The federal agent involved in the Minneapolis incident is an Iraq War veteran with close to twenty years of service in the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, based on records acquired by The Associated Press on Thursday.
Records indicate that Jonathan Ross, who was involved in Wednesday’s event, has been a deportation officer with ICE since 2015. He sustained serious injuries last summer after being dragged by a suspect’s vehicle while attempting to subdue the individual with a stun gun.
While federal authorities have not officially identified the officer who shot Good, a 37-year-old mother killed as she attempted to drive away from agents, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem stated that the agent involved had been dragged by a vehicle last June. A department spokesperson confirmed Noem was referencing the Bloomington, Minnesota case, where official documents named the injured officer as Ross.
Noem, along with other Trump administration officials, has characterized the agent as a seasoned law enforcement professional who acted in accordance with his training, firing at Good after perceiving she was attempting to strike him or other agents with her car. Questions regarding the shooting’s justification as self-defense persist, and the FBI has opened an investigation into the lethal force incident. There are calls for Ross to face criminal charges.
Immediate attempts to contact Ross, 43, using known phone numbers and email addresses were unsuccessful.
Here are some things to know about him:
Experienced military and law enforcement officer
During testimony last month, Ross stated he was deployed to Iraq from 2004 to 2005 with the Indiana National Guard, where he operated as a machine-gunner on a gun truck in a combat patrol unit.
He reported returning from Iraq in 2005, attending college, and then joining the Border Patrol in 2007 near El Paso, Texas. He remained there until 2015, working as a field intelligence agent focused on collecting and analyzing data related to cartels and drug and human smuggling operations.
Ross testified that since joining ICE in 2015, he has worked as a deportation officer stationed in Minnesota. His assignment involves fugitive operations aimed at apprehending “higher value targets” within the ICE region that includes Minneapolis. He also stated he serves as a team leader on the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
“So I develop the targets, create a target package, surveillance, and then develop a plan to execute the arrest warrant,” he said.
Ross added that his qualifications include being a firearms instructor, an active shooter instructor, a field intelligence officer, and a member of the SWAT team. He also mentioned attending the Border Patrol’s academy in New Mexico, where he learned to speak Spanish.
Seriously injured last June
On June 17, Ross led a team of agents to arrest a man residing in the U.S. illegally in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington. According to court records, agents had assembled outside the home of Roberto Munoz-Guatemala, who then departed in his car.
FBI agents activated their emergency lights and sirens to signal him to pull over, but he continued. Ross maneuvered his vehicle diagonally in front of Munoz-Guatemala’s car to block its path.
Ross and an FBI agent announced themselves as police and aimed their weapons at Munoz-Guatemala, who raised his hands. Ross then approached the vehicle and commanded the driver to put it in park.
Ross instructed the driver to lower his window completely, warning he would break it if he refused. He subsequently used a “spring-loaded window punch” to shatter the rear driver’s side window and reached inside to unlock the driver’s door.
As Ross’s arm was inside the car, Munoz-Guatemala accelerated, dragging Ross along the street. Ross discharged his Taser, hitting Munoz-Guatemala with prongs in the head, face, and shoulder.
Prosecutors stated the Taser did not incapacitate Munoz-Guatemala, who continued driving, pulling Ross for the distance of a football field in 12 seconds. Ross was forcibly dislodged when Munoz-Guatemala drove onto a curb a second time and back onto the road.
Ross’s right arm was bleeding, prompting an FBI agent to apply a tourniquet. He later received dozens of stitches at a hospital. Prosecutors noted he “suffered multiple large cuts, and abrasions to his knee, elbow, and face.”
“It was pretty excruciating pain,” Ross testified.
Munoz-Guatemala, bleeding from his injuries, had a woman call 911 to report he was assaulted and was unsure if the person stopping him was an officer. He was arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer using a dangerous or deadly weapon.
Last month, a jury found Munoz-Guatemala guilty, concluding he “should reasonably have known that Jonathan Ross was a law enforcement officer and not a private citizen attempting to assault him.”
Federal officials defend the agent without identifying him
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance commended the agent’s service to the nation without disclosing his name, stating the ICE officer “deserves a debt of gratitude.”
“This is a guy who’s actually done a very, very important job for the United States of America,” Vance said. “He’s been assaulted. He’s been attacked. He’s been injured because of it.”
DHS assistant Tricia McLaughlin refused to confirm the agent’s identity on Thursday, explaining that it would jeopardize the safety of the officer and his family. However, she highlighted his selection for ICE’s special response team, a role that involves a rigorous 30-hour tryout and extra training in specialized areas like breaching techniques, perimeter control, hostage rescue, and firearms.
“He acted according to his training,” she said. “This officer is a longtime ICE officer who has been serving his country his entire life.”
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AP reporters Michael Biesecker and Jonathan J. Cooper contributed to this report.