Regional Public Journalism
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mother Of Zambrano-Montes Files Suit Against Pasco Police

Franklin County Prosecutor
Pasco Police officers shot and killed Antonio Zambrano-Montes last February.

Last February, three Pasco Police officers shot and killed Antonio Zambrano-Montes in a crowded intersection. Zambrano-Montes had been throwing rocks. This week, the Mexican farmworker’s mother filed suit in federal district court.

The new civil lawsuit targets the three officers who shot Zambrano-Montes, the Pasco police chief and the city. It aims to prove that Pasco police officers didn’t have adequate training to deal with “mentally disturbed” people. And that excessive force was used, no medical care was given to Zambrano-Montes after the shooting and that the Pasco police chief later “exonerated the killing.”

In the case the Seattle-based lawyer says that the farmworker experienced terror before his death as he was “pursued like a hunted animal.” They’re asking for a civil trial and an impartial jury to decide the case.

Last fall, the Franklin County prosecutor didn’t press charges against the Pasco police after a lengthy review of evidence including cell-phone videos by bystanders. The Pasco Police Department didn’t find any fault in its internal review.

A City of Pasco spokesperson says city administration doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.