Mexico City: A US city was on edge Friday amid protests -- including from Mexico`s government -- over the deadly shooting of a homeless Mexican immigrant who was throwing rocks at police.
The incident in Pasco, Washington comes in the wake of a series of white police shootings of non-white unarmed victims that have triggered demonstrations across the United States.
"We don`t want another Ferguson here in Pasco," said coroner Dan Blasdel, cited by The Seattle Times, referring to the St. Louis suburb rocked by protests after the killing of African American teen Michael Brown last year.
The incident happened Tuesday in Pasco, some 215 miles (350 kilometers) southeast of Seattle, when police responded to homeless immigrant Antonio Zambrano-Montes, who was throwing rocks at them.
Amateur video of the shooting shows three officers taking aim at the 35-year old, after chasing him across a road junction.
Police said they had tried to subdue him with a Taser gun but Zambrano-Montes continued to attack them despite the electroshocks.
In the video, the victim appears to raise his hands while running away a few seconds before he is shot dead.
On Wednesday, the government of Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto expressed its "deep condemnation of the killing of Mexican Antonio Zambrano as a consequence of the use of lethal force by members of the police force."
Blasdel, the Franklin County coroner, said he is considering convening a rare inquest jury to look into the shooting death, according to the Seattle Times.
In such an inquest, a jury would be presented with evidence of the shooting and asked to decide whether the officers were justified in their use of deadly force, the newspaper said.
Washington state Governor Jay Inslee said Thursday his staff has been in contact with Pasco officials to stress the need for a full investigation into the shooting.
"We are going to need to get to the bottom of understanding the circumstances of this," he said.
