Six years after the world witnessed the horrifying murder of George Floyd, a new tragedy has unfolded in Minneapolis, leaving us to ask: How many more lives will be lost to state-sanctioned violence? On May 25, 2020, Derek Chauvin’s brutal killing of Floyd, captured on video and witnessed by a crowd, shocked the nation and sparked a reckoning on police brutality. Fast forward to January 7, 2026, and just a mile from that fateful spot, another life was taken—this time by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three with no criminal record, was shot and killed while dropping her child off at school. But here’s where it gets controversial: Was her death the result of excessive force, or a justified act of law enforcement? And this is the part most people miss—Good’s only 'crime' was her refusal to comply with ICE’s aggressive demands, a decision that cost her her life.
Good, a self-described poet, writer, wife, and mother, had recently moved to Minneapolis from Kansas City. Her ex-husband described her as a devoted Christian, not an activist, and someone who had never participated in protests. Yet, her life was cut short in a confrontation that escalated far too quickly. Cellphone videos of the incident, now viral, show ICE agents shouting expletive-laden commands and attempting to open her car door before one agent opened fire. The question lingers: Could this tragedy have been avoided with better de-escalation tactics?
ICE’s own use-of-force policy, updated in 2023, emphasizes de-escalation and respect for human life, stating that force should only be used when no safer alternative exists. Yet, the agents’ actions that day seemed to defy these guidelines. Experts like Dr. Clemens Lorei and Dr. Kerstin Kocab argue that de-escalation techniques are essential in modern policing, yet they were seemingly absent in this case. And this is where it gets even more troubling: The agent who fired the fatal shot did so when his life was not in immediate danger, raising serious questions about the necessity of lethal force.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1985 ruling in Tennessee v. Garner clearly states that police cannot use deadly force solely to prevent a suspect from fleeing. Justice Byron White’s words resonate today: ‘The intrusiveness of a seizure by means of deadly force is unmatched.’ Yet, Good’s death suggests that this standard was ignored. Is this a failure of training, policy, or something deeper?
Under the Trump administration, ICE has increasingly resorted to violent tactics, with the Minneapolis shooting being the ninth such incident since September 2025. This pattern raises alarms about the agency’s approach to law enforcement. As Stephen Miller once said, the Trump vision is one ‘governed by strength, force, and power.’ But is this the America we want? Justice White offered a counterpoint that could have saved Good’s life: ‘It is not better that felony suspects die than that they escape.’ Do you agree? Or is there a middle ground we’re missing?
It’s up to us to demand accountability and reform. We must say ‘no’ to unchecked violence and advocate for a system that prioritizes de-escalation and human life. But how? Peaceful, lawful action is the answer. We owe it to Renee Nicole Good, George Floyd, and countless others to ensure their deaths were not in vain. What’s your take? Is ICE’s use of force justified, or is it time for a radical shift in how we enforce the law? Let’s start the conversation—because silence only perpetuates the cycle.
