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Laura Coates Live
Tensions Flare in Minneapolis After Federal Officer Shoots Suspect; Minneapolis Officials Address New Shooting Involving Fed Agent. Aired 11p-12a ET
Aired January 14, 2026 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[23:00:00]
KMELE FOSTER, PODCAST HOST: -- than what we -- what we're looking at tonight. at the moment, it looks relatively calm. That's probably -- that's a very good -- I'm not sure that they're deescalating. But at the moment, it looks relatively calm. As I said a moment ago, it's the statement from the federal official that I find particularly strange, that this is somehow an insurrection. People are upset. They're concerned. There is legitimate reason to be concerned. We've all seen some disturbing footage.
UNKNOWN: A dialing down of the rhetoric is help on all sides.
ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: All right. Everybody --
FOSTER: I think that is exactly correct.
PHILLIP: Thank you. Thank you all very much for rolling with us on that coverage. Our special coverage of this scene continues. "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is "CNN Breaking News."
LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Good evening. I'm Laura Coates. The breaking news tonight, another shooting involving federal law enforcement again in Minneapolis forming a chaotic scene in a neighborhood in the north of the city.
The Department of Homeland Security put out a statement a short time ago, and it says that federal officers were conducting a targeted traffic stop of a -- quote -- "illegal alien who then fled." The officer caught up with him and a struggle broke out. DHS says two other people came from a nearby apartment and attacked the agent with a snow shovel and broom handle. The statement says the officer then fired what they're calling defensive shots and hit the initial subject in the leg. The end of the post accuses Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey of encouraging what they're calling organized resistance to ICE.
Just a few moments, the mayor and police chief will be holding a news conference to address what has happened, and we will bring it to you live right here on CNN. I want to go right to the ground right now. CNN's Whitney Wild is there reporting on this latest shooting. Whitney, we've seen a heavy police presence. I hear the honking. I hear the community out and about. Where are you right now and what's happening?
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: We are right near 23rd and Lindale. And there is a chaotic scene at the moment because federal law enforcement basically has two spots that they're trying to control. One is straight up the block from us this way and the other is to my side. And it's to my side where we believe that this shooting happened.
And according to the Department of Homeland Security, the shooting happened -- the incident happened at 6:50 central time when law enforcement was trying to target a specific person. And when they went after that person, that person jumped in the car, tried to drive off, crashed, then, according to the Department of Homeland Security, jumped out of the vehicle, and then it was around that time that people began to see what happened.
And then other people began to attack law enforcement as they were trying to detain that suspect. And in the course of that, the immigration officer was hit, according to the Department of Homeland Security, with either a broom or a shovel. DHS says that that ICE officer shot what they are saying are defensive shots. The suspect was shot and is in the hospital as is that ICE officer. Two other people were taken into custody.
What we are seeing right now is these confrontations between protesters and law enforcement. Earlier tonight, they were trying to back up protesters with multiple tear gas and flash bangs. Then the situation seemed to calm down for maybe 30 minutes or so. But now, what we're seeing is law enforcement coming back toward us.
And what happened minutes ago, the reason that this is so chaotic right now, is it looked like someone maybe threw what we thought was a gas -- a tear gas canister from the other law enforcement locations. We saw it sparks in the sky. And then we saw law enforcement rushed because it sounded like someone said, that's a firecracker. And so, law enforcement then ran out and came around this corner where we are right now.
And what you're going to see, we'll turn the camera here, is you'll see more of these federal agents walking back here. So, can you guys see that? So, I'll step out of the frame so you guys can see because they're going to walk right by us here.
COATES: We're watching what appears to be ICE agents approaching towards where our camera is. They're (INAUDIBLE). They have somebody in custody right now. I heard him saying, I wasn't throwing nothing, it wasn't me.
WILD: Laura, it looks like they have two people in custody. We are continuing to reach out to the Minneapolis Police Department to try to find out exactly what happened tonight. And we will follow up with them as we have more information on what is going on with these two people in custody.
I think, notably, there is other local law enforcement here. We saw the Bureau of Criminal Investigations with a big crime scene van that is typically used to process critical incidents, which is interesting, Laura, to see BCA here because what we know is that last week, they wanted to be part of the Renee Good shooting, and they were boxed out of that. Federal law enforcement took complete control of that investigation.
[23:05:00]
And this was something local law enforcement complained about, that they were not able to get any evidence here. Now, we know that BCA is on scene. And so, we may see a different relationship between federal law enforcement and local law enforcement as this investigation unfolds here. But I thought that was an interesting thing to see given the past contentious feelings here that BCA was not able to engage in the Renee Good shooting. Laura?
COATES: It has been one week to the day since Renee Good was --
(EXPLOSION)
Oh, I hear something. Was that a shot? What am I hearing, Whitney?
