Watch My Remarks at the 1/9/26 Press Conference Calling for a Fair Investigation into the Murder of Renee Nicole Good
Today, dozens of elected leaders called on the federal government to cooperate with a joint or parallel independent investigation to be conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), after the FBI had restricted Minnesota state investigators from accessing any evidence on the murder of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.
I called for accountability from the federal government and the allowance of full access to the information, evidence, and the case file for the BCA so that a thorough, complete, and independent investigation can be conducted to determine if the use of force was justified or requires additional accountability. The BCA has the expertise, they are equipped, and they are ready to pursue justice on behalf of Minnesotans.
Speakers included: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Minneapolis Councilmember Jason Chavez, MN Representative Aisha Gomez, myself, and MN Senator Zaynab Mohamed.
Also in Attendance: Minneapolis Council Members Elliott Payne, Aisha Chughtai, Soren Stevenson, Aurin Chowdhury, Jamison Whiting; Minneapolis Board of Estimate and Taxation Commissioner Eric Harris Bernstein; Minneapolis School Board Member Colin Beachy; MN Representatives, Jamie Long, Sam Sencer-Mura, Esther Agbaje, Emma Greenman, Mohamud Noor, Sydney Jordan, Katie Jones, Liz Lee, Cedrick Frazier, Maria Isa, Mike Howard, Brion Curran, Larry Kraft, Zach Stevenson; MN Senators: Scott Dibble, Doron Clark. (Please note: this list may be incomplete)
Remarks As Delivered
I’m Hennepin County Commissioner Irene Fernando but you can call me Commish. I use she/her pronouns and I’m a very very proud child of immigrants. I’m the youngest woman to ever serve on the Hennepin County Board, I’m the first Filipino-American elected in the state, and I’m Hennepin’s first Board Chair of color in our 174-year history.
My heart is grieving for Renee and her family. This is an unimaginable and preventable loss. I honor Renee’s humanity and life, and I acknowledge the deep pain felt by her loved ones and neighbors.
The taxpayer funded actions and harm we are experiencing right now are inhumane, unlawful, and unconstitutional. United States’ due process means that justice is pursued through legal action, credible investigation and courts, not through guns, murder, and violence on our streets. There’s jarring footage that show ICE agents staged at elementary school bus stops and going door-to-door. Often agents are unwilling to provide a badge number, a warrant, or any legal documentation – this is a terrifying reality for Minnesotans since we are still grieving Speaker Hortman’s assassination due to the impersonation of a police officer at her doorstep.
Our community has experienced the national spotlight with law enforcement shootings, which required significant change and reform on how such cases are examined, investigated, and communicated to the public. It is critical for our communities to have some sense of trust in the process in order to meet the standards set by Minnesota law and resident expectations.
This is why we are calling on the federal government to cooperate with a joint or independent investigation conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The thought is that they would do this together, but if for some reason that is not possible, please allow shared evidence for a parallel investigation. The Minnesota BCA is the only nonpartisan state agency equipped to investigate robustly and effectively – in part due to their establishment of the Force Investigations Unit. They have the expertise, they are equipped, and they are ready to pursue justice on behalf of Minnesotans.
Alongside the Federal investigation, the BCA can and should conduct this parallel process, which means full access to the information, evidence, and case file. Because in Minnesota, we expect that investigations are completed by the BCA to then get reviewed by the County Attorney to determine if the use of force was appropriate or not. We have a process here to review force, we have full trust in this process and in the County Attorney to do the objective review needed, based on the facts and Minnesota law. The idea that our federal government would not fully cooperate with the BCA in an investigation creates even more mistrust among our community members because we know federal investigations are very rarely released to the public.
Our justice system, and we are here together to ask for and request full cooperation by the FBI and the US Attorney’s Office to provide full access to the BCA so they can conduct a thorough, complete, and independent investigation to determine if the use of force was justified or requires additional accountability.
Last and certainly not least, just directly to residents, our neighbors, our friends, our family members, our coworkers, our kids, I am very very proud of our unrelenting courage, compassionate caregiving, and a fierce resilience towards justice. It feels very hopeful and very fearful but together, we can and must resist the urge to give into the numbness that comes from this type of attention – because numbing our pain might also numb our shared humanity, and it is only through the collective wisdom in our bodies and ancestral storylines that we will get through to the other side of this. Together, we come from powerful, loving, and resourceful stories. Our cultures and ancestors have found ways to construct creativity from pain, joy from fear, and hope from oppression. And we will do so again today.
Ultimately, I do believe that our shared humanity and love for one another will prevail, but that only occurs when we all rise with one another. Leading with integrity, caring for one another with dignity, and fighting for our shared humanity without apology. I and we remain in this fight with you: speaking our truths, and leading toward accountability and justice.