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Protestors Mark Two Months Since Pasco Shooting

It’s been two months since police in Pasco, Washington, shot and killed an orchard worker in a case that received national attention.

Antonio Zambrano-Montes had been throwing rocks in a crowded intersection.

More than a dozen protesters returned to the scene of the shooting Friday afternoon. They held signs saying ‘We don’t trust Pasco police’ and ‘Justice for Antonio' as they waved at passing cars. Some protesters blocked traffic.

Speaking through a megaphone, local activist Jeremy Peterson called for charges against the officers involved.

“In South Carolina a similar incident occurred where a man was shot in the back as he was running away and in one week they charged him and arrested him,” Peterson said. “One week. So what’s wrong with Pasco?”

Will Cain, a pastor, grew up in Pasco and recently moved back home from Texas to start a church here after the police shooting.

“There are no proactive signs of involvement even from the city concerning the city,” he said. “It seems like everyone is hush, hush, waiting for it to all subside. Waiting for everybody to forget the situation. But we’re not going to forget, we can’t forget.”

An investigation into the shooting of Zambrano-Montes is still ongoing. Two more marches are planned in the Tri-Cities Saturday and Tuesday.

Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.