Could ICE agent in the Minneapolis shooting face charges?
Can ICE agent who killed woman face charges? Here’s what the law says
- Family of the 37-year-old woman killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis Wednesday insists it was murder, but could the officer face charges?
- Minnesota’s use-of-force law allows state police to use deadly force only if reasonable officers would believe doing so was necessary to protect themselves, or others, from death or serious harm, and federal law has a similar standard.
- Federal agents are generally immune from state prosecution for actions taken as part of their official duties, provided these actions were authorized under federal law, necessary, and proper.
- If the state charged the agent, he could ask that the case be moved to federal court and argue he’s immune from prosecution. If a judge agreed, the case would be dismissed.
- Federal prosecution of law enforcement officers for fatal shootings is rare due to a high bar of proof, and qualified immunity also makes civil lawsuits against federal officers difficult.