Every Homeland Security officer in Minneapolis is now being issued a body-worn camera, Noem says
WASHINGTON (AP) — Every Homeland Security officer on the ground in Minneapolis, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday, in the latest fallout after the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents.
Noem said the body-worn camera program is being expanded nationwide as funding becomes available.
“We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem said in a social media post on X.
The news of the body cameras comes as Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny over the conduct of federal officers after two U.S. citizens protesting immigration enforcement activities in the city were shot and killed.
It is the latest effort by the Trump administration to alleviate tensions after the shootings and show it is responding to calls for accountability.
In the immediate hours after ICU nurse Alex Pretti's death, Noem went on the offensive, saying several times that Pretti “came with a weapon and dozens of rounds of ammunition and attacked” officers, who took action to “defend their lives.” Other administration officials painted a similar picture.
Multiple videos that emerged of the shooting contradicted that claim, showing Pretti had only his mobile phone in his hand as officers tackled him to the ground, with one removing a handgun from the back of his pants as another officer began firing shots into his back.
Homeland Security has said that at least four Customs and Border Protection officers on the scene when Pretti was shot were wearing body cameras. The body camera footage from Pretti’s shooting has not been made public.
The department has not responded to repeated questions about whether any of the ICE officers on the scene of the killing of Renee Good earlier in January were wearing the cameras.
The shootings, and the narrative coming from some in the administration, triggered outrage and demands for accountability, including among some Republicans.
President Donald Trump sent his border czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to take control of operations there, displacing Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino, who has become a lightning rod for criticism in the various operations he's joined in cities like Chicago and Los Angeles.
The Justice Department has also opened a federal civil rights investigation into Pretti's shooting, which it did not do in the case of Good.
There have been increased calls by critics of Homeland Security to require all of the department’s officers who are responsible for immigration enforcement to wear body cameras.
President Joe Biden ordered in 2022 that federal law enforcement officers wear body cameras as part of an executive order that included other policing reform measures. Trump had rescinded that directive after starting his second term.
Noem’s move comes after Trump over the weekend endorsed the idea of body cameras for immigration officers.
After Noem's announcement Monday, Trump said the decision was up to the secretary but said that he thought it was generally good for law enforcement to wear cameras.
“They generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can’t lie about what’s happening,” he said in the Oval Office Monday, adding “If she wants to do the camera thing, that’s ok with me.”
