Videos show altercation between Alex Pretti and federal officers 11 days before he was killed | US news
Videos of an earlier confrontation between Alex Pretti and federal agents emerged Wednesday, 11 days before the ICU nurse was fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis.
The nearly two-minute video, published Wednesday by The News Movement, a digital news outlet, shows a Jan. 13 incident in Minneapolis in which officers grabbed Pretti and tackled him to the ground during intense social protests against the federal crackdown in the city.
It’s unclear what happened before the events captured on camera, but the footage shows Pretti yelling at agents in an unmarked vehicle and kicking the car’s taillight as they drove away. Shortly after, a heavily armed, tactical-geared agent is seen exiting the car and appears to tackle Pretti to the ground as other officers gather around.
Pretti soon appeared to elude the officers and stood up and remained at the scene as the agents left. After Pretti’s jacket is removed by officers, News Movement video shows what appears to be a gun in his waistband. Pretti, who reportedly had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, never touched the gun during or after the altercation.
A family representative confirmed to the Guardian that Pretti was the man in the footage published on Wednesday.
“A week before Alex was shot in the street – even though he posed no threat to anyone – he was violently attacked by a group of ICE agents. Nothing that happened exactly a week ago could have justified Alex’s murder,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney representing Pretti’s family, said in a statement.
A representative of the family also said that they were aware of the incident and that Pretti was injured but could not receive medical attention.
On Wednesday, the Minnesota Star Tribune published separate bystander video from the same incident, showing officers struggling with Pretti. Witness Max Shapiro, who filmed the interaction, told the newspaper: “He hit the ground pretty hard.” The footage ends with Shapiro approaching Pretti and asking if he is okay, to which Pretti replies, “I’m okay. Are we all okay? Are we all safe?”
A third video posted on YouTube the day of the incident reflects anger over the ongoing immigration enforcement operation, with cars honking their horns and people blowing whistles to alert neighbors to the presence of federal agents.
Pretti and other protesters confronted federal agents that day just four blocks from where Renee Good was killed by an ICE officer the week before.
All videos show agents firing tear gas and pepper spray into the crowd during the incident while continuing to restrain Pretti. Chaotic footage shows other residents gathering and shouting at officers after the incident.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesman said in an email Wednesday night that they were reviewing the footage.
It’s unclear from the footage what exactly triggered Pretti’s anger toward the agents.
Sahan MagazineA local outlet covering immigrant communities reported that a crowd of more than 100 people had gathered to observe and protest following reports from the area that day about ICE’s presence in the neighborhood.
Media reported that a woman was forcibly removed from her vehicle after police officers broke her window. State Rep. Aisha Gomez was also at the scene and said agents grabbed another man and pushed his head to the ground before taking him away.
Gomez stated that the sales point staff also physically intervened against him and said, “I was pushed without any verbal communication.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was asked about the footage at the CNN town hall and said it had nothing to do with the fatal shooting that took place 11 days later.
“I think we need to talk about what happened and the circumstances that led to the murder,” the mayor said.
Trump administration officials initially claimed that Pretti “brandished” a gun the day he was killed and planned to “massacre” officers; these claims were contradicted by video showing Pretti holding a phone, not a gun.
“The sickening lies told by the administration about our son are reprehensible and disgusting,” Pretti’s family said in a statement shortly after his son was killed. “Alex was clearly not holding a gun when he was attacked by Trump’s killer and cowardly ICE thugs… Please reveal the truth about our son. He was a good man.”
