MINNEAPOLIS — Civil rights attorney John Burris and other lawyers laid out plans for potential class-action lawsuits over alleged excessive force used against protesters and monitors following the January 24 shooting death of Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis.

On the morning of January 24, Georgia Savageford was observing federal officers when an agent pushed her twice and caused her to fall. Three federal agents tackled Savageford, dragged her face-down into the middle of the street, knelt on her back, twisted her arms and legs to the ground, and handcuffed her. Savageford said the handcuffs were so tight she lost feeling in her hands, resulting in temporary nerve damage.

Officers put Savageford in the back of a vehicle, from which she saw agents shoot and kill Alex Pretti on the other side of the street, she said. Savageford said Alex Pretti recorded video of her arrest and yelled at agents to leave her alone. "I did not know him, but I knew he had my back. I know the kind of heart he had. One that loves and protects without limits," she said.

She said she pleaded with the agents to understand why another life was taken and to not take hers. She said officers told her to shut up and to stop being hysterical. Savageford was held for 12 hours in a cold cell without ready access to food, water, or the bathroom at an ICE holding facility before being released without being charged, she said.

Burris and his colleagues filed complaints with federal agencies involved in the Minnesota enforcement surge on behalf of 10 people, including Savageford. "We have many others that are under investigation that have not completed the process. But I thought it was important for us to start this process now. Put the government on notice that we're here," Burris said.

Minnesota officials sued the Trump administration on Tuesday for access to evidence needed to independently investigate the killings, according to court filings. Savageford said she had been legally observing the actions of federal officers in Minneapolis ever since the shooting death of Renee Good by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer on January 7. Burris, who specializes in police misconduct, helped win an $11 million settlement against the Oakland Police Department in 2003 and a civil jury verdict of $3.8 million for motorist Rodney King in 1991.