The tragic death of Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse, at the hands of Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents, has once again plunged our community into mourning. Pretti was fatally shot on Saturday, January 24th, while lawfully recording immigration enforcement operations in a commercial district of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Multiple bystander video recordings show federal officers approaching, physically assaulting, and subduing him before shooting him multiple times at close range. The incident escalated after Pretti, a VA Hospital employee, intervened to assist two women who were being confronted by federal officers. Notably, Pretti was legally carrying a concealed, holstered firearm for which he possessed a valid permit. Despite the administration’s claims that he approached federal officers with a handgun, footage shows that his weapon remained holstered and out of sight. He was only carrying a cell phone.
This incident is not isolated. On January 7th, a federal officer shot and killed legal observer Renee Nicole Good, a mother of three, in Minneapolis. We send our deepest condolences and share in the grief and conviction of Pretti’s friends and loved ones, just as we did with Good’s family, a mere two weeks ago.
These events illustrate a disturbing pattern of escalating excessive force and a blatant disregard for human life by federal agents operating under the guise of law enforcement. In addition, the repeated rapid response narratives attempting to justify these actions — suggesting that our eyes have not seen what they have seen and that exercising constitutionally protected rights warrants a death sentence — are both dangerous and unacceptable.
The deployment of masked, unidentified, and heavily armed agents into our communities is meant to intimidate. This degrades public trust and escalates violence. We are at a critical turning point. Historic events often follow clusters of terrible coincidences and weakening of restraints on power. All it takes is a spark. The unease we feel is a recognition that we are close to a profound abuse of federal power. It is imperative to confront this reality and demand accountability. To protect our communities and uphold our freedoms, we must organize, speak out, and insist on immediate action to prevent continued loss of life and the erosion of our civil liberties.
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The Center for Policing Equity (CPE) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that uses data science to empower vulnerable communities—particularly Black communities—to partner with leaders on redesigning public safety systems that facilitate bold, innovative, and lasting change.