Cell phone footage raises new questions about ICE agent’s tactics before fatal shooting

By Curt Devine, Thomas Bordeaux, Allison Gordon, Kyung Lah, CNN

(CNN) — As he approached Renee Good’s vehicle on a Minneapolis street on Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross held up his phone camera and recorded video.

Less than a minute later, he was still recording when he drew his weapon and fatally shot Good as she accelerated.

That extraordinary footage, along with video shot by bystanders and a 3D model created by CNN of the confrontation, shows Good and her wife challenging ICE officers – but also raises new questions about Ross’s tactics and decision to use deadly force.

The video evidence also appears to undermine elements of the government’s narrative of what happened.

CNN’s analysis found that while the Department of Homeland Security claims that Good was “blocking” ICE agents, multiple cars – including one driven by Ross – were able to drive around Good’s vehicle before the shooting.

Some experts said Ross’s decision to use a cell phone to record the encounter, including as he fired the fatal shots, could have hampered his ability to respond effectively in the moment.

“If you’re an agent … then you should not be encumbered by anything in your hands,” said Jonathan Wackrow, a CNN law enforcement analyst. “That’s what body worn cameras are for. But they’re not wearing body-worn cameras.”

Trump administration officials have defended Ross and said he acted out of self-defense, arguing that the video he recorded makes it clear he had no choice but to shoot. In the wake of the shooting, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem described the incident as “an act of domestic terrorism.”

“This footage corroborates what DHS has stated all along — that this individual was impeding law enforcement and weaponized her vehicle in an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to federal law enforcement,” said DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin in a statement. “The officer was in fear of his own life, the lives of his fellow officers and acted in self-defense.”

But a former senior law enforcement official with knowledge of DHS found Ross’s actions deeply concerning.

“I would have been livid if one of my folks were doing that,” the former official, who requested to speak anonymously, told CNN. “If you’re so concerned about your safety … then why are you tying up your hands and attention on your cell phone? Clearly they didn’t feel threatened.”

Despite recording throughout the incident, Ross’s cell phone is not trained on Good as the shooting occurs.

Several experts who reviewed the incident remarked how quickly it escalated and how Ross limited his tactical response by positioning himself so close to the front of the vehicle during the confrontation.

Seconds before the shooting, Good and her wife are seen talking to Ross. Their verbal exchanges are not heated. Good can be seen saying to Ross she’s “not mad” at him.

“I think the part of it that’s the most telling is when he walks by her and she’s smiling,” said former Philadelphia police commissioner Charles Ramsey, who is a CNN contributor. “She doesn’t look anything like a domestic terrorist. That’s for sure … although you don’t know what’s in her mind.”

ICE doesn’t have a definitive policy on recording interactions or incidents on cell phone devices, either personal or government, according to a federal law enforcement source. However, the agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility can review a government device upon request. A warrant or subpoena is generally required to access the officers’ personal phone.

Ross, a law enforcement veteran with nearly two decades experience in the Border Patrol and ICE, was among a group of agents working in south Minneapolis on Wednesday when they encountered Good, who had stopped her burgundy SUV perpendicular in the road.

Renee Good’s wife, Becca Good, said in a statement to MPR News that they had “stopped to support our neighbors.”

“We had whistles. They had guns,” she wrote, an apparent reference to activists who warn of ICE activity by blowing whistles.

Noem and others have described Good as “impeding” ICE activities on Wednesday.

“ICE officers and agents approached the vehicle of the individual in question, who was blocking the officers in with her vehicle. And she had been stalking and impeding their work all throughout the day,” Noem said.

Videos viewed by CNN don’t shed light on any potential earlier encounters between Good and ICE agents.

However, while her vehicle was perpendicular to the roadway, the footage does show that several vehicles – including large SUVs – were able to drive around her as she moved back and forth on the street.

That includes a light-colored SUV driven by Ross.

Bystander footage shows that shortly after he got out of his SUV and approached Renee Good’s vehicle, Ross pulled out his cell phone and recorded.

His video footage shows him recording Good in the driver’s seat. Good appeared calm and had both of her hands visible as she said, “That’s fine dude. I’m not mad at you.”

Becca Good, who had been a passenger but got out of the SUV, held her own phone toward Ross and said, “You wanna come at us? You wanna come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.”

Another officer in the footage can be heard telling Good, the driver, to “get out of the f****** car.”

Ross was still filming as he walked in front of Good’s vehicle. Good first put her vehicle in reverse, and then accelerated forward. “Drive, baby, drive!” Becca Good can be heard yelling from outside the vehicle.

Renee Good appeared to turn the steering wheel away from Ross as she pulled forward. The angle of Ross’s phone does not capture any contact between him and the car.

With his cell phone still gripped in one hand and recording, Ross yelled “Woah,” pulled his gun with the other hand and fired into the car – killing Good, whose vehicle continued accelerating down the street before crashing.

Footage shows that as Ross walked down the street in the moments after the shooting, he still had his phone out and his camera app open.

Trump administration officials have shared the footage captured by Ross, arguing that it vindicates his decision to use deadly force.

“Watch this, as hard as it is,” Vice President JD Vance tweeted, with a link to Ross’s video. “Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman. The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense.”

Wackrow said there are occasions where it’s appropriate for law enforcement officials to use cell phones to document incidents, particularly if they are designated with that job from the outset.

But he said Ross’s cell phone activity throughout could be troubling.

“You should not have anything in your hands. You should be ready to address any type of threat or issue that presents itself,” said Wackrow.

The deadly shooting shows why it’s important for all agencies to equip their officers with body-worn cameras, Ramsey said.

“In my view, officers, federal, local, state should be wearing body-worn cameras,” he said. “The majority of the time, it actually shows that the officer’s actions were justified, as opposed to the other way around.”

CNN’s Jamie Gangel and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this story.

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