Shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes

Shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes
Date February 10, 2015
Location Pasco, Washington, U.S.
Participants Killed: Antonio Zambrano-Montes
Officers: Three Pasco Police Department officers
Charges None filed

The shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes occurred on February 10, 2015, in Pasco, Washington, United States. Zambrano, a 35-year-old man originally from Michoacan, Mexico, was shot and killed by three police officers after allegedly throwing rocks at cars and police officers. His hands were in the air when the police fired the shots.[1] Police officers said one of the rocks was as large a softball. A toxicology report conducted by police found Zambrano's blood tested positive for methamphetamine.[2]

Zambrano-Montes' family initially filed a $4.8 million claim against the city of Pasco for the shooting, which they called an "execution", saying he "did not represent a threat of grievous bodily harm to anyone" at the time of his death.[2] Two of the officers involved in the shooting were white, and one was Hispanic.[1] The killing led to criticism by the Mexican government.[3][4] with the country's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, condemning the officers' "disproportionate use of lethal force."[5]

Background

Zambrano-Montes was raised in Michoacán, Mexico,[6] the third of sixteen children born to Jesús Montes and Agapita Montes-Rivera.[7] In 2004, he immigrated to the United States to work in the orchards.[6] He was married with two daughters.[6] His wife had previously obtained a protection order against him alleging abuse.[6] Zambrano-Montes was in the country illegally and did not speak English.[6][8] He was arrested for assaulting a police officer in January 2014. The police stated that he had tried to grab an officer's pistol in the officer's holster as well as throwing objects at the officers and trying to strike them with a mailbox. He pled guilty in June 2014.[6][8] Prior to the incident, he had spent some time in a homeless shelter[9] and was "struggling emotionally"[10] after being unable to work after an injury.[11] According to police reports, the officers first tried to subdue him with voice commands and then with a Taser.[10]

Shooting

Three officers—Ryan Flanagan, Adam Wright and Adrian Alaniz—fired on Zambrano-Montes.[12] Flanagan and Wright are white, and Alaniz is Hispanic.[6] None of them were wearing body cameras.[9] The shooting was caught on video by a civilian who recorded the incident from about 50 feet away[13] showing Zambrano-Montes was running away from police, either with a rock in his hand or unarmed, suddenly turned and faced the officers and reached toward his waistband as he was fatally shot by them.[14][15] Several weeks prior to the shooting, one of the officers, Adam Wright, had dragged Zambrano-Montes away from his burning rental home.[16][17][18]

Aftermath

The death of Zambrano-Montes led to criticism by the Mexican government[3][4] with Mexico's Congress calling the shooting an "act that outrages all Mexicans" and the country's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, condemning the officers' "disproportionate use of lethal force."[5] There were also mass protests in Pasco, with many protesters bused in from the large cities outside the local community, like Portland and Seattle.[19] The family of Zambrano filed a $25 million claim against the city of Pasco claiming excessive force led to his death.[6][20] and hired civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump who also represented the family of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida[14] and the family of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri;[21][22] and Jose Baez, who represented Casey Anthony.[23]

The three officers involved in the shooting are currently on paid administrative leave.[24] As of February 16, "a multiagency investigation was underway" [25] A local group, Consejo Latino, called for an additional investigation by the United States Department of Justice.[26] There are 68 agents on the police force in Pasco, of whom 14 (21%) are Hispanic.[27] Pasco is 56% Hispanic.[28]

On February 21, 2015, the Tri-City Herald reported that 100 protesters had attended a rally focused on the incident, with a group of fifty shutting down a bridge into the city that evening. The newspaper stated that "turmoil continued in Pasco nearly two weeks after the controversial shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes,"[29] as protests are not typically of this size in this town. A small ongoing presence of activists was present at the Pasco City Hall.[30]

On February 26, a report indicated "The U.S. Attorney's office for Eastern Washington ... [had joined] the FBI in keeping track of the investigation."[31]

As of February 27, 2015, reports indicated that seventeen shots had been fired; there were conflicting reports regarding as to whether autopsy results indicated the victim had been shot in the back.[32] The medical examiner's analysis was expected to be complete in about a month's time; transcripts of witness statements were not expected to be available for several weeks.[33] Zambrano-Montes's family commissioned a third autopsy conducted by forensic pathologist Werner Spitz.[34] A federal mediator from the US Justice Department was dispatched in late March to help to mediate talks between the Pasco police department and local community groups who believe the shooting was unjustified[35] while Zambrano-Montes' widow has called for the three officers to be charged with murder.[35] A request to Governor Jay Inslee by Latino advocacy group Consejo Latino to remove Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant from the investigation was refused, on the basis that prosecutors were obligated to fully investigate and prosecute crimes absent "very specific, tangible, and compelling reasons."[36][37]

On September 9, Franklin County prosecutors declined to file charges against the three officers.[38]