WILD: It's OK. We're far enough away from it. It's OK.
COATES: What am I hearing?
WILD: I'm sorry. I jumped because it's close. It looks like -- it looks like more flashbangs and maybe more tear gas. We've seen lots of that tonight. But we're not close enough to it right now to see.
The other complicating factor here, Laura, is the sidewalks are just caked in ice. In some places, it's inches thick. So, you have this already treacherous situation here in Minneapolis, plus you have -- it's dark, plus you have the flashbangs, plus you have the tear gas. So, it's creating a quite -- you know, quite a chaotic scene here.
COATES: I mean, we're hearing about the weather conditions. Obviously, they have been protesting. And the community has been out for well into a week now since the shooting death at the hands of an ICE official and ICE officer of Renee Good. The community has been in unrest since then.
You mentioned the law enforcement presence. Are you seeing ICE agents? Are you seeing also Minneapolis police as well?
WILD: I can't say that I have seen the Minneapolis Police Department. We've mostly seen immigration agents. So, certainly, I've seen people from Customs and Border Protection. We've seen, you know, officers with ICE on their badges and on their chest here. Some are from the Special Response Team, which is typically a specialized tactical unit that they use for higher risk operations here.
So, right now, you see multiple different -- these looked like -- they are certainly federal law enforcement, very likely either from ICE or Border Patrol. We know that there are 3,000 agents spread throughout the area, which was at 2,000 already, the biggest immigration enforcement action ever. Then there were a thousand more added over the weekend. Now, we're seeing more law enforcement go back to the location.
UNKNOWN: I hope you are, anyway.
WILD: Laura, sometimes, you'll see SRT on their -- on the side of their badge. Again, that's the Special Response Team, which is a tactical unit. So, you saw it right there, SRT and Customs and Border Protection. That's a good example of that. Laura?
COATES: When we get to a safe location, we're going to keep talking to you tonight. I'm seeing this huge presence. I'm hearing the shouts from the crowd as well. And, of course, their uniform includes a kind of a gas mask, it seems, obviously, so they can be unaffected by whatever they are throwing out as we're hearing the loud shouts coming from the community as well. They continue to come back and approach our own Whitney Wild who's on the ground. Stay with us.
I want to bring in the former Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo. Also, Darius Reeves. He was a field office director for ICE. He served in the agency for two decades before retiring just last spring.
First of all, chief, let me get you in here because the DHS quickly put out a statement here with what they say has happened. I put that in phrasing because, as you know, there has been a dilution of credibility ever since Renee Good was shot. There have been questions about the speed at which they made their conclusions that many felt were legal conclusions of a justifiable use of self-defense and also factually inaccurate. Talk to me right now, chief, about what the next steps would be in this investigation under normal circumstances.
MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF (voice-over): Yes, Laura, thank you for having me. You know, under normal circumstances -- I should note, earlier, Chief Brian O'Hara, chief of the Minneapolis Police Department, did arrive to the scene. And in normal situations, Minneapolis police would certainly be out there. Their detectives would be out there in the case of an officer-involved shooting. It does not appear to be that Minneapolis police investigators are going to be involved in this.
However, as Whitney said on the ground there, and I noticed it, too, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, their command post vehicle with its (INAUDIBLE) splashing at the crime scene, that is significant in the sense that, you know, the BCA was sort of disjoined from Ms. Good's investigation. But now that the BCA is out there, well, I don't know if they're out there collecting evidence strictly for this particular investigation or if there have been conversations that they might actually co-investigate with the federal partners.
So, that'll be interesting to watch. It will be interesting when Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O'Hara have their press conference here in a few minutes. [23:09:57]
But this is what you also see, too. You know, this scene is about 15- 20 minutes-drive from the south Minneapolis location where Ms. Good was shot and killed. And so, this is a residential neighborhood, same houses and apartment buildings. And it's a very fluid and dynamic situation.
Under normal circumstances, Minneapolis police officers would be holding this perimeter. It looks like everyone from ICE agents to DHS agents to Minnesota State Patrol are expanding that perimeter. They're getting people back further away.
Again, in Minneapolis right now, about, you know, 5:00. The sun goes down, Laura, as you know. So, when this initial engagement with the pursuit of this subject happened at 6:50 p.m. Minneapolis time, it was dark. And if there was an altercation in a yard, you know, allegedly from DHS description, a man and a woman came out of their apartment with a broom and a shovel, it would have been dark at that time.
ARRADONDO: Minneapolis police would have probably got a dispatch call to arrive. But at this point, it looks like the federal agents and federal agency are the ones that are now handling this scene.
