Renee Good

By now we’ve all seen the multiple videos taken from varying angles and distances of the woman in Minneapolis, MN, Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. One video, taken by the agent who shot Ms. Good, has come to light, which seems to show that Ms. Good was involved in an effort to block ICE agents’ vehicles. When Ms. Good is instructed by an ICE agent to get out of her car, instead of obeying the order, Ms. Good backs up, then drives forward, directly toward another agent who was standing in front of her car. It was this agent who opened fire and shot Ms. Good.

The New York Times offers their analysis of the event, relying on still other videos from different viewpoints. The Times‘ analysis suggests that the ICE agent who shot Ms. Good was, in fact, not in front of her car at the time, but to the side when he shot her. The Times‘ analysis is absurd. Sure, it’s nice to be able to assess the event from the comfort of one’s cubicle while sitting in front of your computer, assessing the event frame by frame, stopping where necessary to look over the precise location of the wheels of Ms. Good’s car in reference to the feet of the ICE agent. But that says nothing about the motives or intent of Ms. Good or the ICE agent, who is on the scene as the event unfolds in real time and may or may not have perceived Ms. Good as a threat. If only the ICE agent could have slowed down real life and assessed the event second by second, he apparently would have clearly seen that Ms. Good was no threat to him. Unfortunately for both the ICE agent and Ms. Good, he was forced to live the event in real time.

What is more telling, from the video taken by the agent who shot Ms. Good, is the action of Ms. Good’s partner. She is shown in this video taunting the ICE agent from outside Ms. Good’s car as he circles the car and stops in front of Ms. Good’s car. When she hears the ICE agents on the other side of the car order Ms. Good to get out of the car, she turns, makes an effort to get into the car while shouting, “Drive, baby, drive!” It’s at that point that Ms. Good drives forward, striking or nearly striking the ICE agent who was in front of her car and who shot her.

Given this, I don’t think Ms. Good intended to injure the ICE agent who was in front of her car. It may be that, focused on the agents approaching her car and attempting to open the driver’s side door while ordering her out of the car, she didn’t even notice that he was in front of her car. Then she heard her partner shouting, “Drive, baby, drive!” Perhaps not knowing why her partner was shouting so, but knowing it was a voice she implicitly trusted, Ms. Good instinctively reacted and began to drive forward. It was then that she struck, or nearly struck, the ICE agent in front of her car, and she was shot by him, who apparently perceived Ms. Good’s driving toward him as a threat to his life or limb. In my estimation, the ICE agent, not being able to read Ms. Good’s mind in that moment, was justified in perceiving Ms. Good’s driving toward him as a threat.

We also have to consider that ramming ICE agent’s vehicles with their cars has been a regular tactic of protesters. Listening to TV news just now, it’s reported that in the last 48 hours after Ms. Good’s death, there have been no less than ten incidents of protesters ramming ICE vehicles. So, ICE agents are going out into the field knowing that they will likely face protesters attempting to disrupt their actions and knowing that using their vehicles as rams is a common tactic employed by protesters. No ICE agent knows this better than the agent who shot Ms. Good. This officer had been dragged by a protester’s car the year before, in a similar situation. It may be, then, that he was too alert to the possibility of a threat, and he reacted too quickly. But we cannot determine that, of course. What we can see with our own eyes is that he was in front of Ms. Good’s car when she started driving forward. So, again in my estimation, he was justified in perceiving Ms. Good as a threat. Does that mean he was justified in shooting her? Again, in my estimation, no. It will be for those carrying out the investigation to determine if other reasonable options were available to the agent, and should he have acted in a way that would not prove lethal to Ms. Good.

One especially disturbing accusation is that ICE agents did not attend to Ms. Good after she was shot and that they prevented local EMS from accessing her quickly.

There is no question that anti-ICE protesters have proven themselves brazen in the face of ICE agents, and even constitute a violent threat against ICE. Last night, a group of protesters attempted to breech the hotel where they believed ICE agents were staying. This begs the question, presuming they were correct in their assumption that ICE was staying at that particular hotel, exactly what would they have done had they broken through and encountered ICE? Would they have beaten them? Would they have attempted to harm them, or take some of them hostage? It’s a fair question. And, where were the police when these protesters were attempting to invade this hotel? That’s a fair question, too.

