Moral Collapse in DHS/ICE Killings

Lawrence Powell reflects on The Moral Collapse That Killed Renee Good and we contemplate the immorality in the killing of Alex Pretti. What we are witnessing is something deeper and more disturbing: the surrender of moral agency in exchange for belonging.

Bystander video captured from multiple angles appears to show another fatal confrontation between U.S. federal agents and an individual in Minneapolis on Saturday. Federal officials said the man was armed and that agents fired at him in self-defence. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized the Trump administration and its immigration enforcement campaign, saying it is creating 'chaos' in his state.

History does not judge people only by what they do with their own hands, but by what they permit, excuse, and normalize. And it is unforgiving to those who confuse obedience with virtue and cruelty with order. (Powell, n.d.)

The Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) is what RCMP officers use to assess and manage risk in all encounters with the public. It helps to determine what intervention is needed, such as verbal de-escalation or the use of another method. 

Police officers must also clearly explain what happened before, during and after the incident. This process is called "legal articulation." This articulation will include the officer's risk assessment, helping people who were not there understand what the officer saw, what it meant to them, as well as how it made them feel.

An officer's intervention is measured against what a reasonable, trained, prudent police officer would do faced with a similar set of circumstances.

In April 2021, the RCMP updated the Incident Management Intervention Model (IMIM) annual re-certification training as well as the Incident Management Intervention Model graphic to place more emphasis on communication and crisis intervention and de-escalation. Crisis intervention and de-escalation now surrounds the graphic, emphasizing de-escalation as the preferred result of any interaction. Crisis intervention and de-escalation provides police with tools that can often be used instead of physical intervention options.

Six basic principles underlie the Incident Management Intervention Model:

 

• The primary duty of a peace officer is to preserve and protect life

• The primary objective of any intervention is public safety

• Peace officer safety is essential to public safety

• The Incident Management Intervention Model is consistent with federal statute law and common law authorities and in no way replaces or augments the law

• The intervention model must always be applied in the context of a careful assessment of risk, taking into account the likelihood and extent of life loss, injury, and damage to property as a result of the intervention

• Risk assessment is a continuous process and risk management must evolve as situations change (RCMP Incident Management Intervention Model, 2026)

Perhaps the DHS and ICE officers require more intense training in situational awareness, communication, crisis intervention, and de-escalation. The requirement to demonstrate these steps in the investigation of action in cases where lethal force was applied or face prosecution under the Law is very likely to reduce killing as the result of interactions with the public.

References

Powell, L. (n.d.). The Moral Collapse That Killed Renee Good. Facebook. Retrieved January 26, 2026, from https://www.facebook.com/HLawrencePowell/photos/the-moral-collapse-that-killed-renee-good-by-lawrence-powell-to-understand-why-m/10162282889168388/ 

RCMP Incident Management Intervention Model. (2026, January 19). Royal Canadian Mounted Police | Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Retrieved January 26, 2026, from https://rcmp.ca/en/police-intervention/incident-management-intervention-model