Agitators directing traffic and impeding law enforcement activity in Minnesota are drawing sharp criticism from a former police official, who warns the scenes signal a dangerous normalization of obstruction that threatens public safety and the rule of law.

Retired NYPD detective and adjunct professor Mike Alcazar told Fox News Digital the behavior would never have been tolerated during his career, calling the lack of intervention a clear departure from long-standing enforcement standards.

“It would have been shut down immediately. It never would have happened,” Alcazar said.

Drawing on decades of experience policing large-scale demonstrations in New York City, Alcazar said protesters were historically permitted to exercise their First Amendment rights, but only within clearly enforced boundaries intended to prevent disorder and violence.

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He said civilians were not allowed to take over roadways, direct traffic or block pedestrian access, and officers routinely used barriers, separation tactics and a visible uniformed presence to maintain control.

“You cannot take over a roadway. That is not part of your right to protest,” Alcazar said. “That’s where we draw the line.”

Alcazar said those lines now appear increasingly blurred, allowing demonstrations to drift into obstruction. When enforcement standards are not clearly maintained, he said, agitators exploit the absence of consequences — surrounding officers, escalating confrontations and introducing items that can be used as weapons, such as wooden poles.

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According to Alcazar, the risks intensify when federal agents are operating without visible local law enforcement support. Immigration enforcement operations, he said, are not designed to manage hostile civilian crowds and instead rely on local departments to secure scenes and prevent interference.

“ICE agents are trained for enforcement operations — not crowd control,” Alcazar said. “When local police pull back, you’re leaving federal agents exposed.”

Those risks were visible on the ground. Fox News correspondent Matt Finn captured a tense moment in downtown Minneapolis when a resident used a vehicle to briefly block Border Patrol agents during an active enforcement operation, forcing agents to order the driver to move. Finn reported that Border Patrol units often avoid remaining in one location for extended periods because agitators frequently attempt to surround or impede them, making even brief delays a safety risk.

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Tensions escalated in Minneapolis after a fatal shooting Wednesday during a federal immigration enforcement operation, when 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was shot and killed by an ICE agent.

Federal officials said Good attempted to drive her vehicle toward agents during the encounter, a claim disputed by family members and some local leaders. The shooting led to agitators taking to the streets and heightened scrutiny of federal enforcement activity in the city, contributing to repeated confrontations between demonstrators and federal agents.

City officials, however, said recent demonstrations have largely remained peaceful and that steps are being taken to ensure public safety.

A spokesperson for the Minneapolis Police Department said lawful assemblies had been peaceful and comparable to other small- and large-scale demonstrations that regularly occur in the city. Police emphasized that keeping streets clear is critical to protecting lives, property and first responders.

The city said it was removing barriers blocking streets near the site of Wednesday’s shooting to ensure emergency access.

Minneapolis Fire Department Interim Chief Melanie Rucker warned that blocked streets can delay emergency response and endanger lives.

“Safety has to come first — every second matters when lives are on the line,” Rucker said, noting crews recently responded to a three-alarm fire just blocks from the area. “When streets are blocked, it slows our response and puts both residents and emergency responders at risk.”

City officials said residents have raised concerns about neighborhood access, with multiple 311 calls requesting barrier removal. While memorials created by community members will remain intact, the city said surrounding streets must stay clear to ensure emergency access.

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Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has sharply criticized the presence and actions of federal immigration agents following the shooting, telling ICE to “get the f— out of Minneapolis” and rejecting the Department of Homeland Security’s account of the incident. Frey said the city does not want federal agents there, arguing their presence has contributed to chaos and undermined public safety.

Additional concerns were raised by Adam Swart, CEO of Crowds on Demand, who told Fox News Digital his firm declined to participate in Minneapolis demonstrations because many crossed into illegal activity, including blocking streets and obstructing federal law enforcement.

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Swart said mixing peaceful protesters with individuals engaging in obstruction creates serious safety risks, as officers cannot easily distinguish between lawful demonstrators and agitators.

“When you’re blocking streets, clashing with law enforcement, and obstructing federal agents, those are illegal protests,” Swart said. “Law enforcement can’t easily distinguish between peaceful protesters and people creating those obstructions.”

Swart rejected claims that blocking roadways or restricting law enforcement movement constitutes “nonviolent resistance,” warning that preventing federal agents from moving freely puts officers, protesters and emergency responders in danger.

He added that such tactics are often counterproductive, saying efforts to obstruct ICE operations are more likely to trigger an increased federal presence rather than deter enforcement.

Mark Ross, president of the St. Paul Police Federation, also weighed in, sharply criticizing local political leadership and the impact of so-called separation ordinances on public safety.

Ross said city leaders have conflated routine crowd control support with “working with ICE,” despite local police departments having no role in federal immigration enforcement.

