The family of Renée Good, who was shot and killed by a federal immigration officer during the Trump administration’s enforcement surge in Minneapolis earlier this year, has sued the United States and officials for her death.
The family filed two civil lawsuits Thursday seeking accountability for what they described as a wrongful use of force that resulted in Good’s death and a broader effort to undermine the rights of Minneapolis residents.
“Renee’s death was not an accident,” lawyers for Good’s family said in a statement. “It was the predictable result of a coordinated campaign by senior officials in this administration to target Minnesotans of Somali or Hispanic origin and silence anyone who dared to raise their voice in protest.”
Good’s death led to widespread demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and drew scrutiny over how officers are using force against both immigrants and people protesting the detentions. Posters with her face and name were shared in protests across the country.
The lawsuits, filed by Romanucci & Blandin, a Chicago-based law firm, name as defendants current and former officials at the White House and Department of Homeland Security, as well as Jonathan Ross, the ICE officer who fired at Good. Neither the White House nor DHS immediately responded to a request for comment
The process for obtaining compensation and accountability for injuries, deaths and property damage allegedly caused by federal agencies and their employees is cumbersome and difficult.
Good’s family filed one of its lawsuits under the Federal Tort Claims Act, which is considered the primary legal recourse for people seeking relief in response to the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Unlike civil rights lawsuits, judges, not juries, decide the outcome. Damages awarded in these kinds of cases are likely to be much lower, and individual officers can’t be named as defendants.
After the Civil War, Congress passed a law that established the right to sue local and state officials for the violation of constitutional rights. Federal officials weren’t included in the law, although a 1971 Supreme Court ruling established precedent for such lawsuits. Legal experts say the court’s decisions within the past decade have narrowed that path and made it nearly impossible to successfully sue federal agents for civil rights violations.
The Good family’s second civil lawsuit invokes, in part, the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871, which made it a federal crime to deny a person or group “any of the rights, privileges, or immunities, or protection, named in the Constitution.” The family alleges that federal authorities conspired to deny equal protections to Somali and Hispanic communities in Minnesota. It seeks a trial by jury.
“Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act to hold accountable those who conspire to deny the equal protection of the laws,” Benjamin A. Berkman, one of the family’s attorneys, said in a statement. “Today’s filings intend to do just that
Good’s wife has said the couple came out with whistles the morning of the shooting to support their neighbors; video shows both women exchanging words with ICE officers before Good starts to move her car, and one officer fires. Good was 37 and a mother of three.
Several of Good’s relatives attended a press conference Thursday announcing the lawsuits and grew emotional as they spoke of her.
“Sometimes, it takes extraordinary circumstances to bring out the best in us,” said Brent Ganger, Good’s brother and a plaintiff in the suits. “I keep waiting for that to happen.”
Shortly after Good was killed, a Venezuelan immigrant named Julio Sosa-Celis was shot in the leg and wounded. Another U.S. citizen, Alex Pretti, was also later fatally shot by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis.
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