Renee Good's family is united, their attorney says, as they pursue separate investigation

The family of Renee Good, who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis last week, is "really burdened by grief" following the shooting — but is coming together despite their division over politics, according to the family's attorney, Antonio Romanucci.

"It's a message of 'united,'" Romanucci said. "They are remarkable. I can tell you that myself," Romanucci said.

He described the 37-year-old as a mother, daughter, committed partner, animal lover and PTA partner. 

"She was a person. She was someone that was very dear, and it's a big loss. This was a sudden, unexpected taking. Tragic," he said.

President Trump, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and other high-ranking officials in the Trump administration have claimed the ICE agent, Jonathan Ross, was acting in self-defense and characterized Good as a domestic terrorist.

"They're very hurt by that, because they know her. All they talk about when you hear about Renee is really — the primary word that comes out, the first one, is love," Romanucci said.

Independent investigation

The family is pursuing their own, separate investigation of the shooting, Romanucci told CBS News.

"The thought that there is only a one-sided investigation … is really not palatable to the family, nor should it be to the government or the American people," he said.

Their investigation will be separate from any county, state or federal probe.

"We will gather our evidence as best we can and we will … do this ourselves. We would hope to have cooperation, right? That's something that we all hope to do. Let's cooperate to find the truth, and then we accept the truth," Romanucci said. "But until we have that cooperation, we have to run independently."

The FBI is currently investigating the fatal shooting. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said last week it had initially been assigned to investigate the shooting, but withdrew after saying the FBI blocked it from accessing crucial evidence. Noem has insisted the BCA has no authority to investigate the shooting. This week, at least six prosecutors in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division announced they were leaving the department over the lack of a civil rights investigation into Good's shooting, according to six sources briefed on the matter.

"Our Constitution demands, it says that there should be a fair, balanced, unbiased investigation and the more that investigate, the better," Romanucci said, adding the family is seeking accountability.

When asked if civil litigation would be brought against the officer who killed Good, Romanucci said, "We will rule nothing out."

"It certainly is an expectation," he said. "Those cases are … clearly very challenging, I can tell you with the case law that's out there in this environment."

Federal response to shooting

DHS has said Good intended to weaponize her vehicle, which Romanucci disputes.

"Looking at that video, the way... the speed of the car, the direction it was turned and what she said to those officers beforehand — the totality of the circumstances would indicate that she did not weaponize her car," he said.

Romanucci doesn't believe Good broke a law, adding, "Let's say in the worst-case scenario there was a … traffic violation. Her car was improperly placed in the street. OK, what's the response? A gun to your face with the trigger being pulled? Never."

On Sunday, several days after the deadly shooting, Noem announced hundreds more federal agents were coming to Minneapolis for the "largest immigration operation ever."

"The mission that we've been told about for over a year is that it's to get the 'worst of the worst.' I can tell you that Renee was the best of the best," Romanucci said.

The street where Good was shot "was not a battlefield," he said. "This was not some foreign territory where they were fighting a battle. This is our country. This is our city. This is where people live who walk their dogs and take their children to school or go to church."

Another ICE shooting

On Wednesday, there was another shooting in Minneapolis involving ICE, setting off more protests. 

An ICE agent shot a Venezuelan migrant in the leg. According to DHS, the officer acted in self-defense following an attack by the man and two other people using a snow shovel and broom.

"This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

Gov. Tim Walz urged Minnesotans to protest peacefully and document what he called ICE agents' "atrocities."

"They're breaking windows, dragging pregnant women down the street. This long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," Walz said.