Already today, a protest at the ICE facility in Minneapolis has begun, ended and started again over Wednesday morning’s fatal shooting by an ICE agent of a 37-year-old queer mother of three during a protest action.
Last night, thousands of Minneapolis residents turned out for what became a candlelight memorial for Renee Nicole Good, killed by an ICE agent as two other agents descended on her car and tried to open her driver’s side door after she blocked ICE vehicles with her SUV for about three minutes.Â
A scene at Foley Square in Manhattan Wednesday evening where thousands gathered to protest an ICE agent’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old woman. (photo by swinxy.me)
Protesters also gathered Wednesday night in Cedar Rapids, Ia; Evanston, Ill.; Orlando, Fl.; Portland, Ore.; San Francisco, Calif.; San Antonio, Tex.; Manhattan, N.Y., and scores more communities.
Demonstrations or protests are already planned for today in Decorah, Ia.;Â Jan. 16 in the Quad Cities; and Jan. 17 in Broadview, Ill.
Meanwhile, Vice President J.D. Vance doubled down Thursday on President Donald Trump accusing the victim of being a militant protester who he said tried to run over the officer.
More protests will come, while more facts and video angles emerge, and more rhetoric will pour forth. To help maintain focus on safety, accountability, and preventing this tragedy from happening again, here are seven overdue policy changes made even more urgent by Good’s killing:
Lying government officials
Our president, immigration head Kristi Noem, and an entire public information department for ICE gave false accounts of Good’s killing, we learned after numerous videos of the shooting emerged. Misleading or inaccurate statements initially presented as fact by President Donald Trump and Noem include claiming that:
- several agents were injured
- one agent was severely injured;Â
- and Good attempted to run over several agents with her vehicle
Video of Good’s killing shows, instead, that:
- only one agent was brushed by Good’s vehicle
- he walked around the scene briskly with little sign of injury after the incident;
- and Good may have been attempting to comply with agents’ orders to leave.Â
What censure, admonishments, or public record correction can be required of Cabinet-level officials, and the President, who are proven to have lied or provided inaccurate information to the public in their official capacities?
Lack of training of ICE agents
Video of the incident displays three key signs of inadequate training of officers:
- excessive and possibly illegal use of force, including the killing agent positioning himself in front of Good’s vehicle and, contrary to training, firing directly at the driver of a moving vehicle while his fellow officrs and other bystanders were dangerously nearby
- excessive aggression
- and undue phone use by the officer who fired the fatal shots
These are factors that have long been central to guarding against police brutality by other agencies.
What can be done to urgently increase and improve ICE agent training in the areas of restrained use of force, anger management or impulse control training, and improper use of cellphones while on duty?
Above. see numerous angles of Renee Nicole Good’s shooting, courtesy of the New York Post.
Chaotic ICE actions that confuse citizenry and increase danger
Video of moments before Good’s killing show some ICE agents driving past her, one agent walking up to her vehicle slowly, another agent walking briskly to her vehicle to aggressively grab her door handle and reach inside the car, and a third agent (the one who would eventually kill her) circling around her vehicle seemingly videotaping with a phone.
One eyewitness said Good was being told by some agents to leave, while other agents simultaneously asked her to get out of her car.
What policy changes are urgently needed to require clearer, more careful actions by ICE that prioritize public safety and do not contribute to dangerous chaos?
Body cameras needed on all ICE agents
Congress passed legislation in February to require body cameras on ICE agents, and Noem announced in August they’d be worn by all ICE agents. Yet thus far, only five cities have been equipped.
What policy, funding or organizational changes are needed to ensure all ICE agents are equipped with functioning body cams as quickly as possible?
Inadequate emergency medical service in the field with ICE agents
Video of the moments after the incident show a doctor asking for the opportunity to check whether Good had a pulse, but blocked by ICE agents. One eyewitness said Goode was eventually carried by her limbs away from the scene, rather than placed on a stretcher, because ambulances could not reach the scene through the myriad of ICE vehicles.
What basic medical professionals need to accompany ICE agents in the field to ensure those they injure – and ICE agents themselves – have speedy access to emergency medical care?
Revisit basics of safe, responsible protesting
This is a tough one, but must be mentioned if our goal is to avoid future painful moments like this one and to be effective in our protests — especially as protests are likely to proliferate worldwide
Video shows Good’s SUV was parked in the middle of a one-way street, blocking ICE vehicles, while her partner was outside the car videotaping with her phone. Another eyewitness described Good as the leader of a car caravan aiming to block ICE vehicles.
When, if ever, is it needed or safe for protesters to become vigilantes and restrict or restrain officers? What guidelines of protest can be re-emphasized to further protester safety?
Guidelines to consider might include abandoning the concept of vehicles as activist tools, and committing as a protester to non-resistance to law enforcement, rather than leaving the scene, when approached. These tough lessons of activism and law enforcement interaction are similar to what People of Color have had to focus on for decades in the face of persistent police brutality.
Above. Vice President J.D. Vance repeats President Trump’s accusations Wednesday that Renee Nicole Good, killed by an ICE agent while blocking ICE vehicles in her car Wednesday, threatened the life of the officer who killed her.
Protests that feature less performative activism for the sake of video
Yes, phone video helped prove Trump administration officials were lying to us originally about Good’s killing – but also demonstrated the victim’s car veered (intentionally or not) directly toward an ICE agent.
Phones also played a role in creating this dangerous scenario, in which both the ICE agent and Good’s partner (who had ridden there with Good) were equally if not more focused on their phones and getting video, than on Good herself. At one point in one video, the two are seen passing within inches of each other, each steering their phones directly at the other while Good’s encounter with two other ICE agents escalates on the other side of the car.
What can we do to stop the obsession with creating or getting the video, that has become so central to activism today? What can we do to ensure the focus on surveilling each other does not detract from the focus on the protest?
Renee Nicole Good is the fourth person to be killed by an ICE agent’s gunfire in the last five months this year. Those killings include the New Year’s Eve kllling of Keith Porter in Los Angeles by an off-duty ICE officer, the Dec. 17 killing of a Mexican resident whose name has not yet been released; and the Sept. 12 shooting of Silvero Villegas-Gonzalez in Chicago, when he attempted to drive way from a targeted traffic stop ICE agents were conducting of him.
The ongoing violence calls for urgent policy changes. Let’s keep the focus where it needs to be: on needed policy changes that focus on safety, rebuilding public trust and safeguarding civil rights.
To those focused on protesting, thank you for your work, your bravery, and for speaking up. To those seeking an additional or different way to make a difference, such as artwork, personal essays, or analysis that promotes better policies and depolarization, consider submitting your artwork or writings here. Email reachus@main-stream.org, or call/text 309-306-1372,
