QuickTake:

The mayor, police chief and independent police auditor called out “unaccountable, reckless behavior.” They urge peaceful community engagement, not vigilantism, after a federal immigration officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis Jan. 7.

Calling out the federal administration’s “reckless trajectory,” Eugene city leaders want residents to channel their outrage about immigration enforcement activities and violence into peaceful protests and civil engagement.

Eugene Mayor Kaarin Knudson, Police Chief Chris Skinner and Independent Police Auditor Craig Renetzky released statements Saturday, Jan. 17, about federal events, saying the city was flooded with calls and emails during the past week with inquiries. 

Ten days ago, a federal immigration agent shot and killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis Jan. 7. The agent’s killing of the unarmed 37-year-old Good has stoked fears and sparked protests across the nation, including in Eugene. Last week, a U.S. Border Patrol officer wounded two people in Portland after firing into a moving truck, the Oregonian reported. 

“Over this past year, actions by ICE and other federal agencies have left people feeling horrified, disenfranchised, and unsafe,” Knudson said. “This is true in Eugene, across Oregon, and in cities nationwide. In addition to violating rights and tearing communities apart, reckless and escalation-oriented behaviors of federal agencies undermine public trust and safety. These actions are not making our communities safer. In fact, this reckless trajectory makes us all less safe.”

City officials draw a distinction between Eugene’s system of accountability for local police officers and the oversight of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the federal agency that is responsible for executing President Donald Trump’s immigration policy. ICE and the Trump administration have come under criticism for mass deportations and heavy-handed tactics, including detaining people legally residing in the United States.

Full statements from Eugene city officials in response to recent federal actions

“I also want to stress that, in Eugene, we remain committed to integrity, transparency and accountability,” Knudson said. “We have put in place a local system — of local elected officials, sworn law enforcement officers, and independent police oversight — that is designed to actively uphold our community’s laws and values.”

In Eugene, that’s a system that has been in place for years, the mayor said. In 2005, Eugene voters approved the creation of Oregon’s first independent policy oversight system. An independent police auditor reports to the City Council and the Civilian Review Board, which reviews the auditor’s investigations.

“I know that stresses are high, and I know our community will continue to stand together,” Knudson said. “All people have a constitutional right to due process and peaceful protest, and I am asking us all to recommit to mutual aid and local engagement. I also ask that we take care to avoid false equivalencies between local police and federal agency actions.”

The mayor noted that Eugene’s Protections for Individuals Ordinance, in place since 2017, prevents the use of city resources to detect or apprehend people solely due to their documentation status. Oregon is also a sanctuary state, which prevents local law enforcement from participating in or aiding immigration enforcement activities without a judicial warrant.

Knudson delivered a sharp criticism of federal agencies and the impact of its actions on the community and local police officers.

“I want to stress that the unaccountable, reckless behavior of federal agencies puts our entire community at risk, and that includes local law enforcement who are asked to navigate an almost impossible circumstance,” Knudson said. “We are dealing with a federal administration focused on intimidation and retribution. Our Spanish-speaking and Latinx neighbors have been bearing the brunt of these attacks, but these are attacks on every person in our community.”

Police chief: Peaceful protests are ‘powerful’

Skinner, the police chief, urged the community to avoid vigilantism, as the community’s actions can impact how the federal government responds.

“Our conduct as a community can become a predicate event, one that influences whether the federal government chooses restraint or escalation,” Skinner said. “We do not want our pain or outrage to be used as justification for increased federal law enforcement presence or militarized responses that ultimately make communities less safe.”

Skinner said peaceful protests and civic engagement are “powerful.”

“They protect our neighbors, preserve local autonomy, and keep the focus where it belongs: on accountability, human dignity, and meaningful reform,” Skinner said. “We can be outraged without being reckless. We can demand change without becoming what we oppose. That is how communities protect themselves, and each other, in moments like this.”

Independent Police Auditor Craig Renetzky said the independent auditor’s office doesn’t work in the police department and can be “honest and transparent” in all its findings.

“This sort of transparency and civilian oversight distinguishes the way the City of Eugene investigates uses of force and allegations of misconduct by the Eugene Police Department from the way the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency and the United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) investigates similar incidents,” Renetzky said.

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Ben Botkin covers politics and policy in Lane County. He has worked as a journalist since 2003, most recently at the Oregon Capital Chronicle, where he covered justice, health and human services and documented regional efforts to combat fentanyl addiction. Botkin has worked in statehouses in Idaho, Nevada, Oklahoma and, of course, Oregon. When he's not working, you'll find him road tripping across the West, hiking or surfing along the Oregon Coast.