The fatal shooting of a farm worker in Pasco has prompted the Hispanic Advisory Committee to invite Hermiston Police Chief Jason Edmiston to their next meeting to go over his department’s policies relating to the use of force.
The issue was first brought up by Hermiston attorney George Anderson at Monday’s HAC meeting.
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“This topic is very important throughout this country and I’d like to know what Hermiston is doing so what happened in Pasco doesn’t happen here in Hermiston,” Anderson said.
Pasco – with a Hispanic population of more than 55 percent – was thrust into the national spotlight on Feb. 10 when police officers shot and killed 35-year-old Antonio Zambrano-Montes. The shooting, caught on video, shows Zambrano-Montes running from three police officers before turning around to face the officers, at which point he was gunned down. According to police, Zambrano-Montes had been throwing rocks at police, hitting two of them. The video, which can be found on YouTube, also shows the officers handcuffing Zambrano-Montes as he lay motionless on his stomach.
Hermiston Assistant City Manager Mark Morgan told the committee that Edmiston has been following the case very closely. He also said the department is in the process of purchasing body cameras for officers.
“For whatever reason, the Kennewick, Pasco and Richland police departments have not been on board with that,” he said. “Hermiston is well in advance of this.”
The committee’s Eddie de la Cruz said a number of people from Hermiston attended a rally on Saturday in Pasco to protest the shooting. He said the Hermiston Hispanic community wants to show its support to the people of Pasco.
“We’ve been communicating back and forth about what happened in Pasco,” de la Cruz said. “They’re in shock there and it’s sad because we’re neighbors. If we can help in any way, it would be a very positive thing to do for the community of Pasco. We don’t want another Ferguson here.”
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