Renee Nicole Good said ‘I’m not mad at you’ before ICE agent shot her, video shows
Clip first posted by partisan outlet Alpha News shows perspective of ICE agent as Good was fatally shot
Renee Nicole Good calmly said everything was “fine” and “I’m not mad at you” seconds before an on-duty Immigration Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot her in Minneapolis as she drove away, according to a cellphone video shared on Friday by Donald Trump’s White House.
The partisan media outlet Alpha News first posted the video on X, a 47-second clip that showed the perspective of the ICE agent – and captured a man’s voice calling Good a “fucking bitch” after she was mortally wounded. It was then shared by the White House’s official Rapid Response X account as well as JD Vance, with the vice-president writing in part that he agreed with the notion that Good’s death was “a tragedy” but accused the media of dishonestly covering the circumstances of her killing.
In a statement to the Guardian, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed that the footage was authentic while claiming that Good “was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement” and the “officer was in fear of his own life”.
“The American people can watch this video with their own eyes and ears and judge for themselves,” McLaughlin added.
In the footage, Good is seen being approached while in the driver’s seat of a maroon Honda Pilot stopped across a roadway while a siren blares.
“That’s fine, dude,” Good can be heard saying through an open driver’s window as the agent filming the video walks in front of her car, past her open window and to her back license plate. She continues and appears to say: “I’m not mad at you.”
The masked agent’s reflection then becomes visible on the side of the car and another person’s voice can be heard saying: “Hey – show your face, big boy.” That person appears to be Good’s wife, Rebecca Good, who is then seen holding her own cellphone and heard saying: “We don’t change our plates every morning, just so you know. It will be the same plate when you come talk to us later.”
That person then mentions being a US citizen and adds: “You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy. Go ahead.” She then turns to get into the passenger seat of Good’s car when another masked officer can then be seen approaching the driver’s side of the SUV while saying: “Get out of the car. Out of the car. Get out of the fucking car. Get out of the car.”
The agent filming the video has again walked in front of Good’s car from passenger side to driver’s side. Good briefly backs up and drives forward while turning to her right as the woman with her says: “Drive, baby, drive.” The agent’s phone then abruptly points skyward, and he can be heard saying: “Whoa!”
That moment of the clip is consistent with another video in circulation that shows the agent get slightly brushed by the car, which is moving so slowly that the officer is able to easily retain his balance.
Gunshots then erupt without the officer putting the phone down. A voice says, “Fucking bitch,” as Good’s car briefly comes into view while it drives away. A loud crash is then heard.
A dog can be seen in the back seat of Good’s SUV during the video. The animal was reportedly unhurt.
The ICE agent who killed Good, an American mother of three, has been identified as Jonathan E Ross. Ross, a 10-year veteran of the special response team of ICE’s enforcement and removal operation, was taking part in an immigration sweep in Minneapolis on Wednesday at the time that he fatally shot Good. In June, Ross had been dragged by a vehicle while participating in the arrest of an undocumented immigrant with an open ICE detainer and a criminal conviction for sexually assaulting his 16-year-old stepdaughter in 2022.
At least some major law enforcement agencies in the US restrict officers from firing at cars coming towards them if the drivers or passengers aren’t wielding a second form of force, such as by aiming a gun at them. The purpose of such a restriction is to limit the risk of uninvolved bystanders, vehicles or buildings being struck by cars whose drivers are shot.
Still, Vance asserted Friday on X that the Alpha News video from Ross’s perspective established that “his life was endangered and he fired in self-defense”.
“If you want to say this woman’s death is a tragedy, that we should pray for her soul as Christians and Americans, then I agree with you,” Vance wrote in a related X post, after previously joining other Trump administration officials in seeking, without evidence, to portray Good as engaging in “domestic terrorism”. “But … does this law enforcement officer have a family? Yes. Did he get seriously injured by a vehicle just six months ago? Yes. Did he have a reason to fear for his life? Yes. Does he have every right to safety while he’s doing his job? Yes.”
Minnesota officials and residents have met the Trump administration’s narrative of Good’s killing with sharp rebukes. Notably, the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey, told ICE to “get the fuck out of” the city where a police officer murdered George Floyd in plain view of a cellphone camera five years earlier, igniting worldwide protests.
Protests near the site of Good’s killing have drawn thousands while some congressional Democrats have threatened to withhold funding to the Department of Homeland Security under which ICE operates.
Alpha News published Friday’s video from Ross’s perspective after the outlet’s reporter Liz Collins was a guest on Thursday’s edition of Jesse Watters Primetime, whose host is an ardent Trump supporter.
Rebecca Good, meanwhile, published a statement saying: “On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns. We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
“Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.”
