The shooting death of an undocumented immigrant by police in Pasco, Washington, on Tuesday has sparked protests and condemnations after a YouTube video showed a 35-year-old man running from officers with his hands in the air before collapsing in a hail of gunfire.
The confrontation started when Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an undocumented orchard worker from Mexico, was accused of throwing rocks at police. Officers then attempted to subdue him with a stun gun.
When that failed, Zambrano-Montes took off running with a rock in his hand, leading to the fatal confrontation at an intersection that was witnessed by more than a dozen people.
Pasco resident Dario Infante Zuniga, who recorded a video of the shooting on his cellphone (at the time of writing, it had been viewed nearly 1 million times), told Mashable the shooting happened at a "busy intersection with people everywhere," and that Zambrano-Montes had his hands up when he was shot.
"It looked like he had his hands in the air when he crossed the street," said Zuniga, who said that the officers fired a volley of shots at the man's back while he ran, but none of them struck him.
Zambrano-Montes then turned around, which was when police gunned him down, according to Zuniga.
(Editors' note: The following video, while not graphic, shows a man being shot by police. Please view with caution.)
Another eyewitness video shows the police left Zambrano-Montes on the street for more than a minute before approaching his body while a line of cars crawled by.
Zambrano-Montes "was a kind person, family-oriented,” his cousin, Blanca Zambrano, told the Tri-City Herald. “He was hardworking.”
He had a history of erratic behavior, according to court documents cited by the newspaper, as well as a history of drug use. But there was no immediate indication that either played a role in Tuesday's incident.
At the scene where Antonio Zambrano-Montes was shot and killed Tues night. Memorial still here. pic.twitter.com/XvSMD8ldTo— Taylor Viydo (@KREMTaylor) February 12, 2015
Mexico's Foreign Relations Department issued a statement on Thursday expressing a "deep condemnation" of the killing, calling it one of the "events in which unwarranted use has been made of lethal force," the Associated Press reported.
The Consulate of Mexico in Seattle also "sent a message of protest to the Pasco chief of police ... requesting information on the disciplinary measures that could eventually be imposed on the police officers involved in the incident."
Children gathered around candles set up in the middle of the intersection near where the deadly #Pasco officer involved shooting occurred last night. A photo posted by Chelsie Hadden (@chelsiehadden) on Feb 11, 2015 at 5:36pm PST
Pasco Police Chief Bob Metzger asked for patience as an investigation by the Tri-City Special Investigation Unit and an internal review move forward.
"The officers are ... on administrative leave -- until they are reviewed and everything is done, they will not be back to work," he said. "It's important we get the right information."
Protesters marched outside Pasco's City Hall on Wednesday, chanting "Stop police brutality! It was a rock!" and “Use your training, not your gun," according to the Seattle Times.
Looking out of #Pasco City Hall where people are protesting a fatal officer-involved shooting that happened yesterday evening. A photo posted by Chelsie Hadden (@chelsiehadden) on Feb 11, 2015 at 3:55pm PST
Crowd waiting for police to speak to them outside city hall. pic.twitter.com/A2wdBdSvsr— TriCityHerald (@TriCityHerald) February 11, 2015
“Fleeing from police and not following an officer’s command should not be sufficient for a person to get shot,” said ACLU of Washington Director Kathleen Taylor, according to the paper.
“We just want justice,” said Erica Salazar, a member of Zambrano-Montes' family. “It could have been avoided.”
Pasco officials in the city of 68,000 appear eager to avoid comparisons to the police-involved killings in Ferguson and New York, which sparked the #BlackLivesMatter protests.
"We don't want another Ferguson here in Pasco," said Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel to the Seattle Times. Metzger told Seattle's KING-TV the shooting "was not a racial issue."
Zuniga, who recorded the video that sparked the condemnations, says the shooting was not justified.
"You have three officers against one man, there could have been many other ways to resolve the situation without having to use deadly force," he told Mashable on Friday.
Pasco.Viral video of cops shooting man taken by Dario Infante, 21,working thru college."Hope my video helps." pic.twitter.com/XZaM9jE2iy— Erik Lacitis (@ErikLacitis) February 13, 2015