In Minnesota, amid heated protests and immigration raids, federal and state authorities have also been sparring over the investigation into Renee Macklin Good's killing by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross.
Last week, in an unusual move, the FBI told Minnesota's investigative agency that the bureau will solely lead the inquiry. The decision alarmed Minnesota officials who urged for a joint investigation in the name of fairness and transparency. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has argued that Minnesota authorities "don't have any jurisdiction" to investigate the shooting. President Trump claimed the FBI was not sharing materials because Minnesota officials were "crooked."
The handling of the investigation is the latest rift between the Trump administration and Minnesota officials over the fatal shooting. Legal experts say the move away from a joint investigation marks a shift from how high profile criminal cases are typically handled — and that it could ultimately hurt both the federal inquiry and the prospects of a state one.
"I'm not aware of any circumstance or any case in Minnesota where there has been a division like this," said Amy Sweasy, who was a prosecutor with the Hennepin County Attorney's Office in Minnesota for 28 years and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Minnesota Law School.
In Portland, Ore., where two people were shot by U.S. Border Patrol officers last week, the incident is also not being investigated jointly. The FBI and Oregon's attorney general are conducting separate probes.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment, and the FBI declined to comment.
An issue of public trust
Joint investigations add legitimacy to the process and its findings, according to Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice, a think tank that researches criminal justice policies. But when federal and state investigators fail to cooperate, Johnson said it can instead fuel public distrust and skepticism.
" This is a highly sensitive topic," he added. "If you say, here's the evidence and it's purely black and white and it's clear, they're not going to believe it."
The federal investigation's credibility has already been questioned by Minnesota officials. Last week, Gov. Tim Walz said he believed it will be difficult to get a "fair outcome" given Trump and members of his administration's comments about the shooting. On Sunday, Trump called Macklin Good a "radical" in remarks to reporters on Air Force One, saying that "at a very minimum, that woman was very, very disrespectful to law enforcement."
Johnson noted that Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey's early remarks that the Trump administration's self-defense explanation was "bull****" also raised skepticism about the federal response.
"A lot of mistrust had been sown in already," Johnson said.
Multiple federal prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Minnesota resigned on Tuesday over concerns about how the federal investigation was being conducted, member station MPR News reported.
Minnesota officials have also condemned the FBI's exclusion of the state's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which has extensive experience investigating officer-involved shootings. On Tuesday, Todd Blanche, the deputy attorney general, said there is "currently no basis" for a criminal civil rights probe.
The purpose of a joint investigation
Federal, state and local authorities have long worked with each other in Minnesota, including in the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a police officer. Within the past year, they also collaborated on investigating the assassination of state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, as well as the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church.
"The first reason is just pure efficiency," said Deborah Ramirez, a professor at Northeastern University School of Law and a former federal prosecutor.
For example, rather than federal and state authorities interviewing each witness separately, a joint investigation allows them to conduct interviews together or share information with one another, according to Ramirez.
She added that both sides benefit from working together: The FBI brings advanced forensic tools and experts, while state authorities contribute local expertise and tend to have deeper community ties that can strengthen an investigation.
"You want all the witnesses to come forward and fully cooperate, and a joint state and federal investigation encourages that," Ramirez said.
Chris Swecker, who served as a FBI special agent from 1982 to 2006, said when federal and state authorities refuse to collaborate, it tends to hinder the case at hand.
" It doesn't serve the interest of justice," he said. "It's better to have both agencies working together."
The likelihood of a state case without federal cooperation
In addition to being shut out from the federal investigation, state authorities said they were denied access to evidence collected — like shell casings, witness interviews and the car that Macklin Good was driving when she was shot.
On Tuesday, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said her office has still not received access to evidence from the FBI.
"It's disappointing because our residents here and people around the country want transparency," Moriarty said in a statement.
Last week, in response to the lack of access, Moriarty and the state attorney general's office announced a joint effort to gather evidence and asked Minneapolis residents to submit evidence that could potentially be used in a state investigation.
But without key pieces of evidence like Good's car, former prosecutor Sweasy believes it will be difficult for an investigation to result in charges. She noted that it is generally challenging to prosecute law enforcement officers in use-of-force cases.
"It can be very difficult to persuade juries even when it is clear that the officers used force that resulted in someone's death," said Sweasy, who led Minnesota's first murder conviction against a police officer for an on-duty killing.
Still, she emphasized that Minnesota has jurisdiction to investigate if any state laws were violated, rejecting the Trump administration's claims that state jurisdiction is limited because the shooting involved a federal agent carrying out a federally authorized operation.
Ramirez from Northeastern University suggested that state authorities could also subpoena evidence withheld by the FBI. She added that time is of the essence, warning that the longer the state waits to launch an official investigation, the harder a probe will become.
"You need to begin talking to people before their memories fade. You need to begin analyzing the evidence before it becomes tainted," Ramirez said.
She expressed concern that it will become more common for the federal government to sideline state authorities in federal officer-involved shooting cases.
" We are at a critical juncture in Minnesota," she said. "If we allow this pattern or practice to play itself out, we will not be able to hold ICE officers who shoot to kill and use unconstitutional deadly force — if that is the case — we will not be able to hold them accountable."
Copyright 2026 NPR
