A newly released surveillance video has contradicted the accounts of two US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers involved in a shooting in Minneapolis on 14 January. The officers had claimed they were attacked by two Venezuelan men, Alfredo Aljorna and Julio Sosa Celis, before one officer fired a shot. The men were charged with assaulting a federal officer, but the prosecution collapsed after evidence failed to support the agents' version of events.
The video footage, made public this week, shows Sosa Celis holding a snow shovel at the entrance of an apartment building, but it does not depict the violent altercation described by the officers. The FBI affidavit had stated that Sosa Celis struck an officer in the face with a broom and that another man attacked with a shovel. However, the video undermines these claims, leading to the charges being dropped.
This is the third time video evidence has contradicted ICE's account of an officer-involved shooting in Minneapolis. Previous cases involving the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, captured on bystander cellphone videos, were deemed so excessive that they prompted a leadership shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security.
ICE Director Todd Lyons has placed the officers involved on administrative leave and stated they may face dismissal or criminal prosecution for making false statements. An ICE spokesperson said, 'Lying under oath is a serious federal offense. The US attorney’s office is actively investigating these false statements.'
Experts see this as a potential turning point for accountability within ICE, which has faced criticism for excessive force and dishonesty. Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute noted, 'In the long arc of our immigration enforcement history, Minnesota will be the major inflection point.' However, Gabe Sanchez of the Brookings Institution cautioned that it may be 'baby steps and symbolic oversight' so far.
