Newly released footage reveals a confrontation between Alex Pretti and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents occurred 11 days before the intensive care unit nurse was fatally shot by federal officers in Minneapolis.
The video, confirmed by Pretti’s family, shows the 37-year-old man engaging in a heated exchange with ICE agents on Jan. 13.
The incident concluded with Pretti damaging a tail light on an agency vehicle before agents physically confronted him.
In the footage, Pretti can be heard shouting profanities at the federal agents as they prepared to leave the area.
He directed multiple expletives toward the officers and challenged them regarding their use of pepper spray.
The confrontation escalated when Pretti reportedly kicked out the tail light of an ICE SUV.
An agent immediately exited the vehicle in response to the damage.
Multiple agents then converged on Pretti, resulting in a physical altercation.
Bystanders at the scene can be heard screaming during the incident.
Federal agents subsequently deployed tear gas and pepper balls into the assembled crowd.
Pretti was released from the agents’ hold and allowed to leave the scene.
The video shows Pretti retrieving personal items that came off during the struggle before walking away from the location.
He appeared to have a firearm in his waistband during this Jan. 13 encounter.
Pretti’s presence in the footage was verified using BBC facial recognition technology.
The Department of Homeland Security announced it is investigating the newly surfaced video. Pretti did not face arrest for the property damage to the federal vehicle.
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Steve Schleicher, the former federal prosecutor who obtained a conviction against Officer Derek Chauvin in the George Floyd case, is representing Pretti’s family without charge.
“A week before Alex was gunned down in the street – despite posing no threat to anyone – he was violently assaulted by a group of ICE agents,” said Schleicher to the Daily Mail in response to the footage.
“Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24,” he added.
Max Shapiro, a Minneapolis tax attorney, filmed the original footage near his son’s daycare facility.
Shapiro told the Daily Mail that he participates in a group chat with other parents who monitor for ICE activity near school entrances.
“I ended up going to observe and as I got there, got there right at the moment where Mr Pretti was being confronted and assaulted by some ICE individuals,” Shapiro said.
He had never met Pretti before the incident.
Shapiro described the scene as calm until agents prepared to depart.
He estimated approximately 15 people were present when Pretti damaged the vehicle.
“I wouldn’t say it was an overly hostile interaction until they decided not to leave, and then turn it into a little bit more of a hostile situation,” Shapiro stated.
He noted that observers became distressed as officers attempted to control the crowd.
The attorney could not confirm whether ICE agents recognized Pretti from this Jan. 13 encounter when they later crossed paths on Jan. 24.
Shapiro emphasized that such confrontations have become common in Minneapolis.
