His last words, spoken to a woman who had been tackled to the ground and pepper-sprayed by nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, were “Are you OK?” Alex Pretti was an intensive care nurse at a VA hospital; those who knew him recalled, among other things, his devotion to his elderly dog, Joule, who died about a year ago.
In bystander videos taken of Pretti’s death, he can be seen holding up his phone to video ICE agents operating in Minneapolis, and waving cars around him to avoid the officers as they attack other onlookers. After he is dragged away from the woman he was trying to help, a gaggle of ICE agents surround Pretti and force him to the ground, beating and restraining him there as he struggles to free himself.
