A new video purportedly shows Alex Pretti spitting at federal agents and damaging a government SUV days before he was fatally shot by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis. The video does not alter the analysis of whether the fatal shooting was justified. However, it raises some obvious questions, including why Pretti was not previously arrested on multiple grounds. The videotape also contradicts the family’s account of the earlier encounter.

The new videotape shows a violent individual who forced the confrontation with officers. Pretti is shown screaming “f— you” repeatedly while flashing double middle fingers. A second tape shows him yelling “assault me Motherf—ker.” He then destroys the rear signal light and the surrounding area.

The attorney for the Pretti family, Steve Schleicher, issued a statement that:

 “A week before Alex was gunned down in the street — despite posing no threat to anyone — he was violently assaulted by a group of (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents. Nothing that happened a full week before could possibly have justified Alex’s killing at the hands of ICE on Jan 24.”

While some of us have objected that the videotape of the fatal shooting did not support initial claims of the Administration on Pretti threatening officers before the shooting, this video clearly does not support the claims of the family. Damaging the vehicle and spitting at officers are violent acts that are threatening to law enforcement. It was not a “violent assault,” but a justified takedown by officers. What is curious is the fact that Pretti was then let go by the officers.

Pretti should have been arrested and charged with a felony for damaging the vehicle and attacking officers. Since he was armed, he could have been charged with committing a felony in possession of a weapon.

I am mystified why Pretti was not arrested. He clearly damaged the car and appears to be resisting arrest. I fail to understand why the agents took him down but then failed to complete the arrest. It may be due to the mob that was forming. (Protesters bizarrely express surprise that the agents would move against a man who just damaged their vehicle).

Again, the videotape does not have bearing on the lawfulness or unlawfulness of the shooting. While it shows a history that may explain Pretti’s resistance before the shooting, the question is whether his actions created a belief that officers or others were in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death. We still have to see the body cam footage to see what preceded an officer screaming “gun.”  Many details still must be confirmed. Keep in mind, the question is not whether officers were right, but whether they were reasonable under the circumstances.

Here is the new videotape from the prior encounter: