The family and partner of Renee Good, a 37-year-old mother who was fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, filed two lawsuits on Wednesday seeking damages from the federal government and President Trump.
Good was killed on January 7 during the Department of Homeland Security's immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, dubbed "Operation Metro Surge." The incident has become a flashpoint in the national debate over aggressive immigration tactics, drawing comparisons to other controversial enforcement actions that have faced legal challenges, such as the no-bond detention case before the Supreme Court.
One lawsuit names former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, other Trump administration officials, and the officers involved in the shooting. It alleges that the operation was "designed to be a violent and discriminatory campaign targeted at Minnesotans on the basis of race and national origin," and states that "Renee was one of those casualties."
The second lawsuit names the United States as the defendant, a procedural move that allows Good's next of kin to sue the federal government for personal injury. That complaint cites the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's ruling that Good's death was a homicide, following a private autopsy that found "three clear gunshot wound paths" to her body.
Lawyers for Good's partner, Becca Good, argue that each of the three shots fired by officer Jonathan Ross violated DHS mandatory policy, which permits force only when "no reasonably effective, safe, and feasible alternative appears to exist."
Bystander video of the incident shows an officer approaching an SUV stopped in the middle of the road and demanding that Good open the door before grabbing the vehicle's handle. As the SUV begins to move forward, a different ICE officer standing in front of the vehicle draws his weapon and fires multiple shots at close range, jumping back as the car moves toward him. The SUV then strikes two parked cars before coming to a stop.
The lawsuit further alleges that Ross shouted obscenities at Good as she pulled forward. Video also appears to show a neighbor, a doctor, being ordered to step back after offering medical assistance twice.
Good's death, along with the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by an ICE officer in Minneapolis a week later, sparked intense protests across Minnesota. The lawsuits add to the mounting legal and political pressure on the administration's immigration enforcement practices, which have already faced scrutiny in states like California, where Governor Newsom recently signed a ban on shock gloves as part of an escalating fight over immigration policy.
ICE and DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
