When a law enforcement officer shoots and kills a citizen we always hear that the authorities will not say if there was any wrongdoing until after an investigation is completed. When ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed citizen Renee Nicole Good, the administration immediately said that Good committed an act of domestic terrorism and that she was a "deranged leftist.” Those conclusive comments were made before the administration had any information about the shooting.
The immediate comments from the administration’s officials instantly caused a reaction denouncing the comments and that led to more protesting in Minnesota.
Why was the administration so quick to make statements assigning blame in the shooting death of a citizen? The administration is desperate to protect the image of their special ICE forces and they appeared interested in protecting their agent regardless of the truth.
According to Justice Department policy, deadly force is allowed ONLY when no reasonable alternative exists, including getting out of the path of a vehicle. The videos present a scenario where it appears the ICE agent, who shot the 37-year-old mother of 3, had the room and the opportunity to step out of the way of the vehicle before firing the fatal shots. The shots appeared to be fired out of frustration that the citizen did not initially get out of her car, which is not an acceptable use of deadly force by law enforcement.
The administration should have waited for an investigation before laying blame on the driver. The FBI has refused to allow Minnesota officials to participate in an investigation. Federal agencies conduct investigations and local officials can also conduct investigations. Why would the administration want to block out local officials? Do they want to hide the truth if the truth reveals that the ICE agent was wrong?
The controversy over the tragic shooting death of a mother of 3 in Minnesota by an ICE agent started over the administration’s eagerness to protect the image of the ICE agent instead of seeking the truth.
Maybe the ICE agent really felt his life was in imminent danger. But that’s something that would come from an investigation - not an instant reaction based on no valid information. Prisons are full of citizens, and even law enforcement officers, who were trigger-happy and shot and killed citizens as a result of them not following the law.
In cases where citizens are killed by law enforcement - isn’t the truth more important than ill-inspired statements designed to protect the image of law enforcement? Why can’t we just wait for the truth?