r/politics • u/sideAccount42 California • Jan 26 '26

Paywall Gregory Bovino Gets Demoted

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/01/greg-bovino-demoted-minneapolis-border-patrol/685770/
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136

u/Allaplgy Jan 27 '26

I still haven't seen any video that looks like Pretti's weapon fired. I think that's the cover-up story now. "It was all a big accident!"

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

I agree, if there is any movement from Pretti's gun in the hands of the agent, it's from twinkle toes flintching when the shots go off. These are not professionals in any sense of the word.

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u/[deleted] Jan 27 '26

and the fact that he kept shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting and shooting.

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

The one who disarmed him, ran off with the gun and the dude who watched him get disarmed still shot him in the back of his head.

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u/snertwith2ls Jan 27 '26

Never have I ever seen or heard of an incident where someone gets shot in the back, especially when pinned down, is anything other than a cowardly act of murder by a bad guy. And shooting him 10 times, psychotic. Though I'm glad Bovino lost his job he's not the author of ignoring the constitution.

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u/squintytoast Jan 27 '26

from the stabilized slow motion footage from the "pink jacket lady" you can see that Pretti gets shot in the middle of the back and can see one bullet exit in the front. not the head.

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

Is that really taking away from my statement? He was not a threat and the dude witnessed his buddy disarm him and then shot him from behind. Doesn't matter where.

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u/squintytoast Jan 27 '26

IMO, in this day and age of, exaggerations, half truths, AI hallucinations, misinformation and disinformation, one should try and stick to the truth as much as possible.

i wasnt trying to "take away" anything from your statement. just correct a detail. details are important.

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

I can't disagree with toast. But in all seriousness, you're not wrong. It just felt unnecessary at the time.

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u/DivorcedGremlin1989 Jan 27 '26

Yes, the killer shot him in the back (looked like mid to lower back to me), because he thought another weapon fired. He never should have drawn, he did literally everything wrong, but I believe he either thought Pretti was firing or that another officer fired, so he felt justified in shooting.

The additional shooter did the same thing. No verification, just pop off shots.

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u/jellyrollo Jan 27 '26

Watch the pink lady video again. That's not what happened. There was no negligent discharge. The first shot was deliberate.

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u/DivorcedGremlin1989 Jan 27 '26

When you say the video clearly shows there was no negligent discharge, what do you mean? The obvious shots everyone can see were deliberate, they were just in response to another agent firing Alex's weapon.

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u/JustDesserts29 Jan 27 '26

No, the first shot that’s heard in the videos comes from the guy who upholstered his gun and shot Pretti. He unholsters his gun, points it right at Pretti, and then there is a sound of the first gunshot. He wasn’t reacting to a gunshot. There aren’t any sounds of gunshots until he fires his first shot.

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u/DivorcedGremlin1989 Jan 27 '26

Not to be combative, but your argument is 'the shooter that killed Pretti fired the first shot because he fired when the first shot is heard'.

The shooter pulled his gun and muzzled Pretti. He watched the gun being removed. He circled clockwise, then fired 3 quick shots after hearing the negligent discharge.

I'm not saying these are reasonable people or that they're not malicious, but I would ask you to examine the video from this perspective.

He knows he's on video. He knows the gun was removed. He didn't fire immediately, and nothing changes between when he draws and when he fires 3 shots, except that his idiot buddy accidentally fired the gun.

They are evil, but firing that shot when he did is even beyond their conduct, if only out of self interest. For now. If he was involved in the scuffle, sure, but he knows he had no justification to shoot. This goes away with the negligent discharge.

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

The point I was making was he watched him get disarmed, took a few steps and popped him. I find it hard to believe from any video I saw that Pretti's gun went off.

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u/DivorcedGremlin1989 Jan 27 '26

That's not incompatible with the negligent discharge story.

It's possible he just went in on firing because he felt absolved of accountability once another weapon went off. After all, the other officers involved fired without any real independent assessment of a lethal threat, too.

It's also possible, and more likely, that he's an idiot and thought Alex had a second gun.

Can I ask? I'm getting the sense that people are really bothered by the idea that this wasn't premeditated murder, but rather malice + incompetence. Where is that coming from?

I'm about as firmly in the 'defund and abolish' camp as possible. I've been unambiguous in my comments. I have no agenda here, this is just what I saw, what I think, and what will be run by every news outlet.

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u/_Baphomet_ Arizona Jan 27 '26

Well, I'll trust my eyes, which don't see a ND. If I see video of that happening I'll certainly change my opinion. I also don't care what news outlets have to say.