National

Slain Mexican Man’s Family Views Body, Seeks ‘Justice’

Published

11 years ago

February 24, 2015

In this Feb. 18, 2015 photo, a sign welcomes motorists to Pasco, Wash. For the past week, protesters have gathered daily in front of the City Hall in this agricultural community to protest the fatal shooting of Antonio Zambrano-Montes, an unarmed man who was running away from police at a crowded intersection. (Nicholas K. Geranios/AP Photo)

PASCO, Wash. (AP) — The 60-year-old mother of an unarmed Mexican man fatally shot by police officers in Washington state fainted when she viewed her son’s body for the first time, her lawyer says.

Antonio Zambrano-Montes was killed Feb. 10 in Pasco, the gunfire captured on video by a witness. The death has sparked two weeks of protests in this city along the Columbia River in the southeastern part of the state.

The victim’s mother, Agapita Montes-Rivera, spoke to reporters Monday before entering a funeral home with other family members.

“I want people to understand my pain,” the woman from tiny Parotita, Mexico, said through an interpreter. “It’s really hard. … When I saw the video, I felt really bad. That’s why I asked for justice.”

Her attorney, Benjamin Crump, said she fainted when she first saw her son’s body Monday afternoon.

Authorities say Zambrano-Montes, a 35-year-old Mexican immigrant and former orchard worker, was throwing rocks at officers and a stun gun failed to subdue him. The Franklin County coroner has ordered an inquest into the death, which is being reviewed by a regional task force. The investigation is being monitored by federal authorities.

“We want justice; that’s all we want,” the victim’s sister, Rosa Elena Zambrano-Montes, 28, said through an interpreter.

Crump, the high-profile attorney who represented the family of Michael Brown, a black man killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, said he’ll represent Zambrano-Montes’ family. Crump was in Pasco meeting with family members.

“At the heart of the matter is what’s going on with what we see on that video — is it appropriate or not?” Crump, who is based in Florida, told The Associated Press.

“The No. 1 thing they said is, ‘We don’t want them to say that the police acted appropriately,'” said Crump, who represented the family of Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed in a confrontation with neighborhood watch leader George Zimmerman. Zimmerman was acquitted in 2013 in that case.

In a video recording by Dario Infante Zuniga, 21, of Pasco, five “pops” are audible, and Zambrano-Montes can be seen running away, pursued by three officers. As the officers draw closer, he stops, turns around and faces them. Multiple “pops” are heard, and the man falls to the ground.

Crump said Zambrano-Montes spoke no English and was an immigrant living in the country illegally.

Felix Vargas, head of the Pasco Hispanic rights group Consejo Latino, said a Seattle-based Justice Department official met with his group Sunday. The official said meetings are planned this week with local authorities, Vargas said.

Pasco is a fast-growing agricultural city of 68,000, where more than half the residents are Hispanic but few are members of the police force or the power structure.

The killing was the fourth by Pasco police in less than a year. Officers were exonerated after similar investigations in the first three cases. Critics in the latest case say the officers should have used less than lethal force to subdue Zambrano-Montes.

“Zambrano-Montes had his hands up. Why did you have to shoot him?” Crump asked.

Police said officers felt threatened. Zambrano-Montes was arrested last year for assault after throwing objects at Pasco officers and trying to grab an officer’s pistol, court records show.

Authorities have said Zambrano-Montes was not armed with a gun or knife when he was killed. Whether he had a rock in his hand when he was shot is still under investigation.

Two of the officers involved were white, and the other Hispanic. All three opened fire, though the number of shots has not been disclosed.

Last week, investigators asked for patience as the investigation continues.

Crump said the Pasco case is similar to other high-profile killings involving police officers.

“All the young people are protesting that Antonio had his hands up based on what they saw in the video, and he had no weapons,” Crump said. “And just like in New York, it shows the graphic last moments of Eric Garner’s life, here you have a video that shows the graphic last moments of Antonio’s life.”

In December, a grand jury in New York declined to indict an officer in Garner’s chokehold death.

Meanwhile, another attorney who says he’s representing Zambrano-Montes’ family says he wants to temporarily withdraw a $25 million claim filed by Zambrano-Montes’ widow and two daughters against the city after the shooting. Attorney Charles Herrmann of Tacoma said Monday the claim was premature.

___

Abdollah reported from Los Angeles.

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Activism

Desmond Gumbs — Visionary Founder, Mentor, and Builder of Opportunity

Gumbs’ coaching and leadership journey spans from Bishop O’Dowd High School, Oakland High School, Stellar Prep High School. Over the decades, hundreds of his students have gone on to college, earning academic and athletic scholarships and developing life skills that extend well beyond sports.

Published

4 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond Gumbs both had starting kickers that were Women. This picture was taken after the game. Courtesy photo.

Special to the Post

For more than 25 years, Desmond Gumbs has been a cornerstone of Bay Area education and athletics — not simply as a coach, but as a mentor, founder, and architect of opportunity. While recent media narratives have focused narrowly on challenges, they fail to capture the far more important truth: Gumbs’ life’s work has been dedicated to building pathways to college, character, and long-term success for hundreds of young people.

