The Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Jan. 7, appears to have violated common law-enforcement use-of-force standards — including by firing at a moving vehicle — according to a use-of-force expert who reviewed bystander video that has circulated widely online.
Chris Burbank, the former police chief of Salt Lake City who spent 25 years in law enforcement, said he does not believe the agent — identified by multiple news reports as Jonathan Ross — faced an immediate threat when he fired at Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three.
“In order to use deadly force in this country, your life or someone else’s life must be in immediate danger,” Burbank said.
Burbank, now a consultant for the Center for Policing Equity, said it is especially painful because law enforcement has spent decades developing policies aimed at protecting both officers and the public.
“What we saw in this video is a violation of what I view as pretty plain and clear police tactics,” he said.
Federal officials, however, have defended the agent’s actions. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at a Wednesday news conference that the agent “is an experienced officer who followed his training.”
Noem also claimed Good refused commands to exit her vehicle and then attempted to run over federal agents, describing her actions as a “domestic act of terrorism,” according to CBS.
President Donald Trump made a similar claim in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday after the shooting, saying Good tried to “run over” the officer.
“I want to see nobody get shot,” Trump said. “I want to see nobody screaming and trying to run over policemen either.”
Trump showed reporters video he said supported his account, though the reporters told him the footage did not clearly back up his assertion.
State and local officials have pushed back strongly on the federal version of events. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz posted on social media, “Don’t believe this propaganda machine.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called ICE’s characterization of the incident “bulls—.”
Geoffrey Alpert, a University of South Carolina expert on police use of force, and Burbank both said the video appears to show Good turning her vehicle away from the agent when she was shot.
Looking at the agent’s position in front of the vehicle, Alpert questioned the tactical decision-making: “Why would you put yourself in a more dangerous situation? That is a question that needs to be answered.”
Alpert emphasized that key facts remain unclear and that the video raises serious questions that only a full investigation can resolve.
“We have no idea whether this was a justified shooting,” he said. “We have a lot of questions and the videos raise issues that a thorough and transparent investigation should answer.”
Burbank also questioned why officers had weapons drawn on Good in the first place.
“They’re drawing guns on someone that I don’t think needs to have a firearm pointed at them, that is not the subject of investigation, that has not committed a criminal act,” he said. “The argument of blocking the roadway — well, that’s a traffic violation. That’s not a crime.”
At a Thursday, Jan. 8, news conference, Noem said the agent who shot Good was treated at a hospital and released. In video from the scene, the officer can be seen walking around after the shooting.
