The city of Minneapolis released security camera footage on Monday that undermines the initial account provided by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of a shooting involving an agency officer and two Venezuelan men in January.
The video, from a city-owned camera, captures federal officers chasing one of the men to his residence. Another Venezuelan man living there was shot during the confrontation. Federal authorities dropped all charges against the two immigrants in February and opened a criminal investigation into whether officers lied under oath.
While the ICE officer initially claimed a three-minute struggle before firing, the video shows a confrontation lasting about 12 seconds. The New York Times reported that federal investigators had access to the video within hours of the 14 January shooting but did not view it until nearly three weeks after charging the men.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey stated: 'The video makes it crystal clear that, just like in other situations during Operation Metro Surge, the federal government’s account of what happened simply does not match the facts.'
The video also contradicts initial federal statements regarding the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents on 7 and 24 January respectively. Minnesota prosecutors have sued the Trump administration for access to evidence in all three shootings.
Federal authorities initially accused Alfredo Alejandro Aljorna and Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis of beating an ICE officer with a broom handle and a snow shovel. The officer fired a single shot, striking Sosa-Celis’s right thigh. The charges were dropped after US Attorney Daniel Rosen cited 'newly discovered evidence' inconsistent with the allegations.
