Labour’s metro mayors stood with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey saying he was “demonstrating that they lead with compassion and facts, not fear and force”
Minnesota shooting: Video shows perspective of ICE agent
Labour’s metro mayors last night expressed support for their counterpart in Minneapolis over the ICE shooting that has sparked fury in his city.
Mayor Jacob Frey made headlines for his immediate response to the shooting of Renee Good on Wednesday, when he told ICE to “get the f*** out” of Minnesota.
Last night video emerged of the incident filmed by the ICE agent’s perspective, showing the mum-of-three was visibly turning her steering wheel to drive around and away from him when he shot her three times and called her a “f***ing b**ch”.
The footage, released last night by local website Alpha News, contradicts Donald Trump and JD Vance’s claims that Good was deliberately trying to run the agent over, and that he shot her in self defence.
Now Labour’s metro mayors have released a statement to give Mayor Frey their backing.
“The world is witnessing the vital role mayors play in protecting our communities,” they wrote. “This week, amid tragedy, Mayor Frey and supporting US mayors are demonstrating that they lead with compassion and facts, not fear and force.
“We stand with them as they protect the dignity and human rights of their residents.”
The statement is signed by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, Liverpool’s Steve Rotheram, West Yorkshire’s Tracy Brabin, West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker, North East mayor Kim McGuinness, South Yorkshire’s Oliver Coppard, York and North Yorkshire’s David Skaith, East Midlands Mayor Claire Ward and West of England Mayor Helen Godwin.
Last night protesters gathered outside a hotel in Minneapolis that is thought to be where ICE agents are staying, making loud noises through the night to prevent them from sleeping.
JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed in posts on X that the new video backs their contention that the officer fired in self-defence. It does not.
“Many of you have been told this law enforcement officer wasn’t hit by a car, wasn’t being harassed, and murdered an innocent woman,” Vance said. “The reality is that his life was endangered and he fired in self defence.”
Mayor Frey has said any self-defence argument is “garbage.”
Policing experts said the video didn’t change their thoughts on the use-of-force but did raise additional questions about the officer’s training.
“Now that we can see he’s holding a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other filming, I want to see the officer training that permits that,” said Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina.
The video demonstrates that the officers didn’t perceive Good to be a threat, said John P. Gross, a professor at the University of Wisconsin Law School who has written extensively about officers shooting at moving vehicles.
“If you are an officer who views this woman as a threat, you don’t have one hand on a cellphone. You don’t walk around this supposed weapon, casually filming,” Gross said.
Ross, 43, is an Iraq War veteran who has served in the Border Patrol and ICE for nearly two decades. He was injured last year when he was dragged by a driver fleeing an immigration arrest.