Party-line vote halts plan to have BCA investigate killings by federal agents

Every peace officer-involved shooting in Minnesota needs to be investigated fully by the state, regardless of whether the officer involved is from a federal, state or local law enforcement agency, says a co-chair of the House Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.

Rep. Kelly Moller (DFL-Shoreview) said that did not happen following the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in January during Operation Metro Surge, when the federal Department of Justice immediately called the killings justified and denied the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension access to the scenes to collect evidence.

The federal government’s actions “tried to turn this on the victims,” Moller told the committee Tuesday, noting that their actions were contrary to international protocol on officer-involved shootings and seriously jeopardized the integrity of the investigations into those killings.

Moller sponsors HF3405 that would require the BCA’s Use of Force Investigations Unit to investigate officer-involved deaths that result from a federal agent’s use of force.

A party-line vote did not advance the bill.

The unit was created by the Legislature in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd. It gives the BCA the authority to investigate all deaths in the state that involve peace officers, which by definition means only state cops.

BCA Deputy Superintendent Scott Mueller testified that the unit has investigated officer-involved deaths by federal agents about 6-8 times in the last eight years.

“I don’t believe this bill is necessary,” said Co-Chair Rep. Paul Novotny (R-Elk River).

Moller disagrees, saying there needs to be clarity in state statutes that may not have been needed in the past because until Operation Metro Surge, there was always good cooperation between state and federal law enforcement agencies.

“We at least need to make it very clear in law that if someone is murdered or killed at the hands of federal or local enforcement that this unit is going to do that investigation,” she said.

The bill is one of 11 DFL-sponsored bills announced at a Feb. 16 news conference that relate to the actions of federal agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection in Minnesota.