Several hundred people took to the streets of Pasco, Washington, Saturday to protest the fatal police shooting of a man who allegedly pelted officers with rocks.
The protests appeared to be peaceful. Demonstrators chanted “We want justice!” and held signs aloft bearing slogans like “Shoot me on the leg but don’t kill me!” and photos of the orchard worker and father of two.
Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, was shot by Pasco police officers shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, after he allegedly pelted officers with rocks, police said. The shooting was captured on video that appears to show Zambrano-Montes moving away from police when he was shot.
Some demonstrators chanted slogans in Spanish. Pasco is a city of about 68,000, a little more than half of whom are Hispanic, according to Census data. Mexico’s consul in Seattle called the shooting “the unwarranted use of lethal force against an unarmed Mexican national” in a letter to the Pasco police chief.
Protesters held a rally at Volunteer Park and marched to Lewis Street and 10th Avenue, where Zambrano-Montes was shot. Pasco police estimated the crowd at 500 people. The Franklin County coroner is considering calling a rare coroner’s inquest to determine whether the shooting was justified. Antonio Zambrano-Montes’ family has filed a notice of claim and intend to sue the city for $25 million.
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