Christopher Parente wasn't shocked to learn that a federal immigration agent had shot and killed37-year-old Renee Goodin her car in Minneapolis.
Last fall, Parente defended in courtMarimar Martinez, a U.S. citizen who was shot five times by a Border Patrol agent in Chicago and survived. The news out of Minnesota, Parente said, served as a stark reminder of what happened to his client just months earlier.
"I was heartbroken," Parente, a defense attorney and former federal prosecutor, told USA TODAY, "but I wasn't surprised."
Thefatal shooting of Goodby a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has put a spotlight on previous violent – and sometimes deadly – interactions involving federal agents carrying out theTrump administration's deportation agenda.
Immigration agents have fired upon at least 10 people since August, USA TODAY has found. In each case, agents shot at drivers or into moving cars – a practice that haslargely been discouraged by law enforcementbecause of risks to public safety.
Federal agents continue surge of immigration enforcement in Minnesota
Footage of the incidents shows agents swarming vehicles, smashing windows and trying to pry open car doors within seconds of approaching drivers. On multiple occasions, body camera video and cellphone footage has contradicted federal officials' initial claims about the shootings.
The Department of Homeland Security and federal prosecutors defended the agents and accused drivers of trying to run them over. Of the four drivers charged by federal prosecutors, three have had their charges dropped, court records show.
Similarities between the various shootings have raised concerns among public officials, judges and policing experts over the aggressive tactics used by federal agents nationwide.
"There seems to be a pattern of shoot into vehicles and then justify it by saying the vehicles are trying to run them over," said Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina who specializes in the use of deadly force.
Each year, local police officers stop tens of millions of drivers on American streets, leading to a wealth of best practices and common procedures aimed at mitigating risk to officers and the public.
Alpert and former law enforcement officials said many of the tactics being used by federal agents – from reaching into vehicles to stepping into the path of cars – are in stark contrast to well-known policing standards.
"The growing number of incidents where we see agents resorting to deadly force without any reasonable basis is a recipe for disaster," said David Harris, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania who focuses on police procedure. "These actions," he added, "don't reflect the current thinking of law enforcement generally or best practices."
In a statement, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said "The pattern is not of law enforcement using deadly force. It's a pattern of vehicles being used as weapons by violent agitators to attack our law enforcement."
"When faced with dangerous circumstances, DHS law enforcement used their training to protect themselves, their fellow officers, and the public," she said, adding, "The brave men and women of DHS will not be deterred and will continue arresting the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens. Anyone who attacks law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
What happened to Renee Good?
An ICE agent shot and killed Good on Jan. 7 in a suburban neighborhood south of downtown Minneapolis. Videos show multiple agents approaching her SUV as it idled on a residential road, with one of the officers yelling "get out of the (expletive) car."
Within seconds of approaching her, an agent tried to open Good's door. She reversed briefly before moving forward with her wheels turned away from the agents. When her car began to lurch forward, an agent near the front left-side of the SUV drew his gun and shot her at close range.
Videoanalysis by USA TODAYand other outlets shows the agent appeared to be standing just beside the SUV, out of the vehicle's path, when he opened fire.
Aseparate video from the officerwho pulled the trigger shows the agent walking around Good's vehicle before stopping near the front of the SUV. The last thing Good – a U.S. citizen with no criminal history – could be heard saying is "That's fine, dude. I'm not mad at you."
The Trump administration saidthe agent, Jonathan Ross,acted in self-defense andaccused Good of engaging in "domestic terrorism."Trump administration officials – including Vice PresidentJD Vance– pointed to the agent's video to justify their position that he acted appropriately.
Minnesota state and local officials vehemently disputed those claims, calling them "propaganda" and "BS."
While use of force and policing experts called for a full investigation into the shooting, several criticized the agent's actions.
"The officer is moving away from the vehicle as the car slowly turns to the right, away from the direction he's moving," Harris said. "Given what I saw, the use of deadly force is not reasonable."
Feds allege car ramming, appear quick to use 'domestic terrorist' label
In many ways, the deadly shooting in Minneapolis resembles Martinez's shooting in Chicago by a Border Patrol agent. In that October case, DHS officials said Martinez "ambushed" federal agents and "rammed" officers with her car.
Like the shooting in Minneapolis, agency officials within hours described Martinez, who has no criminal history, and another person initially charged in the incident as "domestic terrorists."
"We will not allow domestic terrorists to attack our law enforcement," McLaughlin said ina statement at the time. "If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."
But after a few weeks in court, the case fell apart, leading the Justice Department to drop the charges. The case was ultimately dismissed in November.
In court, the agent walked back the Department of Homeland Security's initial claims that the officers were "rammed" by Martinez."To me, ramming is the front of a vehicle striking another vehicle. And that is not what happened," the agent said, according to a transcript of an evidentiary hearing on Nov. 5.
Exhibits presented in court show the Border Patrol agent, Charles Exum, apparently bragging about the shooting in a Signal group chat with other federal officers.
"I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys," Exum wrote. In court he explained the text by saying "I'm a firearms instructor. And I take pride in my shooting skills," according to a transcript of an evidentiary hearing in November.
In reaction to being deployed to another city, Exum wrote in another chat, "Cool. I'm up for another round of '(f---) around and find out'" – a reference to FAFO, internet slang that's become a fixture ofsocial media postsand statements by officials in the Trump administration.
When asked about the meaning of that text, which was sent less than 72 hours after the shooting, the agent told the court, "I would be up for another round of ... that means illegal actions have legal consequences."
