BOULDER, Colo. — Protesters gathered in downtown Boulder on Sunday afternoon to stand in solidarity with demonstrators in Minneapolis after a federal immigration agent shot and killed 37-year-old Alex Pretti on Saturday.
On the corner of Broadway Street and Canyon Boulevard in Boulder, community members called for accountability from federal agencies in the wake of Pretti's death.
"There's countless videos showing what happened. He was unarmed, pushed onto the ground, his hands on the ground, and then shot in the back," protester and University of Colorado Boulder student Andy Greer said.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Pretti, an ICU nurse at a VA hospital in Minneapolis, was armed with a handgun when he approached DHS officers, then resisted officers' attempts to disarm him. Bystander video of the incident shows Pretti with a phone in his hand before several officers took him to the ground. None of the videos appear to show Pretti with a visible weapon in hand. Video does show a federal agent removing a firearm from Pretti's waistband before he is shot.
In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino said Pretti assaulted officers.
“Why would you bring a weapon and assault a federal officer if you did not have intent to harm or delay or obstruct that federal officer with a weapon?" Bovino said.
However, protesters in Boulder and across the nation are pushing back against the federal government's account of events and justification for Pretti's death.
"I think ICE is so poorly trained and out of control that you're just going to have to change it all around," Boulder resident Garrett Campbell said.
"It should have never happened. There's not enough explanation in the world that would make this okay," said State Rep. Junie Joseph, D-Boulder, who was at the protest on Sunday.
Joseph said she and other lawmakers plan to introduce bills this legislative session focused on immigration rights, including one proposed bill that would make it illegal for federal agents to wear face coverings during operations in Colorado.
When asked whether she believes face masks help keep officers safe, Joseph said no.
"I do not agree with that argument. A mask will never keep anybody safe. It actually creates... it's an accountability issue," Joseph said. "If a police officer can come and pick someone off the street without identifying themselves, that means anybody can just show up to me, to you and to anybody, and claim to be a police officer."
Some protesters expressed support for local and federal law enforcement while criticizing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
"My sign here says police are pretty good, well trained, but the ICE people are a big problem right now," Campbell said.