COATES: Darius, as the chief was alluding to, it sounds like, from what we know so far, this is a quickly evolving story, we're going to bring everyone the very latest, but from what we know so far, this started as a kind of chase, first in a car, then on foot. Describe the ICE policies when pursuing a suspect.
DARIUS REEVES, FORMER FIELD OFFICE DIRECTOR, ICE: Well, ICE in regards to -- we have to make some clear distinctions here when you say ICE.
COATES: OK.
REEVES: ICE consists of two entities, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations. ICE does not have a pursuit policy to begin with. So, now, if this was a border patrol engagement, that falls under the Customs and Border Protections through other distinctive groups, Border Patrol and the Customs and Border Patrol Office, CBPO, that come out of the Office of Field Operations.
So, once again, I'm not on the ground there, obviously. I'm not sure the makeup. Are these a mixture of folks doing these operations? Is Border Patrol solely operating or is this an NPRO (ph) and Homeland Security operation or, as I mentioned earlier, mixed together? So, there is no --as far as ICE enforcement removal operations, there is no vehicle pursuit policy. We don't pursue vehicle.
COATES: Wait. I want to clarify that. Darius, when you say there's no vehicle pursuit policy, you mean there's not one in existence or the policy is do not follow a car?
REEVES: Yes, we've never -- we don't chase -- we don't get in vehicle car chases. We never have.
COATES: And describe why.
REEVES: That's a policy. No vehicle pursuits.
COATES: Why is that?
REEVES: Well, it could be for a whole host of reasons. Once again, enforcement removal operation is a very successful finesse targeting operation. So, there would not be any need for us to be pursuing vehicles. It's dangerous. And we all trained for that.
COATES: Well, let me bring you in here, chief, because, obviously, we are seeing not only from Darius' distinctions between the different entities that fall under the umbrella of what colloquially we all address as ICE, but also the difference in training between a local law enforcement official from a police department and the training that they would receive, given the breadth of work they're doing, including in the apprehension of criminals and the pursuit compared to what ICE agents under that general umbrella might be trained on.
When you hear about maybe the absence of a policy or a policy not to pursue in a car chase, describe to me why it is that is so dangerous given this is a residential area, the ramifications of that person possibly crashing, and then the -- really, the inevitability of a foot chase.
ARRADONDO: Yes. And that was interesting, Darius's comments, because that was the first time I heard that there's no pursuit policy that they have. That's why, Laura, these sorts of -- when you have multiple jurisdictions working within a local city or local community, that's why it's so important to have that communication with that local law enforcement agency.
Minneapolis police, Chief Brian O'Hara's teams, they know that city. They know 24th and Aldridge better than most folks. And so, the other thing, Laura, that I want to also say, too, that I'm concerned about, that I think needs to be talked about, is if these agencies, the federal agency, the local agencies across the country, if they're not talking, we have what we call de-confliction conversations.
[23:15:09]
I don't know if Darius is familiar with this. If you're a jurisdiction that is not -- is going to be doing operations or missions within a jurisdiction that you're not used to, you reach out as a courtesy to that neighboring jurisdiction to let them know. You don't have to give them all the details, but you let them know.
Hey, we've got an operation, we're doing war details in your city, I'll be on this day, between this time, and just so in case you get some 911 calls or community calls in and say, hey, we're seeing some unmarked vehicles or people with guns out here, so that your officers don't have some sort of friendly fire situation with that agency.
So, if that communication or is not in existence, that creates a host of problems not only potentially for our federal partners and our local agencies, but also the community as well. So, when I just heard about no pursuit policy, obviously, the Minneapolis Police Department has a very strict, robust, very clear pursuit policy. And so, that's interesting to hear about that this evening.
COATES: Darius, Chief Arradondo, please stand by because any moment now, we're going to hear a press conference from the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, also the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O'Hara. They will both be giving a joint press conference to give the details as they know them and we need to hear them here on this program. It will be live as soon as they come. We will let you know and bring it to you right away.
I want to bring in right now a Minnesota State senator, Bobby Champion, representing the area where this very shooting happened, and he was actually live streaming near the scene. State senator, thank you for joining. Can you just describe what the scene was like when you arrived earlier tonight?
BOBBY CHAMPION, MINNESOTA STATE SENATOR: First of all, thank you for having me so I can talk about these unfortunate set of circumstances that happened here in my Senate district, even though I'm president of the Minnesota Senate.
When I arrived on the scene, it was very chaotic. We had a ton of ICE agents. The area was roped off. As I heard earlier, it was very cold outside and icy. I was trying to get closer to tons of vehicles with their lights flashing. And people were gathering because our governor did an address at 7:00. And soon right after that is when I got this text that said that there was this unfortunate set of circumstances that happened in my district. And so, it was very chaotic.
