Pasco man’s body going home

The body of Antonio Zambrano-Montes is expected to be sent today to Mexico and eventually to the village the Pasco man left about a decade ago in search of the American dream.

It’s there, in the tiny village of La Parotita in Michoacan, where the Zambrano family plans to bury the man they called “Tono,” who was killed last month in a confrontation with Pasco police.

The body will be flown from Washington to Guadalajara, where government officials from Michoacan will take control, said Pablo Mendicuti Villafan with the Mexican Consulate in Seattle. It’s unclear when Zambrano-Montes will be taken to the village to be buried.

His body was in Florida, where it was independently examined by a doctor hired by the prominent legal team of Benjamin Crump and Jose Baez, who are representing the Zambrano family. It was the third time the body was examined. The first two autopsies were performed in Franklin County.

The return of Zambrano-Montes’ body comes more than three weeks after the 35-year-old orchard worker and Mexican national was shot by officers. Zambrano-Montes, who wasn’t carrying a gun or knife, threw at least one rock toward three officers, according to initial reports.

He was shot after running away, and his death was captured in graphic detail on several bystanders’ cellphone videos, which have since been viewed worldwide, raising civil rights concerns.

A local service was held last week in Pasco, and family members were in town for more than a week to view the body.