MN Sues Trump Admin Over ICE Shootings 03/25 06:06

   

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on 
Tuesday 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 the surge of federal law enforcement 
in Minneapolis. State officials are seeking a court order demanding that the 
Trump administration comply.

   "We are prepared to fight for transparency and accountability that the 
federal government is desperate to avoid," Hennepin County Attorney Mary 
Moriarty told reporters.

   The lawsuit marks an escalation in the clash between Minnesota leaders and 
the Trump administration over the investigations into the high-profile 
shootings by federal officers that sparked public outcry and protests. The 
Trump administration has suggested that Minnesota officials don't have 
jurisdiction to investigate, but state officials insist they need to conduct 
their own probes because they don't trust the federal government to investigate 
itself.

   "There has to be an investigation any time a federal agent or a state agent 
takes the life of a person in our community," Moriarty said.

   The administration sent thousands of officers to the Minneapolis and St. 
Paul area for the immigration crackdown as part of President Donald Trump's 
national deportation campaign. The Department of Homeland Security considered 
its largest immigration enforcement operation ever a success but it was 
staunchly criticized by Minnesota's leaders who raised questions over officers' 
conduct.

   There continues to be fallout from Operation Metro Surge in the form of a 
Homeland Security shutdown, as Democrats in Congress hold up funding in an 
effort to secure restraints on Trump's immigration agenda.

   An email seeking comment was sent to Justice Department. A DHS spokesperson 
said in an email Tuesday that all shootings are reviewed by an appropriate law 
enforcement agency, followed by an independent review within the agency.

   The Justice Department in January said it was opening a federal civil rights 
investigation into Pretti's killing but has said a similar federal probe was 
not warranted in the killing of Good. The decision in Good's case marked a 
sharp departure from past administrations, which moved quickly to investigate 
shootings of civilians by law enforcement officials for potential civil rights 
offenses.

   Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said that the department's Civil 
Rights Division does not investigate every law enforcement shooting and that 
there have to be circumstances and facts that "warrant an investigation."

   DHS said Tuesday that Customs and Border Patrol is conducting its own 
internal investigation of the Pretti case. On Good, DHS said the matter remains 
under investigation but that footage shows Good impeded law enforcement 
operations and weaponized her vehicle, leading the officer to act in 
self-defense.

   Minnesota's lawsuit also demands access to evidence in a third case -- that 
of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot and wounded in his right thigh by a 
federal agent in January.

   Federal officials initially accused Sosa-Celis and another man of beating an 
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with a broom handle and a snow 
shovel. But federal prosecutors later dropped all charges against the men, and 
authorities opened a criminal investigation into whether two immigration 
officers lied under oath about the shooting.

   Both officers are on administrative leave as ICE and DOJ conduct a joint 
review, DHS said Tuesday, adding in a statement that ICE is committed to 
transparency and accountability.

   Minnesota's lawsuit said the federal government is not permitted to 
"withhold investigative evidence for the purpose of shielding law enforcement 
officers from scrutiny where a State is investigating serious potential 
violations of its criminal laws, targeting its citizens, within its borders."

   Moriarty said Tuesday that the federal government "has adopted a policy of 
categorically withholding evidence," calling the practice unprecedented and 
alarming. She said the lawsuit followed formal demands for evidence after the 
federal government blocked Minnesota investigators from accessing evidence 
related to the shootings.

   Such cases by states against the federal government are highly unusual, said 
Rachel Moran, law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis.

   That is because local agencies don't often try to investigate potential 
crimes by federal officers, and also because the federal government rarely 
refuses to cooperate. The opposite, where state officials might try to obstruct 
federal agents, used to be more common during the civil rights era, Moran said.

   "The state should have a chance at success because, what their basic claim 
is, is that they have a right to review evidence regarding a possible crime," 
Moran said. "They have not only a right, but an obligation to investigate 
whether officers have committed crimes in their jurisdiction."

   Either outcome of the lawsuit could have significant implications for 
federal and state power. If a federal judge grants the state's request, Moran 
said, that provides legal support for state and local officials to investigate 
federal officers. If the federal government is allowed to withhold evidence, it 
could discourage federal and state cooperation, she said.