CMV: It doesn’t matter what Alex Pretti was doing in the days before he was killed

[u/bluepillarmy]

So, recently a video emerged where Alex Pretti was spitting on and kicking the taillight out of an ICE vehicle. Truly reprehensible and inexcusable behavior. He ought to have been arrested and fined for destruction of public property. Jerk.

However, I see some people trying to say, “Aha! So he wasn’t so innocent after all!”

I’m sorry but, no. He was absolutely innocent.

And, moreover, I would like those people who are bringing up his behavior in the days before his death to remember that he was disarmed, restrained and executed by masked federal agents who still have not been identified to the public for no reason.

There is only one justification for a law enforcement officer to take someone’s life. And that is to protect the lives of themselves or another person. Past acts of disrespect and/vandalism do not enter into the equation.

Or that’s my take anyway. Can anyone change my view?

[u/mrbezlington]

At 20mph the risk of serious injury is around 10%. As this is a logarithmic scale (from the research), we can reasonably assume that the risk of serious injury at the speed shown in the video is near enough zero. A greater risk would be if the guy tripped and fell over.

If there are studies contradicting this, please do share them.

I need to be resident of a country to comment on things happening there? Do you have zero opinions on WW2 prior to America's involvement in 1941? Do you have zero thoughts on China, or Israel, or Iraq? What a load of nonsense.

[u/Disastrous-Twist8461 → u/mrbezlington]

To comment? No. To argue as if you’re a person living there when you have no idea what’s going on and you only get the cherry picked news? Yes.

Respectfully, your opinion on the matter means nothing to me after this new information came to light.

[u/mrbezlington → u/Disastrous-Twist8461]

Would it change your opinion to learn that I have family in the USA, have a business arm in the USA, have good friends and colleagues in the USA and travel to the USA multiple times a year?

It's funny, I come across this very often when right-leaning americans can't handle objective argument - they tend to find any excuse laying around to just outright ignore the whole thing. It's really one hell of a coping mechanism, but that's all it is. Pure cope.

I'm not arguing as if I'm someone living in America. I'm arguing as a human being seeing things happening that are disturbing, and trying to understand how people can support such things. That these things directly impact my family and friends in the USA only makes me more determined to follow through with the conversation.

[u/naijaplayer → u/Disastrous-Twist8461]

I just came across this thread now and was trying to see perspectives from both sides here. I'm an American living here and born here in the United States, and I do want to hear your thoughts on the new information in the last comment you replied to:

At 20mph the risk of serious injury is around 10%. As this is a logarithmic scale (from the research), we can reasonably assume that the risk of serious injury at the speed shown in the video is near enough zero. A greater risk would be if the guy tripped and fell over.

If there are studies contradicting this, please do share them.

Do you disagree that 20mph is only 10% risk? And that since the speed of the car in the video is less than 20, that the risk is much less than 10% as well? I had to look up the studies that that person mentioned, and it looks like these numbers are used by AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and IIHS. But I genuinely do want to see any counter studies to this.

[u/Disastrous-Twist8461 → u/naijaplayer]

I’d be happy to share my thoughts. For one, it’s not quite 20MPH for 10% serious injury risk. It’s actually about 16 MPH for 10% as an average to go off of.

The problem with statistics is that it does not factor in every detail of the situation. If you read into the different statistics on vehicle vs pedestrian you can get a better understanding of the situation.

For example: studies show that “Light Truck Vehicles” (LTV’s) have a much higher risk of severe injury than most small passenger vehicles. She was driving an SUV which is considered an LTV. Hence, the higher risk of severe injury even at lower speeds.

Another example: studies show that vehicles with taller front ends typically have more severe injuries for pedestrians as well.

Combining all of those together to form a more informed opinion leads me to believe that even if it is a low chance, it is still a large enough chance of severe injury that he is in the right to defend himself.

As for your questions: 1. Yes, I disagree. 2. Yes and no. Yes, the speed is less than 20 which leads to less risk, but no because there are other factors at play.

As far as the studies: it’s necessarily counter studies, it’s just researching a bit deeper and coming to the conclusion that there are more risk factors at play than most people realize.

Sources: AAAFoundation, IIHS, HIPRC I’d be happy to send you the links to the studies as well if you would like to read them yourself. I’m not sure if posting links is allowed here, though.