DENVER -- After another suspect was shot and killed by a Denver police officer over the weekend, city leaders are calling for an independent review of all eight deadly shootings by Denver police this year.

Police say instead of dropping this pickax, Luis Rodelas-Acuna moved toward the officer at the scene, still carrying it.

City councilwoman Elbra Wedgeworth and councilman Michael Hancock are calling for the review, wanting to make sure that the shootings are not racially motivated.

"It doesn't say that we are challenging our police department or the authority of the district attorney, it just says that we really want to know what happened, with an independent voice and an independent look," said Wedgeworth.

The U.S. Attorney's Office will conduct the investigation, which should begin sometime this week, Wedgeworth said.

The latest shooting occurred Saturday, when a Denver officer killed a 29-year-old man they say was threatening his family with a pickax.

Luis Rodelas-Acuna was wielding a pickax when police arrived at a house in southwest Denver just before 3 a.m., police said. He was shot when he refused to drop the weapon after several police orders and moved toward the officer at the scene, said Sgt. David Archuleta.

Rodelas-Acuna was taken to Denver Health Medical Center, where he died. Archuleta said the suspect was apparently drunk. Ana Rios, Rodelas-Acuna's girlfriend, contradicted police accounts and accused them of planting evidence on Rodelas-Acuna. However, other family members and eyewitnesses confirm the DPD's version of events, police said. The officer involved, Michael Ahrens, has been on the force since 2000. He's on administrative leave pending the investigation.

Wedgeworth is also worried about the outcome of a controversial police shooting involving a disabled teen who was legally blind.

The district attorney decided not to charge the officer who killed 15-year-old Paul Childs, even though it was the second disabled teen the policeman had shot dead in 18 months. Ritter has cleared police in all 70 shootings since he was elected 10 years ago.

Protest Held

A group called the All People's Party protested the use of lethal force and Ritter's decision to clear Officer James Turney Monday afternoon.

About 100 protesters converged on the Denver City and County building. From there, the group marched to the nearby Police Headquarters building, where they asked for Turney's badge.

"We are going to continue to do this until James Turney sees that he can't do this in our community. People are tired and fed up with him and maybe he needs to go somewhere else and give his badge up," said Alvertis Simmons with the All People's Party.

The group said if it does not receive Turney's badge, the members plan on blocking the door to the police department to make their point. Officials reached an agreement with group before the protest that permitted only five "symbolic" arrests.

There were two fatal officer-involved shootings in Denver last year, five in 2001 and one in 2000. In similar-sized cities such as Fort Worth and Seattle, there have been fewer such incidents. Fort Worth's most recent fatal officer-involved shooting occurred in 2001, when there were only two total. In Seattle, there were four fatal officer-involved shootings this year, three last year and one in 2001.