The wife of Renee Nicole Good gave an emotional tribute to her late wife in her first statement since an ICE officer shot and killed the 37-year-old in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
“Kindness radiated out of her,” wrote 40-year-old Becca Good in a letter published by Minnesota Public Radio.
“Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine,” she continued.
Renee Nicole Good was shot in her Honda SUV by ICE officer Jonathan Ross on Wednesday. Renee and Becca had dropped their six-year-old son off at school and stopped at the ICE protest to observe from their vehicle.
When ICE agents told Renee to move and began wrestling with her driver’s side door, she began performing a three-point turn. As she started to move forward, Ross, who was near her front-left tire, fired multiple gunshots at her head.
Becca Good’s letter as well as bodycam footage released Friday, confirm she was also at the protest when Ross shot Renee.
“On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns,” she wrote.
The released bodycam footage shows Renee calmly telling ICE officers, “I’m not mad at you.” Those were her last words.
Becca can be seen filming the scene outside the car, which had a dog in the backseat. One video of the shooting that spread on Wednesday featured Becca’s voice crying, “They just shot my wife. They shot her in the head.”
An ICE agent could be heard calling Renee a “f–king b—h” after she was shot.
In the immediate aftermath of the killing, President Donald Trump, top administration officials, and MAGA media figures attempted to smear Good’s character with claims she was a “domestic terrorist” who was “leading an insurrection.”
They’ve also argued that Good intentionally tried to run over Ross, despite video evidence and eyewitness testimony showing Good turning away from Ross before he began firing.
Becca Good’s letter characterizes her wife as anything but a murderous agitator.
“Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow,” she wrote. “Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.”
Renee Good leaves behind three children, a 15-year-old and a 12-year-old from her first marriage, and a six-year-old son from her second marriage.
“I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him,” wrote Becca. “That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.”
Read Becca Good’s statement in full here:
First, I want to extend my gratitude to all the people who have reached out from across the country and around the world to support our family.
This kindness of strangers is the most fitting tribute because if you ever encountered my wife, Renee Nicole Macklin Good, you know that above all else, she was kind. In fact, kindness radiated out of her.
Renee sparkled. She literally sparkled. I mean, she didn’t wear glitter but I swear she had sparkles coming out of her pores. All the time. You might think it was just my love talking but her family said the same thing. Renee was made of sunshine.
Renee lived by an overarching belief: there is kindness in the world and we need to do everything we can to find it where it resides and nurture it where it needs to grow. Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.
Like people have done across place and time, we moved to make a better life for ourselves. We chose Minnesota to make our home. Our whole extended road trip here, we held hands in the car while our son drew all over the windows to pass the time and the miles.
What we found when we got here was a vibrant and welcoming community, we made friends and spread joy. And while any place we were together was home, there was a strong shared sense here in Minneapolis that we were looking out for each other. Here, I had finally found peace and safe harbor. That has been taken from me forever.
We were raising our son to believe that no matter where you come from or what you look like, all of us deserve compassion and kindness. Renee lived this belief every day. She is pure love. She is pure joy. She is pure sunshine.
On Wednesday, January 7th, we stopped to support our neighbors. We had whistles. They had guns.
Renee leaves behind three extraordinary children; the youngest is just six years old and already lost his father. I am now left to raise our son and to continue teaching him, as Renee believed, that there are people building a better world for him. That the people who did this had fear and anger in their hearts, and we need to show them a better way.
We thank you for the privacy you are granting our family as we grieve. We thank you for ensuring that Renee’s legacy is one of kindness and love. We honor her memory by living her values: rejecting hate and choosing compassion, turning away from fear and pursuing peace, refusing division and knowing we must come together to build a world where we all come home safe to the people we love.
The post Wife of Woman Killed by ICE Gives Heartbreaking Statement appeared first on The Daily Beast.
