Vice President JD Vance said he stands with ICE agents after the fatal shooting of a woman at a protest in Minnesota.
* Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
* The incident has sparked partisan reactions, protests, and the spread of AI-generated misinformation online.
Ray Marcano, a longtime journalist, is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror, and a Fulbright fellow.
The shooting of Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis demonstrates how much we think we know but don’t, and how we let bias shape our views of a horrific tragedy.
Regardless of viewpoint, it shouldn’t be hard to restrain, just for a day, from the predictable partisan reaction that has reduced a life to a political talking point. But that’s like wishing for unicorns to rain cotton candy from the sky.
Thanks partly to Vice President JD Vance of Ohio, the right has labeled the victim as “part of a broad left-wing network” who participated in an act of domestic terrorism, claims made before an investigation has begun. The left is throwing around the noun “murderer” to describe the ICE officer’s action.
News broke Jan. 8 that a U.S. Border Patrol officer shot two people in Portland, Oregon.
In any emotionally charged event, it’s helpful to take a look at what we know and what we don’t.
What we do know about Renee Good’s death
Good, a 37-year-old wife and mom, died after being shot by an ICE agent on Wednesday, Jan. 7
People across the country attended vigils, with thousands in Minneapolis and smaller gatherings in other cities, including Columbus.
Protesters and ICE officers clashed Thursday morning, with video showing protesters banging on cars and hurling objects, while agents used tear gas and pepper spray.
Fake AI-generated images of the tragedy are spreading across the internet, according to the BBC.
A Minnesota official says the FBI and DOJ won’t let the state participate in the shooting investigation.
The Minneapolis Star-Tribune identified the officer as Jonathon Ross and said he was dragged by a car during another Twin Cities operation last June.
That’s what we know, which isn’t much when trying to ascribe blame. What we don’t know is far more important.
What we do not know about Renee Good’s death
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Good was blocking the road with her car. Why did she do that?
Has Good participated in other protests? If she did, to what extent?
What training did the ICE agent receive?
Is the agent on leave?
Are there other video angles from nearby buildings that can give a clearer view of what happened?
What specific commands did the ICE officers give when they approached Good’s vehicle?
The officer was taken to a hospital and released. What were his injuries? Were they consistent with being struck by a car?
O’Hara said Good was shot in the head. How many times did the officer fire?
A doctor asked to help Good after the shooting, but ICE wouldn’t let him. Why?
Did Good die at the scene, on the way to the hospital, or at the hospital? Would more immediate medical attention have helped?
A dispassionate analysis during a time of passions
Some will read this as justifying the ICE shooting, and others as a clear condemnation of actions that resulted in Good’s death.
It is neither. It’s an attempt at a dispassionate analysis during a time passions on all sides remain very high.
We have no leadership during a time that demands skillful management of a George Floyd incident, which isn’t hyperbole since the shooting happened about a mile from where he was murdered (former cop Derek Chauvin was convicted of that charge) and involved an officer.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has aligned himself firmly in the anti-ICE camp, and Gov. Tim Walz has lost all credibility now that he’s ensnared in a welfare fraud scandal. Team Trump is no better, taking about the need for calm and then hurling head-shaking invective.
Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles aren’t Venezuela
I asked, on Mark Halperin’s 2WAY Tonight program, who would fill the leadership void, and there wasn’t a good answer. That’s a problem.
Minneapolis and other cities are bracing for protests. The protests, and any counterdemonstrations, will come from a position of partisanship, their angst formed by interpretations of what the various available camera angles show.
She hit the agent! She was turning away!
It’s impossible to tell without an unbiased investigation.
Back in October, I wrote a column about potential uprisings across the country over federal government policies, and we’re getting closer to that with every additional federal agent deployed cities that don’t want them.
The White House must think Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles are as easy to intimidate as Venezuela, and that would be a massive miscalculation.
Calling for calm is de rigueur, but calm is in short supply.
What we need is a reasonable voice. We need answers to the known unknowns. Peaceful protests are OK, and like it or not, ICE is a big part of the White House playbook, as prominent as Tom Brady’s favorite pass play.
Otherwise, someone else who doesn’t need to die will.
Ray Marcano, a longtime journalist, is the former national president of the Society of Professional Journalists, a two-time Pulitzer juror, and a Fulbright fellow. He is a frequent Columbus Dispatch contributor.
Read more on Canton Repository
