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deputy attorney general Todd Branch explain department Justice Department launches federal civil rights investigation shooting Alex Pretty.
Pretti is a 37-year-old ICU nurse minnesotakilled on Saturday border patrol officials. “We are looking at everything that can shed light on what happened that day and in the days and weeks leading up to the incident,” Branch said Friday.
“This is like any investigation conducted by the Department of Justice and Justice FBI Do it every day. That means we’re watching videos, talking to witnesses, trying to understand what happened. “
Branch said there are thousands of incidents each year in which people are shot and killed by law enforcement, but not all of them are investigated by federal authorities.
He added: “There must be some circumstances or facts, or perhaps unknown facts, but certainly there are circumstances that need to be investigated.”
this Department of Homeland Security It also said Friday that the FBI would lead the federal investigation.
secretary of homeland security Kristi Noem First revelations about a shift in the agency leading the investigation during an investigation fox news Interview Thursday night. Her department said earlier this week that Homeland Security Investigations within the department would lead the investigation.
“We will continue to monitor the investigation being led by the FBI and provide them with all the information they need to reach a conclusion and ensure American People know the truth of the situation and how we can continue to move forward and continue to protect the American people,” Noem said in an interview with the Fox host Sean Hannity.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin confirmed Friday that the FBI will lead the Pretty investigation and DHS will support them. respectively, customs and border protectionPart of the Department of Homeland Security is conducting an internal investigation into the shooting, in which two police officers shot Pretty.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to questions about when or why the changes were made. The FBI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It’s unclear whether the FBI will now share information and evidence with Minnesota investigators, who have so far been excluded from the federal probe.
In the same interview, Noem appeared to distance herself from statements she made shortly after the shooting, claiming Pretty was brandishing a handgun and approaching police officers aggressively.
Multiple videos from the shooting contradict that account, showing the critical care nurse holding only a cell phone as police officers pushed him to the ground, where one pulled a handgun from the back of Preeti’s pants and another began shooting him in the back.
Preity has a state license to legally carry a concealed firearm. He never appeared to reach for it, the video shows.
“I know you realize the situation is very confusing and we are relaying information from CBP agents and officers on the scene,” Noem said in an interview with Hannity on Thursday. “We are using the best information we have at the time and seeking to be transparent with the American people and understand from them what we know to be true.”
On Wednesday, two more videos emerged of an altercation with federal immigration officials 11 days before Preeti’s death.
Video from Jan. 13 shows Pretty wearing a winter coat yelling at federal vehicles, at one point appearing to spit, and then kicking off a vehicle’s taillight. A fight broke out between Preity and several policemen, during which he was pushed to the ground. Preeti’s winter coat came off and he either broke free or the police let him go and he scurried off.
As his back is turned to the camera, a handgun can be seen in his waistband. The video never shows Pretty reaching for the gun, and it’s unclear whether federal agents saw it.
Steve Schleicher, minneapolisLawyers representing Preeti’s parents said Wednesday that an earlier argument was in no way a reason for police to shoot Preeti more than a week later.
In one of his posts truth society Friday morning platform, Chairman Donald Trump Video alluding to an earlier incident undermines claims that Preeti was a peaceful protester when she was shot.
“Instigator, and perhaps insurrectionist, Alex Pretti’s stock has dropped significantly after the just-released video shows him screaming and spitting in the face of a very calm and controlled ICE officer, then furiously kicking a new, very expensive government vehicle, so violently and violently, in fact, that the taillight shattered into pieces,” Trump’s post said. “This was a display of abuse and rage for all to see, insane and out of control. ICE The officer was calm and collected, it’s not easy in that situation!”