US judge dissolves DHS shooting evidence order, Noem pledges body cameras

By Jack Queen and Kanishka Singh

Feb 2 (Reuters) – A Minnesota federal judge on Monday said the U.S. Department of Homeland Security was unlikely to destroy evidence related to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti by federal immigration agents, while Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem separately pledged body-worn cameras for all DHS officers.

U.S. District Judge Eric C. Tostrud in Saint Paul dissolved a temporary restraining order he issued on January 24 blocking DHS from destroying evidence after state and local officials accused federal officials of impeding their investigation.

The judge said he was troubled by officials in President Donald Trump’s administration rushing to defend the agents and label Pretti a terrorist, but found their statements were not enough to justify a continuing court order.

The lawsuit by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office marked a highly unusual standoff between local and federal law enforcement, who often cooperate and share information. The case also underscored distrust between local officials and the Trump administration during widespread protests against Trump’s immigration enforcement crackdown in Minneapolis.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement on Monday the federal government has pledged to preserve the evidence and state investigators are now working to gain access.

The DHS and the Minnesota BCA did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

Separately, Noem on Monday said DHS was immediately deploying body-worn cameras for every officer in Minneapolis, with the program expanding to the rest of the country as funding becomes available.

Asked about the move, Trump told reporters he was not involved in the decision but said body-worn cameras “generally tend to be good for law enforcement, because people can’t lie about what’s happening.”

Officers involved in the Pretti shooting were wearing body-worn cameras, according to court filings, and federal officials said in sworn statements the footage is being preserved.

Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse at a hospital for veterans, was shot at a protest by two federal officers after he refused to move out of the street following an order from a customs officer.

Trump administration officials said the officers acted in self-defense, but video evidence showed that all Pretti had in his hands was a cellphone before agents grappled him to the ground and shot him at close range.

The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the Pretti shooting that could potentially lead to criminal charges against the officers involved, though there is a high legal bar to bring such a case.

Pretti was the second U.S. citizen killed by federal agents during protests against a Trump immigration enforcement crackdown that sent roughly 3,000 agents to Minneapolis and Saint Paul. State and local officials have accused agents of racially profiling residents and violating their constitutional rights.

The Minnesota BCA and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office sued DHS on January 24 to get access to the shooting evidence. They said the investigation of the scene by federal agents was hasty and public statements by top Trump administration officials showed DHS decided the day of the shooting that the agents had done nothing wrong.

Those statements included a January 24 social media post where White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Pretti a “domestic terrorist (who) tried to assassinate federal law enforcement,” and a statement by DHS asserting it appeared Pretti wanted to “do maximum damage and massacre law enforcement.”

Tostrud said in Monday’s order the statements were “troubling” and reflect “not a genuine interest in learning the truth, but snap judgments informed by speculation and motivated by political partisanship.” However the judge said they were not enough to indicate federal investigators would destroy evidence.

Tostrud also said federal law enforcement was already obligated to preserve evidence for a possible excessive force lawsuit brought on Pretti’s behalf, and destroying it would have serious consequences.

Before the shooting, Trump and administration officials said they would not back down from the enforcement operation despite large-scale protests. They have since struck a more conciliatory tone and said the operation will soon “draw down.” 

(Reporting by Jack Queen and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, David Gregorio, Noeleen Walder and Chris Reese)