Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino sparred Sunday with CNN’s Dana Bash over whether the armed man his subordinates shot and killed Saturday in Minneapolis was the “suspect” or “victim” in the situation.
Border Patrol agents fatally shot Alex Pretti, 37, whom the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) alleged was prepared to “massacre law enforcement” with his firearm. Pretti’s parents and left-wing groups, on the other hand, maintained he was assisting a woman and not pointing his gun at officers at the time. During Bovino’s Sunday appearance on “State of the Union with Jake Tapper and Dana Bash,” Bash pressed the senior Border Patrol official over his assertion Pretti assaulted a federal agent, sparking a contentious exchange.
“Where did he assault the federal officer in any of the video that you have seen?” Bash asked Bovino. “Because it looked to us from every angle, sir, that he was approached by them when he was helping another individual who was pushed down. What evidence do you have that he was assaulting any law enforcement?”
“Dana, we don’t need a suspect’s help in an active law enforcement scene. We don’t need his help. We didn’t ask his help,” the Border Patrol commander-at-large responded, referring to Pretti.
“When you say ‘suspect,’ what is he suspected of?” the CNN host interjected.
“That’s an active law enforcement scene,” Bovino said. “He knew that was an active law enforcement scene, especially when the officers approached him and it was very evident he did not need to be where he was.”
WATCH:
In a statement shared Saturday with the Daily Caller News Foundation, DHS claimed “law enforcement officers were conducting a targeted operation in Minneapolis against an illegal alien wanted for violent assault” when the man later identified as Pretti “approached US Border Patrol officers with a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun.”
Bash continued to suggest Pretti was helping an individual “pushed down” by officers.
“So, when somebody is pushed down and a person’s instinct is to help that person, when somebody is pushed down by law enforcement, you’re saying that you just stand back and let law enforcement do what they’re doing? Is that really human nature?” the host pressed Bovino.
“You know, Dana, every situation is different. What our officers are faced with here in Minneapolis are chaotic, very difficult and violent situations in which individuals — and this suspect is not the only one to bring a loaded weapon to a riot. The situations are chaotic and ever-changing. Follow directions for law enforcement. Don’t inject yourself knowingly beforehand into a law enforcement situation,” the Border Patrol commander replied.
“With respect, it feels as though in some ways you’re blaming the victim here,” Bash replied, referring to Pretti.
“The victims are the Border Patrol agents,” Bovino said. “I’m not blaming the Border Patrol agents. The victim[s] are the Border Patrol agents. The suspect put himself in that situation. The victims are the Border Patrol agents there.”
Bash then presented Bovino with a screenshot of video footage from the incident.
“You can see a screenshot of an agent in a green jacket approach Pretti, and then he appeared to take a gun away,” Bash said, describing the image. “When the agent took the gun away, which seems as though it was Pretti’s gun, that happened before Pretti was shot. Why was an unarmed man shot multiple times by law enforcement, by your Border Patrol agents?”
“Dana, you don’t know he was unarmed. I don’t know he was unarmed,” he responded. “That’s freeze-frame adjudication of a crime scene via a photo. That’s why we have investigators. That’s why we have an investigation that is going to answer those questions. How many shots were fired? Who fired shots? Where was the guns? Where were the guns located? All those questions are going to be answered in the investigation.”
“Us, we’re not going to adjudicate that here on TV in one freeze-frame there,” he emphasized after Bash tried to interrupt him.
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