Tuesday, The U.S. District Attorney for Eastern Washington announced no charges will be brought against the three Pasco Police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Antonio Zambrano a year ago in February.

The City released a statement to that effect today, and also outlined some of the steps taken since the fatal shooting. Zambrano was found later to have been under the effects of meth, and was throwing rocks at passers-by and cars, endangering citizens. He was tasered twice, but it didn't stop him. He was finally fatally shot near 10th and Lewis in Pasco in February 2015.

Some of the steps taken in the last 16 months include:

  The Pasco City Council, in the June 6, 2016 meeting, approved a pilot program to equip the Department with body cameras.  The Department is working to expand the program to all patrol officers.

   Participating with the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) on additional training for officers regarding diverse communities.  

·    Expanding Crisis Intervention Training to more officers. The Department’s goal is to give 80% of officers CIT training by the end of 2016.
·      Coordinating regular meetings with local clergy, specifically Latino churches, to improve relations and understanding.
·      Implementing social media (Facebook and Twitter) sites that help improve communication with the community, and launching Spanish language versions.
·      Expanding recruitment efforts, focusing on individuals who appreciate serving and reflect diverse communities, including salary incentives for bi-lingual officers.
·     In conjunction with the COPS office to help open lines of communications and problem-solving with community members, the Department has started “Coffee with a Cop”.
·         Exploring best-practices from police chiefs around the country.
  The city is still awaiting the results of an investigation by the State Attorney General that was ordered by Gov. Inslee last September. No word on when that will be completed. It's doubtful the AG study will reach any other conclusion that what was found by the Special Investigations Unit, and the U.S. District Attorney's office.

 

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