Alex Pretti's junior yearbook picture at Green Bay Preble High School. (Photo courtesy: Preble High School '04-'05 Yearbook)
(WTAQ-WLUK) — Two former Brown County law enforcement officers are providing their analysis of the witness videos of the deadly shooting of Alex Pretti.
He grew up in Green Bay and graduated from Preble High School in 2006.
Pretti’s killing at the hands of U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis immediately sparked questions of whether or not it was justified.
Former Green Bay Police Department District Captain Bill Galvin said in his opinion, it was not.
“When that officer took his weapon away, he no longer had a delivery system. He no longer had a weapon. So, the use of deadly force there, to me, was unwarranted,” Galvin said.
Galvin was also a state certified firearms instructor and state certified arrest tactics instructor. He said he always taught officers there needs to be three things in order to use deadly force: having a weapon, an intent to use the weapon and the ability to use it.
“He has to be able to actually hold the weapon and use it. You can’t shoot him just because it’s in his holster. Otherwise, there’d be a lot of people [who] would get shot,” Galvin said.
He thinks, based on the witness videos, it looked like Pretti was trying to help another civilian during the struggle. Galvin said it doesn’t appear Pretti ever brandished his gun, but said it’s hard to know if a verbal threat was made.
He also said he understands why Border Patrol agents disarmed Pretti, but questioned why he was shot seconds after. He admitted law enforcement officers have a difficult job in tense situations, such as at protests.
Meanwhile, former Brown County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Captain Randy Schultz called Saturday’s shooting a “sad trauma.” However, he said supports the work of immigration agents.
“Law enforcement is trying to do their legal duty, and it appears to me that people are getting in their way,” Schultz said.
Schultz was also a state certified use of force trainer for 18 years. He wouldn’t say whether or not the shooting of Pretti was justified, but said he doesn’t think the videos of the commotion tell the whole story.
He said Pretti had the legal right and authority to carry his gun, but stressed compliance is what matters.
“What the law requires in that circumstance is for that gentleman, sadly deceased, to follow the directives of the officer,” Schultz said. “It looks to me, by what I can see from that video, that the deceased handled that unlawfully, and that’s what brought about their end results.”
As immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis continue while protesters line the streets, both Galvin and Schultz hope emotions calm and cooler heads prevail to prevent future tragedies.
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