This video interview is a part of the All Rise News playlist on Legal AF.
The lawyer representing Renee Good’s family has worked with his share of grief-stricken families at the hands of law enforcement in the Twin Cities.
Before taking up the Good family’s case, attorney Antonio Romanucci represented the family of George Floyd, who was murdered less than half a mile away from where agent Jonathan Ross shot Good in her car.
“In fact, when I was there last week, visiting with family and going to the scene, I also went to visit George Floyd Square because I just felt I needed to do that, not having been there for a couple of years now,” said Romanucci, whose firm Romanucci Blandin also represented the families of Daunte Wright and Amir Locke.
Floyd’s murderer Derek Chauvin was prosecuted in both state and federal court, and former President Joe Biden called for a full investigation of Wright’s “tragic” shooting, when an officer mistook her gun for a Taser.
‘Reprehensible’
This case, however, has a stark difference: Now, Donald Trump’s federal government is using its full weight and force to vilify the victim, stop an investigation and target the state officials.
Asked about the investigations of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and State Attorney General Keith Ellison, Romanucci said: “I think it is reprehensible.”
Romanucci said that the federal government’s antagonism also presents an evidence-preservation issue concerning the ballistics and the car.
“Very likely there are either some bullet fragments or bullets themselves that are inside the vehicle,” he said. “There may be shell casings that wound up inside the vehicle. There may be other pieces of evidence inside that vehicle.”
His firm gave the federal government a letter of preservation last week.
“We asked them to preserve that vehicle to make sure that it's stored in a safe manner so that none of the evidence gets altered, modified, destroyed, or spoiled,” he said. “If there's any testing, it's got to be done with us present.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche refused to initiate an investigation. At least six federal prosecutors resigned over that decision and directive to investigate Becca Good, the victim’s widow.
“I have not heard from any of those prosecutors, but if any of them reached out, I would love to talk to them,” Romanucci said.
Romanucci’s firm has not yet experienced government intimidation for representing the case, but he said he never really factored the Trump administration’s targeting of lawyers into the decision to take the case.
“I would like to think of us as human rights lawyers,” he said. “We represent people with souls. We represent humans, and so whether or not there was going to be retribution or retaliation, that was not ever an initial thought.”
‘Accountability, transparency and justice’
While reportedly targeted by Trump’s Justice Department, Good’s widow is in mourning.
“She is beyond grief-stricken,” Romanucci said. “I mean, imagine having had someone taken away so suddenly and violently and not having a chance to say goodbye or grieve. They haven't had the funeral yet for Renee.”
As for the family, Romanucci said: “Their goal will be, as we’ve heard so many times, accountability, transparency and justice, and we get that through a thorough, unbiased investigation. And we wish that the federal government would have done that because they have a lot of resources.”
There are still other avenues of investigation, including the various videos, recently released 911 transcripts, and witness testimonies. The Fire Department report already revealed that paramedics found Good with an irregular pulse, raising questions as to whether earlier treatment could have saved her life. Autopsy results could make clear which of federal agent Jonathan Ross’s shots killed her. Only the agent’s first shot was from the front of the car.
“Officers just aren't given the opportunity to shoot until their gun clip is empty or to shoot as many times as they want,” Romanucci said. “General police policies, reasonable police practices in this country — whether it's local governments or federal agencies — they must justify each and every shot they fire.”
Shortly before the publication of this article, Romanucci’s firm released the findings of an independent autopsy by “a highly respected and credentialed medical pathologist.”
The pathologist found “three clear gunshot wound paths” in Good’s body, striking her left forearm, right breast, and the left side of her head near the temple and exiting the right side of her head.
“The breast and left forearm wounds were not immediately life-threatening,” the patholigist found, according to the firm’s summary.
There was also a graze wound “consistent with a firearm injury, but with no penetration.”
“The results of the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy have not yet been released to the family or legal team,” the firm said.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misstated who conducted the autopsy whose findings the firm released.
