Bystander videos of the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol officer in Minneapolis on January 25 contradict the federal government’s account of what occurred, according to use-of-force experts who reviewed the footage.
The videos show Pretti holding a cellphone in his hands as an officer opened fire, experts said, challenging federal claims that Pretti approached officers with a firearm and posed an imminent threat.
Expert Analysis Challenges Official Account
Use-of-force experts said bystander video footage contradicts the federal government’s account of the shooting. “I don’t think there’s any evidence to confirm the official narrative at all,” said Seth Stoughton, a former police officer and use-of-force expert who testified in the trial of the Minneapolis officer convicted of murdering George Floyd. “It’s not unlawful for someone to carry a weapon in Minnesota.”
In videos circulating on social media, Pretti’s hands appear to hold only a mobile phone as the masked officer opens fire. “In a country that has more guns than people, the mere possession of a weapon does not establish an imminent threat to officers — and neither does having a weapon and approaching officers,” Stoughton said.
Charles “Joe” Key, a former police lieutenant and longtime use-of-force expert, said the investigation would depend on evidence still to be released. “The evaluation of the reasonableness of this shooting will entirely depend on when the pistol became visible and how, if at all, it was being displayed or used,” Key said. Federal authorities have not yet released video from Pretti’s mobile phone at the time of the shooting.
Concern Spreads Among Policing Professionals
The shooting marks the third federal officer-involved killing in Minneapolis within three weeks, prompting alarm among leaders of law enforcement organizations about the cumulative effect on policing practices nationwide.
“Every police chief in the country is watching Minneapolis very carefully,” said Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a police research and policy organization. “If a police chief had three officer-involved shootings in three weeks, they would be stepping back and asking, ‘What does our training look like? What does our policy look like?’”
Wexler noted that the actions of federal agencies have repercussions beyond their own ranks. “We’re dealing with a federal agency here,” he said, referring to the Department of Homeland Security, “but its actions can have a ripple effect across the entire country.”
Ian Adams, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of South Carolina, criticized the federal government’s approach to the incident. “Jumping to the end result of this investigation, or what’s supposed to be an investigation, is somewhat embarrassing for policing professionals nationwide,” Adams said. “It’s clear that professionals in policing are observing what’s going on and not liking what they’re seeing.”
Stoughton said use-of-force professionals harbor widespread concerns about how federal authorities were handling the investigation. “It’s very baked into the culture of American policing to not criticize other law enforcement agencies,” he said. “But behind the scenes, there is nothing but professional scorn for the way that DHS is handling the aftermath of these incidents.”
Federal Response Precedes Investigation
Before Pretti’s parents had been notified of his death, federal authorities posted a photograph on social media of a 9mm Sig Sauer semiautomatic handgun they said was seized during the shooting. The post stated: “This looks like a situation where an individual wanted to do maximum damage.”
Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described Pretti as a “would-be assassin” in a social media post. Minnesota state officials said that federal officers likely mishandled evidence by removing the weapon from the scene.
Greg Bovino, a Border Patrol senior official, took a more measured tone in a Sunday news conference, calling the shooting “a tragedy that was preventable.” He declined to comment on video circulating on social media that appeared to contradict the official account, saying an investigation would determine what happened.
“I wasn’t there wrestling him myself. So I’m not going to speculate. I’m going to wait for that investigation,” Bovino said.
Minnesota Excluded From Crime Scene
In the hours after the shooting, Minnesota authorities obtained a search warrant granting them access to the crime scene. Drew Evans, superintendent for the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said his team was blocked from the scene. Minnesota also received a federal court order barring officials from altering evidence related to the shooting, suggesting federal authorities intended to conduct the investigation themselves.
The International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions with federal, state and local law enforcement “as soon as practicable” to address concerns raised by the pattern of federal shootings in Minneapolis.