Eric Nelson knows what happens when politics collides with law enforcement tragedy.
He represented perhaps the most notorious cop in American legal history: Derek Chauvin, who was jailed for George Floyd‘s murder.
Now, as another deadly encounter divides Minneapolis and the nation, he warns the same forces that engulfed his last case are gathering again – with potentially disastrous results for justice.
ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot dead Renee Good, 37, as she drove her Honda Pilot at him during a protest over immigration raids in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
The Trump administration say the federal agent was justified because the protester was using her car as a deadly weapon. Democrats call her killing ‘murder.’
But for Ross, the legal nightmare may be just beginning. There is no statute of limitations on murder in Minnesota. Even if federal prosecutors decline to indict, which Nelson believes likely given the Trump administration’s public support, state prosecutors could file charges tomorrow, next year, or a decade from now.
The sword of Damocles will hang over Ross indefinitely, regardless of what the Trump administration says about his actions being justified.
‘I’ve just been through enough of these cases where if there’s a political agenda, then the law gets thrown to the side,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘It is entirely possible that the federal system could say we’re not going to indict him, but the state could prosecute him for some form of homicide or manslaughter.
‘The Feds have no power to stop that.’
Nelson warned that ‘what’s happened politically is there has been an erosion in the public trust between the state and the federal systems.’
Defense attorney Eric Nelson, left, and Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, right, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis on March 17, 2021. Chauvin was found guilty of murdering George Floyd
New bodycam footage released Friday, captured by Ross himself, showed Good speaking to the agent before revving her engine and driving off
ICE agent Jonathan Ross pictured moments before the deadly shooting
New bodycam footage released Friday, captured by Ross himself, showed Good speaking to the agent before revving her engine and driving off as her wife shouted ‘drive baby, drive.’ Ross fired three shots, one striking Good in the head, killing her.
Vice President JD Vance immediately seized on the footage as evidence ‘that his life was endangered and he fired in self defense,’ calling Good ‘a victim of left-wing ideology.’
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey branded the self-defense argument ‘garbage,’ saying the video showed Good calmly engaging with Ross and turning her car away from him.
Through the political fog of war, Nelson sees a complicated set of facts which are growing more clouded by the day.
He explained that the case will boil down to whether or not Ross’s use of force was justified as an authorized use of force.
The benchmark test for this is Graham vs. Connor – decided by the Supreme Court in 1989.
Nelson said this is a three-part test based on the severity of the crime, whether the suspect was resisting, and finally ‘the most important prong’ – whether the person presents an active threat of death or bodily harm.
But crucially, Nelson explained, the test hinges on what a ‘reasonable officer’ in that exact moment would perceive, not what can be seen in hindsight.
‘The officer is allowed to make mistakes, because these are rapidly evolving, high-intensity situations,’ he said.
Whether Good’s wheels were pointed left, right, or straight becomes irrelevant if Ross reasonably believed in that split-second he was about to be run down.
If the case were to be prosecuted, Nelson foresees issues for the defense.
Similar to the George Floyd case, the prosecution will argue that law enforcement was dealing with a misdemeanor.
Federal agents clash and arrest protestors outside an ICE facility during a protest against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), after a U.S. immigration agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman in her car in Minneapolis, Minneapolis, on Friday
A supporter of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) waves a U.S. flag amid tear gas, after clashes with demonstrators protesting the shooting in Minneapolis on Friday
Federal agents detain a protester as violence broke out on Friday in Minneapolis following the deadly shooting
Renee Good, 37, had been obstructing federal agents in her vehicle at an anti-ICE protest when she was shot dead
‘They’re going say he wasn’t confronting a violent person,’ Nelson said. ‘That it was not a felony-level offense that they were investigating. That it was really just more obstructing the legal process or resisting arrest type of offense.’
On the second prong, whether Good was resisting, Nelson sees less dispute.
‘I think there would be less argument over whether or not she was resisting. In the Chauvin case, the question was, at what point did the resisting stop? Here, arguably, she is actively resisting by trying to flee the situation.’