COATES: The idea of hearing about this one week, one week after Renee Good was killed, the way that the Department of Homeland Security has described this is markedly different than what people viewed and saw in the multiple angle of videos of the shooting death of Renee Good.
DHS here is saying the suspect was -- quote -- "violently resisting arrest" and that two other people attacked the federal agent who tried to arrest the suspect. They're describing a kind of ambush. Have you heard anything different or anything more about that?
CHAMPION: Well, let's be clear about something, Laura. You sort of alluded to it earlier, and I'm just going to underscore it. The facts, as they are rolling out right now, we don't know. First of all, we don't know if it's really a person from Venezuela. We don't know if they're illegal. You know why we don't know that? It's because ICE agents here in the state of Minnesota have been arresting U.S. citizens. They've been pulling over people who don't have any immigration challenges. So, we don't know. We can't trust a word.
And not to mention, when it came from DHS, after the Good murder, they totally altered the facts. In fact, they didn't want to investigate it and wanted to make sure that our BCA could not participate in the investigation. So, we cannot hear the messages from DHS and or believe them. So, I believe that there are people who may have seen these unfortunate circumstances happened because on the street of Lindale and 25th and 24th and 26th, it's very narrow. So -- and it curves around. So, if we already heard that there's a no pursuit policy, that is also an example of just the illegal and unfortunate things that ICE has been doing. So, we are concerned about anything that we hear from DHS, and we will let the facts play out because I don't necessarily believe what DHS is saying. The last --
[23:20:00]
COATES: Why -- one second, senator. I want to ask you.
CHAMPION: The last thing that I will say about it --
COATES: Go ahead. I want to hear you. Go ahead.
CHAMPION: The last thing that I will say about it, if there were neighbors and others who came out to help this person, that is just an example of Minnesota being a place where we help our neighbors. And we are clear that the ICE agents have been coming here, and there's over 2,000 of them. And they've been attacking and terrorizing our state. So, yes, neighbors will come out and be helpful. I'm not certain if they had brooms or shovels. That is to be further investigated.
COATES: If they did, in fact, have some sort of weapons to use to attack the ICE officer, would that change your opinion of whatever unfolded next?
CHAMPION (voice-over): Actually, no, right? Because from our vantage point, we wanted to make sure and always wanted to make sure that Minnesotans are being dealt with properly. And when we think in terms of any pursuit or any apprehension of anyone, there's a way for you to do your work where it's respectful and it's fair. We unfortunately have seen ICE not be respectful, not be fair, but to be illegal and to attack and to be very aggressive with Minnesotans.
And to see that the federal government has made decision to attack and send more and more agents here and allow them to be -- allow them to misbehave, we think that's a tragedy and a travesty.
COATES: I want to be clear on what you're saying because you're not implying that the protection of people's rights would require violence against an officer. You're simply saying -- what?
CHAMPION: I do not believe in violence against anyone. I believe that we should always be peaceful, as I believe law enforcement and ICE in particular should also be peaceful.
COATES: Understood.
CHAMPION: And that there's a proper way by which -- there is a proper way by which to do your work. I'm just saying it is important for the facts to come forward and for us to have those facts tested. I don't want us to just believe what DHS has put out there as if it's true because we have seen even after the unfortunate murder of Renee Good how they will flip the script and change the facts, even looking at a video, and want to add to what happened in order to fit and meet their narrative.
COATES: Really important how you've underscored the mistrust that we are seeing and distrust we're seeing in the community right now, and the skepticism, even with respect to the Department of Homeland Security statement. I'm eager to hear more.
We'll hear any moment now -- thank you so much for joining us, State Senator Bobby Champion -- from the press conference that will happen any moment now between the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O'Hara, and the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey.
What we're looking at on the ground right now, you see this huge presence of law enforcement and ICE. And Whitney Wild is right there in the thick of it. Whitney, what's happening right now?
WILD: Right now, we're seeing the crowd getting increasingly angry. It's growing a little bit in size. And now, they're screaming at the ICE agents and the other immigration officers who are standing here at the line here.
Earlier today, I should say within the last few minutes, the police chief that had been keeping everybody back here, the crowd, they didn't secure it well enough, and then it went to the ground. People began moving much closer to that BCA van that you see behind me. That's the mobile vehicles that they use when they're processing critical incident scenes. And so, people got pretty close to that vehicle and the agents who were surrounding that vehicle, and then they moved the crowd back.
We haven't seen for some time now any more tear gas, flash bangs or other crowd control measures. But for the most part right now, still protesters here screaming in the faces of these ICE agents and Customs and Border Patrol agents who are out here at this area.
COATES: I hear the whistles. Again, that has been often done by people in various communities who are part of a kind of neighborhood watch where they blow on a whistle to alert the presence of ICE for their neighbors and others that they are there. You're seeing this more and more at these protests.
