WATERLOO, Iowa --- Local civil rights leaders have asked for the federal government to investigate the Sunday morning incident where a police officer shot and killed a Waterloo resident.

“This is something we don’t want to sweep under the rug,” said Rev. Frantz Whitfield, president of the Waterloo chapter of the National Action Network. “This is something that’s much larger than Waterloo can handle. This is something that requires national attention, and we will do all we can to make sure that we get that done.”

Following a brief meeting at Mount Carmel Baptist Church Sunday night, members of the Black Hawk County branch of the NAACP and the Waterloo chapter of the National Action Network talked with Ambrose’s family.

Sharon Goodson, of the NAACP, said the group were calling on the FBI and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to monitor and oversee the shooting investigation.

Goodson said the request came, in part, because of prior complaints about police actions and practices filed by African-American residents that the police department’s internal affairs office designated as “unfounded.” She said the complaints included allegations of misconduct and unnecessary use of force.

“Waterloo, Iowa, has the highest concentration of minorities, specifically African-Americans, in the state of Iowa and the highest disparities of racial injustice involving the Waterloo Police Department and African-Americans to match,” Goodson said.

Goodson declined to say if she had been in contact with federal authorities.

The shooting is being investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, which is a standard practice for officer-involved shootings.