Months after the ICE shootings in Minnesota, a federal probe remains elusive

Months after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people and wounded a third in separate incidents during the ICE surge in Minneapolis, the status of the federal investigations into the three shootings remains an open question.

In the case of Alex Pretti, a U.S. citizen killed by Border Patrol agents, the Department of Homeland Security told NPR in a statement that the Justice Department is leading an investigation. The DOJ, however, did not respond to NPR's request for comment.

In the case of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan immigrant who was shot by an ICE officer and survived, DHS told NPR an internal investigation is underway.

As for Renee Macklin Good, a U.S. citizen killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross, DHS said in a statement "the matter remains under investigation."

But Minnesota authorities say the federal government has given them little indication that the federal probes are progressing. Legal experts agree.

"I would go out on a limb and say we're pretty confident that they're not investigating these agents for any possible crimes," says Rachel Moran, a professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law who studies police accountability.

Moran says a federal officer who kills a person would normally be subject to a joint investigation between state law enforcement and the federal government. What's happening instead, she says, is much more unusual.

"They appear to be actively preventing the state from investigating," Moran says.

In late March, the state and Hennepin County, where Minneapolis is located, sued the Trump administration, accusing it of withholding evidence in all three shootings.

State officials say federal agents first agreed to work with them at the scenes of the Good and Sosa-Celis shootings, then federal officials later took control of the evidence. At the Pretti shooting, they say federal authorities physically blocked state investigators from accessing the scene.

The evidence the state says it cannot access includes items like Pretti's cell phone, Good's car, which state officials say is shrink-wrapped in an FBI warehouse and has never been examined, and information about the immigration officers present, including Ross, the agent who shot Good through her windshield.

"For instance, Jonathan Ross, when was he trained? What was he trained to do? What's in his personnel file? That's true of every agent that was involved in these shootings," says Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, a plaintiff in the lawsuit.

Shortly after the shooting, DHS officials said Ross is an experienced officer, not a recent hire.

Except for Ross, Moriarty says the federal government has not given her office the names of the other officers involved in the shootings.

In a separate case involving Ross, a federal judge ruled Thursday that federal agencies have three weeks to produce evidence related to Good's killing. That evidence will not be made public.

Minnesota could still investigate the officers without the federal government's evidence, though it would need to overcome a possible defense that federal agents have immunity from state prosecution. Moriarty told NPR her office is considering doing that.

"We are not giving up. We are going to see this through," Moriarty says. "Any time law enforcement takes the life of a community member, it's really important that there be a thorough and complete investigation which is transparent."

She says that's not what the federal government seems to be doing: In all three shootings, federal authorities were quick to say the victims attacked agents or were planning to do so.

After Good's death, federal officials said she impeded law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle. Local officials and others say video evidence contradicts that, but in its statement to NPR, DHS doubled down on its narrative. After Pretti's death, federal authorities labeled him a domestic terrorist and said that federal officers shot him because they feared for their safety. Video evidence contradicts that.

After Sosa-Celis's shooting, federal authorities said he attacked an ICE officer with what looked like a shovel or a broomstick. The Justice Department charged him with assault, then dropped the charges. In its statement to NPR, DHS said two officers appeared to have "made untruthful statements," and are now on administrative leave. This week, The New York Times reported that for weeks after charging him, federal prosecutors didn't watch video evidence that seems to show Sosa-Celis dropping the shovel-like object before the shooting.

NPR asked DHS whether any of the other officers, including the ones who killed Pretti and Good, have faced any sort of discipline. The department did not respond to those questions.

In its statement, DHS told NPR its officers are "held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct" and that it is committed to transparency and accountability.

At the Pretti memorial on a recent afternoon, a woman arranged tulips and roses into a heart on the sidewalk. The ground there is filled with flowers and handwritten notes.

A little more than a mile away, the memorial for Good is quieter. There, between the flowers and candles, little shoots of green grass are sprouting where the snow used to be. It's a reminder of what has changed here – and what hasn't.

Transcript

JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:

Months after federal immigration agents shot and killed two people in separate incidents in Minneapolis, it's not clear to what extent the Trump administration is investigating those shootings. Federal officials have been quiet about it. As NPR's Meg Anderson reports, local authorities are frustrated.

MEG ANDERSON, BYLINE: The ICE surge in Minneapolis officially ended in February. But what's happening with the federal investigations into the three shootings that happened during the surge - that is an open question.

Let's start with Alex Pretti. He was a U.S. citizen killed by Border Patrol agents. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told us the Justice Department is leading that investigation. But when we reached out to the DOJ, we did not hear back. Next, Julio Sosa-Celis, an immigrant from Venezuela. He was shot by an ICE officer 10 days before Pretti and survived. DHS told us an internal investigation is underway.

Finally, Renee Good - she was a U.S. citizen killed by ICE officer Jonathan Ross in early January. The DHS spokesperson said simply, quote, "the matter remains under investigation." But state authorities say the federal government has given them little indication that they're progressing with any sort of probe. Rachel Moran is a law professor at the University of St. Thomas who studies police accountability.

RACHEL MORAN: I would go out on a limb and say, we're pretty confident that they're not investigating these agents for any possible crimes.

ANDERSON: She says, normally, a federal officer who killed someone would be subject to a joint investigation between state law enforcement and the federal government. But instead, she says, what's happening is much more unusual.

MORAN: They appear to be actively preventing the state from investigating.

ANDERSON: Late March, the state sued the Trump administration, accusing it of withholding evidence in all three shootings - evidence cited in the suit like Alex Pretti's cellphone, Renee Good's car, which is shrink-wrapped in an FBI warehouse, and statements made by the officers, including Jonathan Ross, the agent who shot Good through her windshield. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, has questions.

MARY MORIARTY: When was he trained? What was he trained to do? What's in his personnel file? And that's true of every agent that was involved in these shootings.

ANDERSON: Shortly after the shooting, DHS officials said Ross was an experienced officer, not a recent hire. In a separate case involving Ross, a federal judge ruled this week that the administration has three weeks to produce evidence in Renee Good's killing. Even without the federal government's evidence, the state could still prosecute the officers, and Moriarty says her office is considering doing that.

MORIARTY: Anytime law enforcement takes the life of a community member, it's really important that there be a thorough and complete investigation which is transparent.

ANDERSON: She says that's not what the federal government seems to be doing. In all three shootings, federal authorities were quick to say the victims attacked the immigration officers or were planning to, and in all three, video evidence contradicts that narrative. After Sosa-Celis' shooting, the DOJ charged him with assault, then dropped the charges. In its statement to NPR, DHS said the officers appeared to have, quote, "made untruthful statements" and that they are now on administrative leave. We asked whether any of the other officers, like the ones who killed Pretti and Good, have faced any sort of discipline. DHS did not respond to those questions.

The places where Pretti and Good died have become makeshift memorials. At the Pretti memorial on a recent afternoon, a woman arranged tulips and roses into a heart on the sidewalk. I then went to the Renee Good Memorial, about a mile away, where it was quieter.

There are candles and tons of stuffed animals, notes. One says her last words - I'm not mad at you, dude.

Between the flowers and candles, little shoots of green grass are coming up where the snow used to be. It's a reminder of what has changed and what hasn't. Meg Anderson, NPR News.

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