Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension drops out of ICE-involved shooting investigation

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) announced Thursday that it has “reluctantly withdrawn” from the investigation into the shooting of a woman by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.

The state investigative bureau said it was informed by the FBI that it would no longer have access to materials required for a “thorough and independent” review. 

Minnesota BCA Superintendent Drew Evans issued a statement on Thursday morning saying on Wednesday, “after consultation with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI, it was decided that the BCA Force Investigations Unit would conduct a joint investigation with the FBI” into the death of Renee Nicole Good during an ICE operation in south Minneapolis. 

“Later that afternoon, the FBI informed the BCA that the U.S. Attorney’s Office had reversed course: the investigation would now be led solely by the FBI, and the BCA would no longer have access to the case materials, scene evidence or investigative interviews necessary to complete a thorough and independent investigation,” Evans continued. 

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“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” he added. “As a result, the BCA has reluctantly withdrawn from the investigation. The BCA Force Investigations Unit was designed to ensure consistency, accountability and public confidence, none of which can be achieved without full cooperation and jurisdictional clarity.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to the FBI for comment. 

When asked about the matter on Thursday, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem told reporters in New York City, “I’d like to know where they’ve been and why they’re not out on the streets investigating all of these people that are harassing and inciting violence on law enforcement officers right now.”  

“They’re allowing the situation to be volatile,” Noem also said. “They’re not doing their work. They haven’t for years. And maybe they should get to work a little bit on the unprecedented fraud that we’ve seen in Minnesota and in Minneapolis by people that stole from American citizens and diverted funds away from vulnerable people and programs and services that they needed and put it into their own pockets. Minnesota is a train wreck.”

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Evans also said Thursday, “We expect the FBI to conduct a thorough and complete investigation and that the full investigative file will be shared with the appropriate prosecutorial authorities at both the state and federal levels.” 

“The BCA remains fully committed to our partnerships to build public trust in use of deadly force investigations. If the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI were to reconsider this approach and express a willingness to resume a joint investigation, the BCA is prepared to reengage in support of our shared goal of public safety in Minnesota,” he added. 

The fatal shooting occurred during an ICE enforcement operation in south Minneapolis, according to DHS, which said agents were attempting to make arrests when Good tried to use her vehicle as a weapon against officers, prompting a federal agent to fire in self-defense.

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Good was pronounced dead after being struck by gunfire. The agent involved has not been publicly identified, and the incident remains under investigation. 

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern, Stepheny Price, Alexandra Koch and Bill Melugin contributed to this report.