A Minnesota judge has vacated the order he issued last month that required federal investigators to preserve evidence gathered at the scene of Alex Pretti’s fatal shooting by immigration officers.
US District Judge Alex Tostrud said he was lifting the emergency order he issued the day of Pretti’s shooting that barred various federal investigatory offices from destroying or altering any evidence related to the incident because he had gotten assurances from federal officials that evidence would be properly maintained.
“Though the record is not one-sided, the greater weight of the evidence shows Defendants are not likely to destroy or improperly alter evidence related to Mr. Pretti’s shooting during the life of this case, and other relevant considerations do not on balance favor a continuing preservation order,” Tostrud wrote in an 18-page decision.
“The temporary restraining order’s terms are not meaningfully different from defendants’ preservation policies,” the judge wrote. “An ongoing preservation order – and the contempt power that accompanies it – would overlay, not just defendants’ preservation polices, but any investigative measures that might alter evidence.”
The ACLU might have asked for the order to make the DoJ look untrustworthy, setting up an offense if the officers are found innocent.
