TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A crowd of demonstrators took to the streets in St. Petersburg and Tampa Saturday in response to the deadly shooting of Renee Good.
“Justice for Renee Good,” read the signs and filled the chants during demonstrations outside the St. Petersburg Police Department and in downtown Tampa.
The protests stem from a deadly encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
Video shows an ICE agent telling Good to get out of her car. She then drives forward, where another ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, is standing near the front of the vehicle. Seconds later, Ross fires, killing Good.
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem responded to the incident and said Ross acted out of self-defense.
“The ICE officer, fearing for his life and the other officers around him and the safety of the public, fired defensive shots. He used his training to save his own life and that of his colleagues.” Secretary Noem said.
In St. Petersburg, Meaghan Burton joined protest demonstrations and criticized the shooting.
“She [Good] was trying to maybe flee. Which the punishment for fleeing shouldn’t be death,” Burton said.
Thomas Porter, a counter-protester, held a sign titled ‘Team ICE’ disagreed saying, “She [Good] put herself in a situation and she found out, you know? That’s just the way it goes.”
In a written statement, Good’s wife Becca said the couple had attended the ICE operation to “support their neighbors.”
Secretary Noem described otherwise, stating, “She [Good] had been stalking and impeding their work all throughout the day,”
The protests specifically targeted the St. Petersburg Police Department.
Leo Gonzalez, one of the St. Petersburg protest organizers under the Tampa Bay Immigrant Solidarity Network said, “Our police department is still in agreement with ICE since February 27th, 2025. The 287G agreement and we think it is unacceptable.”
In response, St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway has issued this statement:
To clarify, our department is not part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). We assist ICE only when, during the course of a lawful encounter, an individual is identified as a suspect or subject in a criminal investigation. If it is determined that the individual has an active warrant, we are legally obligated to execute that warrant, whether it’s ICE-related or not, fairly and consistently. We are not seeking, nor do we receive, funding to support ICE operations. As of today, none of our officers has received training under the 287(g) program; therefore, none has been deputized.
— Chief Anthony Holloway, St. Petersburg Police Dept.
Protest organizers in St. Petersburg say demonstrations will continue into early next week.