A Career Defined by Impact

One of his most enduring contributions is his role as founder of Stellar Prep High School, a non-traditional, mission-driven institution created to serve students who needed additional structure, belief, and opportunity. Through Stellar Prep numerous students have advanced to college — many with scholarships — demonstrating Gumbs’ deep commitment to education as the foundation for athletic and personal success.

NCAA football history was made this year when Head Coach from
Mississippi Valley State, Terrell Buckley and Head Coach Desmond
Gumbs both had starting kickers that were women. This picture was
taken after the game.

A Personal Testament to the Mission: Addison Gumbs

Perhaps no example better reflects Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy than the journey of his son, Addison Gumbs. Addison became an Army All-American, one of the highest honors in high school football — and notably, the last Army All-Americans produced by the Bay Area, alongside Najee Harris.

Both young men went on to compete at the highest levels of college football — Addison Gumbs at the University of Oklahoma, and Najee Harris at the University of Alabama — representing the Bay Area on a national level.

Building Lincoln University Athletics From the Ground Up

In 2021, Gumbs accepted one of the most difficult challenges in college athletics: launching an entire athletics department at Lincoln University in Oakland from scratch. With no established infrastructure, limited facilities, and eventually the loss of key financial aid resources, he nonetheless built opportunities where none existed.

Under his leadership, Lincoln University introduced:

Football
Men’s and Women’s Basketball
Men’s and Women’s Soccer

Operating as an independent program with no capital and no conference safety net, Gumbs was forced to innovate — finding ways to sustain teams, schedule competition, and keep student-athletes enrolled and progressing toward degrees. The work was never about comfort; it was about access.

Voices That Reflect His Impact

Desmond Gumbs’ philosophy has been consistently reflected in his own published words:

“if you have an idea, you’re 75% there the remaining 25% is actually doing it.”
“This generation doesn’t respect the title — they respect the person.”
“Greatness is a habit, not a moment.”

Former players and community members have echoed similar sentiments in public commentary, crediting Gumbs with teaching them leadership, accountability, confidence, and belief in themselves — lessons that outlast any single season.

Context Matters More Than Headlines

Recent articles critical of Lincoln University athletics focus on logistical and financial hardships while ignoring the reality of building a new program with limited resources in one of the most expensive regions in the country. Such narratives are ultimately harmful and incomplete, failing to recognize the courage it takes to create opportunity instead of walking away when conditions are difficult.

The real story is not about early struggles — it is about vision, resilience, and service.

A Legacy That Endures

From founding Stellar PREP High School, to sending hundreds of students to college, to producing elite athletes like Addison Gumbs, to launching Lincoln University athletics, Desmond Gumbs’ legacy is one of belief in young people and relentless commitment to opportunity.

His work cannot be reduced to headlines or records. It lives on in degrees earned, scholarships secured, leaders developed, and futures changed — across the Bay Area and beyond.

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Activism

Families Across the U.S. Are Facing an ‘Affordability Crisis,’ Says United Way Bay Area

United Way’s Real Cost Measure data reveals that 27% of Bay Area households – more than 1 in 4 families – cannot afford essentials such as food, housing, childcare, transportation, and healthcare. A family of four needs $136,872 annually to cover these basic necessities, while two adults working full time at minimum wage earn only $69,326.

Published

4 days ago

December 20, 2025

Oakland Post

Affordable housing is the greatest concern for consumers, it’s followed by the cost of groceries. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

A national poll released this week by Marist shows that 61% of Americans say the economy is not working well for them, while 70% report that their local area is not affordable. This marks the highest share of respondents expressing concern since the question was first asked in 2011.

According to United Way Bay Area (UWBA), the data underscores a growing reality in the region: more than 600,000 Bay Area households are working hard yet still cannot afford their basic needs.

Nationally, the Marist Poll found that rising prices are the top economic concern for 45% of Americans, followed by housing costs at 18%. In the Bay Area, however, that equation is reversed. Housing costs are the dominant driver of the affordability crisis.

“The national numbers confirm what we’re seeing every day through our 211 helpline and in communities across the region,” said Keisha Browder, CEO of United Way Bay Area. “People are working hard, but their paychecks simply aren’t keeping pace with the cost of living. This isn’t about individual failure; it’s about policy choices that leave too many of our neighbors one missed paycheck away from crisis.”

The Bay Area’s affordability crisis is particularly defined by extreme housing costs:

Housing remains the No. 1 reason residents call UWBA’s 211 helpline, accounting for 49% of calls this year.
Nearly 4 in 10 Bay Area households (35%) spend at least 30% of their income on housing, a level widely considered financially dangerous.
Forty percent of households with children under age 6 fall below the Real Cost Measure.
The impact is disproportionate: 49% of Latino households and 41% of Black households struggle to meet basic needs, compared to 15% of white households.

At the national level, the issue of affordability has also become a political flashpoint. In late 2025, President Donald Trump has increasingly referred to “affordability” as a “Democrat hoax” or “con job.” While he previously described himself as the “affordability president,” his recent messaging frames the term as a political tactic used by Democrats to assign blame for high prices.

The president has defended his administration by pointing to predecessors and asserting that prices are declining. However, many Americans remain unconvinced. The Marist Poll shows that 57% of respondents disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy, while just 36% approve – his lowest approval rating on the issue across both terms in office.