Activists in Seattle Slam Police for Killing Armed, Violent Felon

Civil rights leaders in Seattle are condemning the fatal police shooting of a black man, who was a convicted felon, last Sunday and said Tuesday they have hired a law firm to investigate.

Seattle-King County NAACP President Gerald Hankerson disputed the police account of the shooting that killed Che Taylor, 47. Hankerson said Taylor was trying to comply with police orders when he was shot, the Associated Press reports.

Taylor, who also went by the name Marvin Hunter, was a violent felon legally prohibited from possessing a handgun, police said. His criminal history includes convictions for assault, robbery and rape.

Officers and a civilian witness said he reached for his gun and officers fired on him. He was carrying crack cocaine and black tar heroin, police said.