DOJ Won’t Properly Investigate Alex Pretti Killing in Minneapolis
The Justice Department is not pursuing a civil rights probe into Alex Pretti’s death at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis, with the Department of Homeland Security instead investigating its own officers. MS NOW reports that Customs and Border Protection will be investigating whether the agents followed department policy, while Homeland Security Investigations, which normally investigates human trafficking and drug rings as part of ICE, will be investigating whether Pretti broke any laws before being killed.Normally, the FBI would handle such an investigation, considering that it has the lab facilities and investigators experienced with shootings. In fact, Border Patrol agents requested the FBI’s help to gather evidence after the shooting, but in the end, “All evidence, excluding firearms and casings, were turned over to DHS,” according to an FBI memo.The DOJ appears to be following the same playbook it used after an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis earlier this month. In that case too, the DOJ announced there would be no civil rights investigation. “This is absolutely the kind of investigation that should be led by the FBI as it has the authority, experience, capability, and credibility to conduct a thorough, objective, and unbiased investigation,” MS NOW contributor and former FBI Agent Chris O’Leary said. “Unfortunately the current Director of the FBI and leadership in DOJ are blocking this from happening, and are therefore part of the problem and not part of the solution.”Questions have already been raised as to how evidence, such as Pretti’s phone and handgun, have been handled by the federal government, with the government even arguing in court that they have the right to destroy evidence. Now, the fact that DHS and Border Patrol will essentially be investigating themselves seems to indicate the agents who killed Pretti will soon be exonerated. State authorities say that the federal government has not shared evidence with them, and current and former investigators with the FBI and DOJ say that the government is already violating DOJ policy and previous practices, according to MS NOW. “The fact that this investigation has already been taken by the agency involved speaks to them not wanting any outside agency having access to the evidence nor the ability to take statements from the agents involved,” former FBI agent and MS NOW contributor Rob D’Amico said. “No matter how good an investigation was conducted, it gives the perception of a cover-up if … charges aren’t brought against the agents.”