Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and police misconduct experts have cast doubt on the Trump administration's assertion that a federal officer was justified in fatally shooting Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, in Minneapolis. The administration had claimed that Good was a “violent rioter” who intentionally rammed the officer, but video evidence and expert analysis suggest otherwise.
Officer Jonathan Ross fired three shots at Good after she moved her car forward, according to footage from multiple witnesses and Ross's own body camera. Critics, including retired ICE agent Eric Balliet and police misconduct lawyer Robert Bennett, argue that Ross placed himself in harm's way by walking in front of Good's moving vehicle, a manoeuvre Balliet described as “inducing a shooting”.
Bennett noted that none of the other officers at the scene drew their weapons, despite facing the same circumstances, which he called “a bad fact” for Ross. Balliet further questioned why an officer would put himself on foot in front of a moving car, emphasising that fleeing alone does not justify deadly force under federal guidelines.
Federal policy prohibits officers from firing at a moving vehicle unless there is no other reasonable means of defence, and the Department of Homeland Security’s use-of-force policy bans shooting at a driver unless there is an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Diane Goldstein, a former police lieutenant, criticised the lack of de-escalation and training evident in the incident.
The Supreme Court has previously ruled that use-of-force cases must consider the “totality of the circumstances” rather than just “the moment of the threat”, a principle experts say applies here. The incident continues to draw scrutiny over the conduct of ICE officers and the justification for deadly force.
