If ever there was an incident that defined a national controversy, this is it.
How you view it comes down to personal politics, life experience, and perhaps personal prejudice. Did Renee Good cause her own death by using her vehicle as a weapon to attack immigration officers in Minnesota?
It’s all on videotape. Do you believe me or your lying eyes?
Isn’t that what the reaction to the shooting death of the 37-year-old mother of three comes down to? I am sure many of you see it differently, but as a reasonable person with long-life experience and the expertise of probing dozens of police shootings and other acts of official violence, a grave injustice has been done in Minneapolis.
After watching every version of this death on videotape and listening to every relevant eyewitness, Renee Good did not have to die.
Her gratuitous killing is best understood by viewing the seconds before the ICE-inspired violence that ended with the shots to her face and side. In the short lead-up to those fatal shots, she and her partner are unthreatening, even playful.
No reasonable person could have legitimately perceived them to be violent. The government narrative is bogus and belied by the evidence.
I love cops, but they can screw up, sometimes tragically.
The release several days ago of bodycam and more cell phone footage from the deadly, highly contested incident in Minneapolis did nothing to change my mind.
The killing of Renee Good was entirely unnecessary. She and her partner–two middle-aged ladies talking smack–were not the ones with the loaded handgun and a hair trigger. They did not escalate this deadly confrontation, which led to the death of a mother of three young children. This is on ICE.
Firstly, why do we condone the terrifying attitude and desperado-style uniforms worn by ICE? Masks are toxic. People wearing masks behave differently. No other cops wear masks. State troopers don’t wear masks. Marshalls don’t wear masks. FBI agents don’t wear masks, nor do cops of any stripe.
Juvenile shoplifters wear masks to escape authority. Any job that requires anonymity is cancerous. ICE must show their faces.
They terrified Renee Good. The screams of her partner are clear indications of how threatened and frightened they must have been in the last second of her life. The ICE agent shot and killed the lady as she attempted to drive away.
The shooter didn’t hesitate a half second before opening fire. The first shot penetrated the windshield, probably killing her. The ICE shooter fires as the car hurtles past him, then two more shots into the driver’s side door.
Now, the city of Minneapolis and the state of Minnesota are being excluded from the investigation of Renee Good’s death.
Does anyone believe federal authorities will fairly and fully investigate the fatal shooting?
From their various public statements, including some made shortly after the tragedy occurred, doesn’t it sound like Vice President Vance and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Christie Noem have already made up their minds?
Is that why the FBI excluded state and local authorities from the investigation?
ICE must be reconfigured to emphasize fact-finding and public safety. You cannot fight illegal immigration with deadly violence.
Now, we are told 2,000 more ICE officers are heading to the Twin Cities. To do what, exactly?
What legitimate civic purpose is being served by the military occupation of Minneapolis or any other city? We already know the risk.
