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Did more than 20 Minneapolis police officers quit to join ICE? Truth behind viral posts
Online rumors have claimed that as many as 24 Minneapolis police officers have quit, with many of them applying to become ICE officers.
In the aftermath of the death of Renee Nicole Good, online rumors have claimed that as many as 24 Minneapolis police officers have quit, with many of them applying to become ICE officers. Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was gunned down by federal agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis, a shooting that the Trump administration claimed was carried out in self-defense as she allegedly struck him with her vehicle.
Several unverified posts on Facebook have claimed that multiple Minneapolis police officers are now applying to join ICE. “Rumor has it 24 Minneapolis police officers quit with 16 to 18 of them applying to become ice officers, anyone else hear this ?” one post">one post reads.
“24 officers just resigned from the Minneapolis Police Department — and 18 of them have already joined ICE. Cops are getting tired of working for Liberals who in fact hate law enforcement,” another post">another post says.
Are the claims true?
The claims remain unverified and have not been substantiated by any major news outlets or authorities. Neither the Minneapolis Police Department nor ICE has claimed that any police officer from Minneapolis has quit to join ICE.
In one of his latest statements amid the ongoing unrest, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that he fears the “moment where it all explodes” amid tensions over the Trump administration’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdown.
“We’re in this 2020 moment where all these tensions have been building, and I’m afraid we’re going to have another moment where it all explodes,” O’Hara said in a ‘60 Minutes’ segment aired on CBS News on Sunday.
“Targeted, precise, preplanned operations on violent offenders: That is a good thing. But I’m concerned that people in the administration don’t actually understand the reality of what’s happening on the street,” O’Hara said of the administration’s immigration moves.
Minneapolis has been seeing various anti-ICE protests in the aftermath of Good’s death. In one of the latest rallies, demonstrators gathered downtown near City Hall, waving signs and yelling chants calling for ICE agents to leave Minneapolis, according to Reuters. On Sunday, January 18, anti-ICE demonstrators sabotaged an ongoing service at the Cities Church in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area over online information that a pastor at the church has alleged ICE ties – an incident that was widely condemned.
