Coroner’s Inquest jury finds police involved shooting of Zambrano Montes justified

The jury reached a verdict Wednesday at the Coroner's inquest, finding that all three Pasco Police officers were justified in shooting and killing Antonio Zambrano Montes.

Special Deputy Coroner Michael Fox says jurors were asked to answer 14 different questions in their verdict.

"The last twelve questions come out of the officer involved shooting statute, the statute that is a matter of controversy within the state right now, those questions come specifically from that RCW provision," says Fox.

The verdict follows what local, state and federal prosecutors have all previously came to the conclusion to. Each declined to pursue criminal charges against the three officers involved in the shooting.

In response, Dave Zabell, the city manager of Pasco released a statement saying he was not surprised by the results and said, "while there has been much healing within the community since February 2015, clearly some community members are still wrestling to resolve in their minds such a tragic event. Perhaps the conclusion of inquest process will serve to help them in the process of healing."

However, the Latino Coalition says the organization is disappointed with the decision releasing a statement saying in part, "We wanted to see justice for Antonio. But justice takes many forms. The Latino Coalition truly feels that the inquest was botched from the very beginning with the seating of an all white jury...Whether you were calling for justice for Antonio or voicing that we need to respect our law enforcement, one thing is clear: we as a community need to work hand in hand with law enforcement."