The two federal officers who shot at Alex Pretti in Minneapolis have been placed on leave, a Department of Homeland Security official said on Wednesday.
A Border Patrol agent and a Customs and Border Protection officer have been on leave since the fatal shooting on Saturday, according to the official, who said that the move was standard protocol. Earlier claims that the officers had continued to work had been inaccurate, the official added.
Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol chief who had been deployed to Minnesota, said on Sunday that the officers involved in the shooting were still working but had been transferred to other cities, adding that they would “more than likely be on administrative duty.”
It is unclear whether the other federal officers who pinned Mr. Pretti to the ground and restrained him were also placed on leave. Two federal officers discharged their weapons during the encounter, according to a preliminary review by Customs and Border Protection’s internal watchdog office that was sent to Congress on Tuesday. It provided a detailed timeline of the events based on body camera footage and agency documentation.
The review was the first official written assessment of the shooting since Trump administration officials rushed to call Mr. Pretti, a U.S. citizen and intensive care nurse, a “domestic terrorist.” Shortly after the shooting, Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, claimed that Mr. Pretti had been “brandishing” a gun and that he had wanted to “kill law enforcement.”
But the initial review did not say that Mr. Pretti had brandished a gun. It said that Mr. Pretti had resisted attempts by officers to take him into custody, resulting in a struggle. A Border Patrol agent then multiple times yelled, “He’s got a gun!”
About five seconds later, a Border Patrol agent fired his Glock 19, and a Customs and Border Protection officer also fired his Glock 47 at Mr. Pretti, the review said. After the shooting, a Border Patrol agent “advised he had possession of Pretti’s firearm” and “subsequently cleared and secured Pretti’s firearm in his vehicle,” according to the review.
A New York Times analysis of video footage of the encounter found that officers fired 10 shots, including six after Mr. Pretti was lying motionless on the ground. Mr. Pretti, who had a firearms permit, had been disarmed before he was shot.
Hilton Beckham, a Customs and Border Protection spokeswoman, said in a statement that the government review was “an initial outline of an event that took place and do not convey any definitive conclusion or investigative findings.”
Mr. Pretti’s killing came after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good, a U.S. citizen, in Minneapolis earlier this month.
The Trump administration has sent thousands of federal officers and agents to Minnesota in recent weeks as part of its immigration enforcement blitz in the state. President Trump said on Tuesday that the administration may “de-escalate” the crackdown in Minnesota, although he did not specify what changes could come. He has also blamed Mr. Pretti for carrying a gun during the encounter, but has promised a “very honorable and honest investigation” into his killing.
Madeleine Ngo covers immigration and economic policy for The Times.
The post Federal Officers Who Fired at Pretti Placed on Leave appeared first on New York Times.
