Religious leaders and others in Savannah, Georgia's oldest city, called Wednesday for the police chief's resignation and a federal investigation into local officer-involved shootings, including one last week that left a Black man dead.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it is independently investigating Friday's fatal shooting of a man who officers spotted walking around midday in the middle of a street. The man, Saudi Arai Lee, 31, of Savannah, lived in the neighbourhood where the shooting occurred.
"Family after family are crying because of sons or their daughters shot down by this police department and it must stop," Elder James Johnson, founder of the activist group Racial Justice Network, said at a news conference Wednesday.
"I don't know if it's the training or a fear of a Black man, but seems like they shoot and ask questions later, and we cannot and will not tolerate this," he said.
Officers approached Lee to speak with him, the GBI said. The agency said Lee immediately showed them his wallet, saying it contained his weapons permit, and then lifted his shirt and removed a weapon from a holster. Authorities said a short chase followed and that Lee was shot by Savannah Police Officer Ernest Ferguson, who is white. Officials said emergency medical aid was rendered but Lee was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
"This man had a legal concealed weapons permit and still was shot down. It should never be a death sentence (for) a Black man for carrying a weapon," Johnson said.