Minnesota filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday asking a judge to force the Trump administration to turn over evidence from the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Americans killed by Homeland Security personnel in Minneapolis in January.
State authorities say they have been shut out of the federal investigations into the shootings and want to conduct their own probes — but are being denied access to the evidence.
They accused the Trump Justice Department of a “policy of noncooperation” and asked a judge to strike it down.
“That policy has deprived state investigators of timely access to evidence in federal custody that is directly relevant to their investigations of potential violations of Minnesota criminal law,” Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison said in the complaint.
The federal government’s ability to investigate itself has become a major focus in the weeks since the shootings.
The first was against Good, a woman who was slain after she refused commands to exit her SUV and instead lurched the vehicle into an ICE officer, who opened fire and killed her.
That was followed by the death of Pretti, a nurse killed by Customs and Border Protection personnel while he was protesting their presence on a Minneapolis street.
Minnesota is also seeking evidence on a third shooting by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who wounded Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis.
DHS initially said Mr. Sosa-Celis is an unauthorized immigrant who fled and resisted arrest, participating in the beating of the ICE officer who opened fire to protect himself. But federal authorities have now opened a probe into whether ICE officers lied about the incident, and criminal charges against Mr. Sosa-Celis have been dropped.
Minnesota said after the shootings of Good and Mr. Sosa-Celis, the feds indicated they would let local authorities be part of the investigations.
But they quickly reversed themselves.
By the time of the Pretti shooting, DHS personnel “physically blocked” state investigators from the scene, Minnesota officials said.
The state had to go to court to get a judge’s order granting access.
Federal officials refused to give basic information such as the identities of officers involved, Minnesota said.
The state said it then tried to go through official administrative channels at the Justice Department to get access to evidence but was met with silence.
The Washington Times has sought comment from the Justice Department for this report.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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