The final and most important consideration, whether or not the suspect presents an active threat, Nelson believes could spin on policing guidelines – including shooting into a moving car and standing in front of a vehicle.
Nelson said: ‘I would guarantee that if this case were to be prosecuted, there would be experts on both sides to say that that the force was justified or that it was excessive.
‘They are going to point to the ICE policies on the authorized use of force.
‘Almost every police department that I’m aware of, have prohibitions against shooting into or out of moving vehicles.’
He added that most police departments, including ICE, tell officers that they should not position themselves in a way that makes deadly force more likely.
‘If you’re trying to stop a car, you shouldn’t position yourself in front, because if they speed away, it’s going to increase the probability that you would have to use deadly force,’ he explained.
Justice Department guidance bars shooting at moving vehicles unless the driver poses an imminent threat ‘beyond the car itself,’ and specifically says officers should step out of the vehicle’s path when possible.
Surveillance footage shows Good’s SUV had been blocking the street before Ross approached, giving him time, prosecutors could argue, to choose a safer position rather than positioning himself directly in front of her vehicle.
On the side of the defense, Nelson also sees strong arguments.
Former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin is taken into custody as his attorney Eric Nelson, left, watches, after his bail was revoked after he was found guilty on all three counts in his trial for the 2020 death of George Floyd, Tuesday, April 20, 2021, at the Hennepin County Courthouse in Minneapolis
Eric Nelson speaks as Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill presides over pretrial motions before jury selection, Monday, March 8, 2021, in the trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin
Regarding police guidelines about shooting into and standing in front of vehicles, Nelson is emphatic: ‘Policy is just that. It’s policy. It is not the law. Every policy will contain the exception that says: unless you feel that you are justified in using deadly force.’
Beyond the arguments on the facts, a thorny jurisdictional question looms: can Minnesota prosecute a federal agent if the Department of Justice declines to act?
All 50 states have concurrent jurisdiction, meaning state and federal law are supposed to operate ‘in a sort of harmony,’ Nelson explained.
Nelson believes it is unlikely that the federal investigation results in an indictment given the statements so far from the Trump administration.
However, there is no federal homicide statute, so the investigation is over whether there is a violation of her civil rights that resulted in death.
‘The state question is whether this constitutes some form of murder, manslaughter, or some other crime,’ Nelson said.
What normally happens is that the federal and local authorities will investigate simultaneously.
‘In the George Floyd investigation, at every interview that was conducted, there was both an FBI or Federal officer and a state officer,’ Nelson said.
‘So the normal course is to share information to conduct independent investigations, but to do that harmoniously between the two agencies, or whatever agencies there are.’
In this highly politicized case, things are far from harmonious.
Donald Trump on Friday called Minnesota officials ‘crooked’ as a reporter asked why federal investigators are refusing to share information with their state counterparts.
Donald Trump on Friday called Minnesota officials ‘crooked’ as a reporter asked why federal investigators are refusing to share information with their state counterparts
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey speaks during a press conference at City Hall on Friday
People ride in the back of a truck during a demonstration against increased immigration enforcement, days after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, outside the Canopy by Hilton hotel that demonstrators believe is being used by federal agents, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday
Minneapolis Police and Minnesota State Police declare an unlawful assembly at the intersection of Park and Third Street in Downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota on Friday
ICE agent Jonathan Ross, who fatally shot Renee Good on Wednesday, and his wife, Patrixia
‘It is entirely possible that the federal system could say we’re not going to indict him,’ Nelson said.
‘But the state could prosecute him for some form of homicide or manslaughter, and so in that situation, the feds have no power to stop that, because Minnesota is a sovereign state, as are all states.’
The attorney struck a somber tone as he reflected on the similarities between the George Floyd case five years ago and the shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
‘It is reflective of the political divide in this country,’ Nelson said.
‘No matter what anybody says, it’s very difficult to change people’s minds these days.
‘It’s going to haunt this agent.
‘This woman is dead.
‘People have to remember that these are human beings on both sides that are involved in this situation, and that the consequences to anyone involved are tragic and profound.’
