I’ll repeat this statement throughout my analysis, but I need to start by saying 1) the facts of what happened and 2) whether the actions of the ICE agent who used deadly force was justifiable are separate issues as far as the courts are concerned.
Do I believe the videos are incriminating against the ICE agents?
No, historically videos of chaotic scenes like this alone have not been sufficient to determine guilt in criminal charges. Videos taken from outsider perspectives fail to capture the perspective of the person who actually used deadly force. The jury will have to use more than just the videos to determine, “What did the person who used deadly force see in the moment, why did they feel the need to use deadly force, and would a reasonable person act the same way in a similar situation?” Determining guilt is not as simple as, “Can we prove that they were wrong to do what they did?” We must determine, “Would a reasonable person with sufficient and proper training have done something similar?” And I don’t have all of the information so I simply don’t know.
Do I have any issues with Alex being at a protest?
Well, he absolutely had the right to attend protests—that’s protected 1st Amendment behavior. But I do believe attending protests carrying a firearm with the intent to participate in ‘making sure things go the right way’ is often imprudent and unwise. Many people have died doing something they technically had the right to do while putting themselves in very dangerous situations.
Did Kyle Rittenhouse have the right to show up at Black Lives Matter protests with a rifle? Yes. Was it a good idea? No. And I suspect he regrets having done it. Personally, I would rather be right AND alive.
Do I have any issues with Alex carrying a firearm and spare magazines at a protest?
Not at all. That’s his constitutional right, and he had every right to carry a full belt of ammunition if he wanted. He wasn’t brandishing the firearm. I think he engaged with law enforcement in a way that was easy for them to misread his intentions and I believe he knowingly put himself at risk.
Do I believe Alex tried to point a gun at officers or grab a gun, making him a deadly threat?
No, I haven’t seen any evidence from the angles I have watched that lead me to believe he was a danger to the officers. Unfortunately, our angles of the shuffle aren’t ultimately what will be used to determine guilt.
Do I believe ICE used excessive force before shots were fired?
I do think the agent who shoved the woman definitely raised the temperature. I haven’t figured out whether it was necessary or proportional to whatever she was doing—possibly just filming? Doesn’t seem proportional.
When Alex intervened, he committed assault on a law enforcement officer. I think their response—beating the crap out of him rather than simply arresting him—was excessive use of force. I also think that chaotic shuffle where the ICE agents were beating Alex created the very environment where the discovery of a gun on Alex could be mistaken as a deadly threat by an agent. So it’s possible that the agent won’t be charged with murder, but the agents may be charged with other offenses which made their lethal mistake more probable.
The ICE agent used too much pepper spray which is indicative of either poor training or excessive aggression. If they had just left Alex alone after using the first shot of pepper spray, I believe he would have remained on the ground. The officers escalated when they should have deescalated.
Do I believe Alex was right to intervene when the woman was shoved?
By definition, for Alex to then put his hands on this law enforcement officer is, by definition, assault on a law enforcement officer or at the least impeding an investigation or obstruction of justice. Legally, it doesn’t matter that the law enforcement officer was doing something wrong. Citizens don’t have the authority to physically engage with law enforcement officers, even while posing as peacekeepers. That will get you arrested, or worse. We can’t claim to uphold the rule of law when we want to punish law enforcement officers for their wrongs and then hope we’re above of it when we play vigilante. If a citizen believes he or she has the moral obligation to illegally intervene, they are assuming the role of a potential martyr and will need to live with those consequences. Maybe it was worth it. Maybe it wasn’t. We all have to choose our battles and figure out what our moral compass requires of us and then accept the consequences.
Alex was an ICU nurse. Breaking up fights is probably part of his training—his fabric. He probably didn’t even hesitate or stop to think about consequences. He probably has a very soft heart and immediately became defensive on behalf of the woman who was shoved by an ICE agent. I think thats a noble trait that carries both strengths and liabilities. Unfortunately, he put himself in a situation where the liabilities of his character put him in conflict with men who were angry, paranoid, possibly on ego trips, and that resulted in his death.
We need to really know ourselves. If I go to a protest knowing that it’s in my character to fight with law enforcement when they do something wrong and I’m also carrying a firearm, I should anticipate bad things might happen. If I want to be a martyr, great. I might help bring about good change. But if I hope to live to fight another day, I need to be a lot more careful. Unfortunately, being right isn’t sufficient to keep you alive.
Do I believe Alex made any movements that would cause an agent to fear danger of death or great bodily harm?
No, I haven’t seen any evidence of movements of aggression from Alex. He appears to be on his knees and elbows as he gets the crap beat out of him by ICE. In fact, he knew he was carrying a firearm and never made a motion to go for it in any of the videos.
Do I believe the ICE agent who initially shot Alex was looking for an opportunity to shoot?
No, it appears to me that the agent was distracted or had his attention averted at critical moments which contributed to the context perception breakdown, leading to a bad shoot. It’s possible that the agent who fired the first shot turned back towards Pretti, saw the hand of an agent pulling the gun from the holster, assumed it was somehow Pretti’s, and interpreted that motion as a deadly threat. It’s a bit of a stretch and we’re putting words in his mouth. Only that agent can tell us why he believed the use of deadly force was necessary. But from the angles we can see, it looks like a colossal failure by ICE. Maybe the agent mistook Pretti’s phone in his hand as a gun? Probably not though. Is this possible? Yes. Is it reasonable? I think a jury will have a hard time agreeing with that.
What made the agent shoot a second time?
I really have no idea. I honestly looks really bad. If the first shot is hard to defend, the second and subsequent shots are almost impossible for me to justify. Alex was on his knees, back facing the agent, and I have a very hard time arguing they felt a reasonable threat of death or great bodily harm.
We often see court rulings where a first shot was found to be justified but subsequent shots are found to be criminal. Without knowing what first hand details will emerge surrounding the second shot, I fully expect the courts to find the agents guilty on the subsequent shots.
Do I believe Alex’s SIG had an accidental discharge, causing the agents to suspect danger?
No, I haven’t seen the SIG barrel slide or any smoke or ejecta residue come from his gun. Also, the sounds of gunshots line up with the movement of the agent’s guns.
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