Crime & Law
Family of Renee Good Sues Trump Administration, ICE Agents Months After Fatal Shooting in Minneapolis
Renee Good. (Courtesy of Romanucci & Blandin)
A Chicago-based law firm is suing current and former Trump administration officials in connection with the death of Renee Good, whose fatal shooting in Minneapolis early this year sparked nationwide protests against the president’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts.
Attorneys with the Romanucci & Blandin law firm on Thursday announced a pair of new civil lawsuits against the U.S. government, individual federal agents and officials nearly nine months after Renee Good, 37, was fatally shot during an encounter with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.
“Today, these lawsuits are the beginning of the ultimate legal weapon in uncovering the truth behind this unlawful use of deadly force and the nefarious conspiracies behind the invasion of American cities by American law enforcement officers," the firm’s founding partner Antonio Romanucci said in a statement.
The lawsuits, filed Thursday in Minnesota's federal court, names as defendants the United States, as well as top Trump advisor Stephen Miller, ex-Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, former ICE head Todd Lyons and ex-Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino, among others.
The filings include a wrongful death lawsuit and a complaint alleging a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights by senior federal officials, federal immigration enforcement agents, and private actors.
Renee Good’s killing came during an immigration enforcement effort led by ICE and Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis known as “Operation Metro Surge.”
Video of the shooting captured by agent Jonathan Ross showed him in front of the vehicle driven by Renee Good, who had stopped her burgundy SUV perpendicular to the street, obstructing the flow of traffic. Ross does not say anything as he walks across the front of the car toward the driver’s side of the car.
As he rounds the car, Renee Good can be seen with her window down looking directly at the officer. In the video, she then talks to Ross.
“That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you,” she says. Ross does not respond. In the car window a reflection can be seen of Ross, holding his phone up, as he continues to walk. You can also hear the victim’s wife, Becca Good, say “show your face” to Ross.
The video shows Ross walking around to the back of the car. Becca Good, the passenger in the car, who had gotten out of the vehicle prior to the confrontation, tells Ross that, “We don’t change our plates every morning, just so you know. This will be the same plate when you come talk to us later.”
She holds a cellphone up to Ross’ face as she addresses Ross.
“You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy,” Becca Good says to Ross. She then tries to get back in the car, but the door is locked.
You then hear another officer tell Renee Good, the driver, to “get out of the fucking car.”
She is then seen reversing the car and glancing forward as she turns the steering wheel to the right, away from where the officer is standing. The car moves forward, and Ross cries out “whoa” and then three gunshots are heard in rapid succession.
Good's family claimed no agent rendered any medical aid after the shooting, and when a bystander who identified himself as a physician offered help, he was allegedly told by an agent “I don’t care,” and was not allowed to assist.
Ross is also named as a defendant in the conspiracy lawsuit, which claims the federal government immediately branded Good as a terrorist, declared that Ross had done nothing wrong and moved to hide the evidence of what actually occurred.
Renee Good’s family retained Romanucci & Blandin days after the shooting to conduct a civil investigation. At that time, Romanucci said the public was not receiving information about the case transparently and that his firm intended to “provide that to the country.”
Minnesota officials later sued the Trump administration in March as they sought access to evidence they say they need to independently investigate the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who was killed by federal agents in a separate shooting in Minneapolis weeks after Renee Good’s death.
The lawsuit alleges “Operation Metro Surge” resulted in two dead Americans, a third person shot and more than $200 million in economic damage to a single city.
“Renee was one (of) those casualties,” the lawsuit states. “She was killed on a public street, while doing what thousands of her neighbors were doing that winter: watching masked, armed men terrorizing her community and refusing to look away.”
CNN contributed to this report.
