- Utah nurses held a vigil for a Minnesota man killed during a protest.
- The protest was against immigration enforcement policies and resulted in a fatality.
- Nurses emphasized the need for compassion and reform in immigration enforcement practices.
SALT LAKE CITY — Hundreds of Utah nurses and others joined together Thursday evening to honor Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care unit nurse who was shot and killed by Border Patrol officers in Minneapolis while protesting immigration enforcement.
The vigil at the Utah Capitol was organized by the Utah Nurses Association and the Utah Nurses Foundation. People held flameless candles and white roses as they listened to tributes to Pretti and observed a moment of silence.
"We created a space where everyone could come together, to grieve, to move forward, to support and advocate for each other," said Brittania Doxstader, president of the Utah Nurses Association and one of the vigil's organizers. "I think that's exactly what happened tonight."
This comes less than a week after Pretti was shot multiple times by two federal officers, a Border Patrol agent and a customs officer, after he refused to move out of the street following an order from a customs officer. In video, just before he was killed on Jan. 24, Pretti is shown holding his phone and helping a woman whom officers had pushed down.
New video has also surfaced from 11 days earlier showing Pretti kicking out a tail light of a vehicle belonging to immigration agents and scuffling with officers. In a statement, his family's attorney said nothing about that previous encounter "could possibly have justified Alex's killing."
Pretti, who had a concealed-carry permit, was armed but did not brandish his weapon during either incident, according to witness videos and reporting from the Associated Press.
Multiple lawmakers, including Sen. John Curtis and Rep. Blake Moore, both Republicans from Utah, have called for an independent investigation into the shooting. Curtis in particular criticized the Trump administration's initial response to the incident, in which officials referred to Pretti as a "domestic terrorist" and an "assassin."
In the aftermath of Pretti's killing and the subsequent criticism, President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan has said federal officials are working on a "drawdown plan" in Minnesota, according to NBC News, but urged local leaders to work with the feds to "tone down the dangerous rhetoric and condemn all unlawful action" against law enforcement.
'He did what nurses do'
During Thursday's vigil in Utah, speakers largely avoided politics, focusing instead on Pretti's career as a nurse and what his death means to those in the profession.
"According to reporting from family, Alex participated in demonstrations because he believed profoundly in human dignity and justice, and he grieved what was happening to vulnerable people in his city," Doxstader said. "In his final moments, when Alex saw someone on the ground needing help, he did what nurses do. He moved toward suffering, not away from it, and he did so without hesitation."
The vigil in Salt Lake City drew many fellow nurses, some who said they were upset over what happened to Pretti and similar incidents throughout the country. Pretti's death came just weeks after the fatal shooting of Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old mother of three who was shot and killed by a Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on Jan. 7.
"I'm angry," said Liz Crane, a nurse who lives in West Jordan. "This shouldn't have happened to him. He was obviously an upstanding human being,"
Crane said the events in Minnesota hit close to home for her, as she has a niece who lives in the state.
"I'm afraid for her every day," she said.
Daniel Woodruff, KSLSara Johnson, another nurse who lives in Salt Lake City, said she attended the vigil to honor a fellow caregiver and to stand in solidarity with those impacted by recent events.
"It's affecting all of us equally," she said, "and we all need to be united in this together to make things better."
Alejandra Trevino, of Bountiful, said seeing what is happening during immigrant enforcement actions is upsetting to her as someone born to immigrant parents.
"I stand here in solidarity because we all matter, and his life shouldn't have been lost," she said.
At the end of the vigil, following a moment of silence, a group of nurses from the Utah Nightingales paid one last tribute to Pretti in a somber ceremony similar to the "end of watch" call for law enforcement officers.
"We officially release you from your nursing duties," they said. "Your colleagues will take it from here."
