Renee Good’s family files two suits over fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

What the family alleges happened

The family alleges Good was driving slowly away when Ross fired three shots. “At no point did Renee pose anything resembling a danger to Ross or to any other person at the scene,” the family says in its complaint, as reported by Courthouse News Service.

The family also accuses federal officials of trying to conceal evidence and silence people who opposed the immigration operation. Those are allegations, not findings. They extend the dispute beyond Ross’s decision to fire to what officials allegedly did afterward.

In the second suit, the family alleges excessive force and a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights. It links the shooting to what it describes as a broader campaign against Somali and Hispanic communities and people allied with them. A court has not determined that any such conspiracy existed.

Federal officials previously said Ross acted in self-defense and characterized Good’s conduct as domestic terrorism, an account the family disputes. Those statements preceded the lawsuits; they are not a court filing answering the family’s allegations.

Why the family filed two suits

The first case uses the Federal Tort Claims Act, a law that allows people to seek damages from the United States for certain harms caused by federal employees acting within their duties. The government, not Ross personally, is the defendant in that suit. A judge, rather than a jury, would decide it.

The family’s claims against the government include wrongful death, battery, assault, false imprisonment, emotional distress and negligence. The complaint seeks damages and a trial before a judge. Filing those claims does not establish that Ross or the government is liable.

The second complaint pursues claims against individuals and seeks a jury trial. Along with Ross, it names Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem, Corey Lewandowski, Tom Homan, Todd Lyons and Gregory Bovino, as well as 10 unnamed agents. It alleges that the shooting and officials’ conduct surrounding the immigration operation violated civil rights.

That distinction matters for the family’s attempt to obtain accountability. A damages case against the United States asks a judge to assess the government’s responsibility for alleged harms. The separate case asks whether claims can proceed against individual officials, including people beyond the agent who fired. Naming them as defendants does not establish that they directed or took part in unlawful conduct.

How federal officials have responded

The government’s earlier self-defense account remains its reported position on the shooting, not its response to the newly filed complaints. The Justice Department did not immediately respond to the Associated Press’s request for comment. No response from the defendants to either suit had been reported Thursday.

The family says it is seeking accountability for Good’s death. Antonio Romanucci, an attorney for the family, said, “The day of accountability has arrived for our own U.S. government and its governmental agencies,” CBS News reported. The filing starts that legal effort; it does not resolve the disputed account of the shooting.

The cases leave the courts to decide whether the claims against the government and individual defendants can proceed, what evidence may be examined and whether the family can recover damages. No court has ruled on the family’s allegations about Ross or the broader immigration operation.