"Just a few hours after Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a statement that said, without evidence, that the 37-year-old registered nurse "wanted to do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem would later imply Pretti had been "asked to show up and to continue to resist" by Minnesota's governor. Multiple videos from the scene immediately undercut those claims, and there has been no indication in the days since that Pretti threatened or planned to hurt law enforcement."
"Several high-profile use-of-force incidents and arrests involving federal immigration agents have involved a similar cycle: Strident statements by Trump administration officials, soon contradicted by video footage or other evidence. Some law enforcement experts believe the repeated falsehoods are harming federal authorities both in the public eye and in the courtroom. The top federal prosecutor in Los Angeles, Bill Essayli, has taken five defendants to trial on charges of assaulting officers - and his office has lost each case."
Federal officials portrayed Alex Pretti as intending to "massacre law enforcement" shortly after Border Patrol agents shot him in Minneapolis, and Kristi Noem suggested he had been "asked to show up and to continue to resist." Multiple videos immediately undercut those claims, and no evidence has emerged that Pretti threatened officers. A pattern of strident official statements followed by contradictory video has appeared in other federal immigration use-of-force incidents. Law enforcement experts say repeated falsehoods are damaging federal credibility and courtroom outcomes. Prosecutors and grand juries in multiple cities have failed to secure convictions or indictments in similar cases, yet officials continue pursuing charges.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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