The facts of Renee Good’s murder at the hands of ICE agent Jonathan Ross are indisputable. In a society led by people with a commitment to truth and human decency, we wouldn’t have to rehearse those facts. But we do not live in such a society.
Ross shot Good as she attempted to leave, which we know because we can see in his own footage that she was dramatically cranking the wheel away from him. The car had passed him by when he fired the first of three shots, which we know because both of his legs are visible on the ground to the left of the car in the footage from several angles. His life was not under threat, which we know because killing her had no bearing on the car’s immediate course and he walked away unharmed. And if he had actually been under threat, shooting her would have contributed nothing to his self-defense, which we know because cars do not stop instantly when their drivers die.
Ross, who had walked in front of Good’s car as she was distracted by other agents yanking at her side door and reaching into her side window, had two options when Good began to flee: take a small step out of the way without killing her, or take a small step out of the way while also killing her. He chose the latter.
As for his motivations, it’s a toss-up between two options. He was either afraid, in which case he both egregiously misjudged the severity of the threat and failed to comprehend the role of killing her in mitigating that threat. Or he was angry at her and her wife, Becca Good, for being disobedient and acted out his anger through lethal force. This latter possibility is supported by Ross’s immediate words as he sauntered away, with Good’s car still careening uncontrolled behind him: “That fucking bitch.”
This compilation of synchronized angles leaves zero doubt about the actual choreography of the exchange. Don’t take my word for it, watch for yourself:
Video analysis: did Renee Nicole Good hit the ICE agent with her car?
Auteur: Meagan Day
