Scott Sweetow, a former ATF special agent in charge in St. Paul and a firearms instructor, breaks down new details revealed by a government report about the killing of Alex Pretti.
There is no mention in the report of Pretti brandishing his gun before the shooting. Slowed-down video of the incident shows another agent had already taken possession of Pretti’s gun.
“Then that leaves a problem of whether your fellow officers knows that person has been disarmed or if they’re reacting to the last thing they heard. It also creates a chance that there’s going to be a use of deadly force,” Sweetow said.
Sweetow says following a use of deadly force, agents should be on leave for at least 3 days. It’s often longer. Federal Officials have said they’re still on the job.
“That’s both to protect the agency, to protect the person and frankly to protect the public from someone who may really be rattled when they’re out there because they’ve had to use deadly force and you don’t want them back out there engaging in a situation where they could use deadly force again,” Sweetow said.
During a federal investigation, he says agents’ guns are surrendered. There may be a new one issued and statements are given by everyone on the scene.
“It could be as simple as, ‘This is what I saw, heard, felt, smelled. This is what I perceived. I drew my weapon, I fired it. I don’t know how many rounds.'” Sweetow said.
He says evidence collected on the scene, including any bullets and casings, plus the autopsy, will be critical in any investigation.
“They’re going to want to get the guns, they’re going to want to see if those guns were fired,” Sweetow said.
That includes Pretti’s gun, which the notice says was secured in an agent’s vehicle on scene.
Sweetow’s recommendation is also to bring local or state agencies into an investigation. He says it builds confidence and trust with the public, no matter how large or small their role is.
