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Victoria Cavaliere, Reuters Nov 22, 2014

, Last Updated: 7:56 PM ET

Civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton on Saturday called for an investigation into the shooting death of an unarmed man by a New York police officer inside a dark stairwell at a Brooklyn housing project.

New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said the Thursday night shooting of Akai Gurley, 28, might have been unintentional, with the officer's gun accidentally discharging.

Sharpton, speaking Saturday at the Harlem headquarters of his National Action Network civil rights group, called on the Brooklyn district attorney to perform a full investigation into the incident.

"They (police) are saying it was an accident. We are saying how do they know until there is a thorough investigation," Sharpton said.

Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson said in a statement Friday the shooting "warrants an immediate, fair and thorough investigation."

Sharpton was joined on stage Saturday by Gurley's widow and two-year-old daughter. He said the unarmed man's death was the latest in a string of incidents across the country in which police are accused of using excessive force.

He pointed to the case of Eric Garner, who died in July after being placed in a banned chokehold by a New York City police officer, and the August shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri.

"From Staten Island to Ferguson, now back to Brooklyn in the Pink Houses, it's time for us to stop ducking the issue and dealing with the issue of police misconduct," Sharpton said, referring to the informal name of the housing project where the incident unfolded.

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Al Sharpton calls for probe into police shooting of NYC man