Minnesota must play a role in the investigation into Renee Good's killing by ICE, governor says

“We should be horrified,” protester Shanta Hejmadi said as demonstrators shouted "No More ICE,” “Go Home Nazis” and other slogans at a line of Border Patrol officers, who responded with tear gas and pepper spray. “We should be saddened that our government is waging war on our citizens. We should get out and say no. What else can we do?”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump and others in his administration characterized the shooting as an act of self-defense and cast Good as a villain, suggesting she used her vehicle as a weapon to attack the officer who shot her.

Vice President JD Vance weighed in Thursday, saying the shooting was justified and that Good, a 37-year-old mother of three, was a “victim of left-wing ideology.”

“I can believe that her death is a tragedy while also recognizing that it is a tragedy of her own making,” Vance said, noting that the officer who killed her was injured while making an arrest last June.

But state and local officials and protesters rejected that characterization, with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying video of the shooting shows the self-defense argument was “garbage.”

An immigration crackdown quickly turns deadly

The shooting happened on the second day of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown on the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, which Homeland Security said is the biggest immigration enforcement operation ever. More than 2,000 officers are taking part, and Noem said they have already made more than 1,500 arrests.

It provoked an immediate response in the city where police killed George Floyd in 2020, with hundreds of people turning up to the scene to vent their outrage at the ICE officers and the school district canceling classes for the rest of the week as a precaution.

Good’s death — at least the fifth tied to immigration sweeps since Trump took office — has resonated far beyond Minneapolis, as protests took place or were expected this week in many large U.S. cities.

Who will investigate?

On Thursday, the Minnesota agency that investigates officer-involved shootings said it was informed that the FBI and U.S. Justice Department would not work with the department, effectively ending any role for the state to determine if crimes were committed. Noem said the state has no jurisdiction.

“Without complete access to the evidence, witnesses and information collected, we cannot meet the investigative standards that Minnesota law and the public demands,” Drew Evans, the bureau's superintendent, said.

Walz publicly demanded that the state be allowed to take part, repeatedly emphasizing that it would be “very difficult for Minnesotans” to accept that an investigation that excludes the state could be fair.

Noem, he said, was “judge, jury and basically executioner” during her public comments about the confrontation.

“People in positions of power have already passed judgment, from the president to the vice president to Kristi Noem — have stood and told you things that are verifiably false, verifiably inaccurate,” the governor said.

Frey, the mayor, told The Associated Press: “We want to make sure that there is a check on this administration to ensure that this investigation is done for justice, not for the sake of a cover-up."

Deadly encounter seen from multiple angles

Several bystanders captured footage of Good's killing, which happened in a neighborhood south of downtown.

The videos show an officer approaching an SUV stopped across the middle of the road, demanding the driver open the door and grabbing the handle. The Honda Pilot begins to pull forward, and a different ICE officer standing in front of it pulls his weapon and immediately fires at least two shots at close range, jumping back as the vehicle moves toward him.

It isn't clear from the videos if the vehicle makes contact with the officer, and there is no indication of whether the woman had interactions with ICE agents earlier. After the shooting the SUV speeds into two cars parked on a curb before crashing to a stop.

The mayor said he’s working with community leaders to try to keep any protests peaceful.

“The top thing that this Trump administration is looking for is an excuse to come in with militarized force, to further occupy our streets, to cause more chaos, to have this kind of civil war on the streets of America in a Democratically run city," Frey told the AP. "We cannot give them what they want.”

Officer identified in court documents

Noem hasn't publicly named the officer who shot Good. But a Homeland Security spokesperson said her description of his injuries last summer refers to an incident in Bloomington, Minnesota, in which court documents identify him as Jonathan Ross.

Ross got his arm stuck in the window of a vehicle of a driver who was fleeing arrest on an immigration violation, and was dragged roughly 100 yards (91 meters) before he was knocked free, records show.

He fired his Taser, but the prongs didn't incapacitate the driver, according to prosecutors. Ross was transported to a hospital, where he received more than 50 stitches.

A jury found the driver guilty of assaulting a federal officer with a dangerous weapon.

DHS assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin said the officer involved in the shooting had worked more than 10 years as a deportation officer and had been selected for ICE's special response team, which includes a 30-hour tryout and additional training.

McLaughlin declined to confirm the identity of the officer as Ross. The AP wasn’t immediately able to locate a phone number or address for Ross, and ICE no longer has a union that might comment on his behalf.

Associated Press reporters Steve Karnowski, Giovanna Dell'Orto and Mark Vancleave in Minneapolis, Ed White in Detroit, Valerie Gonzalez in Brownsville, Texas, Graham Lee Brewer in Norman, Oklahoma, Michael Biesecker in Washington, Jim Mustian in New York and Ryan Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed.