Cops Shot at Rock-Throwing Man 17 Times: Inquiry

Police in Washington state are releasing more details in the controversial police killing of a Mexican orchard worker in Pasco on Feb. 10. Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, was allegedly throwing rocks at passing cars and then at police officers, but video of the incident appears to show him running away from officers before being shot. Now a spokesman for the task force investigating the shooting says the three officers involved fired at Zambrano-Montes a total of 17 times, five or six of those shots hit him, and none of them hit him in the back, NBC News reports. The spokesman also says that before the shootings a Taser was used at least twice.

The spokesman also confirmed that though a rock was found near Zambrano-Montes' body, no gun or knife was found, the AP reports. The Mexican government has criticized the use of deadly force in the case, the ACLU has asked the Justice Department to get involved in the investigation, and residents of Pasco—where the population is more than 50% Latino—are protesting. A local Latino group also wants a federal investigation of the incident. The ACLU notes that this was the fourth fatal shooting by Pasco police in six months, NBC reports, but the AP notes that similar investigations into the first three incidents resulted in the officers involved being exonerated. (More police shooting stories.)