Up to two police bullets hit migrant from behind in Washington state: lawyer
By Eric M. Johnson SEATTLE (Reuters) - A Mexican farmworker fatally shot by police in Washington state after he pelted them with rocks and tried to flee was struck as many as seven times, including two shots from behind, contrary to police accounts, a family attorney said on Thursday. Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, an unemployed orchard worker from Michoacan state, was killed earlier this month in the city of Pasco in Washington state's agricultural heartland, in a shooting captured on video. His death sparked protests by demonstrators who accused Pasco police of overly aggressive tactics in dealing with Hispanic residents, who make up a majority of the city's population. They likened the incident to two high-profile deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. A video of the incident posted online shows Zambrano-Montes running from officers and then briefly turning and raising his arm before he was killed. Police investigating the incident said on Wednesday that three officers fired 17 shots at the man, striking him five or six times, after he ignored commands to surrender, and a stun gun failed to subdue him. Charles Herrmann, a lawyer who represents Zambrano-Montes' wife and daughters, said a second autopsy, requested by the family, showed he was shot as many seven times, with bullets hitting him in the chest and face. Herrmann added it also showed at least two bullets struck Zambrano-Montes from behind, in the buttock and the back of his arm, in conflict with police statements he was not shot on the back of his body. "Our report differs sharply with statements made by local law enforcement authorities as to how many times Antonio Zambrano-Montes was struck by bullets and whether any were on his backside," Herrmann said. Rights groups have urged the U.S. Justice Department to launch an investigation into the incident, which the Mexican government has condemned as a disproportionate use of lethal force. The FBI and a U.S. attorney in Washington state are monitoring the local investigation, both offices said. The spokesman for the local investigative unit did not respond to requests for comment. Franklin County prosecutor Shawn Sant said his office was waiting for final reports from pathologists and the local investigative unit before drawing conclusions about where Zambrano-Montes was shot, and other details of the incident. The officers, including one who is Hispanic, were placed on administrative leave pending an internal probe. (Reporting by Eric M. Johnson; Editing by Peter Cooney and Eric Beech)
