ICE Agent Shoots and Kills Renee Good, 37, in Minneapolis

Editor’s Note (Jan. 25th): Since the initial drafting of this article, a similar incident has occurred in Minneapolis with the killing of Alex Pretti, raising similar questions of the extent and method of ICE’s presence in Minneapolis and across the country.

Renee Nicole Macklin Good, 37, was shot by an ICE agent on Wednesday, January 7th. She was in a Honda Pilot, blocking the road in protest of the presence of ICE agents. Agents left their vehicles, demanding her to get out of her car, and she refused. The agents reached into her vehicle, and one agent stepped in front of the vehicle, and she switched the car into drive.

She then turned her vehicle down the road, which the ICE agent perceived as a threat, and the ICE agent in front of the vehicle fired three shots into the front of the car, killing Ms. Good. Losing control of the vehicle, she quickly accelerated, crashing into another car down the road.

The shooting sparked outrage across the country, with major protests occurring in Minneapolis, cities in Texas, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, where two more were shot by ICE Agents later that day.

Some BIFU students think that the shooting was unjustifiable, and that the police officer should have acted differently.

“He could have shot on the tires. That would have stopped the [car]. He could have jumped out of the way. He could have done a lot,” said a 9th grade student who wished to stay anonymous.

The Trump administration was quick to defend the shooting. In a social media post on TruthSocial, Trump wrote that it was a “horrible thing to watch,” yet argued that Ms. Good was a “professional agitator,” “who then violently, willfully, and viciously ran over the ICE Officer.”

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt supported this sentiment, calling Ms. Good a “lunatic” twice. Multiple officials from the Trump administration have labelled her a domestic terrorist.

Multiple analyses conducted by the New York Times and other news platforms of videos displaying the incident from multiple angles have disproven the allegation that she was attempting to run the officer over. It remains plausible that the officer may have believed she was attempting to do so.

A federal investigation has been opened in response to the incident, but members of the DOJ say it is unlikely that criminal charges will be pressed against the officer. The federal government has denied the state of Minnesota access to the evidence, blocking any possibility of a joint investigation.

For many, the shooting has been an issue of training. In an interview with The New York Times, Police Chief of Minneapolis, Brian O’Hara, questioned the ICE officers training, noting that it was improper procedure to ever step in front of a vehicle during a traffic stop.

“The No. 1 is you don’t place yourself in the path of the vehicle. That’s like Traffic Stop 101. You don’t do that,” said Chief O’Hara, “If this person isn’t the target of a preplanned enforcement action, then what are we doing? Are we trying to de-escalate and resolve the situation? What exactly is the goal?”

But for one anonymous BIFU junior, the aggressiveness of the agents was reason for broader concern.

“Over the past couple of years, tensions have risen. People’s tempers are shorter. And if even law enforcement comes off aggressive where she's just blocking the road, then there's definitely a problem. If the people supposed to protect us are this impatient, then what are we doing?”

In the weeks following Good’s killing, Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse who served veterans, was beaten, shot and killed by federal immigration officers. Pretti, 37, approached a federal officer with his phone, in defense of a woman the agent was pepper spraying. The federal officer proceeded to pepper spray Pretti, and multiple agents swarmed him, and wrestled him to the ground. Then, a federal officer fired a shot into his back, and agents backed away as the agent fired three more shots. Pretti collapsed, and the agents continued firing a total of 10 shots into his still body. Pretti was legally armed with a pistol. The Trump administration has labelled him a domestic terrorist.