US Border Patrol is Out of Control
As a certified firearms instructor, I have enough experience to know when law enforcement is out of line and engaging in criminal conduct. Based on the video evidence I have seen, the shooting of Alex Pretti by a group of Homeland Security law enforcement officers was unjustified, and most likely was caused in part by inadequate training. Pretti is not without blame. He carried a concealed weapon, along with two additional full magazines, to the protests. If you’re going to protest, leave your damn gun at home.
If Pretti had pulled the gun and tried to fire a shot then the Border Patrol officers would have been fully justified in shooting him. But that is not what happened! As Pretti was wrestled to the ground by five officers — Pretti was resisting, but he did not draw his gun. You can see in the following video that the Sig Sauer, which he was carrying in an inside-the-waistband holster on his backside, was removed by one of the Border Patrol officers. That officer apparently hollered, “Gun,” which then caused at least one of the other officers to draw his semi-automatic pistol and to start firing at Pretti in the mistaken belief that he was suppressing an imminent threat. At no time did Pretti draw the gun and threaten to shoot the officers.
This is a total fuck up. While I am personally in favor of removing the hordes of illegal migrants that have flooded into the United States during Biden’s four years in office, I believe it must be done according to the law. At the same time, US citizens have the right to protest the policy of the Trump administration. The situation is likely to escalate in light of other reports that ICE and Border Patrol have been authorized to enter homes without a warrant… This is a flagrant violation of the US Constitution. My ancestors rebelled against the British Crown for this kind of behavior.
Even if Pretti had not been shot, the use of force against him also was, in my opinion, excessive and unnecessary. Law enforcement is supposed to be trained in de-escalating confrontations. I can understand the frustration among the law enforcement people who are being confronted by angry crowds, but beating the shit out of someone who is holding a cell phone is not justified. It would be one thing if Alex Pretti had punched and attacked the Feds who surrounded him and were showering him with pepper spray. But that did not happen either. This was a case of mob violence, except the mob was comprised of Federal law enforcement officers. This kind of behavior is indicative of poor training and poor leadership. The officer who fired the first shot should be charged with manslaughter and the officer in charge at the scene should be fired. I doubt that will happen… We’ll see.
I don't think that the officer(s) that shot Mr. Pretti, nor the officer in charge, will be punished by the federal government. As happened after Rebecca Good's murder on Jan.7, Trump, Noem, and more higher-ups immediately passed judgment on the deceased--before all of the cell phone videos had been posted, let alone reviewed and analyzed. The DHS army is and will be protected and excused.
They act in violation of the US Constitution, as Larry wrote. Yes, warrant-less entry will make the dangerous and lethal situations worse.
More notes: Mr. Pretti was shot after his gun was removed. Also, a total of 10 shots were fired into Alex Pretti's body. The videos reviewed by DropSiteNews journalists recorded the shots: https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/customs-border-patrol-agent-kills-minneapolis-nurse-video-analysis?r=2vzf0g&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Thank you for the dose of calm, informed reason. There is evidently a culture of impunity that has been manufactured by, among other things, the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump vs. United States (July 2024) that seems to give carte blanche to the Executive in the person of the President. Given the already-ambitious concept of Executive power informing Trump's presidency, it does not take much for the assumption of legal immunity to cascade down the hierarchy of Federal law enforcement and the military.
This will eventually come back to bite the administration in particular and government more generally, and will likely result in a backlash similar to what unfolded following Watergate and defeat in Vietnam. That it has not yet done so is tied to the active support (financial, military and ideological) by both Biden and Trump of carnage in Palestine, along with a neutered uniparty Congress and pliant, stenography-practising legacy media.
Until then, however, how many more must die due to the poorly administered, recklessly encouraged and adrenaline- and fear-fueled rampage that is being encouraged from the White House down? It is of a piece with the wanton slaughter of Venezuelan boat crews and passengers. All demonstrate a casual contempt - not even disregard - for human life, personified by Scott Bessent's preposterous, pompous performance at Davos, boasting about the purposefully harmful human impact of sanctions against Iran. That this is now coming home, rather than simply as usual being aimed outwards, will force a long overdue reckoning. Hopefully very soon.