Both sides on the Minnesota shooting

By Taxpayers Association of Oregon
OregonWatchdog.com

The recent Minnesota shooting has become another tragic case and another story that is spiraling out of control.

There are lessons for both sides.

Before we address both sides, we first must remind our readers that Minnesota is an outlier compared to almost all other states, as those states are seeing triple the arrests of criminal illegal border crossers, but with little controversy or conflict.   This is because in most states, ICE is allowed to arrest these suspects when they show up in jail.  Yet, some sanctuary states like Minnesota block ICE from doing this, causing agents to go out in the community to make the arrest.  The other thing that makes Minnesota unique is the level of hostility its political leaders provoke among its citizens toward ICE.

Here are some lessons for the Department of Homeland Security from the recent shooting:

#1. DHS’s claim that the suspect brandished a gun turns out to be false under multiple video reviews.

#2. DHS claiming that the suspect came to the area for the specific purpose of shooting as many Federal agents as possible was not backed up by any evidence*. (* sometimes new evidence is withheld by authorities until the trial which even under this circumstance makes it irresponsible to use it without substantiation).

#3. Having two different spokespersons call the suspect a “terrorist” and “assassin” was not backed up by any evidence.

#4. FBI Director and Treasury Secretary claiming that no one should go to a protest with a concealed handgun goes against the rights of people to protect themselves.

Here are lessons for the protestors:

#1. Protestors were using whistles.  These tools are used to disrupt an arrest by interfering with law enforcement’s communication.  Using an emergency signal like a whistle also lures  innocent people into an unexpected hostile situation, which puts them in harm’s way.  It is also a noise violation.  Additionally, this case may reveal that the suspect’s weapon may have accidentally discharged because the suspect’s handgun, the SIG Sauer P320 9mm, is known for accidental discharging as there are nearly 100 lawsuits against the gun on this matter.  If the weapon was accidentally fired during the movement within the altercation or during the extraction, it means that sound may have been at risk of being misread and misinterpreted during the noise. Simply put, whistles and noise compound problems and judgement.

#2.  The suspect entered the middle of the street where an ICE action was underway.  Citizens are not allowed to block traffic or direct traffic in the middle of a law enforcement action.

#3. The suspect physically tried to interfere with the arrest/detaining of a hostile protester that ICE was confronting.   This is promoted tactic used in Portland where they urge protestors to involve themselves in the middle of an arrest.  This is dangerous.

#4. The suspect’s interference involved actual physical contact with an officer, which is a Felony.

#5. The suspect continued to fight even after he was both instructed to stop and maced to get him to stop.

#6. The suspect’s resistance to officers was big enough that it took multiple officers to detain him.

#7. The suspect’s family members shared that they had warned him that his previous involvement was dangerous.

Minnesota and Oregon need to ask themselves whether they are going to have standards and safeguards against violent protesting.   If so, then these 6 points above need to be upheld and not violated.  These six points are violated at the Portland protests.    By not protecting law enforcement, we are witnessing a surge in violent protesting as rioters are allowed to get away with more.

As for Homeland Security, they are not allowed to lie or exaggerate the facts.   The public holds them to a higher standard.

There is no room for error.

Consider the latest surveys on the public’s view of ICE.

We are sad for these recent deaths and wish to see no more, and aim to make it so by upholding safeguards that protect us from such future tragedies.