In light of the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis over the weekend and the concern over accountability of federal agents, Lake Dems is letting people know about the response from our Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart. Take a moment to read the statement below. We’re fortunate for these thoughtful remarks and to have reasonable, principled leaders in Lake County like Eric Rinehart to stand up to the extremism of the Trump Administration.
(Lake County, IL) Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart released the following statement after the shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and after viewing multiple camera angles of the shooting:
“The civilian deaths in Minneapolis are outrageous, heartbreaking, and preventable. Recently recruited Border Patrol agents are bringing a militarized force to our community that is engaged in racial profiling, that is not trained to de-escalate, that is not deterred by accountability, and that is not connected to the local community in any way.
In Lake County, we have some of the most professional and well-trained police officers in the United States. Our elected mayors and village councils have selected outstanding police chiefs who are accountable to their community. If the unthinkable were to happen here, and there was loss of life due to federal operations, our office would follow the procedures of 55 ILCS 5/3-3013 and 50 ILCS 727/1-1. Under these statutes, the investigation would be led by the Lake County Coroner’s Office and local police agencies.
The “rule of law” is not a cliché – it is how democracy enforces its decisions. The people of Illinois and in every American state have democratically decided that armed government agents may not use excessive force. Our collective history from colonial times to our recent tragic experiences with the Laquan McDonald, George Floyd, Sonya Massie deaths, and so many others should unite us across all political and socioeconomic divides: the government cannot use unreasonable force when interacting with civilians. After an investigation, police, elected prosecutors, and courts should decide what is “reasonable”; not federal spokespeople who seem to lie within minutes of an incident and then backtrack.
Any automatic defense of federal actions is part of a broader plan to try to desensitize us to violence and to convince us we are powerless to hold federal officials accountable. They have failed to desensitize us, and they are legally wrong. There is no absolute immunity for federal officials who clearly break state law, there is no statute of limitations on criminal homicides, and no president can pardon anyone for state crimes.
In Lake County, federal agents who break state laws will be investigated through the same procedures we have always used, prosecuted with Due Process, and held accountable through public trials in our local court system.”
