Feds won’t open civil rights investigation after ICE killing of former KC resident
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- DOJ declines civil rights probe into ICE killing of Renee Good
- Six prosecutors resign amid DOJ probe shift and scrutiny over widow investigation
- Videos of the shooting spur protests, national debate over ICE deployments.
Federal prosecutors do not intend to open a civil rights investigation into the killing of former Kansas City resident Renee Good at the hands of an ICE officer, multiple outlets reported this week.
Prosecutors with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division will not investigate whether the officer violated federal law, according to reporting from the Associated Press, New York Times and CNN.
The Trump administration’s decision to leave out the agency marks a sharp departure from previous administrations, during which the department has probed shootings by law enforcement officials for potential violations of citizens’ civil rights.
The ICE officer, identified as Jonathan Ross, fired shots into Good’s Honda Pilot in Minnesota last week, killing her. Good and her wife, Becca Good, lived in Kansas City between 2023 and 2024, according to court records.
Multiple outlets have reported the departures of several top prosecutors in the wake of the federal wrangling over who should investigate the shooting. Six prosecutors resigned over the DOJ’s push to investigate Good’s widow and its reluctance to investigate the shooter, the New York Times reported.
Videos of the fatal shooting have spread rapidly online in recent days, roiling the political landscape and prompting protests in Kansas City, Minneapolis and across the country. The shooting has also sparked a deeply polarized reaction over the Trump administration’s sweeping crackdown on American cities.
The shooting has thrust Kansas City into a national fight as the administration ramps up its deployment of ICE officers to cities across the country. Kansas Citians marched through the Country Club Plaza over the weekend and held a vigil to honor Good, who was an award-winning poet and a mother of three.
