, as Trump administration officials allege.

SUMMERS: And, Matt, I’ve seen from the reporting that only the FBI will be investigating the shooting. This investigation will no longer include Minnesota officials. Do we know why?

SEPIK: Well, in a statement this morning, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said that yesterday afternoon, the FBI told him that the Minnesota U.S. attorney’s office, part of the Justice Department, had reversed course and decided that the FBI would lead the investigation on its own. Evans said the BCA, quote, “has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation” because the FBI is not sharing case materials. I reached out to the U.S. attorney’s office here for comment but did not hear back.

SUMMERS: What’s Minnesota’s governor had to say about this turn of events in the investigation?

SEPIK: Governor Tim Walz, who’s a Democrat, held another news conference today. He said the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension includes experienced professionals that have built trust with the community, particularly for their role in investigating the police murder of George Floyd back in 2020.

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TIM WALZ: It feels, now that Minnesota has been taken out of the investigation, it feels very, very difficult that we will get a fair outcome. And I say that only because people in positions of power have already passed judgment.

SEPIK: Governor Walz again urged Minnesotans to protest peacefully.

SUMMERS: Now, if criminal charges are warranted against the ICE agent who shot and killed Good and federal prosecutors declined to file them, at that point, does the state step in?

SEPIK: Yes. University of Wisconsin legal scholar Bryna Godar says a state can prosecute a federal agent if the agent acts in an improper manner in the course of their duties. And she says that if Agent Ross is charged and convicted, he could not get a pardon from President Trump.

BRYNA GODAR: Because the criminal charges in this hypothetical would still be for state law crimes, if the officer was convicted, then the president could not pardon him. The president can only pardon individuals for federal crimes, not state crimes.

SUMMERS: And how likely is a charge from state officials?

SEPIK: Well, I should emphasize here that this is still very much a hypothetical scenario. State prosecutors are far from making any charging decisions.

SUMMERS: That was Matt Sepik of Minnesota Public Radio. Thanks so much.

SEPIK: You’re welcome.

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