The uniforms and outfits that we're seeing that the different agents are wearing out there, they obviously have on some sort of mask to ward off the impact of what they are throwing into the crowd. What has been the reaction of the crowd when the pepper gas or canisters are thrown out?
WILD: The crowd runs pretty quickly.
[23:25:00]
As I was saying before, the challenge here is that the street is so icy, so it's easy to get caught up in the canisters. And so, when they throw the canisters out to the crowd, people run back. You have to. The air is just so thick with tear gas. Even several minutes after those gas canisters explode, the neighborhood had this thick haze of tear gas that was still making people cough several minutes after those canisters had exploded. People retreat, and then they come right back for it. So, it is a crowd control measure, but it is short lived because, again, they come right back to the line where these officers are.
And one thing I think is interesting, because I think there had been a question about whether or not these ICE agents and PRO officers, Customs and Border Patrol agents are wearing body cameras, and they are not required to wear them in Minneapolis. That's different from what we'd seen in Chicago where there was a period of time where they were required to wear them. A court judge's order in a lawsuit. There are some federal agents here with body cameras on. So, we will continue to ask if there is any body camera at the incident. What I'm seeing right now is some of these immigration officers wearing body cameras on their chest.
Again, this is an angry crowd. This has been an angry city since the shooting death of Renee Good. And certainly, this will re-inflame people who are already seething over her death. Laura?
COATES: One week ago from today. Whitney Wild, stay with us, please. I got to go to a quick break. We're going to come right back because any moment, we're going to hear from the Minneapolis mayor and the Minneapolis police chief about this latest shooting.
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[23:30:00]
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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN O'HARA, CHIEF, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE DEPARTMENT: FBI are on the scene processing the evidence. There is a crowd gathered in the area. We have called for mutual aid from the Minnesota State Patrol and Hennepin County sheriff.
The crowd is engaging in unlawful acts. They have thrown fireworks at police officers. And in multiple times, a gas has been deployed. Police are attempting to disperse this unlawful assembly at this time.
I urge anyone that is at the scene to leave immediately. This is already a very tense situation, and we do not need this to escalate any further. I have faith that the investigators are involved, will follow every lead in this case, and ensure it is completed to its logical conclusion.
MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: There's still a lot that we don't know at this time. But what I can tell you for certain is that this is not sustainable. This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in. And at the same time, we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order. And we're in a position right now where we have residents that are
asking the very limited number of police officers that we have to fight ICE agents on the street, to stand by their neighbors. We cannot be at a place right now in America where we have two governmental entities that are literally fighting one another.
Why are we put in this position? We're put in this position because we have approximately 600 police officers in Minneapolis, far fewer that are able to work at any given time. And there are approximately 3,000 ICE agents in the area. Three thousand. The 600 police officers that we have are charged on any given day with investigating crime, stopping homicides from taking place, preventing carjackings. That's the work of a police officer in a city.
Meanwhile, we have ICE agents throughout our city and throughout our state who, along with border control, are creating chaos. This is not the path that we should be on right now in America. Thankfully, there's another path.
And I want to talk to everybody who's out there, even people who aren't living in Minneapolis right now. Maybe you just put your kids to bed. Maybe you're cleaning up the dishes. I'm sure you love your family. There's no doubt in my mind that you love your town. Imagine if that city or that town was suddenly invaded by thousands of federal agents that do not share the values that you hold dear. Imagine if your daily routines were disrupted. The local cafe that you eat at was shut down because they're scared that their own family might get torn apart. Imagine if schools shut down and suddenly parents got to figure out what to do for daycare.
This is not creating safety. It's certainly not creating safety when a huge percentage of the shootings that have taken place so far this year in Minneapolis have been by ICE. So, let's be very clear. I've seen conduct from ICE that is disgusting and is intolerable. If it were your city, it would be unacceptable there, too. And for anyone that is taking the bait tonight, stop. That is not helpful. Go home.
[23:35:00]
We cannot counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos. And I have seen thousands of people throughout our city peacefully protesting. For those that have peacefully protested, I applaud you. For those that are taking the bait, you are not helping and you are not helping the undocumented immigrants in our city. You are not helping the people that call this place home.
ICE can leave and this massive deployment can come to an end. We have filed litigation to hopefully make it so. And at the same time, I'm deeply concerned that we don't have that kind of time. This is already the second shooting that we've had in a week. People are scared. The atmosphere is tense. But, again, there is another option. We can stop going down this route together. We'll open it to any questions.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).
