The parents of Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis in January, pleaded Tuesday for the Justice Department to hold the agents accountable. In the nine months since Alex Pretti was killed, his parents said they haven’t had any contact from the federal government.
“Imagine that your child was killed because of the actions of the federal government. Imagine learning that your child had been murdered by watching it on TV,” Michael Pretti said at a news conference in Minneapolis on Tuesday with his wife, Susan Pretti, and their family lawyer. “No one from the federal government called us that day, nor the next, nor the next 275 days.”
He said the Justice Department and U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota Daniel Rosen have treated his family with cruelty by refusing to share any information about their investigation. They said they have received no response to a letter they sent to Attorney General Todd Blanche three months ago requesting “basic information,” such as the names of the federal agents who shot and killed their son.
“I understand and respect that investigations take time,“ said Steve Schleicher, the lawyer representing Alex Pretti’s parents. “It’s important to the integrity of those investigations that they be conducted in a thorough and deliberate manner, but this nine months of silence and stonewalling — why would it take nine months for the federal government to share the evidence that it has with other law enforcement agencies?”
A Justice Department spokesperson told Spectrum News in a statement: “The timing is consistent with how these types of investigations proceed. As is standard practice, communications with family members, if any, come at a later stage of a case, such as indictment, initial appearance, plea, trial, or sentencing. Those communications do not typically occur during an investigation.”
In March, Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration for access to materials they said were needed to independently investigate the shootings of Alex Pretti and another U.S. citizen, Renee Good, who was also killed by a federal immigration officer during an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis earlier this year.
State prosecutors said in July that the federal government had started to turn over evidence in both cases, including police body camera video and hard drives containing statements. At the time, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said the state expected to receive “all the evidence.”
But Minnesota investigators said in October court filings that the transfer of evidence stopped soon after the July announcement.
Moriarty said the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Minnesota told her on Sept. 10 that evidence sharing would be paused indefinitely “in light of challenges with D.C.,” according to the documents.
Last week, Justice Department attorneys said it is within their discretion to decline to share information with state authorities.
Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said in a legal declaration that the federal government has not shared a recorded statement from an officer who shot Alex Pretti, the firearms used by the officers, their phones, projectiles and casings, and a gun taken from Alex Pretti before he was shot.
Alex Pretti was a 37-year-old intensive care nurse who worked at the Minneapolis Veterans Affairs hospital until he was killed. The first-born child and only son of Michael and Susan Pretti, Alex had “a big heart, a warm personality and a great sense of humor,” his mother said Tuesday.
“Michael and I are not asking for any special treatment,” Susan Pretti said. “We do not want to be on TV. We are not political activists, nor do we want to become political activists. All we want is justice for Alex.”
Bystander videos showed Alex Pretti was filming immigration raid protests with his cellphone before federal agents tackled him to the ground and fired several shots that killed him.
Following the shooting, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Alex Pretti was a domestic terrorist.
Schleicher said the Prettis are asking that the DOJ give the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office “every piece of evidence no matter how important or small,” he said Tuesday. “Every shred of evidence should be available for them to be able to review and to do their job.”
Schleicher declined to say if the Prettis plan to sue the federal government.
“The family will avail itself to any and all remedies in pursuit of justice for Alex,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.