In policing, the application of physical force is based on what is referred to as the use of force continuum. In the world of politics and the legacy media, the forced use of falsehoods continues to undermine trust in the police.
The use of force continuum is a set of policies that describe an escalating series of actions an officer may take to resolve a situation. Necessary force is defined as the amount of force needed to affect the law enforcement purposes intended.
I spent more than ten years of my life as a police officer. During which time I used force when necessary and appropriately.
Most people with common sense, which excludes Democrats and members of the media, understand that if you threaten the life of a police officer the use of lethal force is justified.
A deadly weapon can be defined in numerous ways. Certainly, a knife, a gun, an axe, or sledgehammer are all examples of weapons that can cause death. So too, can a well-placed rock, a steam iron to the head, a shove over a ledge thirty feet above the pavement, or even a car.
Officer-involved shooting investigations typically result in one of two determinations, justified or unjustified. Justified means permissible under department policy and the law.
In the US, there are more than one million police officers. The 2022 National 911 Report states that in the US there were more than 200 million 911 calls answered in 2020. Although statistics aren’t yet available, it’s fair to assume a similar number were answered in 2025.
The National Fraternal Order of Police reports that in 2025 347 police officers were shot in the line of duty, while something called the Police Brutality Center reports that police shot 1,315 suspects in the same year. However believable the Brutality Center’s number is or not, if taken at face value these numbers establish that police-involved shootings are rare when compared to total 911 calls.
In the ICE-involved shooting of Renee Good in Minneapolis, we know she spent the better part of the day before the shooting harassing and obstructing ICE operations. When confronted with the possibility of arrest she chose to try and drive away. In doing so she collided with an ICE officer standing in front of her vehicle who, according to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, fearing for his life, shot Good.
We have all seen the video, unless you’ve been watching ABC, NBC, or MS Now, in which it is clear Ms. Good’s car struck and could have severely injured or killed the ICE officer. The investigation underway will determine if the ICE officer was justified in shooting in compliance with the law and ICE policies.
How Ms. Good is portrayed, by either side, is immaterial to the investigation. If the media and Minnesota politicians want to martyr Good as some kind of saint, they are free to do so. They do so seeking political gain from her death. That they’ve done so contrary to the available evidence proves politics and journalism are the last refuges of scoundrels.
By the same token if ICE, Republicans, or anyone else wish to paint Good with the brush of bad, it should be to no effect. Her character is of no material significance to the investigation, only her actions.
In a world where consequences have become divorced from actions, Ms. Good reminds us that this is not always true.
Good’s death is tragic in as far as it was unnecessary. If she had complied with the lawful commands of the ICE officer and exited the vehicle, she would still be alive.
It is alleged that she was trained by others in how to harass ICE, encouraged by loudmouths in the press to do so, and then prodded by politicians to break the law. This demonstrates how far from civility we’ve strayed. What if those Trump-hating voices had instead trained her in the art of peaceful protest, with an emphasis on her own safety?
Sadly, in this world of irrational hate for political gain, Good was worth more dead than alive. The forces of turmoil and havoc feast on death not life.
We are justifiably outraged about how Good’s death is being used by the Left and the Press to excuse political unrest. A thorough and transparent investigation won’t satisfy these vultures because they feed on lies and half-truths then regurgitate hate and discontent.
A finding of justified in this shooting will not bring Good back, nor will it silence those who oppose the lawful enforcement of immigration policy.
It does prove that consequences are real, even in a world where so many deny their existence without justification.
Stephen Piccirillo © 2025
