SPOKANE, Wash. — Healthcare workers traded their stethoscopes for protest signs Wednesday as hundreds gathered to honor a fellow healthcare professional and demand accountability in a march that stretched from Riverfront Park to the Spokane County Courthouse.
The demonstration honored Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who was shot and killed by Border Patrol agents. Participants braved the cold temperatures to show solidarity with a colleague they had never met but whose sacrifice resonated deeply within the healthcare community.
“Nurses are angry. Nurses are upset. And we want accountability,” said Alex Knox, a critical care nurse who participated in the march.
Knox emphasized that Pretti’s actions reflected the values healthcare workers are trained to uphold.
“We know what it is, what it’s like to run into danger. That’s what he did. He protected another person, and he died for it,” Knox said.
The march drew hundreds of people who carried signs, candles and chanted as they made their way through Spokane streets. The demonstration culminated with a rally at the courthouse, where organizers held a moment of silence for Pretti before several healthcare workers addressed the crowd.
Cathryn Nathaniel, a dental assistant who participated in the march, expressed the urgency many felt to take action.
“These people are getting murdered. These are our neighbors. Those are kids that are getting taken. And I can’t in good conscience, go home and lay my head down. And I go to sleep knowing I didn’t do anything to try to say, this is not okay, and this is not the country that we should be,” Nathaniel said.
The march served as more than just a memorial. Participants used the gathering to call for justice and accountability while encouraging others to get involved in advocacy efforts.
“It’s so devastating to see this happening and know that what I can do is be out here with everybody else. But I can’t save those people,” Nathaniel said.
Bob Ganahl, who participated in the march, said the demonstration was meant to show that community members are paying attention and want change.
“Let people see that we are paying attention and that we would like the country to become a kinder country. Okay, a kinder country. We’re drifting towards cruelty. And, we have time to correct that,” Ganahl said.
Organizers concluded the rally by asking participants to continue fighting for justice, reach out to their local representatives and demand change. The march represented a unified call from healthcare workers and community members for accountability and action in response to violence affecting their community.
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