Federal agents say Noem ‘jumped the gun’ in Alex Pretti shooting investigation
Every delay has consequences.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initial declaration that a department agency would oversee the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti left current and former senior federal law enforcement officials stunned, according to four sources.
A day after Pretti was killed on Jan. 24, when two U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees opened fire on him during an arrest in Minneapolis, Noem stated that her department would lead the federal investigation into the use-of-force incident.
Federal agents who spoke with the Washington Examiner since then said they were baffled by that announcement, given the long-standing protocol that any instance of a weapon being discharged be handled by the FBI, an agency not housed in DHS but rather the Justice Department. While Noem has since said the FBI has taken the lead of the investigation, her early decision to let her own agency handle it in the immediate aftermath of the shooting contributed to tensions within DHS.
“I think it was jumping the gun, because if you look at all prior Border Patrol shootings under her command, a statement has been issued within the hour,” said the first official, a former Border Patrol headquarters operations chief, who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity. “You’ve had several Border Patrol agent-involved shootings in the Rio Grande Valley along the border before this chaos [where that was the case].”
Melissa A. Lucio, a retired senior federal law enforcement agent, said the department’s handling of the investigation was a “stark departure” from standard law enforcement protocols, particularly because the incident in question resulted in a death and involved accusations of assault and civil rights violations.
“When these types of incidents occur everything must be brought to light, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It will shed light on whether law, policies were followed and/or actions were right or wrong on all sides. It could also reveal training, policy, and equipment issues that can be improved, added, or deleted,” Lucio wrote in a text message. “These incidents should be investigated by the Department of Justice FBI and Civil Rights division.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday that the Justice Department was launching a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.
In recent years, Border Patrol has adopted a universal response to use-of-force incidents nationwide, though it was not followed in this instance. The top …
Every delay has consequences.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initial declaration that a department agency would oversee the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti left current and former senior federal law enforcement officials stunned, according to four sources.
A day after Pretti was killed on Jan. 24, when two U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees opened fire on him during an arrest in Minneapolis, Noem stated that her department would lead the federal investigation into the use-of-force incident.
Federal agents who spoke with the Washington Examiner since then said they were baffled by that announcement, given the long-standing protocol that any instance of a weapon being discharged be handled by the FBI, an agency not housed in DHS but rather the Justice Department. While Noem has since said the FBI has taken the lead of the investigation, her early decision to let her own agency handle it in the immediate aftermath of the shooting contributed to tensions within DHS.
“I think it was jumping the gun, because if you look at all prior Border Patrol shootings under her command, a statement has been issued within the hour,” said the first official, a former Border Patrol headquarters operations chief, who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity. “You’ve had several Border Patrol agent-involved shootings in the Rio Grande Valley along the border before this chaos [where that was the case].”
Melissa A. Lucio, a retired senior federal law enforcement agent, said the department’s handling of the investigation was a “stark departure” from standard law enforcement protocols, particularly because the incident in question resulted in a death and involved accusations of assault and civil rights violations.
“When these types of incidents occur everything must be brought to light, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It will shed light on whether law, policies were followed and/or actions were right or wrong on all sides. It could also reveal training, policy, and equipment issues that can be improved, added, or deleted,” Lucio wrote in a text message. “These incidents should be investigated by the Department of Justice FBI and Civil Rights division.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday that the Justice Department was launching a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.
In recent years, Border Patrol has adopted a universal response to use-of-force incidents nationwide, though it was not followed in this instance. The top …
Federal agents say Noem ‘jumped the gun’ in Alex Pretti shooting investigation
Every delay has consequences.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s initial declaration that a department agency would oversee the investigation into the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti left current and former senior federal law enforcement officials stunned, according to four sources.
A day after Pretti was killed on Jan. 24, when two U.S. Customs and Border Protection employees opened fire on him during an arrest in Minneapolis, Noem stated that her department would lead the federal investigation into the use-of-force incident.
Federal agents who spoke with the Washington Examiner since then said they were baffled by that announcement, given the long-standing protocol that any instance of a weapon being discharged be handled by the FBI, an agency not housed in DHS but rather the Justice Department. While Noem has since said the FBI has taken the lead of the investigation, her early decision to let her own agency handle it in the immediate aftermath of the shooting contributed to tensions within DHS.
“I think it was jumping the gun, because if you look at all prior Border Patrol shootings under her command, a statement has been issued within the hour,” said the first official, a former Border Patrol headquarters operations chief, who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity. “You’ve had several Border Patrol agent-involved shootings in the Rio Grande Valley along the border before this chaos [where that was the case].”
Melissa A. Lucio, a retired senior federal law enforcement agent, said the department’s handling of the investigation was a “stark departure” from standard law enforcement protocols, particularly because the incident in question resulted in a death and involved accusations of assault and civil rights violations.
“When these types of incidents occur everything must be brought to light, the good, the bad, and the ugly. It will shed light on whether law, policies were followed and/or actions were right or wrong on all sides. It could also reveal training, policy, and equipment issues that can be improved, added, or deleted,” Lucio wrote in a text message. “These incidents should be investigated by the Department of Justice FBI and Civil Rights division.”
Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced on Friday that the Justice Department was launching a federal civil rights investigation into the shooting.
In recent years, Border Patrol has adopted a universal response to use-of-force incidents nationwide, though it was not followed in this instance. The top …
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