Washington state protests spread over police shooting of Mexican man

By Victoria Cavaliere SEATTLE (Reuters) - A big rally was planned in Seattle on Wednesday over the fatal police shooting of an unarmed Mexican immigrant who ran from officers in Washington state after throwing rocks at them, and whose death has prompted calls for a federal probe. The Feb. 10 slaying of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in Pasco, a city of about 68,000 people, half of whom are Hispanic, in largely agricultural southeastern Washington, has drawn condemnation by the Mexican government. Protesters have gathered in Pasco for the past week, accusing the police department of excessive force and heavy-handed tactics when dealing with the Hispanic community, many of whom immigrated to the area to work as agricultural laborers. Zambrano-Montes, a 35-year-old orchard worker from Mexico's Michoacan state, was unarmed when he was shot dead by three officers whom he had pelted with rocks before fleeing in an incident captured on video, law enforcement said. His death has drawn comparisons to two high-profile police slayings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, Missouri, and New York City. In both those incidents, the white police officers were not charged. The Hispanic advocacy group Consejo Latino said on Tuesday it had asked the Department of Justice to investigate whether Zambrano-Montes' civil rights were violated and if the officers used excessive force. The Department of Justice could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the FBI's Seattle office said the agency was continuing to monitor the situation. The Pasco Police Department said Zambrano-Montes had pelted the officers with rocks and ignored commands to surrender, and said a stun gun failed to subdue him. The officers, including one who is Hispanic, were placed on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel has ordered an inquest in which a seven-member panel will make a preliminary determination as to whether the killing was justified, after which a prosecutor will decide whether to pursue charges, he said. The inquest would like begin in about six weeks, after toxicology reports are completed and the police department finishes its investigation, Blasdel said on Wednesday. A police spokesman said the department welcomed an independent inquiry. (Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Eric Walsh)