He was not a stranger at the margins; he was a healer at the center of his community. As an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA, Alex Jeffrey Pretti spent his nights stabilizing veterans in crisis, then walked into a federal enforcement action that cost him his life. His death has left colleagues stunned, patients’ families reeling, and his loved ones grappling with the cruel contrast between the care he gave and the force he received. In their grief, they are refusing to let him be reduced to a case number or a line in a press release.
Across Minneapolis, his name is now spoken alongside that of Renee Nicole Good, another life lost during a recent federal operation. Two families, two tragedies, and a city caught in the space between official silence and public outrage. Residents are demanding more than carefully worded statements: they want body camera footage, clear timelines, and answers about why lethal force was used at all. For many, honoring Pretti means insisting that his final moments be fully seen, fully explained, and never repeated.