O'HARA: So, there were reports initially that there was more than one person shot. That is not true. There is one person that has been shot. It is a non-life-threatening injury, and they have been transported to the hospital. The remainder of the residence has been cleared. We did have one call of, I believe, a woman having an anxiety attack in the basement of the same residence, the same building. But to my understanding, no one else has been transported to the hospital.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).
O'HARA: To my understanding, no.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): DHS has said that people came out of an apartment and started attacking the officer with shovels, and that the original person that they were looking for also did that. What has your investigation told you so far?
O'HARA: So, the question was, that people had come out of the residence and attacked federal law enforcement with shovels. The understanding that we have at this time is that this incident began on 94. The individual drove towards the residence, had some sort of accident outside the residence, ran towards the house, and got into a struggle with federal law enforcement. There is a -- I believe there's a broom and like a snow shovel that's on the scene.
And yes, I have heard information that some individual, at least one person, may have assaulted federal law enforcement. Yes?
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Will MPD --
O'HARA: I am not aware if that's the same person who was shot or if that's someone else.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): Will MPD be doing an investigation of what happened?
O'HARA: The question was, will MPD be doing an investigation of what happened? I requested the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Criminal Apprehension to respond, and they are on scene.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): You're stating that there was unlawful protesting. (INAUDIBLE).
O'HARA: The question was about unlawful protesting. It has absolutely become an unlawful assembly. There are individuals throwing fireworks at police officers, individuals throwing ice rocks, other projectiles at police officers. It is well past the line and people need to leave.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): What kind of communication did any of you have with federal law enforcement?
O'HARA: The question was communication with federal law enforcement tonight. That communication was all on the scene. It was primarily related to trying to ensure that we were getting medical aid because we had a report of a shooting, and then also to try and ensure that we could maintain the integrity of the crime scene so that there could be an investigation into what occurred. UNKNOWN (voice-over): Do you know what the condition of the person shot is? And we're also told that agent was injured and taken to the hospital. Do you have any updates on either condition?
O'HARA: I have no updates on either condition. It's my understanding that this is a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) anything you know about that initial (INAUDIBLE) about initial chase (INAUDIBLE)? Anything you know about the person that they were following?
O'HARA: So, I know nothing about the person that they were following. And then the rest of question was about the initial chase. It's my understanding that we have some other 911 call indicating that someone from the house was calling, saying that the person in the car was running from ICE and was driving towards the residence. That's my understanding.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) local officials are contributing to rising rhetoric and that's part of the reason why we're seeing (INAUDIBLE)?
[23:40:06]
FREY: What rhetoric -- so, the question was, can I respond to rhetoric? What rhetoric?
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) said that there is rhetoric from local officials, that they say have to just kind of take down the temperature of everything that is going on.
FREY: So, the question was -- there has been the accusation that local officials have perhaps taken up the temperature in Minneapolis. First, I'll say, show me a single place where I have encouraged anything other than peace. Show me a single place where we have encouraged violence. I have said from the get-go to people in Minneapolis, do not take the bait. We are better than that. I have encouraged peaceful protest.
And I'll say it again, I am inspired by the tens of thousands of people who have, in fact, peacefully protested and fairly documented with transparency what is taking place. That is allowed in any city in the country. And I have made it clear that to the extent people are going beyond that and those protests are not peaceful and the violence that the chief mentioned, it's got to stop, and you got to go home.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): If this situation is not sustainable, as you said, where do you go from here? What options do you as mayor have from this point forward?
FREY: So, just yesterday or the day before, I'm losing track of the days here, Minneapolis, along with St. Paul and the attorney general's office at the state, filed a lawsuit. That lawsuit outlined the duress that our city is presently experiencing and how making people safe in our city is made all the more difficult based on the presence of ICE. We are hopeful that we will succeed ultimately in that lawsuit. Of course, my concern is that yet another shooting will take place, yet another person will be injured or killed. This is not a new concern. The chief and I have been laying this concern out for well over a month at this point. This is not sustainable.
Our officers, they are working tirelessly. Again, we have about 600 officers. There are about 3,000 ICE agents in border control. We need our officers responding to the basic day-to-day 911 calls. We don't have the capacity to both deal with that and all of this conduct that we're seeing from ICE on a daily basis.
You know, earlier today and yesterday, I was out on a couple of major commercial corridors in our city. People are scared. You know, there are basic rights that you should have to be able to live safely in your neighborhood, to be able to go downstairs and head to the cafe or the flower shop.
The people that would normally keep up these shops, American citizens, by the way, many of them, are terrified because American citizens are getting picked up off the street by people in masks.
That's not the way things should be conducted in any city in America. That's not who we are. That's not America. So, I'm calling for peace. Everybody has a role in achieving that peace. And we're going to try to do everything that we can to keep it.
UNKNOWN (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE).
