Why federal agents face less accountability than local police
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Investigations into the killings of two citizens in Minneapolis would likely be going very differently if local police officers, instead of a federal agents, had pulled the triggers.
Why it matters: A local police shooting usually initiates a multi-agency investigation and the threat of prosecution.
- A shooting involving federal agents is handled almost entirely inside the federal government — where accountability is far harder to reach.
Catch up quick: Video footage of the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, watched by millions of Americans, splintered the nation.
Between the lines: Similar shootings or the use of excessive force by local police officers — when caught on video — are often followed by promises of a thorough investigation by independent agencies or a panel.
- DOJ's Civil Rights Division has launched dozens of pattern-and-practice investigations into local police departments since the 1990s.
- That can force a city, county or state into a consent decree — as Seattle was for 13 years until September, 2025 — requiring court-ordered reforms to policing, hiring and oversight.
The big picture: An uptick in alleged abuse since Trump re-entered office should trigger a DOJ pattern-and-practice probe into federal law enforcement involved in immigrant raids, Ira Kurzban, a civil rights lawyer and author of "Kurzban's Immigration Law Sourcebook," tells Axios.
- "The central question isn't whether they can prosecute. It's whether this Justice Department is willing to act like a Justice Department and actually do it," Kurzban said.
What we're watching: Minnesota officials are launching their own investigation into possible state charges in Good's killing and won a rare court order forcing federal authorities to preserve evidence and allow state and local investigators into the Pretti shooting probe.