DENVER -- The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department will review the fatal police shooting of an unarmed 63-year-old man, department officials said.

However no federal review will begin until Denver District Attorney Bill Ritter finishes his own review of the death of Frank Lobato, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for U.S. Attorney John Suthers.

Ritter said Wednesday he was considering asking a grand jury to decide whether charges are warranted. He said a decision would come after police complete their investigation.

Lobato was shot Sunday as he lay in bed. Officer Ranjan Ford Jr., 33, fired after mistaking a soda can in Lobato's hand for a weapon, police have said.

Officers had gone to the home seeking Lobato's nephew Vincent Martinez on suspicion of beating his wife. When no one answered knocks on the front door, officers climbed in through a window, police said.

Martinez fled the scene but has since turned himself in. His bail was set at $85,000.

An internal police investigation is looking at who made the decision to enter the home.

Police Chief Gerry Whitman declined to comment.

Police have been working to reform the department since officers shot and killed a developmentally disabled black teenager last summer. Officers were called to the home on reports the teen was threatening his mother.

The department also drew criticism in September 1999, when police shot Mexican immigrant Ismael Mena in a fatal drug raid at the wrong house.

City Council President Elbra Wedgeworth said she would urge Justice Department officials to launch an investigation into whether any "pattern or practice" of conduct by Denver police violates citizens' civil rights.

Denver Manager of Safety Al LaCabe said the city administration would cooperate with any outside probe the Justice Department deems necessary.

"I don't believe there is a pattern in these cop shootings," LaCabe said. "We have total confidence in the district attorney's investigation. I personally have been monitoring the investigation and have talked with everyone involved."

Police Chief Gerald Whitman sent a letter to the Justice Department Thursday that outlined facts related to the Denver Police Department, recently fatal police shootings and the department's policy on deadly force. Whitman also included graph charts which show the rate of officer involved shootings has declined.

Ford, who shot Lobato, has been placed on paid leave.

He has no police record and no disciplinary problems in Denver, but his ex-wife has accused him of threatening to kill her boyfriend.

Ford and Michelle Lance Ford, who have divorced each other twice, are in a custody fight over their 8-year-old daughter.

In court documents in that dispute, Michelle Ford's attorney, Patricia McEahern, wrote that Mr. Ford has threatened to keep the couple's daughter, and that he harassed his wife by once calling her 10 times in 15 minutes and causing her fear for her safety.

Mr. Ford's lawyer, Lenore Fox, contends Mr. Ford's ex-wife suffered from depression, had left their daughter behind on a trip to Alaska with her new boyfriend, and let their daughter joyride with other children until police stopped them.

Mr. Ford previously worked in Jasper, Texas, where he was one of the primary officers who investigated the 1998 killing of James Byrd Jr., whom white supremacists dragged behind a pickup.

Jasper Police Chief Stanley Christopher has praised Ford for his work in Texas.