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Welcome To My Town: Pasco, Wash., Through Residents’ Eyes

Martin Camacho, of Pasco, Wash., says he's sadded by the shooting in his community this week but he doesn't think it was racially motivated.
Anna King
/
Northwest News Network
Martin Camacho, of Pasco, Wash., says he's sadded by the shooting in his community this week but he doesn't think it was racially motivated.

A fatal shooting in Pasco Tuesday has some saying police used excessive force against the man they killed: Antonio Zambrano-Montes.

One of the officers involved was sued for excessive use of force three years ago--a case the city of Pasco settled. This latest police shooting has shone a spotlight on Pasco and its black, white and Latino residents. Here are some of their voices.

LatriciaBrooks:

I think people are frustrated. And I think it’s more so due to the fact that there has been a lot of violence lately and not just one incident. I think it has a lot to do with all the shootings that have happened a couple of months ago and also things happening nationally and not just here in our city. ...

I thought it was very dangerous and reckless because of the fact that there could have been children in the stores or somewhere nearby. Bullets don’t just go straight they can bounce off of things. They might have been trying to apprehend somebody who was throwing rocks, but there was also a bunch of onlookers that could have been hurt too.

Pasco resident, who said he felt uncomfortable giving his name on air:

Upset. We have kids. We want them, nice, to live in peace everybody. We don’t feel comfortable to go to the stores. You know not even driving. So scared, it is.

Amy Davis:

Every city has violence and whatever, but we just want, since I grew up here, and I live in Pasco, and my kids go to school in Pasco, and I want them to know and look up to police officers. And know that they are there to help them. Not hurt people, they are there to help. ...

When something like this happens, that’s when I think people people automatically think oh that its because of people’s nationality or race or anything like that. But it’s not we’re all just human beings. And that’s it. You know, you’re going to get racism anywhere you go. It’s a community. It’s not about race or color or anything like that. We’re a community all as one.

Chris Black:

My name is Chris Black. We are here to show the local law enforcement that they still have people in the community that support them. 

MartinCamacho:

I'’ve had a lot of experiences with the Pasco police. And I think they try to do their job. My name is MartinCamacho. And welcome to my town, welcome to Pasco, Washington everybody.

For one, I don’t think that was a prejudice thing. To say the officers did this out of prejudice or racism. I think it was more a psychological thing, I think it was more the heat of the moment if you would say. When you see something like this that’s never seen before, in the history of Pasco Washington or the Tri-Cities, when you see this here, it makes people say, ‘What’s wrong?’

Copyright 2015 Northwest News Network

Anna King
Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.