Antwun Shumpert, a 37-year-old African American man, was fatally shot by a white police officer in Tupelo, Mississippi.

On June 18, Shumpert was pulled over by Tyler Cook, accompanied by his police dog. Shumpert began running into the night, but was found and shot by the police officer and attacked by his dog. According to Shumpert’s family’s lawyer, Carlos Moore, Shumpert was unarmed and the police dog “mutilated” his groin area. Shumpert’s hospital records say the injury to his groin was caused by a gunshot wound.

The mayor of Tupelo, Jason Shelton, said Shumpert hid in the crawl space of a home after he fled from his car.

“My understanding is that the canine was sent in to try to get Mr. Shumpert out from underneath the home,” Shelton said. “Mr. Shumpert essentially jumped out from the crawl space,” and was “repeatedly punching [the officer] in the face.” According to Shelton, Cook was on his back when he shot Shumpert four times.

Tupelo’s mayor first said the shooting was “justified,” which infuriated many. The white mayor said a few days later that he should have used a more “prudent” or “measured” way to describe the incident. Shelton was elected in 2014 with “significant black support,” according to The New York Times. 

This incident brought Tupelo into “what has become a tragically common American morass of anger, racial division and hard questions about the treatment of black men at the hands of the police,” The New York Times reported.

This is part of a deeper, controversial issue of the race-related brutality in America. City officials in Tupelo say Shumpert’s killing “echoes some of the cruelest episodes of the South’s past,” according to The New York Times. Tupelo had been known as “a beacon of relatively progressive racial attitudes,” but this shooting has brought that into question in another U.S. city. Shumpert’s family has sued Tupelo and protests have filled City Hall.

Moore said authorities should be able to explain what reason Cook had to stop Shumpert.

“Go ahead and tell us the reason for the stop,” Moore said. “Tell us was there probable cause for the stop? Was this a legal stop or was this simply racial profiling?”

Cook is currently on paid administrative leave. Moore argued that he should not continue to receive pay from the city.

“It is unconscionable that this man is on the payroll after committing such a heinous act,” Moore said.

Shelton asked the U.S. Department of Justice to lead a community meeting about the shooting, according to The Clarion-Ledger.

“I personally have been either in personal or telephone contact with numerous community leaders every single day,” Shelton said. “I’ve talked to numerous community leaders every day, trying to have a civil discourse.”

The case will be presented to a grand jury, which next meets in September, although a special grand jury could be called at a sooner date, Daily Journal reported. The jury will determine whether Cook should face criminal charges.