US officers won’t be charged for killing Mexican immigrant: Prosecutor
Three police officers who fatally shot a Mexican immigrant in February in Washington state during a controversial encounter that was recorded on mobile video will not face criminal charges.
Franklin County prosecuting attorney Shawn Sant said Wednesday that an investigation found no basis under Washington state law to indict the officers.
"We are tasked with evaluating whether there's criminal liability on the officers," Sant said. "The statute is very clear."
Antonio Zambrano-Montes, a 35-year-old farm worker, was shot dead in February in the small city of Pasco, in an agricultural hub with a large Hispanic community and a largely white power structure.
In a video filmed by a driver and posted online, Zambrano-Montes is seen throwing rocks at police and then running from officers before they fire multiple shots.
At the meeting where the announcement was made not to prosecute the officers, some in the crowd did not accept Sant's explanation.
The crowd said 17 shots were fired and questioned whether the officers used excessive force. Some shouted, "No justice, no peace!"
A lawyer representing the victim’s family said they are “sorely disappointed” and “sharply disagree” with the decision.
“This forces us to seek justice for Antonio and his family in a different forum, one of the family’s choosing, not in the police home court. Shortly, we will be filing a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the proper plaintiffs,” Jose Baez said in a statement.
All three officers were placed on administrative leave after the shooting and a police internal investigation is still ongoing.
The FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the US Justice Department are conducting an independent review to determine if any federal laws were broken.
Police brutality and the unnecessary use of heavy-handed tactics, as well as the racial profiling of some minorities, have become a major concern across the US in recent years.
The death of several unarmed African-American men by the hands of white police officers during the past year has triggered protests and clashes between police and demonstrators across the US.
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