Pasco business leader wants FBI to take over shooting investigation

He may have been sleeping in alleyways or dumpsters. He was possibly battling mental illness or drug use.

But Sgt. Ken Lattin with Kennewick Police admits investigators simply don’t know what Antonio Zambrano-Montes was doing the days and weeks leading up to his death on a busy Pasco street corner.

Fatal Pasco police shooting caught on video sparks protests

“His actions were not normal,” Lattin said. “None of you would stand out at 10th and Lewis and throw rocks at cars and then, when police show up, throw rocks at them and then run.

“That’s not normal, reasonable behavior.”

Forty witnesses have come forward to speak with the Special Investigation Unit charged with looking into the police shooting, but only a handful have firsthand accounts.

Prosecutor Shawn Sant acknowledges some witnesses may be in the country illegally and afraid to speak to police.

He said he’s taken steps to obtain temporary visa status for those who come forward, shielding witnesses from immigration enforcement.

“Our goal is to not enforce the immigration laws, that’s not our role as the prosecutor’s office,” Sant said.

Toxicology information, bullet fragments, and other forensic evidence is now being poured over at the Washington State Crime Lab.

“Can we account for all the bullets that were fired? Yes, we know where they all went,” Lattin said.

Zambrano-Montes’ family has requested an independent autopsy. But officials shared few other details.

Ahead of the briefing, a handful of protesters filed in to the Kennewick Police Station with signs asking for a halt to what they call police brutality. The protesters stood silent until after the meeting.

Felix Vargas is chair of Consejo Latino, a local business group in Pasco. He wants the FBI to step in and take over the investigation. He believes prior civil rights complaints against the officers’ who shot Zambrano-Montes should be fair game.

“I’m a little concerned with this obsession – this strong interest – in the part of the special investigators unit in the days and weeks leading up to the incident,” Vargas said. He’s also concerned the background of the police officers involved in the shooting will not be part of the investigation.

“What are they trying to do?” Vargas asked.

Why is the Pasco shooting becoming a race issue?

Vargas also hopes to establish a commission of experts, including crisis intervention specialists, to look at changes needed in Tri-Cities policing.

Protesters are also pushing for Pasco to recruit more Latino officers to the force.

Vargas said before the Zambrano-Montes shooting, when he met with city leaders about attracting more Hispanic and bilingual cops, the issue was blown off. He said officials gave a series of excuses that didn’t make sense.

“These are things we used to hear back in the 60s and 70s in this country, about why African-Americans couldn’t be trusted to hold positions in city government,” Vargas said.

As the search for answers continues under the glare of an international spotlight, Sgt. Lattin said he advises his officers to go about business as usual.

“Go out, police, with compassion – with integrity – and regardless what anybody may say to you, do the right thing and now more than ever show who were and that we can be fair, we can be just,” he said.