The family of Renee Good filed two federal lawsuits Thursday against the U.S. government and several immigration officials, alleging wrongful death, conspiracy and civil rights violations in the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old Minneapolis woman by an immigration officer in January. The suits were brought by Good’s partner, Becca Good, and her brother, Brent Ganger.
“She was pure love. She was funny. She was smart,” Becca Good said at a news conference announcing the lawsuits. She was the center of my universe.” The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Critics say the family should watch the video of what happened, later referring to the lawsuit as a money grab.
Officer Fired as Good Drove Towards Him
Renee Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7 as protests against immigration raids were taking place across Minneapolis. Becca Good said her partner had stopped their car in the street to support neighbors during an immigration operation. Bystander video shows Renee in the driver’s seat of a red SUV, blocking part of the road and repeatedly honking her horn, getting in ICE’s way and eventually meeting her demise for driving towards an officer.
Two masked immigration officers exited a truck and one ordered Good to get out of the car. She reversed briefly and began turning the steering wheel when Becca Good, standing nearby, shouted: “Drive, baby, drive!” An officer standing in front of the vehicle drew his weapon and fired into the windshield. As the car turned away, the officer, now close to the open driver’s side window, fired two more times, fatally wounding Renee Good, Renee Good shooting and lawsuit according to video analyses by The Associated Press and others. Federal officials said at the time that the officer acted in self-defense and that Good had engaged in “an act of domestic terrorism.”
Two Lawsuits, Two Separate Allegations
The first lawsuit, filed against the United States, seeks damages for wrongful death and for “the immense suffering Renee endured in the final moments of her life and for the profound and permanent losses that her death has inflicted upon her family.” It also alleges intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress on Becca Good. Renee Good was the mother of three children; she and Becca Good were not legally married but referred to each other as wives, having recently relocated from Kansas City, Missouri.
The second lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights and conceal evidence of what happened on Jan. 7. It names immigration officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots, as a defendant, along with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski, border czar Tom Homan, former acting ICE director Todd Lyons, former U.S. Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino and 10 unnamed federal agents. The suit describes a coordinated effort targeting Somali and Hispanic communities in Minnesota and characterizes the shooting as “the predictable and intended product of the operation.”
Broader Toll of Immigration Enforcement Deaths
Good’s killing, along with the death of another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis weeks later, sparked nationwide calls to limit immigration enforcement. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers during President Donald Trump’s second term.
Becca Good addressed the wider impact at Thursday’s news conference. “As we have tried to navigate our own massive loss, I am also devastated by how many other lives have been destroyed in this darkest of times,” she said. “What happened to us should never happen to any family.” Renee Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, told the AP after her daughter’s death: “She had this way of making you feel special and loved that I didn’t even understand that until we lost her.”
If there’s one thing to learn, it’s to not get in the way of law enforcement when they’re at work, upholding the law.