Local authorities in Minneapolis and Minnesota are being accused of inciting protesters into becoming more hostile, more brazen, and even to break the law in their pursuit of making ICE agents’ jobs more difficult. Governor Tim Walz of Minnesota urged protesters to protest peacefully “as you always do” (!?!?) and made it clear that he was telling the Minnesota National Guard to be prepared. Prepared for what? Many took Walz’s statement as a threat to ICE or to federal agents that he was prepared to use force against them. Walz insisted that Minnesota didn’t need federal help, but in the wake of an immigrant fraud scandal and illegal criminal immigrants living in Minnesota, that’s not so clear.

Local police are prevented by city ordinance from providing support or assistance to ICE in their operations, while ICE has accused the Minneapolis police of failing to manage protesters when they riot and of failing to offer assistance when ICE agents are threatened. Shortly after the shooting death of Ms. Good, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis held a press conference and uttered the f-bomb heard round the country, demanding that ICE get out of Minneapolis. Mayor Frey has dismissed claims of self-defense on the part of the ICE agent who shot Ms. Good, even ridiculing the notion that he was injured, insisting that he “walked away with a hop in his step.” So much for letting the investigation play out before public officials make public their takes on the matter. Mayors of some cities have instructed their police forces to stand down in the face of riots and other illegal activity of protesters. This morning, the Minneapolis police were no where in sight as anti-ICE protesters blocked off the street where Ms. Good was shot, not allowing anyone in (or out?).

Of course, ICE can’t simply decide to leave Minneapolis. It’s up to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem and/or President Trump to direct ICE to leave Minneapolis. President Trump and Secretary Noem have publicly exonerated the ICE agent as acting in self-defense, even accusing Ms. Good of domestic terrorism. So much for allowing the investigation to play out before our public officials make public their takes on the matter. Oh, and the FBI has refused local authorities in Minnesota any part in the investigation.

It would be nice if all of these people of faith could step back a bit and act in a way inspired by the faiths they claim. Walz and Noem are Christians. Frey is Jewish. I don’t know what Trump is, but he’s a theist at the very least. Basic human decency recommends that no public official make a public statement about what they think happened until after the investigation is over, and that both federal and state teams investigate what happened. That none of this is happening makes me wonder if we will ever get the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth in the tragic death of Ms. Renee Good.

One thing is for sure, however. Ms. Good’s partner, Rebecca Good, will live with this for the rest of her life. She has claimed that Ms. Good’s death is her fault, because she was the one who convinced Renee to join in the anti-ICE protests. It seems that both Renee and Rebecca were members of an organization named ICE Watch, which trains activists to disrupt ICE activities and block their vehicles. It seems that Renee was attempting to block ICE vehicles from getting through when she parked her car sideways along the street where she was confronted and killed.

There is nothing that will bring Rebecca Good any comfort, except she find some peace in putting her hope in the mercy and love of Christ. She brought Renee down to the protests for the purpose of disrupting ICE’s activities. She shouted to Renee, “Drive, baby, drive!” when Renee was ordered to get out of her car by an ICE agent. So, Renee drove. She drove right into an ICE agent that was standing in front of her car, determined quickly that he represented a threat to his life and limb, and who shot and killed her.

So much of this tragedy seems to have been the result of people acting to brashly and too quickly. The ICE agents were doing their job, and it seems they were focusing on criminal illegal immigrants. The Goods were convinced that ICE is the enemy, so they took it upon themselves to attempt to disrupt their activity. The ICE agents, likely frustrated and just wanting to do their job, approached Renee aggressively, shouting with curses their order for her to get out of her car. Rebecca, not thinking, for some reason shouted for Renee to drive away. Why? Why didn’t Renee simply obey the ICE agent’s order? Is it because he was cursing and being aggressive, so she was alarmed? Is it because she heard Rebecca, a voice she trusted, shouting for her to drive? Who can know?

Renee is gone. Rebecca’s life is changed forever, racked with guilt. The ICE agent’s life is changed forever, likely second-guesshing himself. All that we have now is the love and mercy of Christ. Our country is in desperate need of the love and mercy of Christ. We would be wise to beg God for the love and mercy of Christ.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.