Federal law enforcement will “solely” lead the investigation into an immigration agent’s fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis, and will not work with Minnesota agencies, a move that will limit state prosecutors’ ability to potentially charge the shooter.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said Thursday that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Attorney’s Office decided against collaborating with state and local agencies in probing the Wednesday killing of Renee Nicole Good.
The decision will make it difficult for the state to bring charges against the agent who killed Good, Ben Jacobson, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner, said at a press conference Thursday. Federal investigators have all the evidence and original reports from the shooting scene, Jacobson added.
“Unless we do that thorough investigation, unless we have access to all that evidence, unless we have access to the agents that were involved in that and any witnessness — without any of that, we would not be able to put together a quality investigation for any prosecutor to be able to make a determination as to whether or not someone should be charged with a crime,” Jacobson said.
Good, 37, was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent on Portland Avenue near E. 34th Street at about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday morning. The ICE agent who shot Good was identified by the Star Tribune Thursday as Jonathan Ross.
Walz, speaking at the Thursday news conference, denounced the decision, and said the state doesn’t trust the federal government to conduct a proper investigation.
“Let us, the professionals, handle this on Minnesota soil, this investigation,” Walz implored the Trump administration. “De-escalate the situation by removing yourselves from the situation with these 2,000 agents that you put here. And above all else, stay out of our state. I’d like to ask you to care but that might be a step too far for some people.”
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said in a news release Thursday that his agency spoke with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office Wednesday, and it was agreed that the BCA would partner with the FBI.
“Later [Wednesday] afternoon, the FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Evans said in the statement.
“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands. As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation.”
The state can’t conduct its own investigation without access to federal authorities’ evidence and reports, Jacobson said.
“We have none of that, they have shared none of that with us,” Jacobson said. “Without any of that information, without any of that assistance from the FBI, from the federal government, we would be at a loss to be able to initiate and conduct a thorough investigation.”
The FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not immediately return messages from Sahan Journal seeking comment Thursday.
In the immediate aftermath of the killing Wednesday, MinWalz had said the BCA would be working on the investigation with the FBI. The BCA investigates law enforcement shootings in Minnesota.
Sahan Journal reporters saw FBI forensic teams on the scene of the shooting at about 11 a.m., and witnessed a BCA team arrive on the scene in the early afternoon.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarity said her office is pursuing options to ensure a state level investigation can occur despite the federal government’s decision.
“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,” Moriarity said in a written statement.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called for an independent investigation into Good’s killing led by the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office.
“It’s clear that the Trump administration is trying to sell a version of what happened to Renee Good before even attempting to investigate what the facts on the ground actually are,” ACLU Director of Policy and Government Affairs Naureen Shah said in a statement.
Walz said he has not spoken with President Donald Trump, but did talk with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Wednesday night. Walz said it’s hard to imagine that the federal investigation will be fair when Noem described Good as a domestic terrorist. Noem said at a Wednesday news conference that Good, whom she did not refer to by name, tried to run over the ICE agent with her car.
“There is no verifiable evidence that any of this is making America safe,” Walz said of Trump’s immigration enforcement. “Please, please, whatever it is, leave Minnesota alone.”
The governor quoted George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” in reference to federal authorities’ comments condemning Good’s actions, and said the nation is looking to Minnesota to hold the line. He urged Minnesotans to protest peacefully.
“It feels to me like we’re at one of those inflection points,” Walz said.
Vice President J.D. Vance and Noem have said the officer who shot Good was previously dragged by a vehicle. Ross is named in court documents charging a man with assaulting a federal officer by dragging Ross in a vehicle in Bloomington on June 17. Noem has said Ross is an experienced agent.
