NEW YORK CITY — In an opinion column published by the news organization MS NOW, three former trial attorneys in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division sharply criticized the Trump administration’s decision to cancel an agreement between the city of Minneapolis and the DOJ that required police to “de-escalate whenever possible,” arguing that the move undermined accountability and helped pave the way for the fatal shooting of Renee Good.
Cynthia Coe, Katie Chamblee-Ryan and Patrick Kent, co-authors of the opinion piece, served as DOJ representatives when they signed the agreement with the city of Minneapolis in January of last year. They assert the “agreement was designed to prevent needless deaths like [Renee Good’s]. It required officers to calibrate their use of force to the threat and the alleged crime; in other words, you don’t use a gun to address a parking violation.” The agreement was canceled in May of last year.
The co-authors described their former roles as attorneys in the Civil Rights Division as “specialized in investigating law enforcement agencies for possible civil rights violations, and evaluating police shootings.” They added, “Many cases we reviewed involved lawful uses of force, close calls or simply poor tactical judgment, which is not illegal, even when it has tragic consequences.” All three co-authors resigned from their positions at the DOJ in 2025.
In reference to the killing of Renee Good, they declared “this is not one of those cases,” and continued, “As we see it, that is textbook excessive force.”
In characterizing Good’s death, they wrote, “Good’s death is a tragedy. And it was a predictable one. In the months leading up to her killing, we saw countless videos of ICE officers using force that reflected poor training, a refusal to de-escalate and a growing corps of masked agents acting with brutal impunity. This is the inevitable result: a woman shot and killed for blocking a road.”
According to the co-authors, the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ once enabled effective policing by securing accountability. They emphasized its historical importance, noting that it “relies on a foundational civil rights law from the Reconstruction era,” and that “for decades, the division has used that authority to prosecute the most egregious violations of Americans’ rights, including the murder of George Floyd.”
They criticized the current DOJ leadership for declining to investigate the death of Renee Good. “Refusing to investigate her shooting sends an unmistakable message: Federal officers may act in disregard of human life, secure in the knowledge that appalling acts will be tolerated.”
The opinion piece ends with a call to action. “When the government fails, ordinary citizens have ensured accountability by shining a light on those in power.” The co-authors urge Americans not to look away, writing, “If rights are to mean anything, we must insist that the institutions and people who still respect them, state and local governments, courts, journalists and ordinary citizens, act as though the truth matters. That begins with refusing to deny what we plainly see.”
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