Minneapolis Police have released video footage of a shooting involving a federal agent back on January 14.
Federal agents in the Twin Cities as part of Operation Metro Surge initially reported that they were pursuing a man in a vehicle that had crashed into a snowbank. They said the man in the car ran to a nearby home.
There, agents said they got into an altercation and made claims they were attacked with a shovel, or broomstick.
This video shows none of that happened. The video comes from city-owned cameras in the area of North Lyndale Avenue and North 24th Avenue.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office opened a criminal probe into two ICE officers after video evidence revealed the agents' sworn testimony included "untruthful statements."
The city of Minneapolis says they have no additional information and will not be making further comments at this time.
"Originally what was said supposedly by the ICE agents is that they were being beaten with a shovel or a broom for a few minutes and that's what led to the shooting," Twin Cities defense attorney Joe Tamburino told WCCO. "This video doesn't show any beatings like that. This video is contradicting what the ICE agent said originally."
The probe by federal authorities announced in February came hours after a federal judge dismissed felony assault charges against the two Venezuelan men who were accused of beating the ICE officers with a broom handle and a snow shovel. The officer, who is not named in court filings, fired a single shot from a handgun that struck one of the men, Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, in the thigh.
"So what can we assume by that? What we could assume is that the prosecutors got the ICE agent's reports and then charged by complaint these two individuals," Tamburino adds. "And then weeks later after watching this video, you know, obviously they took what the video showed and then dismissed the charges. Now where it goes from here, who knows?"
In an unusual reversal, prosecutors asked to dismiss the cases because they said new video evidence contradicted allegations made against the men in a criminal complaint and at a hearing last month.
U.S. Attorney’s Office is investigating the two ICE officers sworn testimony for "untruthful statements"
