Filming a potential suspect before a government-sanctioned interaction and then physically circling her vehicle to put oneself in danger calls his judgment into question.

Many questions remain about the confrontation, and no doubt instinctual psychology played a larger role in Good’s actions and in Ross’s than we will ever know.

But the immediate, callous response of Noem and Vance to this tragedy is part of a growing pattern of disregard for the collateral damage caused by implementing difficult, controversial policies. This cowboy culture that is causing serious division and violence on the nation’s streets needs to be called out and off.

Sometimes the government has to kill; it doesn’t appear that Good’s death was necessarily one of those instances. No death should ever be celebrated, or the victim castigated as a “deranged leftist,” as Vance called Good, an activist who was reportedly trained to aggressively confront ICE agents.

Despite the immediate escalation, it’s clear that while Good was driving in the opposite direction from Ross, the officer continued to shoot at her. Good lay in the driver’s seat, dying, while onlookers scream in horror. 

Such a staunch and certain defense of the totality of his actions is indefensible. 

No one — U.S. citizen or otherwise — should be gunned down on America’s streets this casually by agents of the government.

It also points to why perhaps immigration operations at the scale Noem directed in Minneapolis shouldn’t be deployed so provocatively. Such a confrontation was bound to occur.

Public safety requires restraint as much as it requires the enforcement of law and order. 

When that restraint fails, it is the duty of the heads of government to call for patience, calm and the truth — and if necessary, take some responsibility.