by Staff Report
HARTFORD, CT – Advocates and community members are organizing a vigil for 6 p.m. tonight outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Field office in Hartford in response to the death of Renee Nicole Good.
Good, a U.S. citizen who had never faced criminal charges, was shot and killed by immigration officials in Minneapolis on Wednesday. Department of Homeland Security officials claim officers “feared for their lives” when they shot her, and say Good was trying to run them over with her Honda Pilot.
Videos from the scene shows an officer firing two shots into the SUV after grabbing the door handle of the vehicle, but it is unclear if the car ever makes contact with the officer.
Minnesota officials have condemned the shooting, saying Good’s death was avoidable and that it is clear from the videos the shooting was not done in self defense, according to the Associated Press.
The shooting sparked protests across the country, including in New York City.
The Connecticut vigil will be at 450 Main St., Hartford, organizers said in a release. Labor leaders, clergy and migrant community organizers are expected to speak, as well as people who claim they have been victimized by ICE here in Connecticut.
The event is endorsed by CT Civil Liberties Defense Committee, ACLU CT, Indivisible CT, 5051CT, National Day Laborer Organizing Network, Hartford Deportation Defense, CT Students for a Dream, Danbury Unites for Immigrants, Teamsters 1150 Pride Caucus, Jewish Voices for Peace, Stamford Norwalk United with Immigrants, CT Democratic Socialists of America, Muslim Justice Center, Hartford Jewish Organizing Collective, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Working Families Power and Workers’ Voice CT, according to the release.
“Along with people all over the country, we will not be silent or hide in the face of ICE’s horrendous attacks,” organizers said in the release. “In Hartford, activists, workers, and students are standing together to demand ‘Stop ICE terror from Connecticut to Minneapolis!’”
A group called Dare to Struggle is planning a protest in the same location for 3 p.m. Thursday, they said in social media posts. That group is demanding the name of the agent who shot Good be released to the public and that he be charged with murder.