Wednesday’s fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as she apparently tried to ram him with her car has provoked prominent voices on both the left and right to speak up, either in defense of Good’s actions, calling the shooting unjustified, or on behalf of ICE, saying the officer had reason to fear for his life and the lives of those around him.
While the layman can opine endlessly about the footage, examining every angle, how do the professionals see it?
How do law enforcement officers view not only Wednesday’s events, but the seemingly constant stream of instances where civilians — leftists — try to impede ICE’s work?
Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling gave his take in a moment from Fox News that began circulating social media platform X Thursday.
Although Snelling was not specifically commenting on the situation in Minneapolis — Chicago has plenty of its own problems for him to address — the remarks can be taken more broadly.
Snelling started by addressing the totally strange and fictitious claim that ICE agents are not law enforcement. “Federal agents — ICE, HSI — are officers. They are agents of law enforcement.
“If you box them in with vehicles, it is reasonable for them to believe that they are being ambushed, and that this could end in a deadly situation. And it’s reasonable for them to use force based on those conditions. Do not box in any law enforcement officer.
“You are breaking the law when you do that, and you are putting yourself in danger,” he said.
“Following law enforcement agents around — the question is why? What do you plan on doing? It’s also reasonable for them to believe that you are eventually going to do harm to them.
“If you ram any vehicle, especially that one that contains law enforcement agents, and that’s any law enforcement — local, state, federal, county — and you do this intentionally, this is considered deadly force. Deadly force is anything that can cause great bodily harm or death.”
Be mindful, Chicago is not a conservative stronghold; this is a deep-blue city.
According to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, as reported by the New York Post, Good had been following ICE around, “stalking and impeding” federal officers all that day.
A separate report by the Post said Good was not just an unassuming resident of Minneapolis who happened to be driving by, but a trained activist.
Since the initial footage of the shooting was released, other angles have shown that the officer in question was hit by Good’s car.
A vehicle can be used as a weapon. If you believe this officer had no reason to fear, did the innocent bystanders in Waukesha, Wisconsin, in 2021 also have no reason to fear when a man rammed his SUV into a Christmas parade, killing six and injuring over 60?
What about the 14 dead from the 2025 New Year’s Day Bourbon Street rampage in New Orleans, Louisiana?
No reasonable person would say these people should not have feared for their lives because these were automobiles.
If the officer had done nothing and been crushed by Good, the left would simply cheer and tell ICE to leave Minneapolis if they don’t want to die.
