Labour’s metropolitan mayors have voiced their solidarity with the mayor of Minneapolis following the controversial ICE shooting incident that has ignited anger within the city.
Mayor Jacob Frey garnered attention for his swift reaction to the shooting of Renee Good, where he explicitly instructed ICE to vacate Minnesota immediately.
Recently, a video surfaced depicting the altercation from the ICE agent’s viewpoint, revealing that the mother of three was attempting to maneuver her vehicle away from the agent when he discharged his firearm, striking her thrice and hurling offensive remarks at her.
The footage, disclosed by local platform Alpha News, refutes assertions made by Donald Trump and JD Vance, contending that Good was intentionally trying to harm the agent and that he acted in self-defense.
In a show of support, Labour’s metropolitan mayors issued a joint statement endorsing Mayor Frey’s stance, emphasizing the importance of mayors in safeguarding communities with empathy and evidence-based decisions, rather than intimidation and coercion.
Signatories to the statement include prominent mayors such as Sadiq Khan of London, Andy Burnham of Manchester, Steve Rotheram of Liverpool, Tracy Brabin of West Yorkshire, Richard Parker of West Midlands, Kim McGuinness of North East, Oliver Coppard of South Yorkshire, David Skaith of York and North Yorkshire, Claire Ward of East Midlands, and Helen Godwin of West of England.
Protesters gathered outside a Minneapolis hotel believed to house ICE agents, creating disturbances throughout the night to disrupt their rest.
JD Vance and Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin asserted on social media that the new video corroborates the claim of self-defense by the officer. However, this assertion was refuted.
Mayor Frey dismissed any self-defense justifications as baseless.
Law enforcement experts stated that while the video did not alter their perspective on the use of force, it raised concerns about the officer’s training standards.
Geoff Alpert, a criminology professor at the University of South Carolina, highlighted the need to scrutinize the officer’s training that allowed him to hold a gun in one hand and a cellphone in the other during the incident.
John P. Gross, a University of Wisconsin Law School professor specializing in officers shooting at moving vehicles, noted that the officers did not perceive Good as a threat based on the video evidence.
The officer involved, Ross, a 43-year-old Iraq War veteran with extensive experience in Border Patrol and ICE, sustained injuries the previous year during an immigration arrest where he was dragged by a fleeing driver.