What Customs and Border Protection Told Congress About the Killing of Alex Pretti

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Professional Responsibility sent a preliminary review of the shooting of Alex Pretti to relevant congressional committees that says an agent informed others he had Pretti’s gun after federal officers shot him.

According to the review, which was reviewed by NOTUS, agents from U.S. Border Patrol attempted to detain Pretti after he came between them and two women blowing whistles who were resisting their requests to step out of the street.

“After the shooting, a BPA advised he had possession of Pretti’s firearm,” the review said.

The review also does not mention that Pretti ever brandished his gun or threatened Border Patrol agents.

“The CBPO ordered the female civilians to move out of the roadway, and the female civilians did not move,” the review reads. “The CBPO pushed them both away and one of the females ran to a male, later identified as 37-year-old Alex Jeffrey Pretti, a US citizen. The CBPO attempted to move the woman and Pretti out of the roadway. The woman and Pretti did not move. The CBPO deployed his oleoresin capsicum (OC) spray towards both Pretti and the woman.”

Witnesses described a different scene. In an affidavit filed in federal court as part of a lawsuit against the administration, a resident of the neighborhood who filmed the incident said Pretti “stayed in the street” while an agent forced the women backward, and then Pretti “went closer” to where they were. The agent then “shoved one of the other observers to the ground” and began to pepper spray the group.

“It didn’t look like he was trying to resist, just trying to help the woman up. I didn’t see him with a gun,” the resident wrote. “They threw him to the ground. Four or five agents had him on the ground and they just started shooting him. They shot him so many times.”

The CBP memo states that it was then that officers attempted to “take Pretti into custody.” Pretti, CBP said, resisted arrest, “and a struggle ensued.”

“During the struggle, a BPA yelled, ‘He’s got a gun!’ multiple times. Approximately five seconds later, a BPA discharged his CBP-issued Glock 19 and a CBPO also discharged his CBP-issued Glock 47 at Pretti.”

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The memo is the first piece of testimony given to Congress in the wake of the shooting, which sparked outrage and bipartisan calls for an investigation from lawmakers in both parties.

Some Republicans have already expressed concern about Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents being inadequately trained or too aggressive. The heads of CBP, ICE and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services are set to testify before the House Homeland Security Committee on Feb. 10, and the Senate committee on Feb. 12.