Feds Can’t Destroy Evidence, For Now, In Killing Of Minneapolis Resident Alex Pretti: Judge

MINNEAPOLIS — A federal judge has temporarily barred the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies from destroying or altering evidence tied to the fatal shooting of Minneapolis resident Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents on Saturday.

The temporary restraining order was granted late Saturday in U.S. District Court after a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on behalf of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and alongside the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

The order prevents DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and related officials from altering or destroying evidence connected to the Jan. 24 shooting near Nicollet Avenue and 26th Street.

In court filings, state officials argued that preserving evidence was necessary to prevent irreparable harm and to ensure a full, fair, and transparent investigation into Pretti’s death.

Pretti, 37, was an ICU nurse at the local Veterans Affairs Hospital and was recording ICE activity at the time he was shot. The killing marks the second death of a Minneapolis resident at the hands of federal immigration agents in January. It's the third ICE shooting in the Twin Cities over a three-week span.

The shootings have sparked widespread protests, public outrage, and renewed scrutiny of the federal government’s immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota.

President Donald Trump addressed the shooting and federal presence in the Twin Cities during a Sunday interview with The Wall Street Journal, suggesting that immigration enforcement authorities would eventually leave the area, though he did not provide a timeline.

“At some point we will leave,” Trump told the newspaper. “We’ve done, they’ve done a phenomenal job.”

Trump added that a different group of federal personnel would remain to focus on financial fraud.

When asked twice whether the Border Patrol officer who fatally shot Pretti did the right thing, the president did not answer directly, saying instead that his administration was “reviewing everything” and would issue a determination.

According to reporting, Pretti had a 9mm semiautomatic handgun on his person during the encounter. He was licensed to carry the firearm.

The killing has raised uncomfortable questions about the GOP's core positions on issues ranging from gun ownership to states' rights and trust in the federal government.

The restraining order is temporary and is expected to be revisited as the case proceeds. State officials have said the goal is to preserve evidence while investigations into Pretti’s death continue.

Videos of the deadly Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti contradict government statements

Leaders of law enforcement organizations expressed alarm Sunday over the latest deadly shooting by federal officers in Minneapolis while use-of-force experts criticized the Trump administration’s justification of the killing, saying bystander footage contradicted its narrative of what prompted it.

The federal government also faced criticism over the lack of a civil rights inquiry by the U.S. Justice Department and its efforts to block Minnesota authorities from conducting their own review of the killing of Pretti.

In a bid to ease tensions, the International Association of Chiefs of Police called on the White House to convene discussions “as soon as practicable” among federal, state, and local law enforcement.

While questions remained about the latest confrontation, use-of-force experts told The Associated Press that bystander video undermined federal authorities’ claim that Pretti “approached” a group of lawmen with a firearm and that a Border Patrol officer opened fire “defensively.” There has been no evidence made public, they said, that supports a claim by Border Patrol senior official Greg Bovino that Pretti, who had a permit to carry a concealed handgun, intended to “massacre law enforcement.”

ALSO READ: Alex Pretti's Final Moments: Videos Show Details Of Border Patrol Shooting

Reporting from the Associated Press was used in this story.