An advocacy group is formally requesting an independent federal investigation into the death of a Chechen immigrant who was shot by an FBI agent in Orlando, while being questioned about his ties to one of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects.
Council on American-Islamic Relations spokesman Hassan Shibly says his group is asking the U.S. Department of Justice's civil rights division to open a probe into the details of 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev’s death.“We’re not accusing any agents of anything, we just have a lot of questions and we’re looking for answers", Shibly said. "There’s two major issues we’re looking into. One is, was that individual, who was not convicted of any crime before he was killed – or not even formally charged with committing any crime – were his constitutional rights violated, and secondly, was excessive force used against him?”
Shibly says his group has received information that raises questions about the shooting, including claims that Todashev was unarmed when he was shot.
The FBI Central Florida office earlier said Todashev was killed during a violent confrontation while he was being questioned by an FBI agent and two Massachusetts state troopers about his ties to slain Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.