Stephen A. Smith Offers Nuanced Take On ICE Shooting -- For Now
How long until he changes his mind?
According to Stephen A. Smith, the ICE agent who shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis was within his legal rights but could have avoided the matter.
"I saw the video on numerous occasions, and from a lawful perspective as it pertains to a law enforcement official, don’t expect him to be prosecuted. He was completely justified," Smith said on his weekly "Straight Shooter" talk show on Wednesday.
"From a humanitarian perspective, however, why did you have to do that? If you could move out of the way, that means you could have shot the tires. That means you could have gotten her a few feet away after you shot the tires, and if you were unsuccessful in doing that, you could have gotten her down the road. You didn’t have to do that. She wasn’t driving down the road coming at you 90 miles an hour. She was parked in the middle of the street, and rather than get out of the car, she wrongfully tried to drive off and wrongfully disregarded a law enforcement official, which is exactly what ICE is—and as a result, lost her life because of it."
While Smith's response may seem surprisingly measured, the question is: how long will it take before he changes his stance? Stephen A. has a long history of offering reasonable takes in real time, then reversing course when certain groups challenge him.
Most recently, Smith embarked on a three-week apology tour after members of what he calls the "black community" questioned his authenticity following mild criticism of Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas.
Given the political divide over the events in Minneapolis, it would not be surprising if Smith takes a different tone on his show next week.