“As far as I’m concerned, these mayors and councils have some blood on their hands and bear some responsibility,” Ross said.

Ross argued that allowing local police to provide basic crowd control — rather than restricting coordination — could have reduced risks during recent confrontations. He said police assistance focused solely on keeping crowds from interfering with federal agents might have prevented dangerous escalation.

Ross added that his department has repeatedly offered help limited to crowd management, not deportations or federal enforcement duties, to ensure the safety of both agents and demonstrators.

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Alcazar said the unrest underscores the danger of leaving federal agents to operate amid disorder without local law enforcement support, warning that the absence of a visible police presence increases the risk of escalation and injury for officers and civilians alike.

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “That’s how civilians get hurt, officers get hurt and situations spiral out of control.”

Alcazar warned that allowing obstruction to go unchecked sends a dangerous signal that enforcement standards no longer apply.

“Once civilians start controlling the streets, police lose control of the streets,” Alcazar said. “When people don’t know where the limits are, they’re going to take advantage.”

Fox News’ Matt Finn and Louis Casiano contributed to this report. 

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

A Detroit man suspected of fatally shooting two men on a Tennessee highway in November was arrested Monday in Michigan, authorities said.

Dashonn Moten, 28, of Detroit was indicted on 17 criminal counts, including two counts each of first-degree murder and felony murder, Knoxville, Tennessee, police said in a social media post.

Moten is accused of killing Troy Hutchison, 33, of Atlanta and Rodrell Jeter, 25, of Detroit during an incident on the morning of Nov. 16 on Interstate 640 in Knoxville.

Moten also faces one count of attempted murder related to a third victim, a 22-year-old Detroit man, who was critically injured in the shooting, authorities said.

Milwaukee County plans to use nearly $25 million in federal funding for more than 60 street safety projects throughout the community. 

The grant funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Safe Streets and Roads for All program will be used in an effort to reduce crashes along some of the most dangerous roads in the county.

“This is a great opportunity for us to focus on one of the issues that have been affecting Milwaukee County residents, which is reckless driving,” Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said. 

The 65 infrastructure projects will be along ten “Corridors of Concern,” or “roadways that have been identified as the most hazardous in the County,” according to a county statement. The work will take place in West Allis, Glendale, Brown Deer, Shorewood, the city of Milwaukee and on multiple Milwaukee County highways. 

Some of the work will include high-visibility crosswalks, traffic signal upgrades, curb bump-outs, intersection upgrades and sidewalk expansions. The funding will also be used for traffic calming projects on three of the county’s “highest-speed corridors.” 

The county expects the projects to reduce “fatal and serious injury crashes” at the intersections and road segments by 26 to 50 percent, according to a statement. The work is anticipated to be completed by 2031. 

“We don’t want to put something in place that’s going to work for a year and then down the line, all of a sudden, we have to do more studies to figure out how we improve this even more,” Crowley said about the projects.

The city of Milwaukee was also awarded a separate $8 million grant for street safety improvements on portions of North Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and West Forest Home Avenue through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. That funding will be used to reduce speeding and improve safety for pedestrians and drivers on those corridors, according to a statement from the Milwaukee Department of Public Works. 

Some of the work for that project will include curb extensions, raised crosswalks, raised intersections and improving curb ramps along the roads, according to city engineer Kevin Muhs.

“This is great news,” Muhs said about the grant. “We’re excited to make some good safety and pavement investments on these two corridors.” 

Reckless driving has plagued residents of Milwaukee for years. A 2024 Wisconsin Policy Forum report found traffic fatalities increased by 113.5 percent from 2002 to 2022 in Milwaukee County, while they dropped across the state during the same time period.

Local leaders have invested millions of dollars to combat the problem over the past few years. Street redesign and engineering projects — known as “traffic calming” projects — can help narrow roads, making it more difficult for drivers to speed.

Muhs said he believes the projects are working, even if some residents have complained about the changes slowing down traffic. 

“Really, what we’re trying to do is manage excessive speeds,” Muhs said. “That’s the goal of all of this.” 

There were 27,400 traffic crashes in Milwaukee County in 2021 , according to a county dashboard. That number fell to 24,600 in 2024.  

The Milwaukee Common Council passed an ordinance in late 2025 that allows for vehicles involved in a reckless driving offense to be impounded. A spokesperson for the Milwaukee Police Department said that there were 30 “reckless vehicle tows” between Nov. 5, 2025 and Sunday.

Meanwhile, some state lawmakers want to place up to 75 red light cameras at intersections across Milwaukee. Another proposal would place devices that limit a driver’s speed in the vehicles of repeat reckless drivers in Wisconsin.

The Forest County Potawatomi Community was also awarded a $3.6 million grant through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program’s 2025 funding cycle. That money will be used to construct a shared use path along a state highway.