Minnesota officials sued Donald Trump’s administration on March 24. They demanded access to evidence needed to independently investigate three shootings by federal officers, including the deaths of two civilians.
Minnesota officials sue Donald Trump administration over shooting
Donald Trump’s administration getting sued stems from a growing tuss between state leaders and the federal government. It’s over accountability for law enforcement operations conducted during a large-scale immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.
The lawsuit claims that the federal government backed out of its promised cooperation with state investigations after deploying thousands of federal officers to the region. State officials are now asking a judge to compel the Trump administration to turn over evidence. They feel the evidence is critical to their probes. “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 dispute centers on three shootings by federal agents in which Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed. As well as the one where it wounded Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the thigh during a January incident.
The Trump administration has suggested that Minnesota officials lack jurisdiction to investigate federal officers. But state leaders insist they must conduct their own inquiries. This is because they do not 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 Department of Homeland Security said in an email that all shootings undergo review by an appropriate law enforcement agency. It is then followed by an independent internal review. Further adding that Customs and Border Patrol is conducting its own investigation into Pretti’s death. While the shooting involving Good remains under review. The state’s lawsuit also demands evidence in the shooting of Sosa-Celis (via AP News).
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu for Mandatory.
