• Chief Brian O’Hara says officer violated traffic stop fundamentals in Renee Good shooting
• CBS correspondent frames incident as national divide over law enforcement accountability
• Federal officials maintain agent acted in self-defense after being struck by vehicle

MINNEAPOLIS, MN (TDR) — Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara delivered pointed criticism of the federal agent who fatally shot protester Renee Good, telling CBS’s 60 Minutes that the officer violated fundamental law enforcement principles when approaching her vehicle on January 7.

In the televised interview aired Sunday, O’Hara—a veteran officer tasked with rebuilding community trust following George Floyd’s 2020 murder—questioned tactical decisions made by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross during the deadly encounter.

“It’s not clear to me why he appears to be in the path of the vehicle more than once,” O’Hara stated. “When you approach someone in a vehicle in a law enforcement encounter, there are very basic steps you take to ensure the officer’s safety and de-escalate the situation.”

National Divide Over Enforcement Tactics

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CBS correspondent Cecilia Vega characterized the shooting as having become a national “Rorschach test,” where interpretations divide sharply along political and ideological lines.

“Some Americans see a senseless killing,” Vega explained. “Others see an officer defending his life.”

The shooting occurred during Operation Metro Surge, which deployed approximately 3,000 ICE and Border Patrol agents to Minneapolis—nearly five times the size of the city’s police force, making it the largest federal immigration enforcement operation in an American city.

O’Hara said he watched available video footage of the incident repeatedly before concluding the agent’s positioning raised serious questions about adherence to standard law enforcement practices.

“I’ve seen the videos,” O’Hara told 60 Minutes. “There are universally accepted rules in law enforcement advising officers how to safely interact with motorists. The number one is: You don’t place yourself in the path of the vehicle. That’s like traffic stop 101.”

Federal Authorities Defend Self-Defense Claim

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The Department of Homeland Security maintains Ross acted in self-defense after Good struck him with her vehicle, causing internal bleeding.

Vice President JD Vance placed blame for the shooting “squarely” on Good the day after her death, according to the 60 Minutes report. Federal officials have accused Good and her partner of “stalking, harassing and obstructing” ICE officers during enforcement operations.

CBS News reported Ross suffered internal bleeding after being struck by Good’s vehicle immediately before opening fire. DHS previously shared footage showing Good blocking traffic for three minutes with her vehicle before agents approached.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem characterized the incident as an “act of domestic terrorism” against ICE officers. Lawyers representing Good’s family counter that she and her partner were legally observing and documenting ICE activity—activities protected under First Amendment rights.

Previous Agent Injury Raises Training Questions

O’Hara expressed concern about whether federal authorities adequately ensured Ross’s readiness to return to field operations following a previous vehicle incident.

In summer 2024, Ross was dragged by a suspect’s vehicle during an arrest attempt in Bloomington, Minnesota, requiring dozens of stitches on his right arm and left hand. A jury subsequently convicted the suspect of assaulting a federal officer.

“I do think they’re being forced into situations that they’re not prepared to deal with,” O’Hara told The New York Times earlier. He questioned whether the agency had done enough to ensure Ross’s safety in returning him to similar enforcement scenarios.

The police chief emphasized feeling empathy for the agent given his injury history while maintaining that tactical errors contributed to the deadly outcome.

Additional Incidents Heighten Tensions

During the 60 Minutes segment, producers showed O’Hara previously unseen video of ICE agents pulling a disabled U.S. citizen from her vehicle during a January 13 enforcement action.

Aliya Rahman, who has autism and traumatic brain injury, was attempting to reach a medical appointment when she encountered ICE officers blocking traffic after arresting four individuals. Rahman’s attorney said she became overwhelmed by conflicting commands from federal officers.

“I am an autistic disabled person and I’m trying to go to the doctor,” Rahman can be heard stating on video as agents surrounded her vehicle.

O’Hara’s reaction to viewing the footage was visceral.

“Oh my God,” the chief responded. “It pisses me off to see that, to see men doing that to a woman who’s disabled. If those cops worked for me, they’d have a problem right now.”

ICE’s Marcos Charles, head of Enforcement and Removal Operations, offered a different assessment of Rahman’s arrest during his own 60 Minutes interview, though specific details of his response were not disclosed in available transcripts.

Impact on Rebuilt Community Trust

O’Hara expressed deep concern that aggressive federal enforcement tactics threaten to undermine years of progress rebuilding police-community relations since George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin.

“We finally have started to rebuild,” O’Hara stated. “I’m just afraid if we have another large-scale unrest, that we are both going to have a dramatic increase in crime, yet again — that’s predictable — as well as another mass exodus of the department. We cannot sustain that.”

The police chief described Minneapolis officers being caught in an untenable position at ICE enforcement scenes.

“As soon as we show up, we become the target of people’s frustration,” he explained. “The cops here — we’re human beings. I worry that we might hit a breaking point.”

Minneapolis’s 911 system has been overwhelmed by complaints related to immigration enforcement, O’Hara reported, including multiple calls from people subjected to tear gas and pepper spray.

“At least one case, the person was removed from a vehicle and the car wasn’t even placed in park and it was rolling down the roadway,” the chief noted.

Call for Presidential Intervention

While supporting “targeted, precise, preplanned operations on violent offenders” as beneficial law enforcement work, O’Hara said he believes the Trump administration fundamentally misunderstands the situation developing on Minneapolis streets.

“I’m concerned that people in the administration don’t actually understand the reality of what’s happening on the street,” O’Hara stated.

The police chief called directly on President Trump to modify the operation’s approach.

“I think it requires the president to say, ‘We’re still going to go after the worst of the worst, but we’re not going to be treating American citizens in ways that risk destroying a beautiful American city,'” O’Hara argued.

Residents told 60 Minutes that federal immigration enforcement appears less targeted daily, with people stopped based on appearing “Somali or Latino or foreign.”

“It’s concerning, because we also know we’re not getting these stories from Irish folks and Norwegian folks here,” O’Hara observed.

Ongoing Investigation and Political Fallout

The FBI is conducting the primary investigation into Good’s death. Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced she will pursue her own investigation and make an independent determination about potential criminal charges against Ross.

Without cooperation from the FBI—which controls Ross’s weapon, shell casings and Good’s vehicle—Moriarty established an online portal for public submission of evidence.

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told Fox News that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey are “guilty of terrorism” for criticizing the federal operation.

“You can use the term insurgency, you can use the term insurrection, you can use the term domestic terrorism,” Miller stated, without outlining how either official incited violence.

No ICE officers have faced discipline during the Minneapolis operation, according to Charles.

Good, a 37-year-old mother of three and U.S. citizen, was shot at close range and pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after the January 7 encounter. Her family described her as a “beautiful light” who “brought joy to anyone she met.”

Should federal immigration enforcement agencies be required to coordinate tactical operations with local police departments to prevent conflicts over use-of-force standards?

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