"Minnesota's state official who investigates such shootings said in court filings he'd never seen federal agents block local access to a crime scene where both feds and the state had jurisdiction in 20 years on the job. It's the second time this month federal agents blocked Minnesota police from investigating a shooting death by federal officials. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has already pledged a state investigation, blasting the federal government's accounts of Alex Pretti's final moments as "lies.""
"Driving the news: U.S. District JudgeEric Tostrud granted a request Saturday from Minnesota's Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Hennepin County prosecutors to prevent the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies from altering evidence. "Federal agents are not above the law and Alex Pretti is certainly not beneath it,"Attorney General Keith Ellison said in a statement about the lawsuit. "A full, impartial, and transparent investigation into his fatal shooting at the hands of DHS agents is non-negotiable.""
"Videos show Pretti recording agents with a phone and attempting to help someone an agent pushed to the ground. He was sprayed with chemical agents and wrestled to the ground before shots rang out. DHS said Prettiwas armed with a gun, but the videos do not appear to show him reaching for or brandishing the firearm. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Pretti was believed to be a lawful gun owner with a permit to carry."
Federal agents blocked Minnesota police from accessing a crime scene where federal and state agencies both had jurisdiction, an action described as unprecedented in two decades by a state investigator. U.S. District Judge Eric Tostrud granted a request to bar the Department of Homeland Security and other agencies from altering evidence. Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz and Attorney General Keith Ellison, demanded a full, impartial, transparent state investigation and pursued legal action. Video footage shows Alex Pretti recording agents, attempting to help someone, being sprayed with chemical agents and wrestled to the ground before shots were fired. DHS asserted Pretti was armed; the videos do not clearly show him brandishing the firearm. Tensions have risen amid a surge of federal agents in the Twin Cities.
Read at Axios
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]