Good’s family also hired a civil rights attorney who worked with George Floyd’s family. Their attorneys plan to conduct a civil investigation into her death.

by Shubhanjana Das

Left: Renee Nicole Good. Right: Good with her brother, Brent Ganger. Credit: Provided by Romanucci & Blandin law firm

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The family of Renee Nicole Macklin Good released a statement Wednesday through their lawyers, remembering her “infinite capacity for love,” and thanking the public for the support they’ve received.

Good, whose family referred to as “Nae” in their statement, was fatally shot by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis on Jan. 7 while observing federal immigration activity with her wife, Becca Good. She was 37, and a mother of three.

“Nae was the beautiful light of our family and brought joy to anyone she met,” said the statement from Good’s parents, Tim and Donna Ganger, and her four siblings. “She was relentlessly hopeful and optimistic which was contagious. We all already miss her more than words could ever express.”

The family remembered Good as compassionate, loving and caring. “Nae-Nae gave everything she had to take care of her friends and family, and indeed people she never met.”

ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot through Good’s front windshield and driver’s side window as she tried to drive away from them on Portland Avenue near E. 34th Street. Her vehicle then crashed into a parked car. Witnesses say ICE agents at the scene prevented a man who identified himself as a doctor from administering first aid.

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The incident sparked massive protests across the Twin Cities and the country. Good’s shooting came at the heels of a massive surge in ICE activity in Minnesota, with up to 2,000 ICE agents reportedly deployed locally this month.

Good’s family hired the Chicago-based law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, whose founding partner, Antonio M. Romanucci, was part of the team that represented George Floyd’s family after Minneapolis police murdered him in 2020.

The firm said in a written statement that it will conduct a civil investigation into Good’s killing “to not only seek accountability for her death but also to honor her life with progress toward a kinder and more civil America. They [Good’s family] do not want her used as a political pawn, but rather as an agent of peace for all.” The legal team, which includes Minneapolis-based co-counsel Kevin Riach, represents Good’s parents, siblings and wife.

The firm said that pursuing civil claims against federal immigration agents follows a different and more complex path than lawsuits against state or local police departments.

“Legal action against the federal government is even more complex, as it requires victims to navigate the byzantine, time-consuming processes mandated by the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA),” Romanucci said in the written statement.

Under federal law, he said, claims are ultimately decided by a judge rather than a jury, a process the team described as lengthy and difficult. Romanucci’s legal team encouraged anyone with information about the shooting to contact them at 312-458-1000 or [email protected].

The family’s statement is posted below in full:

“We want to thank everyone who has reached out in support of Renee and our family. The kind of unending care we’ve been given during this time is exactly the kind that she gave to everyone. Nae was the beautiful light of our family and brought joy to anyone she met. She was relentlessly hopeful and optimistic which was contagious. We all already miss her more than words could ever express.

She was our best friend with a seemingly infinite capacity for love. Nae-Nae gave everything she had to take care of her friends and family, and indeed people she never met. If there was any celebration for any one of us, Nae amplified it. If there was sorrow, she was with you for all of it. Nae found joy in others being comforted and was herself a fountain of comfort. She was our protector, our shoulder to cry on, and our scintillating source of joy. She edited all of our writing, and we feel her absence deeply as we struggle to compose this statement without her gentle guidance. Knowing we can’t match her eloquence, we are remembering Nae in all the little things she’d be doing for us today. She is in the tight hug we offer each other as we lean on the counter. She’s in the goofy cackles we elicit in each other as we recall sweet memories, and she’s in the tears we leave on each others’ shirts. She is in the flow state that comes when your spirit is creating something passionate to share with others. Her voice is the one singing the song stuck in your head. More than anything, she is there when your heart breaks and fills for another person. When we remember Nae, we remember her abundant heart, and we will move forward imitating that unending care.

We appreciate our privacy as we continue to mourn at this time.”