On Saturday, an ICU nurse who was participating in anti-ICE activity was shot and killed by a Border Patrol agents that have turned Minneapolis into a war zone. Without question, Alex Pretti was armed. If you want to make cops nervous, that's the way to do it, even if you have a valid permit. At this point, there's no evidence that Pretti was brandishing his weapon, as Kristi Noem falsely claimed, or that he was intended to "massacre law enforcement," as Border Patrol czar Greg Bovino has stated. In fact, Pretti's gun was removed from a holster by an ICE agent before our masked police opened up and poured 9 or 10 bullets into him.
Without question, this homicide is yet another tragedy inflicted by poorly trained cowboys who, once again, initially refused to allow a physician to render aid. We've been asked to believe that this was a justifiable homicide by officers who were defending themselves from a domestic terrorist. Like Renee Good. Or a disabled American citizen on her way to her doctor when she was yanked from her car. Or detaining a 5 yo boy on his way home from pre-school. I'm sure they were domestic terrorists, too. Ironically, the same people who vehemently protested about being asked to wear masks during a pandemic see nothing wrong with secret police that is stepping all over our basic fourth and fifth amendment rights.
I've written several times that ICE is totally out of control and needs to refocus its entire strategy. But what I also hate is to see grubby politicians who lack the basic decency to wait until Pretti is buried before exploiting his death and trying to cash in. I'll give you three examples.
First, a PAC with ties to Kamala Harris began exploiting Pretti's death just hours after he was shot. "Alex Pretti is the limit," pontificated Democratic Youth Wave PAC, hitting people up for $50.
Second, Bernie Sanders exploited Pretti's death in a bombastic email today soliciting money for candidates in Minnesota. He only wants $27.
Finally, and close to him, Taiba Sultana sent a blast email to potential contributors on Sunday under the subject "ICE IS KILLING CEVILIANS [sic]". She announces "Another American Killed by Immigration Enforcement," tries to pin the blame on State Senator Lisa Boscola and then asks you to send her "$150 $250 $550 $1000 or any amount [that] helps us organize, reach voters, and prove that conscience still has a place in politics."
My conscience tells me that you don't exploit the murder of a fellow human being 24 hours after his death.
She finishes her email with "Because Pennsylvanian[sic] deserve better.
You certainly deserve someone better than Sultana in Harrisburg.
2 comments:
Bernie, your assessment comes with the benefit of slow-motion video, hours and hours of comments from direct observers, and a media frenzy that seems to eat this type of unfortunate incident up for ratings.
The conditions in place there included a highly volatile, dangerous mob situation full of chaos and real time confusion. The ICE agent, like all other type policemen in real life, don’t get such luxury of hindsight. They must instantly react when an individual decides to no longer be just a peaceful protester by physically resisting arrest at a moment when his lethal weapon is simultaneously exposed ready for use.
I agree that the ICE agent who fired and the other who followed up were dealing with a chaotic situation. I'll agree that it's incredibly stupid to bring a loaded firearm into any situation where it is likely you are going to run into law enforcement. That's why you keep both hands on the steering wheel if stopped by a police officer. You don't want to make him nervous that you could harm him. So what this ICU nurse did was extremely dumb, even if he was by all accounts a kind man (and a cyclist). It could very well be that the ICE agent reasonably believed his life was in danger at the time he fired. He may have been unaware that the victim had already been disarmed and thought that he was going for his gun. A thorough investigation is needed, and I will add that, once you make the decision to use deadly force, you use it. So I get the 9 or 10 bullets. The videos also show that at no time did Pretti brandish his firearm. He only brandished a cellphone. He was actually trying to assist a lady who had been pushed to the ground. I also dislike that, once again, a physician was refused permission to render treatment, at least initially. That would not have mattered here, but it did matter for Renee Good. She had a pulse for 13-18 minutes after she was shot. The way ICE is doing this is all wrong. In this case, their target was an illegal who was actually released from federal custody in 2018 after being detained then, and who had a minor domestic misdemeanor that was quite old. He was hardly a dangerous criminal they pretended he was. And the overkill is ridiculous. When do you bring in an armored truck to take down a minor petty criminal like that? Why so many agents? If they really wanted this guy, the best way to get him was by using traditional police methods, not sending hordes of masked thugs who have no training and push everyone around. They need to pull back and focus on what the hell they are doing already. People agreed with you that our border was out of control, but they agree with me that ICE is out of control. The cure is worse than the disease.
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