Who killed Alex Pretti?

Image above was AI created.

I’m tired. I’m exhausted. I’m pissed off. I have had just about enough of people doing stupid things and crying foul when the consequences of their actions come back to bite them on the ass, or worse. Like the old wise saying goes: “You reap what you sow.”

And I’m not going to tell you who killed Alex Pretti. Put your childish tantrums aside for a minute. Put aside your biases against what CBP/ICE agents are doing in the country. Bring under control your Trump Derangement Syndrome for just a moment. Use rational, critical thinking and look at the available videos of this absolutely avoidable situation. Analyze the totality of the circumstances, beginning with Akex Pretti’s actions, even before he showed up.

The very moment Pretti strapped his firearm to his side, he put into motion, the very series of events that ultimately resulted in his unfortunate death. Why? Because he was bringing a weapon into an area where protesters and agitators were confronting and interfering with law enforcement operations. If he was not law enforcement, exactly who was he protecting himself from by bringing a gun? It’s a rhetorical question.

The moment Pretti got into a verbal altercation, refuse to obey law enforcement commands and subsequently, engage in a physical struggle, with CBP officers, Pretti’s last seconds of life on Earth began to countdown.  Not because of the eventual armed response by the CBP agents, but because of his inability to stop his own combative actions.

When the CBP officers discovered Pretti was armed during the struggle, their training and instincts triggered a survival and self-preservation mindset. They became hyper-aware to the existential threat posed by the armed subject, that’s when you see at least one officer, draw his weapon to the low ready position but not yet shoot. Even under the adrenaline rush he certainly was under, the officer retained control.

At the same time, during the attempt to subdue Pretti, who was still resisting, another CBP officer, in a gray coat, reached in and retrieved Pretti’s weapon but doesn’t seem to verbalize his confiscation action, and in the process of walking away with Pretti’s weapon, it accidentally discharges – turns out that Pretti ‘s weapon, a Sig P320, has a history of accidental discharges – causing the CBP officers struggling with Pretti to respond in what is called, “Contagious Shooting.”

This is the well known phenomenon in law enforcement, of the sequential firing on a target by multiple officers, hyper-aware to a gun threat without knowing why they are firing. It is typically caused by an armed subject’s action like drawing a weapon, which may be just a wallet, as in the case of Amadou Diallo, in NYC, or by the sound of a gun shot, which occurred in this unfortunate case. A sad and tragic ending to what may turn out to be an otherwise, good individual, too emotionally involved in the orchestrated chaos in the streets of Minneapolis.

But what I want to understand is when and how, did it become fashionable and appropriate, to interfere with law enforcement operations? Where is the respect for law enforcement? How can you bring a weapon to an area where rioters and protesters are interfering with law enforcement operations. Exactly who, did Pretti expect to have to protect himself from?Where is the common sense?