Multiple videos are out now, of course. Lots of folks calling it "unjustified" etc. Reddit goons are doing their usual goon ways.
Here's my take:
The dead woman in question is being identified as something as a "Legal Observer". These are folks that routinely follow law enforcement around to provide "eye witness accounts" to law enforcement operations.
in Minnesota, the definition is less about a specific statute in the criminal code and more about a
court-ordered protection resulting from the
Goyette v. City of Minneapolis lawsuit.
Under the terms of the
Goyette Injunction (which is still the active standard for law enforcement in the state), an observer is defined by these criteria:
- The Gear: They must be clearly identified with "indicia." In Minnesota, this specifically means the green National Lawyers Guild (NLG) hats or blue ACLU vests.
- The Behavior: They must be "solely present" to observe and record. If they start chanting, holding a sign, or blocking traffic, they lose their "observer" status and are legally treated as protesters.
- The Right to Stay: Unlike the general public, if the police declare an "unlawful assembly" and order a dispersal, legal observers in Minnesota have a court-protected right to stay and continue recording, provided they do not interfere with arrests.
The videos show an officer in front of the SUV as the person tries to drive away AFTER refusing to follow the verbal orders. Officer in front of the SUV fires through the windshield and side window and fatally wounds the driver. Generally ICE policy is to NOT shoot at or in to a moving vehicle.
We don't know WHY they tried to make her exit the vehicle. ( we do now, as of 9 Jan) ICE generally do NOT have law enforcement authority to interdict in typical policing that is considered local in nature. They CAN, in fact, take action if they feel endangered, etc.
The "legal observer" should have NOT tried to drive away with a PERSON in front of the SUV. This is something a normal person can interpret when stress and chaos are not clouding the situation.
The "Legal Observer" standard means YOU are not to take part in the protest or police actions themselves, if you do you are no longer protected by the "observer" policy.
The chaos of the situation led to the death. ICE vehicles being blocked, ICE vehicles and officers conducting operations in an area with hostile citizens AND illegal immigrants chanting and being disruptive to public order. Anger, chaos, fear, perceived threats, real threats.
SHE is not a terrorist like the Orange Menace and his Henchmen state she is, she made a mistake that got her killed.
The officer is not a "murderer". He used dumb ass tactics that led to a legal response with force. He won't be charged with unlawful use of deadly force. Charged with other things? Not likely during the current administration.
Want to fix this? Get your State to formally outlaw police tactics that directly lead to this sort of thing, don't let them box a vehicle in with HUMAN barricade techniques, its dumb and it doesn't work anyway. Many agencies already teach not to do this, but it needs to be codified into actual policy.
Appealing to Trump wont fix this. Voting wont help much either, both parties have had full control of government multiple times in my adult life and have done fuck all to
PASS LAWS that would curtail out of lane, out of bounds Presidential power. Dems wont do it the next time around either.
Good luck.
