New video of fatal Minneapolis shooting emerges as protests continue
The Minneapolis killing and a separate shooting in Portland, Oregon, a day later by the US Border Patrol have set off protests in multiple cities and denunciations of immigration enforcement tactics by the US government.The Trump administration has defended the officer who shot Ms Good in her car, saying he was protecting himself and fellow agents.The killing of Ms Good has sparked an outcry across the US and the wider world (AP)Hennepin county prosecutor Mary Moriarty said that although her office has collaborated effectively with the FBI in past cases, she is concerned by the Trump administration’s decision to bar state and local agencies from playing any role in the investigation into Ms Good’s killing.She also said the officer who shot Ms Good in the head does not have complete legal immunity, as US vice president JD Vance declared.“We do have jurisdiction to make this decision with what happened in this case,” Ms Moriarty said at a news conference. “It does not matter that it was a federal law enforcement agent.”The reaction to the shooting has largely been focused on witness video of the encounter.A new, 47-second video that was published online by a Minnesota-based conservative news site, Alpha News, and later reposted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security, shows the shooting from the perspective of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officer Jonathan Ross, who fired the shots.Renee Good was fatally shot by an Ice officer in Minneapolis (AP)With sirens blaring in the background, he approaches and circles Ms Good’s vehicle in the middle of the road while apparently filming on his mobile phone. At the same time, Ms Good’s wife also was recording the encounter and can be seen walking around the vehicle and approaching the officer.“That’s fine, I’m not mad at you,” Ms Good says as the officer passes by her door. She has one hand on the steering wheel and the other outside the open driver side window.“US citizen, former f***ing veteran,” says her wife, standing outside the passenger side of the SUV holding up her phone.“You wanna come at us, you wanna come at us, I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.”Other officers are approaching the driver’s side of the car at about the same time and one says: “Get out of the car, get out of the f***ing car.”Protesters have been calling for an end to federal immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis (AP)Ross is now at the front driver side of the vehicle. Ms Good reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel toward the passenger side as she drives ahead and Ross opens fire.The camera becomes unsteady and points toward the sky and then returns to the street view showing Ms Good’s SUV careening away.“F***ing b****,” someone at the scene says.A crashing sound is heard as Ms Good’s vehicle smashes into others parked on the street.US federal agencies have encouraged officers to document encounters in which people may attempt to interfere with enforcement actions, but policing experts have cautioned that recording on a handheld device can complicate already volatile situations by occupying an officer’s hands and narrowing focus at moments when rapid decision-making is required.Under an Ice policy directive, officers and agents are expected to activate body-worn cameras at the start of enforcement activities and to record throughout interactions, and footage must be kept for review in serious incidents.The US vice president has defended the actions of the Ice officer involved (AP)The US department of homeland security has not responded to questions about whether the officer who opened fire or any of the others who were on the scene were wearing body cameras.American vice president Mr Vance and homeland security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in posts on X that the new video backs their contention that the officer fired in self-defence.“Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Mr Vance said. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self-defence.”However, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey has said any self-defence argument is “garbage”.Policing experts said the video did not change their thoughts on the use of force, but did raise additional questions about the officer’s training.We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity.Please review your details and accept them to load the content“Now that we can see he’s holding a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other filming, I want to see the officer training that permits that,” said Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.The video demonstrates that the officers did not perceive Good to be a threat, said John P Gross, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who has written extensively about officers shooting at moving vehicles.“If you are an officer who views this woman as a threat, you don’t have one hand on a cellphone. You don’t walk around this supposed weapon, casually filming,” Mr Gross said.Ross, 43, is an Iraq War veteran who has served in the Border Patrol and Ice for nearly two decades. He was injured last year when he was dragged by a driver fleeing an immigration arrest.Attempts to reach Ross at phone numbers and email addresses associated with him were not successful.
