DOJ opens civil rights probe for Pretti killing but not for Macklin Good killing
DOJ opens civil rights probe for Pretti killing but not for Macklin Good killing
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One of two Minneapolis deaths from shootings by federal agents is now confirmed to be under a U.S. Department of Justice civil rights investigation.
The DOJ division is investigating the killing of Alex Pretti but not an earlier shooting death by federal agents in Minneapolis, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in Washington on Friday.
Pretti was shot multiple times last Saturday as Border Patrol agents tried to arrest him while he was recording immigration officers on his phone.
Blanche says the probe is separate from the Homeland Security's shooting investigation.
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“It means talking to witnesses. It means looking at documentary evidence, sending subpoenas if you have to,” he told reporters at a press briefing on multiple topics. “And the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has the best experts in the world at this."
Blanche gave no investigation timetable nor did he commit to the release of body camera footage of the agents. He said the department’s investigation would encompass events of that day as well as the days and weeks that preceded the Pretti shooting.
Under questioning, Blanche said the fatal shooting of another U.S. citizen, Renee Macklin Good, isn't receiving similar DOJ scrutiny.
“There are thousands, unfortunately, of law enforcement events every year where somebody is shot,” he said. “The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice does not investigate every one of those shootings.
“There has to be circumstances or facts, or maybe unknown facts, but certainly circumstances that warrant an investigation,” he added.
Blanche earlier this month turned aside calls for a civil rights investigation into Macklin Good’s killing, saying there was no basis.
Steve Schleicher, the Pretti family attorney, issued a statement.
“The family’s focus is on a fair and impartial investigation that examines the facts around his murder," Schleicher said.
Federal officials have excluded Minnesota investigators from assisting with reviews of both shootings, leading to a state lawsuit that seeks to require evidence of the Pretti shooting be maintained.
State authorities haven’t ruled out bringing charges against federal officers after completing their own investigations.
— Brian Bakst, MPR News
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