Three Pasco, Wash., police officers who fatally shot a rock-throwing Mexican immigrant in February will not face criminal charges, reports the Associated Press. A prosecutor said there was no evidence the officers acted with malice. The death of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, 35, was captured on cellphone video and sparked months of protests in Pasco, an agricultural center in Eastern Washington. Witnesses said Zambrano-Montes fought with an officer, threw rocks and repeatedly told officers to kill him before they opened fire.
Franklin County Prosecutor Shawn Sant said the evidence showed that the officers used legal force as they tried to arrest a man who had assaulted them and was threatening to attack them further. Sant said he could not meet the high bar for criminal prosecution under Washington state law, which requires a showing that the officers acted with malice and without good faith that their actions were justified. The shooting occurred Feb. 10 as Zambrano-Montes, an unemployed orchard worker who was high on meth, threw rocks at police. They had tried unsuccessfully to subdue him with a stun gun.