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US cops shot dead 'man in cosplay gear'

A lawyer for the family of a US black man who was killed by Utah police say he will ask the Department of Justice and FBI to investigate the shooting.

Randall Edwards said at a news conference that it's likely 22-year-old Darrien Hunt was dressed as a Japanese anime character and role-playing when he was shot.

That, he says, could explain why Hunt was carrying a sword.

Edwards accused Saratoga Springs police of using excessive force and treating Darrien Hunt differently because he was black.

"I just can't believe that this kid in the costume was somehow posing such a threat to the officers or everybody else that deadly force was the first and only option," Edwards said.

Authorities say race played no role in the shooting.

They say officers were reacting to Hunt lunging at them with the steel sword.

Hunt was killed on September 10 in a shopping centre after police responded to a call about a suspicious man with a sword.

The Utah County Sheriff's Office, which is overseeing the investigation of the shooting, said it was learning more about what happened but has no indication that race was a factor.

In a statement, prosecutors said it will be several weeks until their review is complete. They declined to provide further details.

The office did, however, release a photo of the sword Hunt carried that day. It shows a blade that is 0.6 metres long with a point. The Hunt family previously described it as a play sword with a plastic blade.

Edwards said it a decorative sword, not a weapon. He also said an independent autopsy done for the family shows Darrien Hunt was shot six times from behind, with the fatal shot hitting Hunt square in the back.

Authorities have not disclosed the results of an autopsy by the coroner's office or discussed the shooting in detail.

The city of Saratoga Springs said in a statement on Friday that officials are confident in the officers involved in the shooting and their training.

They were identified as Corp Matthew Schauerhamer and Officer Nicholas Judson. Efforts to reach them were unsuccessful.

The Department of Justice and FBI said they will review the request for an investigation when it is filed.

Edwards said he has received several phone calls reporting civil rights violations and racial discrimination by police in Saratoga Springs. However, he did not provide the names of the people who called or dates and locations of the events.

Darrien Hunt was recalled on Thursday at a funeral as a shy, gentle man who loved art and music and was trying to navigate a difficult transition into adulthood.

In January, Hunt was charged in a domestic violence dispute that Edwards said involved one of his siblings.

Most of the charges were dismissed when he pleaded guilty to misdemeanour assault, online court records show.