Independent autopsy outlines Renee Good’s gunshot wounds
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A law firm representing the family of Renee Macklin Good, the woman who was killed by an ICE agent in early January, released findings Wednesday of an independent autopsy.
The preliminary findings show that Good sustained a gunshot wound to the left temple that exited the right side of her head and likely killed her.
Preliminary findings also show that a gunshot wound to her right breast and another to her left forearm were not immediately life-threatening.
The autopsy, commissioned by Good’s family and performed by an independent medical pathologist, is part of an ongoing civil investigation into Good’s death, according to a statement by Romanucci and Blandin, the law firm representing the family.
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In Wednesday’s news release, lead attorney Antonio Romanucci stated, “We believe the evidence we are gathering, and will continue to gather in our investigation, will suffice to prove our case.”
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed the 37-year-old mother of three in her car as she and her wife observed and protested ICE agents in south Minneapolis. Federal prosecutors have not brought charges against Ross.
In a brief interview with MPR News, Romanucci says the preliminary findings are consistent with videos taken by observers at the scene on Jan. 7. Romanucci said that those videos show that the first shot fired by Ross went through the lower right hand of the Good’s windshield.
“[The autopsy’s preliminary findings] would be consistent with Renee moving away from him and Ross not being in a position of danger, where he shouldn’t even have thought of shooting at her at all,” said Romanucci.
MPR News asked Paul Applebaum, who is not representing the family of Renee Good, to review the preliminary findings of the independent autopsy. Applebaum said he didn’t believe Ross was justified in using deadly force.
“No matter how you view ICE or how you view the protesters. Any fair-minded person would say that this was not justified, not even remotely justified,” Applebaum said.
Still, Applebaum said he believed that attorneys for the Good family will likely have a difficult time pursuing a lawsuit against Ross in federal court.
“I just don't think there's a federal lawsuit, a viable one, because the laws are so favorable to law enforcement,” Applebaum said.
Applebaum said federal law enforcement officers, including ICE agents, are often protected by the doctrine of sovereign immunity.
“It is an incredibly thick protection for law enforcement that says that even if you commit an unconstitutional act, if it is not clearly established that what you did was unconstitutional, you're off the hook,” Applebaum said.
“I've had my heart broken many times under the immunity doctrine. So has every other civil rights lawyer.”
— Melissa Olson, MPR News
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