US Justice Dept opens civil rights probe into Alex Pretti shooting, official says

By Andrew Goudsward

WASHINGTON, Jan 30 (Reuters) – The U.S. Justice Department has started a civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, a senior official said on Friday.

The department’s investigation could potentially lead to criminal charges against the officers involved, though there is a high legal bar to bring such a case.

Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said the FBI was examining Saturday’s shooting with potential assistance from the department’s Civil Rights Division, which typically plays a leading role in investigations into use of force by law enforcement. He cautioned the review was preliminary and he downplayed its scope.  

“This is what I would describe as a standard investigation by the FBI when there’s circumstances like what we saw last Saturday,” Blanche said at a news conference.

Pretti’s shooting by agents taking part in an immigration crackdown has stirred widespread outrage and prompted the Trump administration to make changes in the operation in Minnesota. Local officials have said the administration cannot be trusted and are pursuing their own investigation.

“The family’s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder,” Steve Schleicher, an attorney representing the Pretti family, told Reuters in a statement.

A preliminary review by U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Pretti, 37, was shot by two federal officers, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer. Pretti was the second protester to be shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis this month.

Video of the encounter verified by Reuters showed Pretti holding a cell phone as he was wrestled to the ground by agents. Video also showed that an officer removed a gun from Pretti’s body shortly before the first shots were fired. 

Blanche’s statement followed days of uncertainty over the nature of DOJ’s involvement in the probe.

A Justice Department official told Reuters earlier this week that a criminal civil rights investigation would only begin if warranted by evidence. A DHS official said in a sworn court statement following the shooting that DHS was the lead investigative entity. 

The department has so far not opened a criminal civil rights investigation into the fatal shooting of Renee Good, 37, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer earlier this month. Blanche previously said there was no basis for a criminal probe.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; editing by Andy Sullivan, Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)