Hochul, Blakeman trade barbs over killing of Minnesota woman by ICE officer

ALBANY – Gov. Kathy Hochul and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman lobbed barbs at each other Thursday over the death of Rachel Nicole Good, the 37-year-old woman who was fatally shot Wednesday morning by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

Hochul’s campaign accused Blakeman of blaming Good in a social media post of “lawlessness and hostility toward law enforcement.”

Blakeman, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, posted on X Wednesday evening, “The tragedy in Minneapolis was not an accident. It was the predictable result of radical local elected officials who encouraged lawlessness and hostility toward law enforcement.”

In response to Hochul's campaign, Madison Spanodemos, a spokesperson for Blakeman’s campaign, said,  “County Executive Blakeman was clear: those who encourage lawlessness and hostility toward law enforcement are responsible for this tragedy. Governor Hochul has now made an already dangerous situation worse by going on national television and accusing the brave men and women of law enforcement of ‘terrorizing New Yorkers.’ ”

Good, a mother of three, was driving home after dropping her 6-year-old son off at school when she encountered federal agents on a residential street, according to her ex-husband. She was a U.S. citizen with no past charges beyond a traffic ticket.

Videos show one officer approaching her car window and grabbing the door handle, while another stands in front of the car. Good initially backs up her car and turns the vehicle to drive down the street. As the vehicle moves forward, an officer shot at her at least twice from close range. An analysis by The New York Times shows the car was driving away from, not toward, the officer who pulled his gun.

In an appearance Thursday morning on MS Now’s "Morning Joe," Hochul said the shooting and the deployment of ICE officers to Minneapolis was an example of the chaos the Trump administration wants to create.

“I am so sickened as a mom that there's a child that woke up yesterday, a 6-year-old, who had a loving mother and goes to bed an orphan,” Hochul said.

She added that in her State of the State address Tuesday she would be supporting an effort that would give legal recourse to New Yorkers who have had their constitutional rights violated by ICE officers.

“Governor Hochul is taking action to protect New York families and hold ICE accountable,” Hochul campaign spokesman Ryan Radulovacki said in a statement. “That’s the difference between protecting New Yorkers and protecting Trump.”

With AP