Editor’s note: Video in this story contains strong language and graphic material that may be disturbing to some viewers.
FARGO — A Minneapolis shooting in which a federal immigration officer killed a woman bears similarities to a 2022 Fargo shooting, when a police officer killed a Jamestown man.
Cellphone video showed a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer shooting 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good, of Minneapolis, in her SUV on Wednesday, Jan. 7. The ICE agent, identified in media reports as 10-year law enforcement veteran Jonathan Ross, appeared to fire his handgun at Good as she drove away, video showed.
Good’s vehicle then crashed into a parked car. Her death has sparked protests and criticism of federal agencies that targeted immigrants in Minneapolis for deportation.
The shooting is similar to the July 8, 2022, death of 28-year-old Shane Netterville. Fargo Police Officer Adam O’Brien shot Netterville as the Jamestown man drove a stolen van out of an open garage at officers.
North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley declared the shooting justified after almost two months of investigations. In a Thursday interview with The Forum, he backed his conclusion that Netterville weaponized his vehicle.
“A vehicle is legitimately a deadly weapon when utilized in a certain fashion,” Wrigley said. “In the Netterville matter, he used his vehicle as a deadly weapon and was driving that vehicle toward an officer.”
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE, defended Ross’ actions. She said a “mob of agitators” blocked ICE agents from leaving the neighborhood, claiming Good had been “stalking and impeding” immigration officers all day.
“She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle, and she attempted to run a law enforcement officer over,” Noem said during a press conference Wednesday as she called Good’s actions “domestic terrorism.”
Protesters have called Good’s death “murder.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey questioned Noem’s description of the events.
Video appears to show Good turning her vehicle away from the path of Ross. Ross seemingly fired his gun while to the side of Good’s vehicle.
Wrigley acknowledged the similarities between the Netterville and Good cases but declined to make comparisons. The Good shooting remains an active investigation, Wrigley said, adding he does not have access to evidence to make a decision.
The investigation into Good’s shooting is just starting, Wrigley said. There isn’t a way to make a legal conclusion without investigating “an enormous volume of information,” he said.
“I would really discourage people from trying to draw too many conclusions and cementing in their own perception of what took place and wait for the investigative materials to become public and learn what the conclusions are of the people who have the actual responsibility to make those conclusions,” he said.
Fargo police responded July 8, 2022, to an apartment in the 3400 block of 15th Avenue South for a report of three dead men in a van parked in an open garage. Footage from a police dashboard camera catches dispatchers saying there is a bullet hole in the windshield.
Three officers, included O’Brien, drew their weapons and initially stood to the side of the open garage door, dash camera footage shows. Officers thought they were responding to a homicide and could not know whether there was a firearm inside the van, according to Wrigley.
The officers then saw movement in the vehicle, Wrigley said. O’Brien ordered the occupants of the van to put their hands up, his body camera footage shows. Netterville, who was in the driver seat, put his hands up but then turned the van on with his right hand.
The officers then moved in front of the van as they ordered Netterville to turn the vehicle off and open the door, body camera video shows.
O’Brien walked into the garage slightly to the side of the vehicle, dash camera video shows. The officer then moved backwards as the van drove forward slowly before accelerating, the video shows.
O’Brien fired his handgun once as another officer attempted to open the driver side door, according to the video. The van then crashed into a garage across the street.
The Fargo Police Department said O’Brien did not violate any department policy during the shooting. Netterville’s family and others protested the shooting and questioned whether race played a role. Netterville was Native American.
The Fargo Human Rights Commission drafted a letter that asked the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the shooting, but a city attorney stopped the letter from being sent. The letter was not on the agenda when it was brought up at a November 2022 meeting, and the city attorney suggested it was an issue for the now-defunct Fargo Police Advisory and Oversight Board.
The police board decided against hiring an independent consultant to review the case.
Netterville refused to comply with several orders from officers, Wrigley said. O’Brien used deadly force to protect himself and the public.
“In an instant, Netterville turned his vehicle into a deadly weapon, which the officer had a very reasonable understanding was endangering his and other people’s lives,” Wrigley said.
Fargo Police Chief David Zibolski said it would be inappropriate to compare the Netterville case with the Good shooting, noting that “every officer-involved shooting involves a range of unique circumstances.”
“The recent fatal shooting in Minneapolis is a tragedy for the Minneapolis community, and we as a police department offer them sincere support during these trying times,” Zibolski said in a statement to The Forum. “Every police-involved critical incident deserves its own separate investigation to ensure accountability and transparency for the public.”
Many people have drawn conclusions from the Good shooting. Federal authorities have defended ICE’s actions, while Minneapolis leaders and protesters have condemned the shooting.
The video shows Good parked sideways on a residential street as ICE agents conducted an operation in a south Minneapolis neighborhood. Good waved ICE agents to drive around her SUV, which one appeared to do.
She then waved on a second vehicle, but ICE officers exited the vehicle and ordered her out of the car, according to cellphone video.
Good backed her vehicle up as one agent tried to open her door, the video shows. Ross walked in front of her car, drew his handgun and fired three shots as she drove away, the video showed.
The shooting has raised questions about use-of-force policy and the divide between federal authorities and Minneapolis officials. Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized federal agencies that have conducted immigration raids in the state.
On Thursday, Walz told the Trump administration to “leave our state alone,” and Frey told ICE to get out of the city.
The FBI will take the lead in investigating Good’s death, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday. The BCA and FBI initially planned to jointly investigate the shooting, but the FBI cut off the BCA’s access to evidence in the case, the Minnesota agency said in announcing its “reluctant withdrawal.”
Investigators will have to determine what Ross’ understanding of the situation was at the time of the shooting and if his perception was reasonable and legal, Wrigley said. Investigators will likely look at whether the ICE agent reasonably believed he or others were in danger of death, he said.
“This is why investigations are done: to conclude what was the reasonable belief of the officer who resorted to deadly force,” Wrigley said. “What was their reasonable belief about what was going to be taking place … and was it objectively appropriate?
