'Worse and worse for White House': Damning new video reveals run-up to ICE shooting
More video showing the run-up to Alex Pretti's shooting was revealed Tuesday — and it further contradicts Trump administration claims about the killing by immigration agents.
The 37-year-old nurse was shot and killed Saturday by a federal officer during a confrontation in Minneapolis, and CNN's Tom Foreman analyzed the new footage that starts about seven minutes before the fatal encounter.
"This video just gets worseand worse and worse for the White House and what they'vebeen claiming," Foreman said. "Let's start withthe general setup here. It'sabout seven minutes of video before all ofthis happens, and it putseverything in context.
"Let'sstart first with the generalstreet scene here and let thisplay out. What had happened,according to witnesses, is thata group of ICE agents had beenin pursuit of somebody who theysay was an undocumentedimmigrant, who they say wasdangerous. He ran into abuilding there where the doorwas locked by people inside, andthey couldn't get inside.
"Pretti and the other protesters,according to what we heard, wereacross the street shootingvideo. They were at somedistance here watching it, andthey were seeing this evolve onthe other side of the street."
Foreman directed viewers to look at an image of an officer holding a pepper spray canister, and pointed out that witnesses said a small group of observers were standing across the street.
"Accordingto witnesses, only about 10people across the street fromthem, not pushing up on them, notnecessarily crowding them," he said. "Youhear the whistles in thebackground. It's a warning signthat many protesters have outthere to say ICE is in the area.Now, what happens when youfollow the next piece of thevideo here is that the agents,according to witnesses, and whenyou watch the video, theycrossed the street to engagewith Pretti and the other peopleover there, so Pretti is there.
"The agents come across andengage with them, and that'swhen you see this moment whereone of the agents pushes Prettioff the road and you hear Prettiyelling, 'Don't push me,' and hesays, 'I'm not in traffic,you're in traffic. You came intraffic to come over and pushme.'"
The video contradicts administration claims that Pretti and others gathered in the area and were interfering with immigration enforcement, Foreman said.
"So again, thenotion of this being a riot,which we've heard many times," Foreman said. "They may not likeit, but this is hardly thedefinition of a riot. Thenanother person gets knocked tothe ground and pinned down. Ifyou look at that video, Prettiyells out in this video, 'Hey,leave her alone,' but he doesn'tgrab an officer. He doesn'tapproach officers. He just saysleave her alone while they'repinning this person down. Soagain, all the indications herein this video, which is again, sixor seven minutes before theshooting, shows all of theaggression coming from theofficers aimed at these people."
"Then finally we move to themoment where they grabbed Prettias he's trying to help a personwho has also been pushed down," Foreman continued. "When you see that video, theagents storm in, look, they'reshoving people. This woman goesto the ground, Pretti goes tohelp her. Remember he's a nurse, he's trying to help this womanwho's down on the ground andthe agents grab him while hisback is turned and drag him intothe center of people, wherethey're all gathered aroundhere.
"You can see one of themstarts striking him in the headwith some sort of device, or yousee him smacking somebody in thehead here, and then finally youreach the point where thegunfire breaks out."
"So was it ariot?" the correspondent added. "It certainly doesn't looklike one, unless you're talkingabout a riot of the officersthemselves. Was Pretti, did hehave a weapon out that he wasshowing anybody? No, there's noevidence of that in any of thevideo. Was he grabbing orattacking the officers? No,there's no evidence of any ofthat. As I said, the morevideo we get, the worse andworse and worse it looks for the White House account of what wenton."
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