Baumgartner is right, investigation needed

OUR OPINION

U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, is correct when he called for a Congressional investigation into Immigration and Customs Enforcement following the recent shootings in Minneapolis.

Any officer involved shooting, especially ones that result in death, should be investigated by an independent agency. Baumgartner, a first term representative from the 5th District, which includes Pend Oreille County, is one of just a handful of Capital Hill Republicans to question ICE following the weekend killing of the intensive care nurse.

While the nurse, Alex Pretti, apparently was armed with a handgun, it is far from clear that shooting him multiple times and killing him was the best way to handle the situation.

As a first term Congressman, Baumgartner took a bit of a risk calling for the investigation when the Department of Homeland Security officials were already making public statements about Pretti being a domestic terrorist.

Answering to Congress is clearly the right thing to do. We applaud Baumgartner for calling for the investigation and hope his Republican colleagues will follow through.

-Don Gronning Editor