Here we go again. Another officer-involved shooting in which one or more federal agents shot and killed Alex Pretti, an intensive care unit nurse who served at a Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital. As with the Nicole Good shooting on Jan. 7, top administration officials all tried viewing this incident through a red-tinted lens — maybe “red-tainted” would be a better description — claiming this was just another example of agents responding appropriately by following proper training and procedures. Agents were simply subduing a “violent domestic terrorist” according to agency protocol.
The problem for them this time is that there were many more videos taken from multiple perspectives, closer to the incident, with greater clarity and made available to the media and the public within just a few hours of the incident. These videos clearly contradict the veracity of their premature accusations.
They claimed that Mr. Pretti was armed, threatening and brandishing his firearm at the (Customs and Border Protection) agents. He was, in fact armed, but he was a registered gun owner and had a concealed-carry permit, merely exercising his Second Amendment rights.
Once again evidence was compromised, the crime scene was not properly secured, and the Department of Homeland Security has said that they will conduct any investigation themselves rather than turning that responsibility over to the FBI or state and local officials. Apparently, the exact nature of the investigation is still being discussed and is subject to change.
One thing is crystal clear. There must be a bipartisan congressional hearing and an independent investigation if we are ever to know the truth about these officer-involved shootings by (federal) agents. Anyone found guilty of committing a crime should be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law. Action must be taken to review and reform all training and procedures to make sure these acts never happen again.
In the aftermath there have reportedly been preliminary conversations between President Donald Trump, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Frey to address the problems in Minneapolis. Much needs to be done to resolve these ultra-serious issues, but this may be an encouraging first step.
Jack Crawford
Saugus
