A legal expert has weighed in on the possibility of the ICE officer who fatally shot a woman in Minneapolis facing criminal charges or not.
Things with ICE have progressively been getting worse for people in the US, and this has only been exasperated by their presence Minneapolis, Minnesota, this week having sparked protests.
Raids have been carried out in recent days and, according to CBC, around 2,000 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents and ICE officers were expected to take part in raids in the neighboring cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
On January ,7 Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer, while she was behind the wheel of her car during one of said raids.
It’s not totally clear what happened in the run to up to the shooting but Good, 37, has been accused of ‘weaponizing’ her car and trying to mow down an ICE officer and they shot at her in defense.
However, this has been thrown into questions by many, and the video circulating only shows some of the events that unfolded.
One person who has a strong opposing view is Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who defiantly said: “There’s little I can say, again, that’ll make this situation better.
“But I do have a message for our community, for our city, and I have a message for ICE.
“To ICE, get the f— out of Minneapolis.”
Tributes have been paid to Renee Nicole Good after she was fatally shot (Mostafa Bassim/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Good, a US citizen, is reportedly survived by her six-year-old son.
Some have questioned if the ICE officer acted lawfully and if they will be facing charges following Good’s death — but legal expert Andrew C. McCarthy, the former Chief Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of New York, thinks it’s unlikely.
Whether or not Good intentionally tried to run the officer over, McCarthy says that the officer’s ‘life was jeopardized’ and his use of force was justified.
He wrote for National Review: “Undoubtedly, if it is reasonable to construe the woman’s action as a deliberate attempt to mow down an ICE agent with a speeding vehicle, the use of force was justified. But even if the woman was mainly trying to get away (which is what it looks like to me), she was engaged in an actionable assault on a federal officer, a felony under Section 111 of the federal penal code.”
Good’s vehicle crashed into 2 cars after she was shot (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
McCarthy further penned: “It is settled Fourth Amendment law that a police officer may use deadly force against a fleeing suspect if he has a good-faith belief that the suspect poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”
United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem has echoed similar sentiments. She said during a news conference yesterday: “Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he’s been taught to do in that situation, and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers.”
Speaking of the investigation that the FBI has launched into the matter, Noem added: “I do believe the officer used his training in this situation and we’ll let the FBI continue the investigation to get it resolved.”
