'Not in danger' Fatal Minneapolis ICE shooting was excessive force, says Ven Johnson

Civil Rights attorney analyzes fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis

Ven Johnson spoke about the tragic shooting of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent, the self-defense claim and what the law says.

FOX 2 - A wave of protests across the country were sparked following the fatal shooting by an ICE agent of a woman in Minneapolis Wednesday.

The backstory:

Tensions remain high after the deadly shooting of Renee Nicole Good.

At the heart of it, questions are swirling around the legality of the ICE agent's decision to pull the trigger, with some claiming it was in self-defense - and others calling it murder.

FOX 2 spoke with attorney Ven Johnson, a civil rights law expert, about what it all means legally and if the ICE agent can be prosecuted.

Johnson said take a close look at the witness video. Johnson said yes, ICE officers are federal agents. But he said one phrase expected to come up is "officer created danger position."

This means did the ICE agent put himself in danger? Johnson said he also says pay attention to:

Where the agent was shooting from
The position of the vehicle as the shots rang out.
He says also pay attention to who's conducting the investigation, which right now is the FBI.

Johnson explained the legality and said it comes down to an ICE agent who should not have used excessive force.

"This is deplorable and there are people out there saying she shouldn’t have tried to get away — I agree — I wouldn’t have done that," he said. "But under the law, simply because you’re trying to get away does not give an officer the opportunity to utilize excessive force which we know by definition because of that first shot.

"The first shot when he shot he was not in front of the car he was already on the side of the car, because she was turning to the right to get away.

"And when he first shot that first shot of the three, the last two, by the way, were through the open window at point-blank range. He’s not in danger."