What to know about ICE use-of-force policy
The woman killed in Minneapolis was identified as 37-year-old Renee Good.
As the FBI probes the deadly shooting of a woman accused of trying to run over a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, law enforcement experts said the background and training of the officer involved, as well as the Department of Homeland Security's policy on the use of deadly force, will be pivotal to the investigation.
Renee Good, 37, a mother of three, was fatally shot Wednesday morning in Minneapolis in her vehicle during an encounter with ICE officers, according to federal officials.
According to the DHS policy, officers "may use deadly force only when the LEO [law enforcement officer] has a reasonable belief that the subject of such force poses an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to the LEO or to another person."
In addition, DHS guidelines for fleeing subjects says, "Deadly force shall not be used solely to prevent the escape of a fleeing subject. However, deadly force is authorized to prevent the escape of the fleeing subject where the LEO has a reasonable belief that the subject poses a significant threat of death or serious physical harm to the LEO or others and such force is necessary to prevent escape."
The policy goes on to state that "the reasonableness" of an officer's use of force must be judged "from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, rather than with the 20/20 vision of hindsight."
The policy also states that "respect for human life and the communities we serve shall continue to guide DHS [officers] in the performance of their duties."
Disputed accounts of shooting
During a news conference in New York City on Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem continued to defend the actions of the federal immigration agent who fatally shot Good. Noem alleged that Good was part of a group stalking ICE agents and targeting them with her vehicle.
Just hours after the shooting on Wednesday, Noem alleged that Good was killed while committing an act of "domestic terrorism."
"Our officer followed his training, did exactly what he has been taught to do in that situation and took actions to defend himself and defend his fellow law enforcement officers," Noem said.
Bystander videos of the shooting showed Good sitting in her vehicle in the middle of a road in a Minneapolis residential neighborhood.
The footage showed ICE officers getting out of the truck and yelling orders at Good.
"ICE agents repeatedly ordered her to get out of the car and to stop obstructing law enforcement, but she refused to obey their commands," Noem said. "She then proceeded to weaponize her vehicle and she attempted to run over a law enforcement officer. This appears as an attempt to kill or to cause bodily harm to the agent ---- an act of domestic terrorism."
Noem said the ICE officer, who has been identified as Jonathan Ross, feared for his life and those of the officers and members of the public around him. Noem said the officer fired "defensive shots" and "used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues."
The secretary alleged that Good's vehicle struck and injured the officer as he fired through the windshield, hitting her in the head.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called Noem’s version of events "garbage," saying her comments were contradicted by a bystander video that he contends showed Good trying to drive away when she was shot.
"They are already trying to spin this as an action of self-defense," Frey said. "Having seen the video myself, I wanna tell everybody directly, that is b-------."
Responding to Frey's comment, Noem said, "I say he doesn't know that he's talking about."
Officer previously dragged in car-ramming incident, Noem says
During her news conference on Wednesday, Noem said ICE agents have been targeted in more than 100 vehicle-ramming incidents across the nation in recent weeks, including three incidents she alleged had occurred in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The officer involved in the shooting, according to Noem, was struck and dragged in June by a vehicle driven by an "anti-ICE rioter." Noem did not elaborate on the previous incident or say where it occurred.
Robert Boyce, a retired chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, said the officer's previous experience of being rammed and dragged could be considered in the investigation when weighing whether his actions were objectively reasonable.
"Now, does that go into his psyche? Of course it does," said Boyce, an ABC News contributor. "Those experiences matter, and now you are a little bit more guarded as you go through society with that kind of experience in your background."
He said investigators will also scrutinize whether the officer stepped in front of Good's vehicle before firing the first of three shots.
The DHS use-of-force policy says officers "should always avoid intentionally and unreasonably placing themselves in positions in which they have no alternative to using deadly force."
But Boyce said that when any officer is faced with a split-second, life-or-death decision, "that adrenaline rush you get and the immediacy of helping someone outweighs some of your tactics at the time."
"We teach, we do role plays, we confirm with the same teaching all over again about what you can do with tactics and how to approach a car," Boyce said. "You'll talk to an officer, and they'll say, 'Listen, I was running to protect my partner,' which might be the case here."
Investigation also expected to explore what led up to shooting
In addition to studying video of the shooting, Boyce said investigators will likely probe Good's actions leading up to her death.
He said the investigators are expected to review Good's cell phone to determine if she made any calls or text messages to people protesting ICE's presence in Minneapolis.
The Minneapolis Police Department said there is nothing to indicate that Good was the target of any law enforcement investigation or activity prior to the shooting.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said that Good is survived by a 6-year-old child and a wife, saying he offers his "deepest sympathies" to her family "on an unimaginable tragedy."
Good was also the mother of two other children, but a relative told the Minneapolis Star Tribune they believed the children "lived with her extended family."
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