Man fatally shot by Border Patrol agents was a federal employee at VA

"Federal agents on Saturday fatally shot a man protesting immigration enforcement activities in Minneapolis. The man was later revealed to be an employee of the Veterans Affairs Department, working as an intensive care unit nurse at the medical center in the city where he was killed. Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, was taken to the ground by several federal agents before one of them shot him."

"Trump administration officials accused Pretti of approaching Border Patrol agents with a weapon and resisting efforts to disarm him. They said, without evidence, that Pretti was looking to "massacre law enforcement." Analysis of videos of the incident by media organizations such as The New York Timesfound the evidence contradicted that version of events, as Pretti approached the with only his phone and his firearm was holstered and concealed until after the agents had forcefully brought him to the ground."

"As a VA nurse, Pretti was a member of the American Federation of Government Employees chapter at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. AFGE President Everett Kelley said Pretti "dedicated his life to serving American veterans." "Our union is heartbroken," Kelley said. "An AFGE member is dead. And a family's life has been forever changed." Kelley blamed President Trump's policies for creating the environment in which Pretti's death occurred, though he encouraged his members to demonstrate restraint."

Federal agents fatally shot Alex Jeffrey Pretti, 37, during a protest of immigration enforcement activities in Minneapolis. Pretti worked as an intensive care unit nurse for the Veterans Affairs Department and belonged to the American Federation of Government Employees at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Border Patrol said it was conducting a targeted operation to detain an individual it said was in the country illegally, and agents took Pretti to the ground before one agent shot him. Administration officials accused him of approaching agents with a weapon and seeking to "massacre law enforcement," but video analysis contradicted that account, showing he approached with only his phone and that his firearm remained holstered and concealed until after he was forced to the ground. AFGE leaders expressed heartbreak, honored his service to veterans, urged restraint, and blamed presidential policies for creating the environment that led to his death.

Read at Nextgov.com