Alex Pretti got into a confrontation with law enforcement eleven days before his fatal shooting, a new video shows.
The January 13 video shows Pretti screaming expletives and kicking the taillight out of a law-enforcement vehicle. Law enforcement then tackle Pretti to the ground before letting him go. What appears to be a gun can be seen in the 37-year-old’s waistband.
Another video angle appears to show Pretti yelling at an agent, “Assault me, motherf***er.” The video was released by the News Movement.
Pretti’s family confirmed on Wednesday that the man in the video was Pretti. The BBC also analyzed the video and reported that the man in question “has the same coat, facial hair and gait as Alex Pretti and a facial recognition tool suggests a 97 percent match.” A spokesperson confirmed to National Review that Homeland Security Investigations is aware of and reviewing the footage.
Pretti was shot and killed last weekend in an altercation with Border Patrol. During the confrontation, a Border Patrol agent spotted a gun on Pretti’s person, at which point agents discharged their guns. Pretti did not try to reach for his handgun, according to a Border Patrol report.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has said Pretti was a lawful gun owner with a license to carry.
Although President Donald Trump has posted the recently released video to discount the claim that Pretti was a “peaceful protester,” Minnesota politicians said the new video appears to vilify Pretti.
“Are we actually making the argument that Alex Pretti should be killed for something that happened, like 11 days prior to the shooting itself?” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said during a CNN town hall Wednesday night. “I think we should be talking about the circumstances that actually led to the killing and what took place.”
Pretti’s family’s lawyer added that “nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing.”
The two officers who shot at Pretti have been placed on administrative leave, Department of Homeland Security officials said Wednesday. Pretti’s death is the second involving law enforcement to occur this month in Minneapolis.
Renee Good, the first, was shot and killed on January 7 by ICE agent Jonathan Ross after she allegedly drove her vehicle at law enforcement.