Renee Good’s family sues over fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

The family of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an immigration officer in Minneapolis, has filed two federal civil lawsuits seeking to hold the U.S. government, the officer and senior federal officials accountable for her death.

Good, 37, was shot Jan. 7 while sitting in the driver’s seat of her SUV during an encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross. Her family announced the lawsuits Thursday, nine months after the shooting and days after Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, and brother, Brent Ganger, testified before Congress at a joint hearing on fatal shootings by federal immigration officers over the past two years, CBS News reported.

The first complaint names the United States as the defendant. Filed under the Federal Tort Claims Act, it alleges wrongful death under Minnesota law and cites battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress and negligence. The second names Ross, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and others. It alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and a discriminatory conspiracy targeting Somali and Hispanic communities and silencing their allies, according to CBS News.

“I stand here with fierce determination to do what is right for my sister, for her children, and for our country — and that is to insist on accountability,” Brent Ganger said in a statement. “What happened to her on January 7th and what has happened to far too many people in the last year is not what America is about. We can and must do better, and the Constitution must be the roadmap back to decency and the rule of law.”

Cellphone video captured the encounter. It showed Good’s partner, Becca Good, standing outside the SUV, calling Ross “big boy” and telling him to remove his face covering. Other officers could be heard telling Renee Good to get out of the vehicle. Good then turned the steering wheel away from Ross and began to drive. Multiple gunshots can be heard before the SUV crashes into a parked car. In a separate video recorded by Ross, a male voice could be heard using an expletive moments before the crash, NBC News reported.

President Donald Trump, Noem and other administration figures defended Ross, saying Good was an agitator who tried to run him over. Witnesses told NBC News at the time that Ross did not appear to be directly in the SUV’s path. Noem said Ross was treated at a hospital and released soon afterward. A Department of Homeland Security official previously told NBC News that Ross sustained internal bleeding but did not provide details. The department and the White House did not immediately respond to NBC News requests for comment on the lawsuits.

The shooting took place about a month after the Trump administration deployed 3,000 immigration agents to the Twin Cities for what officials called Operation Metro Surge. Agents went to Minnesota after right-wing influencers drew attention to a state fraud scandal involving Somali nationals. The operation prompted large protests and opposition from state leaders before ending in February. Weeks after Good’s death, Customs and Border Protection agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, in Minneapolis.

Antonio M. Romanucci, an attorney for Good’s family, said he hopes the lawsuits begin to uncover the truth about what he called an “unlawful use of deadly force.”