Massive vigils were held last night following the death of Renee Nicole Good. Every part of this incident feels wrong and the political rush to weaponize it feels even worse.
Renee Nicole Good was allegedly protesting ICE raids with her partner when agents ordered her out of a vehicle. Instead of complying, she attempted to drive away. An ICE agent then fired at close range, and Good died from gunshot wounds.
From there, the narratives split instantly.
The right claims she was resisting law enforcement and ran an officer over.
The left insists there was no immediate threat and portrays her as a “legal observer” documenting the raid.
The truth is, we do not yet have enough verified information to responsibly take a partisan position and that should matter. What we do know is that a young mother is dead, and no political movement deserves to profit from that fact.
There are too many unanswered questions.
President Trump made this statement. He says that he “viewed the clip” and this is his assessment. Well, yeah, we’ve all viewed the clip. A president should have access to more than what’s circulating on social media.
It’s possible the officer perceived a threat that the available footage doesn’t capture. It’s also possible the officer was poorly trained or reacted improperly. She may have said something threatening or something clarifying. She may have been influenced by other protesters. A woman who claimed to be her partner was filmed saying that she’d “made her come down here” to the protests. Her mother said that she was not the kind of person to attend protests like this.
There is simply too much we don’t know. What we do know is that her partner was filming for social media, and ICE agents were almost certainly wearing body cameras. More evidence exists. We haven’t seen it.
We’ve been here before. In the case of George Floyd, it took months before the full autopsy results were made public, revealing information that countered the early narrative formed from circulating footage. Have we learned to withhold judgment until the facts are in? It appears we haven’t.
And yet, politicians on both sides are already lining up for their close-ups, issuing verdicts before any serious investigation has taken place.
So what happens now? Will there be a full, transparent inquiry? Will the public see all available footage? Will this be decided in a courtroom?
Those questions matter more than the partisan conclusions being rushed out today.
