Minneapolis shooting: Minnesota officer’s plea to President Trump

Minneapolis shooting: Alex Pretti remembered at downtown rally

Protesters and activists gathered in downtown Minneapolis on Sunday to remember Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old who was fatally shot by a Border Patrol agent Saturday during a federal immigration enforcement operation.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A school resource officer is making a plea to President Donald Trump after the latest fatal shooting involving a federal agent.

"You need to take a calculated pause. Pausing is not weakness; it is a sign of noble judgement and care."

Hunter Panning’s plea to President Trump

What they're saying:

Hunter Panning, a school resource officer, took to social media on Sunday with an impassioned plea to President Trump:

"Dear Mr. President,

I’m writing to you as a Minnesota police officer, not as a politician or a talking head. I work where trust is the currency, where relationships are the foundation of our legitimacy. On some days, it is what keeps us alive. Once it is spent, it can take years to earn back. Sometimes, it never is - we call those scars. We already have a few in Minnesota. 

Right now, that trust is gone. Across the country, federal law enforcement actions have landed harmfully in our communities, and local officers are left absorbing the destruction. We face the confusion, the anger, and the fear that follows. We are expected to answer for decisions we didn’t make and authority we don’t have.

Local policing works because it is personal. We know the people we serve because they are our neighbors. Our legitimacy comes from judgment and human connection, rarely from an overwhelming show of force. When this type of enforcement feels distant, rushed, or indifferent to local impact, there is nothing left standing. 

We value our relationships with federal partners, and local officers are always willing to help carry out federal criminal law enforcement missions. Many of us are honored to do so. But those missions must be rooted in justice and maintain a clear and unifying purpose. Without that foundation, we cannot afford to move forward. 

There is a deeper problem here. Law enforcement cannot become an arm of politics. Blind obedience, from anyone with a badge, is dangerous. A democratic society depends on officers who think, question, and exercise restraint, especially when conspicuous pressure comes from above.

This is not a call to stop enforcing the law. It is an imminent warning about how you are enforcing it. Federal and local law enforcement should not be working against each other. When federal actions strain community trust, local officers are the ones left standing, holding what’s left together. We live here. We answer to these people long after the cameras leave.

If public safety is truly the goal, trust must be treated as essential. It is not optional. Enforcement without legitimacy does not create order. It creates resentment and instability. 

You need to take a calculated pause. Pausing is not weakness; it is a sign of noble judgement and care. 

Local officers are not your foot soldiers. We are guardians of our communities. Decisions made at the national level echo directly into our streets, our schools, our businesses, and the relationships we rely on to keep our communities and ourselves safe.

This reality deserves your attention. Now. 

Respectfully,

Hunter Panning, a police officer who relies on trust to stay alive"

Alex Pretti fatally shot by Border Patrol

What we know:

For the second time in three weeks, a Minneapolis resident was killed Saturday in a shooting involving a federal agent.

Alex Pretti, 37, was fatally shot near 26th and Nicollet after an encounter with federal agents who were on an immigration enforcement operation. He was reportedly trying to help a woman who had been pushed to the ground, then Pretti himself was in a struggle with several agents.

It ended with gunfire, and Pretti dead.