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<\/p>\nThe fatal shooting of a woman by a federal immigration officer in Minneapolis on Wednesday has thrust a long-running and deeply contested question back into the national spotlight: When is a law enforcement officer justified in using lethal force against someone in a moving vehicle?<\/p>\n
The killing, captured on cellphone video, has exposed sharp divisions between federal authorities who quickly defended the agent’s actions and local leaders who called the shooting unjustified. It has also renewed scrutiny of use-of-force rules that many police departments adopted decades ago to reduce the risk to bystanders or drivers losing control after being shot.<\/p>\n
At the centre of the debate are policies that for years have limited when officers may fire at vehicles, generally barring gunfire at fleeing cars unless the driver poses an imminent threat of deadly force beyond the vehicle itself. Those restrictions, embraced by many police departments and reflected in federal guidance, were intended to curb what experts long warned was among the most dangerous and unpredictable uses of lethal force.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
People protest in the Mission District in San Francisco after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem described Wednesday’s episode as an \u201cact of domestic terrorism\u201d and said the agent acted in self defense and to protect fellow officers.<\/p>\n
Here’s a look at why police agencies moved to restrict shootings at moving vehicles, what those policies typically require, how they are enforced, and how recent incidents, including the Minneapolis case, have tested rules meant to balance officer safety with public risk.<\/p>\n
Why many police agencies limit shooting at moving vehicles<\/p>\n
For decades, police departments across the US have limited when officers are allowed to fire at moving vehicles, citing the danger to bystanders and the risk that a driver who is shot will lose control.<\/p>\n
The New York City Police Department was among the first to adopt those limits. The department barred officers from firing at or from moving vehicles after a 1972 shooting killed a 10-year-old passenger in a stolen car and sparked protests.<\/p>\n
Researchers in the late 1970s and early 1980s later found that the policy, along with other use-of-force restrictions, helped reduce bystanders being struck by police gunfire and led to fewer deaths in police shootings.<\/p>\n
Over the years, many law enforcement agencies followed New York\u2019s lead. Policing organizations such as the Police Executive Research Forum and the International Association of Chiefs of Police have recommended similar limits, warning that shooting at vehicles creates serious risks from stray gunfire or from a vehicle crashing if the driver is hit.<\/p>\n
In Wednesday’s shooting, the vehicle can be seen in videos crashing into two parked cars before coming to a stop. It was unclear from the video if the vehicle made contact with the officer before he steps to the side.<\/p>\n
Federal officials claimed the shooting was an act of self-defence, but Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described it as “reckless” and unnecessary. (Source: Reuters)<\/p>\n
What federal policy says<\/p>\n
Federal law enforcement officers operate under similar guidance.<\/p>\n
The Department of Justice says in its Justice Manual that firearms should not be used simply to disable a moving vehicle. The policy allows deadly force only in limited circumstances, such as when someone in the vehicle is threatening another person with deadly force, or when the vehicle itself is being used in a way that poses an imminent risk and no reasonable alternative exists, including moving out of the vehicle\u2019s path.<\/p>\n
At a news conference Wednesday, Noem said any death is a tragedy, but that the shooting was justified.<\/p>\n
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Federal law enforcement officers stand near a roadblock at Portland Avenue and East 32nd Street. (Source: Associated Press)<\/p>\n
\u201cOur officer followed his training, did exactly what he\u2019s been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers,\u201d Noem said.<\/p>\n
She alleged the woman who was killed was using her vehicle to block officers, had been harassing them through the day and \u201cattempted to run a law enforcement officer over\u201d before she was shot. The FBI is leading the investigation into the shooting, she said.<\/p>\n
Geoffrey Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina, said officials should take a step back before making any pronouncements.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere needs to be two thorough parallel investigations,\u201d he said. \u201cFirst ICE officials should investigate administratively whether this agent violated policy or training. And then state officials should be conducting a thorough criminal investigation as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said determining whether the use-of-force was justified or criminal is going to depend on many details that have not been disclosed publicly.<\/p>\n
Rise in fatal encounters with federal agents<\/p>\n