References

  1. 1 2 Cave, Damien; Oliver, Rochelle (July 30, 2015). "The Videos That Are Putting Race and Policing Into Sharp Relief". The New York Times. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  2. 1 2 Washington Police Shooting, cnn.com, July 11, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Oliver Laughland, "Mexico condemns 'disproportionate' use of force by US police in Pasco shooting", theguardian.com, February 13, 2015; "The government of Mexico deeply condemns incidents in which force is used in a disproportionate manner, even more so when that use of force leads to loss of life."
  4. 1 2 "Condena SRE uso de fuerza letal contra mexicano en EU - Antonio Zambrano, originario de Michoacán, quien presuntamente agredió con piedras a dos policías murió de varios disparos de los agentes cuando huía de ellos en Pasco, Washington", Milenio.com, February 12, 2015.
  5. 1 2 Vice News: "Cops Fired 17 Rounds at Unarmed Mexican Immigrant Antonio Zambrano-Montes", vice.com, February 26, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 New York Times: "Killing in Washington State Offers ‘Ferguson’ Moment for Hispanics - Pasco Police’s Shooting of Rock Thrower Draws Comparisons to Michael Brown Case" by JULIE TURKEWITZ and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. February 16, 2015
  7. ↑ Televisa: "Hermanos esperan en Colima restos de Antonio Zambrano" Febrero 22, 2015
  8. 1 2 Univision: "Abogado de Ferguson asesorará a la familia de Antonio Zambrano" February 23, 2015
  9. 1 2 The Daily Mail: "Investigators appeal for witnesses to come forward so they can 'better understand the mental heath [sic]' of an unarmed orchard worker gunned down by police, sparking mass protests", dailymail.co.uk, February 20, 2015.
  10. 1 2 "New Details Revealed in Shooting by Police in Washington State", nytimes.com, February 19, 2015.
  11. ↑ El Milenio: "Mexicano baleado en EU tenía quebradas las manos: primo - La policía mató a tiros a Antonio Zambrano Montes tras supuestamente lanzar piedras a los agentes, pero José Rosario duda de esa versión porque su familiar tuvo un accidente en las manos", milenio.com, February 13, 2015.
  12. ↑ The Guardian: "Pasco shooting: police will not say how many bullets fired at unarmed man - Officers investigating fatal shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes concede for the first time that three officers involved in shooting opened fire", theguardian.com, February 19, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Homeless Man Throwing Rocks, Killed by Police, newsmax.com, February 13, 2015; "In an email interview, he said he decided to start recording when he saw an officer trying to use a stun gun on the man. Infante said he saw the man throw a few rocks at police officers but he didn't see him hit any officers....He didn't throw any rocks after he started running."
  14. 1 2 "Family of unarmed Mexican man killed by police in Pasco, Wash., hires civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump", nydailynews.com, February 24, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Rock-Throwing Man Killed By Police in Pasco Had No Other Weapons", nbcnews.com, February 13, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Officer who shot Antonio Zambrano-Montes had saved him from fire weeks before", al.com, April 22, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Officer who shot Pasco farmworker dragged him from fire weeks earlier", q13fox.com, April 22, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Officer who shot Washington state farm worker had aided him in house fire", reuters.com, April 22, 2015.
  19. ↑ MSNBC: "Hundreds protest death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in Washington", msnbc.com, February 17, 2015.
  20. ↑ Washington police shooting, CNN, February 14, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Ferguson Lawyer To Represent Antonio Zambrano-Montes' Family", huffingtonpost.com, February 23, 2015.
  22. ↑ "Ferguson lawyer to represent family of Pasco police shooting - Killing of Mexican man in Washington state for allegedly throwing stones sparked outrage across the nation", aljazeera.com, February 23, 2015.
  23. ↑ Orlando Sentinel: "Baez, Crump retained in Washington cop shooting", orlandosentinel.com, February 27, 2015.
  24. ↑ International Business Times: "Who Is Antonio Zambrano-Montes? Hispanic Community Demands Justice In Fatal Police Shooting Of Unarmed Mexican National", ibtimes.com, February 17, 2015.
  25. ↑ Carter, Mike (2015-02-13). "Family of man shot by Pasco police files $25 million claim". Seattle Times - The Today File. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  26. ↑ "Pasco Latino Leaders: Feds Need To Investigate Fatal Police Shooting". NBC News.com. 2015-02-16. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  27. ↑ BBC: "La muerte de un mexicano a tiros de la policía que causa indignación en EE.UU", bbc.co.uk, February 18, 2015.(Spanish)
  28. ↑ "Deadly shooting of Mexican man throwing rocks stirs protests", chron.com, February 20, 2015.
  29. ↑ Richardson, Tyler (2015-02-21). "Shooting protesters rally in Pasco, block traffic on cable bridge". Tri-CityHerald.com - Crime & court news. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  30. ↑ Rivero, Daniel (2015-02-23). "A small band of protesters won’t let the Pasco police shooting be forgotten". Fusion. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  31. ↑ Gamboa, Suzanne (2015-02-26). "Feds Tell Latino Group They Are Monitoring Pasco Shooting Probe". NBC News.com. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  32. ↑ "17 Shots: Police Killing of Unarmed Mexican Farmworker in Washington State Sparks Protest". Democracy Now!. 2015-02-27. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  33. ↑ Planas, Roque (2015-02-25). "Pasco Police Fired 17 Shots At Unarmed Mexican Migrant For Throwing Rocks At Them". Huffington Post. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
  34. ↑ "Zambrano family hires second attorney, has third autopsy performed in Florida", tri-cityherald.com, February 27, 2015
  35. 1 2 "Federal mediator to lead Pasco talks over police shooting of Mexican man - Justice Department representative to mediate talks between police and community groups outraged over death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes", theguardian.com, March 24, 2015.
  36. ↑ "Zambrano-Montes Shooting Update: Washington Governor Refuses to Remove Prosecutor From Police Shooting Probe", latinpost.com, March 29, 2015.
  37. ↑ "Washington governor won't remove prosecutor probing police shooting of farmworker", reuters.com, March 27, 2015.
  38. ↑ "No Charges for Pasco Police Officers Who Killed Antonio Zambrano-Montes, Man Who Threw Rocks". NBC News. September 9, 2015.
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