Federal judge orders feds to preserve evidence in Border Patrol shooting of Alex Pretti
A federal judge on Saturday ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to preserve evidence related to the fatal shooting death of 37-year-old Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent in Minneapolis.
U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud granted the temporary restraining order request from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Hennepin County Attorney's Office, barring DHS "from destroying or altering evidence related to the fatal shooting involving federal officers," including evidence that officials removed from the scene and "evidence defendants have taken into their exclusive custody."
The lawsuit came after state authorities said DHS blocked them from accessing the scene of the shooting. BCA Superintendent Drew Evans told reporters Saturday afternoon that his agents were denied twice earlier that morning — including with a signed judicial warrant, which is a rare step to take in order to gain entry into a public place where a shooting occurred.
The BCA said in court documents submitted for the case that it was unclear how carefully federal personnel processed the scene — if at all — and that a few hours after the shooting, those officials left, "allowing the perimeter to collapse and potentially spoiling evidence."
"From a law enforcement perspective, this is astonishing," the filing reads. "The federal government's actions are a sharp departure from normal best practices and procedure, in which every effort is taken to preserve the scene and the evidence it contains."
Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told reporters Sunday that the state had never had to file such a lawsuit before, calling it an "extraordinary" step that should "alarm everyone who believes in equal justice under the law."
"This is not a rash decision for us to go to court to seek a temporary restraining order from a judge to preserve evidence and prevent the destruction of evidence. I don't care if you're conservative, liberal or whatever, but you should at least be in favor of conserving evidence in a homicide," Ellison said.
State investigators were in the area of 26th St. and Nicollet Ave. in South Minneapolis on Sunday, a day after the shooting to collect evidence and canvas the neighborhood as the BCA continues to move forward with its own investigation, Minnesota Department of Public Safety Commissioner Bob Jacobsen told reporters.
The agency was similarly prohibited from seeing evidence in the shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7 as the FBI took over sole control of the investigation. At the time, Jacobsen said the state could not do its own thorough probe that met BCA's standards without access to that evidence.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Saturday maintained that her officials are following normal procedure. DHS is leading the investigation, she said.
"We're continuing to follow the exact same protocols that we always have, and so this investigation is ongoing," she told reporters. "We're continuing to gather the facts as they unfold throughout that and we'll do it just like we did under the entire Trump administration and previous administrations. Nothing has changed."
On Monday afternoon, there is a court hearing in the case where the judge will decide if the order should remain in effect and provide a chance for DHS to respond.
Separately, Ellison will be in federal court that morning arguing that a judge should issue immediate relief in the form of another temporary restraining order in the state's lawsuit seeking to end Operation Metro Surge, which sent an influx of 3,000 federal agents to Minnesota in what's described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever.