Video footage appears to show Mexican national Antonio Zambrano-Montes running away from Pasco police with his hands raised before he is fatally shot

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The Mexican foreign affairs ministry has condemned the fatal police shooting of a 35-year-old Mexican national in Pasco, Washington, marking an extraordinary escalation in criticism surrounding the local police.



Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an orchard worker who had been living in Pasco for 10 years, was shot dead on Tuesday. Purported video footage of the incident later uploaded to YouTube appears to show Zambrano-Montes running away from three police officers with his hands momentarily raised before he is shot down in a volley of bullets. Zambrano-Montes has been described as homeless in a number of local news reports.

Police say he had been throwing rocks at vehicles and officers on a busy intersection and “low level” force had failed to subdue him.

The Mexican foreign affairs ministry said on Thursday evening it had written to the district attorney and chief of police requesting an “exhaustive investigation to determine responsibility for the deeply regrettable incident”.

“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,” the ministry said in a statement.

“These unfortunate events cause damage to the community and erode trust in the authorities.”

The Mexican consulate in Seattle is now in contact with members of Zambrano-Montes’ family and have offered them legal assistance, the statement added.

A spokesman for Pasco City said a response to the request was being prepared. The incident is now being investigated by a Tri-City Special Investigation Unit (SIU), with the Franklin County Coroner indicating to the Seattle Times he may be prepared to instigate an inquest into the shooting.

Around 100 local community and family members protested outside the Pasco City Hall on Wednesday night, and solidarity groups on Facebook indicate another protest is scheduled for Saturday. Local police have urged for calm.

The incident marks the fourth fatal police shooting in Pasco over the past year and the third at the hands of Pasco police. In July, Pasco police shot and killed 34-year-old Brad Jensen after he refused to drop a knife and indicated he wanted to “suicide by cop”, according to a statement by Pasco police. In September, Pasco police shot and killed 25-year-old Matthew Stoddard, after he had fled from police and was later discovered with a firearm, which he refused to drop, according to a statement from Pasco police.

A spokesman for Pasco City said the third fatal incident occurred at the hands of Benton County police, despite being in Pasco City.

Census data from 2010 indicates the city of Pasco, made up of 67,000 inhabitants is 55% Hispanic. The local police force is made up of 67 patrol officers and detectives, 22% of whom are Hispanic, with a majority of white officers.



Pasco police have named the three patrol officers involved in the Zambrano-Montes shooting as Ryan Flanagan, Adam Wright and Adrian Alaniz.

Flanagan, a nine-year patrol veteran, had previously been named in a 2012 civil lawsuit lodged by a 30-year-old woman, Maria Davila-Marquez, a monolingual Spanish speaker.

Davila-Marquez’s lawyer Vito de la Cruz told the Guardian Flanagan had acted in an “outrageous and excessive” manner, when pulling his client over in a case of mistaken identity as she walked to collect her children from childcare.

Court documents seen by the Guardian allege that Flanagan and his partner forced the 30-year-old’s face against a car hood that was “enough to burn human skin” before handcuffing her and placing her on the back of a seat. Davila-Marquez was charged with hindering police, although the charges were later dropped.

The civil case was settled out of court in 2013 and neither officer was disciplined by police.

Asked for his reaction to Flanagan’s involvement in the Zambrano-Montes shooting, De la Cruz said: “I was horrified, but at the same time I wasn’t surprised.”

A spokesman from Pasco City would not comment on the case.