In Minneapolis this week, federal immigration agent Jonathan Ross somehow managed to turn what should have been a serious law-enforcement encounter into the nation’s weirdest attempt at TikTokCop.
As protests roiled after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, the centerpiece of the controversy wasn’t just the use of force — it was the fact that the agent was recording the whole thing on his cellphone as if he were live-streaming his Destiny 2 rank climb. [Reuters] [Time]
Now let’s be clear: Renee Good was a 37-year-old mother of three. The questions around why deadly force was used are grave and legitimate. What has captured the internet’s ire isn’t just the shooting — it’s the optics of an ICE agent treating a potentially life-and-death moment like a vlog opportunity. That’s not de-escalation, that’s selfie-stick tactics. [Washington Post] [People]
You can almost hear the internal monologue:
“Should I talk her down?”
“Nah. Let me get this angle.”
I mean, we all know cops shoot body-cam footage like we shoot vacation pics, but at least vacationers usually get a good angle. This agent’s cinematic masterpiece involved circling a woman’s SUV with his phone — and then pulling the trigger as she tried to leave. It’s like watching someone play Grand Theft Auto: Federal Workforce Edition — except this time the NPC was real and the consequences were tragic. [Guardian] [AP]
Imagine the de-escalation training scenario:
Trainer: “What do you do first?”
Ross: “iPhone portrait or landscape?”
Trainer: “No — calm the situation!”
Ross: “But TikTok!”
Trainer: bangs head on desk
Ultimately, this isn’t just a tragic loss of life — it’s a tragicomedy of priorities. When your first instinct at a high-stress scene is to record for posterity, you’ve probably missed the memo on “protect and serve.” If Minnesota wanted a viral moment, this wasn’t the content strategy they signed up for.
References
[Reuters: Fatal ICE shooting in Minneapolis protests] — Reuters, Jan 10, 2026
[Time: ICE shootings and national scrutiny] — Time, Jan 2026
[Washington Post: Agent cellphone video analysis] — Washington Post, Jan 9, 2026
[People: Use-of-force expert reaction] — People.com, Jan 2026
[The Guardian: Minnesota lawsuit vs DHS] — The Guardian, Jan 12, 2026
[AP: Nationwide protests over the killing] — AP coverage, Jan 2026