OPINION:
An article in the Times last month identifies the lethal consequences of resisting arrest or fleeing law enforcement agents (“Maine death marks at least the 9th fatality in U.S. immigration sweeps,” Web, July 13.)
Foreign nationals may only be present in the United States at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security. People who are here illegally, on parole, awaiting asylum or on tourist visas or on green cards have no inherent right to residency in the United States. As a consequence, foreign nationals confronted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may panic and attempt to flee to avoid detention.
Whether Alex Pretti was attempting to protect a woman who was being pushed back by immigration officers or not, was it not clear that he was armed, bum-rushed an immigration agent from behind, resisted arrest and continued struggling with agents in a chaotic episode in which agents shot him after someone yelled, “He’s got a gun!” four times and “Gun! Gun! Gun!”?
Considering the literal seconds in which the confrontation occurred, the agents who fired the shots may well have thought that Pretti still posed a lethal threat.
In the cases of Renee Good in Minneapolis and Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine, bullet holes in their windshields would suggest that immigration agents were in front of their vehicles when shooting began. What’s more, their vehicles had appeared to be moving forward, according to eyewitness and video accounts.
The bullet hole in Good’s windshield would appear consistent with a reported wound to the left side of her head.
Research done by Dr. Greg Jasper “found that pressing the gas pedal of your car and causing the vehicle to advance toward an ICE agent almost invariably results in multiple bullets being fired through your windshield.” This is a fact unappreciated by anyone unaccustomed to stopping a one- to two-ton vehicle with a 9-millimeter handgun.
Although some people have managed to evade ICE for years, these lethal episodes suggest that anyone confronted by law enforcement should resist the urge to flee, resist arrest, assault or obstruct law enforcement, create chaotic episodes or pose a perceived lethal threat to anyone.
Anyone unwilling to abide by the laws of the United States is not obliged to remain here.
WILLIAM T. FIDURSKI
Clark, New Jersey
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