FREY: Yes. Our office, yes, is in touch with the governor's office as we've been for the last week here. He has been an excellent partner in both ensuring that we have additional resources through the Minnesota State Patrol, through the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and that work will be done in partnership. Thanks, everybody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COATES: We just heard from the mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, along with the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O'Hara. Brian O'Hara is saying that this is now converted to an unlawful assembly. People are throwing projectiles and ice and rocks, deploying firecrackers as well, and saying it's well past the line and people need to go home, already employing mutual aid, and that the crowd is engaging in unlawful acts.
The MPD, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the FBI all working together, processing the evidence and also securing the scene.
[23:45:00]
You also heard from the mayor of Minneapolis who said this is not sustainable. Imagine if your town, trying to analyze, analogize where you are, was somehow invaded by federal agents who do not share your values.
He fears they don't have time for litigation to solve the problem of this overwhelming presence of ICE that is 3,000 strong compared to 600 Minneapolis police officers.
And saying that anyone taking the bait tonight, stop, it's not helpful, telling them to go home because they cannot counter President Trump's chaos, they say, with their own chaos, and that those taking the bait are not helping even undocumented people tonight.
I want to bring in Illinois Democratic Congresswoman Robin Kelly to join this conversation. What's your reaction to the mayor?
REP. ROBIN KELLY (D-IL): I agree with what he's saying. It's so deeply concerning. And I'm sure he's frustrated, a little bit angry to see that happening to your town. And I could relate because of what happened in the Chicagoland area. It made me think of when helicopters came and the agents propelled down and dragged immigrants and Americans, you know, out of their home in the dead of night.
COATES: And you're seeing the accusations. And he had to address it tonight, that the statements made by Democrats or himself in particular have elevated and heightened the temperature in the room such that it has almost enabled or emboldened. Do you agree with that assessment, that comments that reject ISIS presence are synonymous with calls for violence?
KELLY: I do not agree with that. And I remember from our mayor, Brandon Johnson, he said similar things. Don't take the bait. You know, they don't want people -- they don't want to give them an excuse for people to be shot, people to be hurt, people to be killed.
So, no, I don't believe that. I've listened to the mayor a number of times and also my colleagues from Minnesota, and I don't hear, you know, them inciting violence or telling people to be violent. Telling people to be vigilant, safe, transparent, take pictures or videos, but not to get involved and, you know, try to hurt officers or anything like that.
COATES: One thing that struck me is that he was well aware that there is litigation. The attorney general in Minnesota, Keith Ellison, also Illinois, is doing something as well --
KELLY: Right.
COATES: -- I believe, to try to, if not remove, certainly lessen the presence of ICE. They believe that it's unduly burdensome on their community. It's overwhelming the police force. And you heard the mayor today say it's essentially pitting law enforcement against law enforcement. Community members asking cops to fight against ICE agents.
You have employed a different tactic that is going right to the head of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem. Describe what you think would be an effective way to counter this.
KELLY: Well, what you're talking about, I filed three articles of impeachment today because, frankly, she's breaking the law, obstruction of Congress. She has forbidden me and other members of Congress from going into the detention centers, and that is our job and our duty to do that. She put -- you have to give seven days-notice and things like that, and we followed the letter of her law, and then she still didn't let us in when detainees are in.
Also, the other thing is violation of public trust, just exactly what they're doing, stopping people just because of how they look or maybe something they heard, going into -- you know, knocking down doors like they did, you know, in Chicago and dragging people out. No due process, no warrants.
And then the other is self-dealing. She spent $200 million on ads for trying to get people to become members of ICE. And also, it appears that it's going to her friends. So, that's what we call self-dealing.
And one of the agencies that we're aware of, they would just really propped up maybe a couple days, maybe a week before, you know, the grant was awarded.
COATES: My God, it must feel like we have not hit rock bottom and how scary that is.
KELLY: It is very scary. And also, like the mayor said, people are saying they're scared, you know. And I know, I've met people that are scared to go outside, scared to go to work, scared, you know, to go to a restaurant to eat.
So, we've talked a lot about affordability. This is affecting people's bottom line. It's affecting -- you know, if you don't go to your job, you're not going to get paid. If you don't have people working, like at a restaurant or wherever, you know, they're not coming to work. That hurts people. So, they are hurting people in many different ways. Even people are afraid to go to the doctor because they're afraid of being picked up.
We've heard all kinds of stories. And, in fact, we heard from someone from Minnesota today that said, and she's an American citizen, scared to death to go outside, afraid of being picked up.
COATES: And she's an American citizen?
KELLY: Yes.
COATES: Congresswoman Robin Kelly, thank you so much for joining.
[23:50:00]
KELLY: Thank you. Thank you for having me.
