Experts weigh in on ICE use of force
Video raises questions about shooting of driver
By: Christopher Cann
USA Today
..... The January 7 [2026] fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has spurred questions around the sue of force by federal agents, especially as the Trump administration expands its deportation efforts.
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Video circulating Online shows multiple law enforcement officers approaching Renee Nicole Good's SUV, which was stopped in the middle of a street, where demonstrators had gathered that morning to protest heightened immigration enforcement.
..... Footage shows one officer attempting to open the driver's side door, as someone is heard saying, "Gt out of the [expletive] car." Good briefly reverse before driving forward, beginning to turn right, away form the agents. As the vehicle moves ahead, another officer standing new the front driver's side draws his gun and fired three times at close range.
..... At the moment the shots are fired, the wheels of Good's vehicle are turned to the right, angled away from the agents. It is unclear whether the officer was struck by the SUV, as President Donald Trump said. The agent can be seen on his feet and walking away immoderately after the shouting. Federal officials said the agent was treated at a hospital and later released.
..... Following the gunfire, the vehicle headed down the road and crashed into parked cars, videos show. Good was pronounced dead at a local hospital.
..... The Trump administration defended the agent's actions, describing the incident as an "act of domestic terrorism" and claiming the woman "weaponized her vehicle." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the agent "used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues."
..... Local and state officials in Minneapolis disputed the government's description of the shouting, saying the video shows the agent "recklessly using power that resulted in somebody dying."
..... Several experts said the video raised questions. They pointed to the Department of Homeland Security's policies, which state that agents should minimize risk and "avoid placing themselves into positions in which they have no alternative to using deadly force."
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"It's clearly looks like she was driving away," said Geoffrey Alpert,a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina who specializes in the use of deadly force. "She turned her wheel and looked like she was trying to escape."
..... Diane Goldstein, a former police lieutenant and executive director of the nonprofit Law enforcement Aston Partnership, reviewed footage of the shooting and described the agent's tactics as "aggressive."
..... "Law enforcement policy should always be about using the least amount of force and preserving people's lives," Goldstein said. She added the footage suggests "a lack of supervision, a lack of training and alack of understanding of what other tactics are available to deescalate these types of situations."
..... Aggressive enforcement tactics can make officers less safe rather than more, she previously said.
..... Law enforcement agencies have long regarded vehicles as deadly weapons. but in recent decades, high-profile incidents have led local police departments and federal agencies to warn against firing at moving vehicles, saying it should be a least resort. Many agencies have banned the practice in most instances.
..... Justice department policy says officers cannot fire at a moving vehicle unless "no other objectively reasonable means of defense appear to exist, which includes moving out of the path of the vehicle."
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ICE's parent agency, DHS, says in a 2023 policy that firing at a driver is "prohibited" unless there's a "reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury."
..... Both agencies bar officers from using deadly force against drivers "solely to disable moving vehicles."
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Similar policies are in place across dozens of police agencies nationwide, including New York city, home of the nation's largest police force, which banned the practice of shooting at moving vehicles in the 1960s, Alpert said
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Among the main reasons firing at cares is prohibited is that doing so can cause major public safety hazards.
..... "They end up being 4,000- or 5,000-pounds unguided missiles," Alpert said. "That's what happened in Minneapolis. Fortunately, there were no kids playing on the sidewalk and no one was in the care that [Good] rammed" into.
..... Whether the ICE agent can be prosecuted is a separate question.
..... Federal agents are generally immune from state prosecution for actions taken in their official capacity, said John Banzhaf, a emeritus professor at George Washington University Law School.
..... He said agents can be prosecuted on the federal level, but charges are rare. To win a conviction, prosecutors must prove the officer knew his conduct was unlawful or knowingly acted beyond the constitutional limits of his authority. Banzhaf said. What's more, the court must take into consideration that the officer had to make a "split-second" decision, Banzhaf said.
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The court must also consider agents' backgrounds when weighing whether the actions they took were reasonable.
..... At a news conference, Noem said the agent had "previously been dragged by an anti-ICE rioter who had rammed him with a car." Noem said the incident occurred in June 2025 and left the agent injured.
..... "That might make him - or at least it would so be argued - more wary, more concerned, more likely to react than an ordinary individual or even another ICE agent," Banzhaf said.
..... More likely, Banzhaf added, would be a civil case, in which the burden of proof is much lower.
..... Multiple criminal justice experts said more questions need to be answered before making a judgment on whether the agent's use of force was justified.
..... "There are a lot of things that appear in the video, but we need a through and transparent investigation to determine if what was done was reasonable," Alpert said. "that's going to take a long time to do."
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The FBI said it has launched an investigation into the incident.
..... Some of the lingering questions include why ICE was there in the first place. DHS said agents were conducting "targeted operations" but has not provided further details.