Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey cites public 'mistrust' in federal probe of ICE shooting

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey on Sunday, January 11, called on the federal government to allow state agencies to take part in the investigation into an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of Renee Good earlier this week, saying deep mistrust of federal authorities has eroded public confidence in the case.

Speaking on NBC’s 'Meet the Press', Jacob Frey said Minnesotans would be far more likely to accept the findings if the FBI worked alongside the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

Jacob Frey points to lack of trust after BCA was excluded 

“If it was an FBI investigation that was done jointly with an investigation from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, we could have some trust that there were entities and individuals at the table that were properly reviewing the evidence,” Frey told moderator Kristen Welker.

The mayor emphasized that he does not have a predetermined view of how any investigation should end, but said skepticism toward federal agencies runs deep in Minnesota, particularly in light of what he described as inaccurate public statements.

“There is deep mistrust,” Jacob Frey said. “So many of the things that we are hearing are not true.”

Jacob Frey challenges federal narrative on fatal ICE shooting

The comments came days after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have claimed that Good attempted to ram ICE agents with her vehicle.

Jacob Frey strongly rejected that version of events, saying that the woman was trying to leave the scene and posed no immediate threat to federal officers.

“The ICE agent was not run over, as Trump stated,” Frey said Sunday. “You had a person that was definitively trying to just get out of there. They were trying to leave the scene.”

The mayor pointed to multiple publicly available videos of the incident, including cellphone footage recorded by the agent involved, to support his claims. “You don’t need to take my word for it. You don’t need to take their word for it,” Jacob Frey said. “Watch the video.”

Jacob Frey calls for fair and impartial investigation

Frey said federal officials had damaged trust by reaching conclusions before investigators completed their work.

He stressed that involving state agencies would not automatically lead to criminal charges but would restore credibility.

“Let’s have the investigation in the hands of someone that isn’t biased,” Frey said. “Let’s not have it exclusively run through the FBI at the federal government or the Department of Justice. Let’s have it with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at the state level.”

Frey noted that the BCA has extensive experience investigating officer-involved shootings and had reached both charging and non-charging decisions in past cases.

The mayor also addressed growing tensions between federal agents and community members, following large but mostly peaceful protests against ICE in Minneapolis last week.

Earlier, Frey drew national attention after telling ICE agents to “get the f--- out of our city.”

“Of course, I bear responsibility to bring down the temperature. That’s part of my role as mayor,” Frey said, while placing primary responsibility for escalating tensions on federal officials.

“To those that are offended, I’m sorry I offended their delicate ears,” he added. “But as far as who inflamed the situation, I dropped an ‘F bomb’ and they killed somebody. I think the killing somebody is the inflammatory element here, not the ‘F bomb.’”