Eugene police would respond to ‘significant acts of violence’ involving ICE, chief says

The Eugene Police Department’s largely hands-off approach to protests against immigration enforcement would not extend to any “significant acts of violence” involving federal officers, Police Chief Chris Skinner said Thursday, Jan. 8.

“We would insert ourselves, to a reasonable degree, where we can bring peace to what is a total chaotic and dangerous situation,” Skinner told members of Eugene’s Police Commission, a citizens group that advises the police chief and City Council on public safety issues.

He spoke two days after the shooting of Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis. Federal officials immediately defended the shooting but her death has sparked protests in Eugene and many cities.

Skinner said any police response would be decided on a case-by-case basis. He referred to frequent protests at the federal building in downtown Eugene as “mostly peaceful,” stating the department has “taken a very hands-off approach.” Police have said in the past their Mobile Response Team has monitored protest activity, and drones have been seen in the sky near the federal building.

“I think the thought is, based on our posture recently, is that, ‘Would we just sit here at HQ and do nothing if we saw significant acts of violence happening down at, for instance, the federal building?’” Skinner said. “And the answer to that is, no. We wouldn’t just sit here.”

Skinner said “violence can happen both directions. It can happen protester on government worker, and government worker on protester.”

“I certainly am mindful about putting our folks in harm’s way and having them just fly down there without a plan, but we would respond if we had gun violence,” Skinner said.

Should a federal agent be “involved in a lethal force situation,” Eugene police “would certainly respond to that and stabilize the scene,” Skinner said. “We would certainly respond to that and preserve evidence. We would certainly respond to that and care for victims.”

But federal authorities, likely the FBI, would take charge of any such investigation, Skinner said.

Speaking generally about use of force by federal officers, Skinner said it’s considered differently than other reports of violence.

“In every instance of use of force, there’s a burden of proof or standard that happens that’s very much after the fact. It’s not a probable cause type of thing, it’s very much after the fact evaluated against a variety of Graham factors as to whether or not it was reasonable,” Skinner said, referring to a court case that evaluated police use of force.

“So use of force never starts out as necessarily criminal, without some depth of investigation to better understand,” Skinner said.

Skinner said the images of the armed ICE officers in Minneapolis naturally raise questions of accountability.

“What we’re seeing with federal employees is either a lack of accountability, or at least we don’t understand what the accountability mechanism is. And so I think that feels confusing for people, because they just don’t know what to expect,” Skinner said.

Some accounts of the Minneapolis shooting have described Good as a “legal observer,” a term often used to describe citizens observing law enforcement during protests or other activity.

Fox News, citing unnamed federal sources, has reported she was involved with a group known as “ICE Watch,” whose members at times interfere with ICE operations. Bystander videos show Good in her vehicle partially blocking a roadway with ICE officers nearby, but it isn’t clear why her vehicle was in that position.

Speaking to a reporter after Thursday’s Police Commission meeting, Skinner said Eugene police did not send out information to officers specifically about details of the Minneapolis shooting. 

“There’s a variety of information that we don’t know. We don’t want to jump to any conclusions,” Skinner said.

But he said police know Eugene citizens are likely to react to the events.

“Any of the communication around that was ‘OK, be prepared for people to potentially be heard or protest or demonstrate around this, and how do we provide for their safety, so they can safely do it,’” Skinner said.

Bystander video from the Minneapolis shooting shows the vehicle Good was driving moved toward the officer standing in front of it. Federal officials have characterized Good’s actions as violent toward the ICE officer after she had been ordered out of the vehicle. Others have expressed outrage at her death as the video appears to show her steering the vehicle away from the officer who walked in front of it moments before.

Skinner said Eugene police have no policy preventing officers from using their bodies to try to prevent a vehicle from leaving or fleeing, stating that “it’s on a case-by-case basis.”

“What we try to have our officers do is not put themselves in harm’s way if they absolutely don’t have to, unless it’s to prevent serious injury or death to a community member or [it] has a significant safety impact on our community,” Skinner said.