Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant has announced that the officers involved in the shooting death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, won't face any charges.
The death of Zambrano-Montes was captured on cellphone video and sparked months of protests in Pasco, Wash. Witnesses state that Zambrano-Montes had gotten into a fight with an officer, threw rocks and allegedly told officers to kill him before they opened fire.
The incident occurred on Feb.10 when Zambrano-Montes, high on methamphetamine, began to throw rocks at police. After officer's tried to subdue him with a stun gun, he threw a rock at an officer's head, prompting one officer to shoot Zambrano-Montes in the arm. Afterwards, a brief chase ensued as officers chased him across a street, according to Yahoo! News.
The video then shows officers firing a second volley as he turned to face them, allegedly to throw another rock. After the incident was said and done, investigators found a rock weighing almost 3 pounds by the suspect's body.
During a news conference Wednesday, Sant announced the evidence indicated that the officers used legal force as they tried to arrest a man, and that there was no evidence of them not "acting in good faith and without malice".
"I believe a jury would not find the evidence of malice and the absence of good faith beyond a reasonable doubt in this case. We legally cannot charge police officers with a crime for exercising their discretion for using force in good faith and without malice," he said, according to CBS's Washington affiliate KREM.
The decision to not charge the officers involved, prompted protesters who were listening in to chant "No es justo," or "It's not fair." When one officer told them to be quiet, one protester replied: "Or you'll shoot us."
George P. Trejo Jr., the attorney for the wife and children of Zambrano-Montes, said he was disappointed but not surprised by Sant's decision.
"His claim that there is insufficient evidence to establish any crime beyond a reasonable doubt is a pretext for his decision to protect law enforcement from the very beginning of this case," Trejo said, according to Officer. "We are not surprised by this decision but disgusted and disappointed."
Franklin County Coroner Dan Blasdel revealed that he intends to hold an independent inquest into Zambrano-Montes' death, which would allow a civilian jury to determine the cause and manner of death in the case, then make a recommendation on whether the shooting was justified.
However, Sant said an inquest would be pointless since it's already known who caused Zambrano-Montes' death. Furthermore, he states, the reports from all 51 witnesses are consistent from accounts from the officers' and corroborated by the videos.