COATES: We are continuing to monitor the breaking situation out of Minneapolis. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COATES: We are following the breaking news out of Minneapolis where a person who had been pursued by an ICE agent was shot in the leg after a foot chase, following a car chase as well.
[23:54:56]
And apparently, according to the police report or the police press conference from the mayor and also the police chief, two other individuals came to the aid of the person fleeing. And information indicates that they attacked the officer who then fired some defensive shots as well.
The former Minneapolis police chief, Medaria Arradondo, is back with me now along with retired FBI supervisory special agent, Daniel Brunner. Daniel Brunner, I want to begin with you. What is your assessment of what we've heard from DHS as to what happened and how this has been handled?
DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Well, like the police chief said and the mayor said, the investigation is ongoing. We have to let the process run its course. You know, whether a statement -- initial statements typically don't give you the entire story. We have to give it time.
We have to get -- it's great to see state and local officials are on scene already. They've already gotten in. Unlike the previous shooting last week, they're able to get in there, they're able to process the scene. This is how it's supposed to happen following a shooting with a federal agent. FBI should be in there processing the scene, working hand-in-hand with the state and locals.
So, we'll have to wait and see what the process is and how it comes out.
COATES: That also includes the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension who, as we know, has been sort of iced out just last week in the investigation of the killing of Renee Good.
Chief, Mayor Frey pointed out that the 3,000 federal agents in Minneapolis so far, they outnumber the 600 officers in the police force. And you also heard the police chief say that this has now turned into an unlawful assembly and imploring people to go home. Is that the right tactic?
ARRADONDO: Yes. Yes, Laura, absolutely. And so, just for your viewing audience to get an understanding. Mayor Jacob Frey had said the word, this is not sustainable. That 600 officers that Chief O'Hara mentioned or the mayor mentioned, that's the chief all the way down to the most newly-hired recruit. So, that's not 600 911 officers. That is the entire compliment of Chief O'Hara's sworn personnel. So, that's not a lot at all.
And so, a couple of things, Laura, that you mentioned, and I think as a result of that personnel number, Chief O'Hara mentioned that he has activated or requested mutual aid. So, there's other agencies now helping to support the city of Minneapolis. Minnesota State Patrol, as my colleague had mentioned from the FBI here. That BCA is in there working with the feds. A lot more collaboration we're seeing this time now with this incident --
COATES: Right. ARRADONDO: -- than last week. And so -- but he also -- again, Chief O'Hara urged those folks out in North Minneapolis, at 24th and Aldrich to go home.
COATES: Yes.
ARRADONDO: It's an unlawful assembly. He mentioned fireworks. From one of your -- from the reporter on the ground, Whitney, it looked like earlier, there might have been some commercial great fireworks being set off. He mentioned ice and rocks being thrown at public safety folks out there.
So, yes, the more that they can urge peace and calm, that will help everyone involved. But this is not sustainable. If they have to keep going to these scenes with a limited police force that they have, it can really affect the overall public safety for the city.
COATES: Daniel, originally, there was primarily federal agents handling the crowds. Are they equipped to do that?
BRUNNER: No. Absolutely not. Just like the FBI agents who were deployed to Washington, D.C., walking the streets, they're not trained for that. The CBP officers are trained in detention, holding the border. These CBP officers and ICE ERO, they're not trained for riot control, they're not trained in how to hold the line, they're not trained in how to de-escalate a situation or push a line forward.
So, there's definitely the potential for an explosive incident if a CBP officer reacts the wrong way. And the people of the local community, they're coming down. They're all getting -- they're hearing the call. They're moving down there.
And Chief O'Hara was right, disperse, go home because this is not going to go well. If anyone ends up assaulting a federal officer, it's not going to go well because you have also untrained officers on one side, and then you have a very explosive community on the other side. So, it could become -- it could become very bad very quickly.
COATES: You're right to note that the investigation is in its infancy. DHS is alleging the officer was ambushed and that one of the subjects started striking him with a shovel and or a broomstick. If this was indeed the case, was the way the officer responded with so- called defensive shots appropriate?
BRUNNER: Yes. Let's be very clear. There's no such thing as a defensive shot. That's very inaccurate, to say defensive shot.
[00:00:00]
That individual, that agent was feeling threatened, and he used his firearm to mitigate the threat, to stop the threat. If he was keep being attacked with a shovel, his shots were to stop the threat, not to kill him, not to disable him. It was to stop the threat. Once the threat was stopped, then he stopped firing. So, yes, if he was being attacked by a shovel, appropriate action was to discharge his firearm if there was no other recourse. COATES: Daniel Brunner, Chief Arradondo, thank you so much. Thank you all out there watching. Elex Michaelson is going to pick up our breaking news coverage out of Minneapolis right now.
