Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara questioned the actions of the ICE agent who shot and killed protester Renee Good earlier this month during an interview with 60 Minutes on Sunday. O’Hara said the agent violated “basic steps” that officers know about approaching vehicles.
Correspondent Cecilia Vega said the shooting has become a national “Rorschach test,” where some Americans see a “senseless killing” and others see an “officer defending his life.”
O’Hara said he has watched clips of the incident — and come away asking why the officer was in front of Good’s SUV right before the shooting.
“It’s not clear to me why he appears to be in the path of the vehicle more than once,” O’Hara said. “When you approach someone in a vehicle in a law enforcement encounter, there are very basic steps you take to ensure the officer’s safety and de-escalate the situation.”
Vega then said Vice President JD Vance put the blame for the shooting “squarely” on Good the day after the attack. She also said Homeland Security officials accused Good and her partner of “stalking” immigration officers; Vega did not mention DHS shared footage last week of Good blocking traffic for three minutes with her vehicle before agents approached her.
CBS News reported this week the ICE agent — Jonathan Ross — suffered internal bleeding after being struck by Good’s vehicle right before he opened fire.
O’Hara told 60 Minutes he was in favor of “targeted, precise pre-planned operations on violent offenders,” which he said are a “good thing.”
“But I’m concerned that people in the [Trump] administration don’t understand the reality of what is happening on the street,” he added.
The 60 Minutes crew also captured a heckler shouting at O’Hara that he was a “pig” who was enabling ICE while they he was walking-and-talking to Vega.
“People have a right to say disrespectful things… however, they cannot physically obstruct law enforcement from performing a function,” O’Hara said. “Those things are illegal.”
Watch above.
