KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) – When Agapita Montes-Rivera first watched the video of her son being gunned down by police in Washington state, she rushed to the TV set in a futile effort to help him.
The 60-year-old woman from tiny Parotita, Mexico, was more than 2,000 miles away and hadn’t seen her son in a decade.
“Truthfully, when I saw they were chasing him, and he puts his hands up, and they shoot him, I threw my hands at the television,” Montes-Rivera said Tuesday. “Had I been there in person, I would have been the first to jump in so they wouldn’t have shot him.”
Antonio Zambrano-Montes’ Feb. 10 death in the agricultural city of Pasco has sparked protests and calls for a federal investigation. Police killed the unarmed man who spoke little English after he allegedly threw rocks at officers.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Montes-Rivera said the three officers involved should go to prison.