Special prosecutor appointed in Kansas City police shooting

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- At the request of Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker, a special prosecutor has been appointed to investigate the fatal police shooting of a Kansas City man that has been criticized by some area clergy and civil rights activists.

St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell's office announced Tuesday that Rachel Smith will be special prosecutor to determine whether the police shooting of Malcolm Johnson, 31, was justified, The Kansas City Star reported.

Peters Baker said her office's prosecutions of Johnson in prior criminal cases could be seen as a conflict of interest during the shooting investigation. Baker's office charged Johnson in 2014 in a fatal shooting, and he later pleaded to reduced charges of involuntary manslaughter and armed criminal action.

Johnson was shot and killed by police March 25 inside a Kansas City convenience store.

Police had identified him as a suspect in a non-fatal shooting when they approached him in the store. Police said Johnson shot an officer during an altercation while he was being arrested.

But videos of the shooting raised questions about the police version, and the leader of a group of clergy who questioned the circumstances called Johnson's death "an execution."