An incident in which an Israeli-Ethiopian was shot to death by police on Sunday night in the northern city of Kiryat Haim is under investigation after his family claims he was wrongfully shot and the shooting officer says he was acting in self-defense.

A police officer who was not on duty was on an outing with his family on Sunday night and at some point became entangled with a group of youth. A scuffle ensued, during which the officer drew his weapon and shot dead one of the youth, an Israel of Ethiopian descent.

An initial investigation by the police found that that off-duty officer was in a playground area with his wife and his three children when he saw a fight nearby. He approached the group that was involved in the fight and after making identifying himself as a policeman, they started rocks at him.

The policeman said that he felt he was in a life-threatening situation and fired.

“The reasons are being looked into,” the police stated.

The injured youth, later identified as Salomon Taka, 19 as was taken to the nearby Rambam hospital where he died shortly after of his injuries.

The policeman was injured in the upper part of the body and taken to a hospital for medical treatment. He was later arrested and detained for questioning.

“The investigation into the incident is continuing by the ministry of justice, the department that investigates police conduct,” the police further stated.

The police’s shooting of an Israeli-Ethiopian has again stirred public controversy with claims of the police’s excessive use of force and racism.

Taka’s family described him as a peaceful person who was brutally shot dead because of the officer’s racism.

Hundreds of members of the Ethiopian community, including Taka’s parents, demonstrated in front of the Kiryat Haim police station on Monday and demanded justice.

Minister of Internal Security Gilad Erdan called for a quick probe into the incident.

The relations between the police and the Israeli-Ethiopian community have been tense in recent years following several incidents in which the Israeli-Ethiopian community claimed that the police was acting out of racism.

(TPS)