MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Renee Good’s family sued the U.S. government and several immigration officials Thursday, alleging wrongful death and other violations of federal law in the 37-year-old woman’s killing by an immigration officer during a federal crackdown in Minneapolis.
The two lawsuits were filed by Good’s partner, Becca Good, and Renee's brother Brent Ganger.
One lawsuit, filed against “the United States of America,” alleges the wrongful death of Renee
Good under Minnesota law predicated on claims of battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence that caused her death.
The other lawsuit alleges a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. It names as defendants: Jonathan Ross, the immigration officer who shot her; White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller; former Homeland Security head Kristi Noem; former U.S. Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino, Corey Lewandowski, President Donald Trump’s campaign manager, and others.
Renee Good, a mother of three, was fatally shot Jan. 7 as protests against immigration raids flared across the city. According to Becca Good, her partner stopped their car in a street to support neighbors during an immigration operation.
Bystander video shows Renee Good in the driver's seat of a red SUV blocking part of the road and repeatedly honking her horn.
Two immigration officers get out of a truck, their faces covered, and one orders Good to get out of the car. She reverses briefly, then turns the steering wheel as the officer says again, “get out of the car.”
Almost simultaneously, Becca Good, standing in the street, shouts: “Drive, baby, drive!”
One officer standing in front of the vehicle pulls his weapon and fires into the windshield. He lurches back as the car turns away from him. The officer, who is now very close to the open window on the driver's side, opens fire two more times, fatally shooting Renee Good, according to an analysis of the videos by The Associated Press and others.
Federal officials at the time said the officer acted in self-defense and that Good had engaged in “an act of domestic terrorism.”
The killing of Good and another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis just weeks later sparked outrage across the country and calls to rein in immigration enforcement. At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers during President Donald Trump’s second term.
In July, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer with a history of violent behavior fatally shot a 25-year-old Colombian man, Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, in his car in Biddeford, Maine. Durán Guerrero was not the target of an immigration enforcement action.
Last week, immigration enforcement agents shot and wounded a Venezuelan delivery driver in Austin, Texas. Wilber Rafael Garces-Perez, 28, survived but was charged with sideswiping an officer with his car mirror and later attempting to strike an officer with the vehicle.
Becca and Renee Good were not legally married, according to a family lawyer, but referred to one another as wives. They had only recently relocated to Minneapolis from Kansas City, Missouri.
In social media accounts, Renee Good described herself as a “poet and writer and wife and mom.” On Pinterest, a profile picture shows her smiling and holding a young child, alongside posts about tattoos, hairstyles and home decorating.
In an interview shortly after her death, Renee Good’s mother, Donna Ganger, told The Associated Press: “She had this way of making you feel special and loved that I didn’t even understand that until we lost her.”
