MICHOACáN, Mexico, March 8 (UPI) -- Antonio Zambrano Montes, the Mexican migrant who was shot and killed by police in Pasco, Wash., has been buried in his home state of Michoacán, Mexico.
About 200 people attended the burial event held Saturday at noon. Zambrano's body arrived at Guadalajara International Airport and made its way to Michoacán by land on Friday.
Zambrano, 35, was unarmed when he was shot between five to eight times, according to autopsies conducted by a medical examiner and a pathologist for his family. Police fired a total of 17 bullets at Zambrano in the confrontation. Police said they shouted voice commands and hit Zambrano with a Taser, which was ineffective.
Police said Zambrano was throwing rocks at vehicles and then at police when authorities arrived. A video of the incident spread through social media.
Benjamin Crump, the attorney who represented the families of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown, said he and attorney Jose Baez would represent Zambrano's family.
Zambrano's death prompted protests in the city of Pasco, which has a majority population of Hispanics but is disproportionately represented by whites in police and political positions.
Burying the remains of Antonio Zambrano Montes
http://t.co/iEa1E7qjj6 pic.twitter.com/kEuzDDg5T5
— Noticieros Televisa (@NTelevisa_com) March 8, 2015Before he hurt his hands, Zambrano picked fruit in Washington's orchards. He left Mexico for the United States about 10 years ago.
"I had not seen him in 10 years, but I would talk to him over the phone," Agapita Montes, his mother, said to CNN. "I felt good that he was here. He was happy, and as a mother that was good for me."
Eduardo Baca, the Mexican consul in Seattle, wrote a letter to Pasco Police Chief Robert Metzger expressing his "deep concern over the unwarranted use of lethal force against an unarmed Mexican national by police officers."
The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice are monitoring the case. Three officers involved in the shooting were suspended with pay.
