The Department of Homeland Security on Thursday disclosed that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot a Minneapolis woman during an enforcement operation this week was previously injured in a violent encounter during a traffic stop last year.
According to DHS, the unnamed officer was dragged approximately 50 yards by a vehicle driven by Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala during a June traffic stop in Bloomington, Minnesota. Munoz-Guatemala, a Mexican national who entered the United States on an unknown date, was arrested at the time and placed into federal custody.
Court records reviewed by The New York Post state that Munoz-Guatemala refused to exit his vehicle during the stop. The officer broke a rear window and attempted to open the door, at which point Munoz-Guatemala accelerated away, swerving in an apparent effort to dislodge the officer. The officer’s arm became lodged between the vehicle frame and a seat. DHS said the officer was hospitalized and received 33 stitches.
At the time of that incident, DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, “Roberto Carlos Munoz-Guatemala is a child sex offender and illegal alien from Mexico who attempted to evade law enforcement and dragged an ICE officer 50 yards down the street with his car. Thankfully, the officer is expected to make a full recovery.”
McLaughlin also said, “This illegal alien has been committing violent crimes in the U.S. for nearly 15 years. He is a convicted child sex offender who has a rap sheet that includes an arrest for domestic assault and multiple driving offenses. Under Governor Tim Walz, this sicko was living in Minnesota without consequence. Instead of comparing ICE law enforcement to the Gestapo, Governor Walz should be thanking our brave law enforcement for arresting these violent criminals.”
DHS said Munoz-Guatemala was convicted of sex crimes involving a teenager and had previous arrests for domestic assault and driving offenses. ICE had placed a detainer on him in 2013, according to the agency.
The same ICE officer is now at the center of national attention following the fatal shooting of Renee Good on Wednesday in Minneapolis. DHS said Good was interfering with an ICE operation at the time of the incident.
The Trump administration has defended the officer’s actions as self-defense. In a statement, McLaughlin said, “Today, ICE officers in Minneapolis were conducting targeted operations when rioters began blocking ICE officers and one of these violent rioters weaponized her vehicle, attempting to run over our law enforcement officers in an attempt to kill them—an act of domestic terrorism. An ICE officer, fearing for his life, the lives of his fellow law enforcement and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots.”
Video footage of the shooting circulated widely online shortly after the incident, prompting sharp criticism from Minnesota officials. Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned the officer’s actions. At a press conference held hours later, Frey called the Trump administration’s justification for the shooting “bullsh**” and demanded that ICE “get the f*** out” of Minneapolis.
DHS has said it recently deployed additional resources to the area, citing Minnesota’s multi-billion-dollar Somali fraud scandal, which the department said contributed to the end of Walz’s reelection bid.
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