"And you're up for it?" asked Parente.
"That's my job," Exum replied.
Videos show agents firing at moving vehicles
Several incidents raised concerns about immigration agents firing at moving vehicles, a major safety hazard that's been increasingly prohibited by law enforcement agencies nationwide.
In August in San Bernardino, California, multiple immigration officers swarmed the vehicle of Francisco Javier Longoria, an undocumented immigrant. Videos show he drove away from agents after one began smashing his driver's side window. Seconds after his truck started moving forward, multiple shots can be heard.
The truck had bullet holes on the passenger side where Longoria's 18-year-old son, a U.S. citizen, was seated, videos show. Harris, the law professor, watched footage of the incident and said it's "by sheer luck that the passenger was not killed."
A similar incident unfolded in Franklin Park, Illinois, the next month, and ended with the death of a civilian.
Federal agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, a 38-year-old Mexican immigrant, after they say he resisted arrest and "dragged" an agent with his car. Video evidence from the scene shows the agent describe his wounds as "nothing major."
Videos also show one of the agents reaching into the vehicle just before Villegas-Gonzalez steps on the gas – a move that is not in accordance with longstanding police procedures.
"That's a huge no-no," said Seth Stoughton, a former Tallahassee police officer and law professor at the University of South Carolina. "The tactical approach that policing has emphasized for decades is: 'don't reach into a car, don't overextend, don't reach for the keys.'"
Police department and federal agencies also discourage officers from shooting at moving vehicles. Astudy commissionedby U.S. Customs and Border Protection in 2013 recommended the agency prohibit officers from shooting at moving cars unless "deadly physical force is being used … by means other than a moving vehicle."
The authors of the report reviewed 15 cases in which agents shot at moving cars and found that officers had often put themselves in harm's way, "exposing themselves to additional risk and creating justification for the use of deadly force," the report said.
According to its latest policy document, the Department of Homeland Security allows agents to shoot at vehicles if there's an "imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury," including from the vehicles themselves.
Immigrant fatally shot after dragging ICE agent with car: See photos from the scene
Former law enforcement officers say shooting at a driver poses a risk to public safety because, if a driver is incapacitated, the vehicle can become an "unguided missile."
In the Minneapolis and Franklin Park shootings, the drivers were killed and their vehicles continued careening down public roads before crashing into other cars. There were no reports of injuries from the collisions.
Agent shoots TikTok creator, US Marshal injured by gunfire
In December, a federal judge dismissed charges against a Los Angeles-based TikTok creator who was shot by a federal agent. In that case, prosecutors accused Carlitos Ricardo Parias, a Mexican national, of ramming into law enforcement vehicles in an "attempt to dislodge his car during an immigration arrest."
During the incident, a federal agent opened fire, wounding Parias as well as a deputy U.S. Marshal who was struck by a ricochet bullet, prosecutors said.
Body camera footage obtained by theLos Angeles Timesraised serious questions about the agent's conduct.
The footage shows the ICE agent holding a gun in one hand as he smashes Parias' passenger-side window, the outlet reported. As the agent attempts to open the passenger door, he moves the gun into his other hand before firing. The Times reported that at the time, Parias' car did not appear to be moving and other agents could be seen near the driver's side door.
Similar to the shootings in Minneapolis, Chicago and San Bernardino, video of the incident challenged the initial claims by federal prosecutors and Department of Homeland Security officials.
On other occasions, information from local police has challenged the Department of Homeland Security's accounts.
Last week, the agency walked back claims that two men in Maryland were inside a vehicle that allegedly rammed into federal officers, leading one agent to fire "defensive" shots. The change came after the Anne Arundel County Police Department announced that one of the two people was in ICE custody at the time of the shooting.
"It's unprofessional," said Alpert, pointing to what he described as a rush to judgment by federal law enforcement officials soon after the shootings. "How can you make these judgements without a thorough investigation? I think it's doing everyone a disservice."
Will the agents face any recourse for shootings?
After the Minneapolis shooting, Martinez called Parente in a panic.
"She called me from work, distraught and heartbroken," Parente said. "It could have easily been her had these bullets traveled an inch to either side."
The two discussed the similarities of the cases and what Parente described as the "nearly identical conduct" of the agents involved.
Like the ICE agent in Minneapolis, the Border Patrol officer who shot Martinez had worked for the Department of Homeland Security for over a decade, according to court records. The agent, Exum, was posted on the Canadian border in Maine before he was dispatched to Chicago.
After the shooting, Exum turned over his gun but was able to leave within days back to Maine. He was soon in conversations about being deployed to another U.S. city, court records show. When asked if he had ever faced suspension over the shooting in Chicago, he told the court he hadn't.
So far, none of the agents involved in the shootings has been publicly suspended or reprimanded. McLaughlin, a spokesperson for DHS, said shootings involving ICE agents are reviewed by an "appropriate investigative agency" as well as internally.
After the shooting in Minneapolis, Vice President JD Vance said the officer has"absolute immunity,"which legal experts have challenged. As Democrats and state officials call for independent investigations, former law enforcement agents and police experts say they're worried that without accountability more violence will follow.
"It's very concerning," Harris said. "Having this type of policing operation with a very strong willingness to use force is just a recipe for more of these shootings."
This story was updated to add comments from the Department of Homeland Security.Christopher Cann is a national breaking news reporter for USA TODAY. Contact him via email at ccann@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:ICE, Border Patrol shootings fit pattern in Minneapolis, Chicago, LA
