Shortly after a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, city leaders began looking into whether the officer had violated state criminal law.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said, “We collectively are going to do everything possible to get to the bottom of this, to get justice, and to make sure that there is an investigation that is conducted in full.” Police Chief Brian O’Hara followed up by saying that the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is “investigat[ing] whether any state laws within the state of Minnesota have been violated.”
If they conclude that state law has been violated, the question is: What next? Contrary to recent assertions from some federal officials, states can prosecute federal officers for violating state criminal laws, and there is precedent for that.
This is like the Ashli Babbitt case. Half the country thinks she’s a domestic terrorist and law enforcement killed her in the act of putting people in danger.
At most, her family will get a civil settlement. Everyone knows it.
Ashli Babbitt was trying to storm the halls of congress, with an angry mob behind her, with weapons already drawn on her, given warnings but still trying to break glass to get through, and was shot once.
The other was a mom after dropping her kid off from school, turning her vehicle around on a road that ICE blocked, and was shot 3 times in the face at point blank range.
These are not comparable cases.