I spent decades in law enforcement. I was trained to investigate shootings, evaluate use of force, and tell the truth, even when that truth was uncomfortable. What happened to Alex Pretti in Minneapolis is not confusing. It is not unclear. And it was not justified.
We are not relying on a single video or one selective clip. There are hundreds of videos, filmed by many different people, from many different angles. Together, they dismantle the story told by the Department of Homeland Security, echoed by the Department of Justice, repeated by Donald Trump, and amplified by his supporters.
The federal version of events does not match what the cameras show.
Federal officials claimed Alex Pretti approached agents with a gun and intended to harm them. The videos show something very different. Pretti was holding a phone, not a weapon. He was filming. He was talking. He was standing near other civilians who had just been shoved and pepper-sprayed by federal agents.
- There is no video showing him holding a gun
- There is no video showing him threatening anyone
- There is no video showing him saying, “I have a gun”
That matters.
Alex Pretti was a licensed gun owner. Under Minnesota law, that is legal. Lawful possession of a firearm is not a crime. It is not suspicious behavior. It is not justification for escalation. Every legitimate use-of-force standard in this country is clear: a weapon that is never displayed or used to threaten cannot retroactively justify lethal force.
The videos show agents pepper-spraying Pretti. They show agents grabbing him. They show seven agents piling on top of him. They show him forced onto his knees, in the snow, face down. He is restrained. He is surrounded.
At that point, an agent appears to remove a firearm from near Pretti’s body and move away. Only after the weapon is no longer in play do agents begin firing. They continue firing while Pretti is on the ground and not moving.
- That is not self-defense
- That is not a split-second mistake
- That is not how trained officers are taught to act
This looks like a manufactured threat. Federal agents created chaos, used force where it was not needed, and then used that chaos to justify killing a man. It is no different than stepping in front of a moving vehicle and then claiming the car was a deadly weapon. Law enforcement does not get to create danger and then kill its way out of it.
And then came the lie.
Instead of telling the public what the videos clearly show, DHS rushed out a statement blaming Pretti. They released a photo of a firearm while admitting the situation was still “evolving.” That is not transparency. It is an attempt to control the narrative before the facts could catch up.
This incident does not stand alone. It follows the killing of Renée Good and credible reports that federal agencies have blocked local and state investigators from accessing evidence. When agencies hide facts and push one-sided stories, they are not seeking justice. They are protecting themselves.
This is where local and state law enforcement must step up.
Chiefs. Sheriffs. Command staff. Your duty is to your community. Your oath is to the Constitution. Your agency’s mission, vision, and values do not disappear because federal agents are involved.
That duty requires you to:
- Look at the evidence
- Reject federal press releases as substitutes for facts
- Investigate criminal conduct, regardless of the badge
- Make arrests when crimes are committed
Federal agents are not above the law.
Real law enforcement is built on restraint, honesty and accountability. What we saw in Minneapolis was fear, escalation and lies from the highest levels of federal leadership.
So the standard is simple, for the public and for every honest officer watching:
Believe your eyes. Not what the feds say.
David Myers is a retired San Diego Sheriff’s commander with 35 years law enforcement experience.
