Renee Good: Family of US woman killed by ICE agent sues Trump officials
Lawyers for Good's family say US officials created "an unprecedented environment for state sponsored violence" in Minneapolis.
Renee Good: Family of US woman killed by ICE agent sues Trump officials
Renee Nicole Good had only recently relocated to Minneapolis when immigration agents killed her.
The family of a woman killed by an immigration agent in Minneapolis in January has said it is filing two lawsuits against the US government and members of the Trump administration.
Renee Good was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a citywide sweep aimed at immigrants and criminals known as Operation Metro Surge.
In one of the cases, the government is blamed for her death, with the suit arguing that the operation created "an unprecedented environment for state-sponsored violence", family lawyer Antonio Romanucci said at a news conference on Thursday.
The White House and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have not yet responded to the lawsuits.
After another Minneapolis resident, Alex Pretti, was killed by immigration agents weeks later, hundreds of federal agents were pulled out of the Minnesota city.
The lawsuits were brought by Good's partner, Becca Good, and her brother Brent Ganger.
One lawsuit accuses the government of "battery, assault, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence that caused Renee's death".
It invokes the Federal Tort Claims Act, which permits citizens to sue the government for personal injury, death, or property damage caused by the negligence of federal employees.
The second lawsuit names ICE officer Jonathan Ross, who shot Good, along with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, White House border chief Tom Homan and others, alleging a "conspiracy to interfere with civil rights by senior federal officials, federal immigration enforcement agents, and private actors".
Good was a 37-year-old mother of three who had recently moved to the city. She was shot on 7 January during a traffic stop, which immigration authorities said happened after she made "an attempt to kill or cause bodily harm to agents" in "an act of domestic terrorism".
Family members and witnesses said she was not trying to attack officers when she was killed inside her car.
Her death led to nationwide protests, which grew after Pretti was also shot dead by immigration agents on 24 January.
On Tuesday, Good's mother and brother testified before Congress.
"She should still be alive. I will say it again, my daughter should still be alive," Donna Ganger, Good's mother, told lawmakers.
"I am a registered Republican. I voted for President Trump under the impression that these agents were here to protect the citizens of the United States," Ganger continued.
"But far more than being a Republican, I am a Christian. Jesus teaches us to forgive and I have, but what we are asking for is accountability."