Tragedy in Minnesota

Dear Readers, We have to be very careful about how quickly we reach a conclusion about tragic events. What he hear about (and even see) is not always accurate or even the complete truth. While we live in a world of rapid response, there is still a space for us to let investigations breathe.

When Charlie Kirk was assassinated, many jumped to pin responsibility on a radical leftist. As we learn more about his murderer, having come from a conservative background, the best we can conclude is this was a deeply troubled young man with no apparent political agenda. We finally have someone in custody for the January 6th abortive bombings of Democratic and Republican political headquarters. We do not have a lot of information about him, or what was agenda, but it appears he was a radical supporter of President Trump, dissatisfied with the pace of change. This should temper all of us not to get too far out on a limb about what transpired in Renee Nicole Good’s death. We should not let our conclusions about current events be shaped by “what people are saying.”

To some extent, this happened in front of us; its right there in videos. And, yet, political stakeholders with the immigration crack-down want to spin what happened for their own devices. Ms. Good was a thirty-seven (37) years old mother of three (3) children. She was a 2020 graduate of Old Dominion University with an English degree. She had a 6-year-old son; the now orphaned boy’s father pre-deceased her. With her dog in the back seat in her Honda Pilot, she dropped her son off at school and came back to pick up her partner. ICE agents were “swarming” a residential community, apparently in attempt to round up Somali immigrants. This we know.Those in favor of this deployment label Ms. Good a “domestic terrorist” (legally, there is no such thing as one). They say she was part of a sophisticated terrorist operation to obstruct ICE. One of the videos, suggest she was a part of community protesting about the raids and they were using whistles to notify people of ICE’s presence. They say she was trying to kill or harm ICE agents and the shooting was justified.

Those opposed have a different take. Videos of the shooting, show cars sitting in the street, not just Ms.Good’s. Ms. Good’s Honda is blocking traffic in some fashion – it is not clear from the videos how it got there. An agent tells her to get out of the car, she responds, “I’m mot mad” and tries to back-up. While she is doing so, her partner is trying to open the passenger door.

As Ms. Good starts rolling backwards (not a threat to anyone), an ICE agent grabs tries to open the driver’s-side door. She starts forward.

The shooter (Jonathan Ross) is in the street in front of the car. He had been filming her license plate with his phone, before walking around the front. As she starts slowly forward to head into traffic, rather than get out of the way, he starts firing shots at her. Not once, but three (3) times, two (2) of the shots point-blank from the side. He calls her the “B-word” after killing her.

When law enforcement is involved in a fatal shooting, there are various possible processes: an internal “Use of Force” administrative investigation; one conducted by a public body; and/or, a formal criminal investigation.

An internal investigation typically accompanies the officer being placed on administrative leave (paid or unpaid). Sometimes, it takes a week, sometimes this may stretch into weeks.

A criminal investigation takes longer. Witnesses need to be interviewed, evidence assembled and analyzed, and autopsy results reviewed. If there is a whiff of self-defense, in particular, the investigation will be a very deep dive.

This homicide is full of investigation multipliers. A federal agency is pursuing an agenda opposed by local state officials. The Mayor of Minneapolis has demanded ICE to leave. Potentially, there might be congressional oversight hearings and about the policy. In other words, this could devolve into a messy stand-off between governmental stakeholders.

Federal criminal immunity for this ICE agent means that, because of the “Supremacy Clause,” Minnesota cannot prosecute him for “necessary and proper” actions in furtherance in of his official duties. It is possible (maybe probable) he will face state charges of some kind. This will create a Federal-State taffy-pull threatening our shared governmental sovereignty.

Warner Robins attorney Jim Rockefeller is the former Chief Assistant District Attorney for Houston County, and a former Assistant State Attorney in Miami. Owner of Rockefeller Law Center, Jim has been in private practice since 2000. E-mail your comments or confidential legal questions to ajr@rockefellerlawcenter.com.