In wake of another shooting in Minneapolis, senators continue to press for answers over death of Renee Good
Amid a fiery controversy over how the Trump administration is handling the investigation of the shooting that killed Alex Pretti in Minnesota over the weekend, there is a continued push by Senate Democrats for a Justice Department probe of the fatal shooting of Renee Good earlier this month.
In a letter obtained by CBS News, Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to "listen to career prosecutors and open a civil rights investigation into the death of Ms. Good."
Good was shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent while in her car on Jan. 7. The Trump administration's decision to forgo a formal investigation into the shooting and the agent who pulled the trigger has fueled protests and uproar in Minneapolis ever since.
"The Civil Rights Division's refusal to investigate is a complete abdication of responsibility and an attempt to cover for DHS and ICE's horrific conduct. The families of Renee Good, and now Alex Pretti, deserve answers and accountability," Sen. Peter Welch, a first-term Democrat from Vermont, told CBS News. Welch led the group of Democrats who signed the letter.
Good's fatal shooting was initially treated as a civil rights investigation, but Justice Department leadership later ordered the FBI and prosecutors to treat it as an assault on a federal officer and instructed them to investigate Good's wife, CBS News previously reported.
The administration's decision to focus its follow-up investigation on Good, rather than the shooting, contributed to a wave of resignations by career Justice Department attorneys who opposed the decision, CBS News has learned.
In the letter, sent to Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon, Senate Democrats wrote: "After you informed Division personnel that you would not consider opening an investigation into whether the ICE agent violated federal law, several career prosecutors — including the head of the Criminal Section, which is responsible for these investigations — accelerated planned departures from the Division."
The letter to Dhillon also said: "Your decision not to investigate Ms. Good's killing reflects a trend in the Division under your leadership of ignoring the enforcement of civil rights laws in favor of carrying out President Trump's political agenda. This trend, combined with apparent political interference in investigative and prosecutorial decisions, undermines public trust, the legitimacy of our institutions, and the rule of law."
Tracee Mergen, the acting FBI supervisor of the Public Corruption Squad in the Minneapolis Field Office, resigned last week in part over the Good investigation, according to multiple sources. Mergen left the FBI "in part due to the pressure on her to reclassify/discontinue the [Good] investigation," a source with knowledge of her departure told CBS News. Another FBI source said Mergen "would not bow to pressure" from leadership.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The agency's response to the shootings of Good and Pretti has also drawn criticism from an organization of former Justice Department employees.
"Good policing requires public trust and accountability," said Stacey Young, founder and executive director of Justice Connections, a group that serves former Justice Department employees, including attorneys who worked for the office that investigated other police shootings.
"Rather than investigating allegations of unlawful, excessive force by federal agents in Minneapolis, the Justice Department has launched investigations into conduct by victims and surviving family members instead of the agents who fired the guns," Young said. "The Justice Department has its mission in its title — but in cases like these, justice is nowhere to be found."
