ICE Enforcement Tactics Clash With Policing Best Practices

Key Quotes

"According to a post-analysis, Good's SUV did move toward Officer Ross, who was standing in front of her car. Ross was also able to move out of her way since he fired at least two of the three shots from the side of her car. But a lot of the other details of what happened before and during those moments are still in dispute."

Maria Sacchetti explains that while some facts of the incident are clear from video analysis, such as the SUV moving toward Officer Ross and his ability to evade the vehicle, many crucial details remain contested. Sacchetti highlights that the dispute over these details is central to understanding the conflicting narratives surrounding the event.

"I think folks are still trying to figure out how involved she was and whether she was even watching that day or just got caught up in a bad situation, as our reporters were told. But these groups have existed for a long time. Some are folks who come to immigration courts, and this happened long before Trump took office, who go just to witness. And then there are groups that if they hear ICE is in the neighborhood, again, long before Trump took office, they would go and just, you know, they get trained to just be witnesses."

Maria Sacchetti describes the role of ICE watch groups, explaining their long-standing practice of serving as witnesses and advocates for immigrants, even before recent political shifts. Sacchetti notes that these groups aim to document ICE actions and provide a public service by ensuring transparency and offering support to those encountering immigration enforcement.

"From your reporting, there is some information about a previous policing experience that Ross had in the months leading up to this, right? Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen mentioned that an officer, she didn't name him but provided enough details that it was easy to identify him, had recently been in a dragging incident where he did a traffic stop and he was dragged. He got stuck in the car of somebody he was trying to arrest and was dragged for about 12 seconds, going at what he said was a pretty high speed, and he suffered serious injuries."

Maria Sacchetti brings up a prior incident involving Officer Jonathan Ross, where he was dragged by a vehicle for approximately 12 seconds at high speed during a traffic stop. Sacchetti points out that this experience, which resulted in serious injuries for Ross, is part of the context being considered when analyzing his actions during the fatal encounter with Renee Good.

"Law enforcement officers, people trained in these fields, scrutinized these videos, and they said they saw multiple violations of best practices. First, you see one officer approach Renee Good's driver's side door. So she's right on the other side of this, and it appears that she was communicating with them. Later videos showed her window was down, but the officer starts yanking on the door. So former officials told me that is an escalation. That person is coming in hot, and they are trained to de-escalate."

Maria Sacchetti relays the findings of law enforcement experts who reviewed the incident videos, noting their assessment that Officer Ross's actions violated best practices. Sacchetti highlights that approaching the driver's side door and yanking on it, especially when communication was possible and the window was down, was seen as an escalation rather than de-escalation, contrary to standard training.

"The other thing they saw is where Jonathan Ross was. He was like circling the SUV. When she went to move, he was in front of her. And I've heard over and over again, you should never be in front of the vehicle because as a cop, you don't stand in front of the vehicle in which you are interacting with the driver, potentially trying to arrest them. You shouldn't stand in front of a moving vehicle anyway. But it's also, you know, you're putting yourself in a position where you could be in danger or you might be compelled to use deadly force, and you don't want to use deadly force, right? And so you just get out of the way."

Maria Sacchetti details another critical observation from law enforcement experts regarding Officer Ross's positioning. Sacchetti explains that experts repeatedly stated that officers should never be in front of a vehicle they are interacting with, as it places them in danger and can lead to being compelled to use deadly force. The advice given is to move out of the way instead.

"Well, training has been shortened. It was four to five months before, and now it's down to two months. DHS will say they have not cut the vital substantive training in law enforcement. They have reduced the Spanish language classes, and they're using translation technologies and those kinds of things too to communicate in multiple languages instead."

Maria Sacchetti discusses changes in ICE officer training, noting a significant reduction in its duration from four to five months to two months. Sacchetti mentions that while the Department of Homeland Security asserts that essential law enforcement training remains intact, Spanish language classes have been reduced, with translation technologies being utilized for multilingual communication.