Franklin County coroner Dan Blasdel ordered the review to
determine whether the killing of Antonio Zambrano-Montes in the city
of Pasco, about 200 miles (320 km) southeast of Seattle, was
justified or reckless, the Tri-City Herald reported.
Such an inquest by the coroner's office is rare, the newspaper said.
This will be the third review in Blasdel's 20 years as coroner, the
Herald reported.
On Friday, Mexico's Foreign Affairs Ministry called for an
investigation into the killing of Zambrano-Montes, an orchard-worker
in Washington originally from Michoacan state.
His shooting comes amid heightened tension over policing in the
United States after incidents including the killings of two unarmed
black men last year by white police officers in the St. Louis suburb
of Ferguson and New York City.
Zambrano-Montes's death sparked protests in Pasco, an agricultural
city of about 68,000 people and home to a large Hispanic community,
many of whom work in local apple orchards.
Police have said that Zambrano-Montes was not armed with a knife or
gun during the Tuesday afternoon incident that began in a grocery
store parking lot.
Pasco Police Chief Bob Metzger has said the suspect pelted three
officers with rocks and ignored commands to relent.
Police first tried to use a stun gun to incapacitate the suspect,
and after he would not obey commands to surrender, they opened fire,
he said.
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In a 22-second video filmed by a motorist and posted online,
Zambrano-Montes is seen running away from the officers before he was
killed.
The man appears to throw a rock, several shots are heard, and he
then crosses the street. He turns to face the officers, raising his
right arm as if to throw another object, when they open fire again,
according to the video.
The officers involved have been placed on administrative leave, as
per department policy, Metzger said in a statement on Wednesday. Two
were hit by rocks and were treated at the scene.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere. Editing by Jane Merriman)
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