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No civil rights violation probe into latest MN shooting, sources tell MS NOW
As DHS takes over the federal investigation, current and former law enforcement agents warn that Trump’s DOJ isn’t committed to facts or fairness.
Link to tweet
https://www.ms.now/news/no-civil-rights-violation-probe-into-latest-mn-shooting-sources-tell-ms-now
President Trump’s Justice Department has decided there will be no civil rights investigation of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, and instead two units of the Department of Homeland Security will investigate their officers and the man they killed, according to three people briefed on the steps and internal records reviewed by MS NOW.
A Customs and Border Protection office will investigate whether its own officers followed agency policy in the shooting, according to the people. Another DHS unit, Homeland Security Investigations, will investigate whether the man who was killed, Alex Pretti, broke any laws, according to two people familiar with the decision. That unit is part of ICE, and normally focuses on tracking down human trafficking and narcotics rings and threats to national security.
It was widely assumed the Justice Department would also not conduct an independent civil rights probe of Pretti’s shooting, after choosing not to launch a similar probe of the ICE officer fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7. That view was reinforced when news broke this weekend that DHS would take the lead in the Pretti probe.
An FBI document described to MS NOW says that Border Patrol officials requested FBI help gathering evidence after the shooting, but that “All evidence, excluding firearms and casings, were turned over to DHS.”....
Former FBI agent and MS NOW contributor Chris O’Leary agreed that multiple videos mostly show masked and militarized law enforcement officers using excessive force and violating the Constitutionally-protected rights of an American citizen.
“This is absolutely the kind of investigation that should be led by the FBI as it has the authority, experience, capability, and credibility to conduct a thorough, objective, and unbiased investigation,” O’Leary said. “Unfortunately the current Director of the FBI and leadership in DOJ are blocking this from happening, and are therefore part of the problem and not part of the solution.”
A Customs and Border Protection office will investigate whether its own officers followed agency policy in the shooting, according to the people. Another DHS unit, Homeland Security Investigations, will investigate whether the man who was killed, Alex Pretti, broke any laws, according to two people familiar with the decision. That unit is part of ICE, and normally focuses on tracking down human trafficking and narcotics rings and threats to national security.
It was widely assumed the Justice Department would also not conduct an independent civil rights probe of Pretti’s shooting, after choosing not to launch a similar probe of the ICE officer fatal shooting of Renee Good on Jan. 7. That view was reinforced when news broke this weekend that DHS would take the lead in the Pretti probe.
An FBI document described to MS NOW says that Border Patrol officials requested FBI help gathering evidence after the shooting, but that “All evidence, excluding firearms and casings, were turned over to DHS.”....
Former FBI agent and MS NOW contributor Chris O’Leary agreed that multiple videos mostly show masked and militarized law enforcement officers using excessive force and violating the Constitutionally-protected rights of an American citizen.
“This is absolutely the kind of investigation that should be led by the FBI as it has the authority, experience, capability, and credibility to conduct a thorough, objective, and unbiased investigation,” O’Leary said. “Unfortunately the current Director of the FBI and leadership in DOJ are blocking this from happening, and are therefore part of the problem and not part of the solution.”
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Possibly more. 