Alex Pretti’s family say they have no answers nine months after federal agents killed him
An image of Alex Pretti is seen at a makeshift memorial in the area where he was shot dead by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis
By Meridith Edwards, Whitney Wild, CNN
(CNN) — The parents of Alex Pretti, an American man shot and killed by immigration agents in Minneapolis in January, are accusing the Department of Justice of violating their rights under a federal victims’ rights law, as they demand transparency and justice in their son’s death.
In a July letter to Attorney General Todd Blanche — obtained exclusively by CNN — an attorney representing Michael and Susan Pretti wrote they have not received any substantive updates from the DOJ regarding an investigation into their son’s death, and called the DOJ’s attitude toward the case cruel.
“The government’s pattern of conduct is not only unconscionable, but unlawful,” the letter says.
The letter goes on to say the Pretti family met with US Attorney for the District of Minnesota Dan Rosen on July 13, the same day Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty announced in a news conference that federal officials had handed over volumes of evidence from Pretti’s shooting.
However, the letter says, despite a public acknowledgment from local officials of an evidence-sharing agreement, Rosen refused to provide any information and would not even confirm the arrangement.
“It is impossible to convey how the government’s refusal to engage in transparent communication with the Pretti family has compounded their heartbreak,” the letter says.
“Further, with each such refusal, U.S. Attorney Rosen even refused to explain the basis for his position, instead stating only that ‘I can’t tell you for all kinds of reasons,’ without providing a single one,” according to the letter.
CNN has reached out to the DOJ and the US Attorney for Minnesota.
Pretti’s parents and attorney are set to address the media on October 27 in an 11 a.m. CT news conference, their first since the 37-year-old ICU nurse’s death.
Pretti’s death was captured in its entirety on video. Like some other incidents that occurred as a result of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown, the footage from Pretti’s shooting differed from the version of events provided by the Department of Homeland Security.
Kristi Noem, then-DHS secretary, initially described Pretti as a “terrorist” who “attacked” officers after “brandishing” a weapon, though the video disputed those claims. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller referred to Pretti as an “assassin” who tried to murder federal agents.
The footage shows, minutes before the fatal encounter with Pretti, immigration agents patrolling a Minneapolis street and interacting with bystanders. A witness, Nilson Barahona, told CNN agents were trying to apprehend someone who fled into a donut shop that locked its doors, leaving the group of federal officers on the sidewalk and street. Agents detained one observer as others blew whistles, yelled and recorded video on their phones.
Video shows Pretti attempting to intervene in a scuffle between an observer and the agents.
During the incident, Pretti was pepper-sprayed in the face. One of the officers can be heard in the footage shouting: “Gun! Gun! Gun!” as Pretti is on his knees and bent forward. An agent removed Pretti’s gun from his waistband and can be seen exiting the skirmish. At about the same time, one agent drew his service weapon.
About a second after the agent holding Pretti’s weapon moved away, the officer who drew his own weapon appeared to fire several shots at Pretti before another agent drew his weapon and a shot rang out. The other officer then raised his gun and fired more shots. At least 10 gunshots can be heard on the video.
The DHS report on its initial investigation into Pretti’s death says an officer yelled, “He’s got a gun” multiple times before the officers fired.
Pretti’s death followed the fatal shooting of Renee Good on January 7 and the non-fatal shooting of Julio Sosa-Celis on January 14 by immigration agents during Operation Metro Surge. Those incidents prompted significant protests in Minneapolis and across the country for weeks.
Hennepin County prosecutors have fought the DOJ for key evidence in Pretti’s death for months, after federal law enforcement repeatedly threw up blockades to their access.
On the day Pretti was killed, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension attempted to access the scene to launch an investigation but was banned by federal authorities. CNN was on scene the next day when the BCA first accessed the scene on a court order from a state judge.
State and local investigators sued the Trump administration in federal court to obtain evidence in Pretti’s killing. After an evidence-sharing agreement between the DOJ and Minnesota investigators was finalized in June, Hennepin County prosecutors received volumes of evidence in Pretti’s shooting.
Weeks later, the DOJ abruptly changed course and stopped sharing information, leaving Hennepin County prosecutors unable to access crucial evidence such as the weapons used to shoot Pretti and the firearm Pretti was carrying in his waistband at the time of the altercation, according to court records filed October 13.
The letter from Pretti’s parents asks the DOJ to identify the federal employees who shot and killed Pretti, commit to sharing information with state and local investigators, confirm whether the FBI is continuing to investigate Pretti’s murder, and return any items of Pretti’s personal property no longer needed for evidentiary purposes.
“No family should have to beg the U.S. government to do its job,” the letter says. “And no government should act with such caprice.”
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