Renee Nicole Good shooting casts scrutiny on ICE’s use of deadly force

The fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis has cast a spotlight on ICE’s use-of-force policies, and whether the federal agent who shot her will face an impartial investigation or consequences for his actions.The agency already receives less oversight for use-of-force incidents than local police departments, and has long resisted efforts to disclose its use-of-force policies.Federal immigration agents have been involved in 16 shootings since Trump began his immigration crackdown last year, according to data compiled by the Trace, a publication that covers gun violence.Under guidelines issued in 2023 by the Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, ICE officers are supposed to receive training in de-escalation. The policy specifically prohibits agents from shooting at the driver of a moving vehicle except to defend themselves from death or serious injury. The document also bars the use of lethal force to stop a person who is simply fleeing, unless that person presents a serious threat to the officer or general public.However, the bar for indicting federal law enforcement officers, who enjoy broad immunity from liability for their actions in the line of duty, is very high. The White House appears to be lifting the bar still higher.Several prominent voices within the Trump administration have defended the agent’s action as self-defense, despite the fact that the FBI has only just begun investigating the incident. Trump falsely said in an interview with the New York Times that Good “ran him over”. The homeland security secretary Kristi Noem accused Good of “domestic terrorism”. JD Vance wrote on X that Ross was “defending his life against a deranged leftist who tried to run him over”.However, video reconstruction of the event by the New York Times seems to indicate the car did not strike Ross and that Good was attempting to flee the area rather than run officers over.The shooting was filmed by multiple bystanders, and shows that ICE officers approached an SUV that Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, appeared to have parked in the middle of the street. The officers appeared to approach her aggressively from the start. An officer whose face was covered yelled “get out of the fucking car”, and yanked repeatedly on the driver’s door, trying to open it. He reached his other hand through the open window, appearing to attempt to unlock the door.In footage released on Friday, Good can be heard speaking with agents, calmly saying: “I’m not mad at you” just moments before she was shot three times as she pulled away.Phone footage from ICE agent who shot Renee Nicole Good shows moment of confrontation – videoThe officer who shot Good has been identified as Jonathan E Ross, an ICE veteran with a decade of experience who had been involved in a separate arrest that resulted in him being dragged by a suspect’s vehicle.It was not immediately clear whether the agents had the authority to stop Good. ICE agents have broad powers to detain people in the course of their immigration enforcement duties, including those who obstruct their operations. But ICE’s deportation officers do not enforce traffic laws and don’t typically target US citizens.“They don’t have the authority to engage in routine traffic infraction enforcement,” César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, a law professor at the Ohio State University college of law in Columbus, said. Rather than engaging in a confrontation, officers could have followed Good or simply noted her license plate number and searched for her later, García Hernández said: “So one of the things that the investigation, I hope, will eventually reveal is what was the justification for the initial encounter between the various officers and this woman whose life was lost.”The shooting has drawn broad condemnation. DHS has defended its agents’ actions, saying in a statement that: “ICE law enforcement officers are trained to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve dangerous situations to prioritize the safety of the public and our officers. Officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.”Experts and lawmakers have pushed back, saying that the officers could have done more to defuse the situation.Jason Chavez, a Minneapolis city council member, described the shooting as “a clear violation of force”.“Everyone should know how to de-escalate a situation and ICE is not an exception,” Chavez said. “Unfortunately, ICE doesn’t have any idea how to de-escalate a situation.”“The use of force was not justified because the predicate for it was absolutely trivial,” said Stephen Yagman, a lawyer with decades of experience suing officers for unlawful shootings. “The same rules that apply to everyone else in the police using force apply to ICE.”The White House’s vocal defense of the officer has raised doubts that federal authorities would impartially investigate the agents’ actions – let alone discipline them, if warranted.ICE has historically resisted disclosing its training policies for agents in the field. The agency updated its use-of-force guidance in 2023, but refused to disclose the details in response to reporting by the Trace. When compelled under the Freedom of Information Act, ICE Foia officers redacted all but two sentences of the 13-page document.But regardless of whether Ross acted legally when killing Good, the chances of him facing prosecution appear slim.The FBI has already taken the unusual step of limiting cooperation with local law enforcement agencies, who also have the authority to file criminal charges, if warranted, against Ross. Without access to evidence, however, local authorities would struggle to make a case.“The federal government doesn’t view what the officer did as a crime,” Yagman said.Good’s family has the ability to file a civil lawsuit against ICE under the Federal Tort Claims Act.