One month after the fatal shooting of Che Taylor by Seattle police, more than 700 people have signed a petition launched by his family calling for an independent investigation into his death.

"It’s hard to see the forest from the trees when you’re investigating yourself," said James Bible, the family's attorney. "There needs to be an external agency. Right now, we say the Washington State Patrol, with the possibility that the Washington Attorney General would be the prosecutor." 

The Seattle Police Department claims Taylor disobeyed commands and reached for a handgun as he leaned inside a car, before two officers shot him at close range. And the SPD has promised to provide a public update on the investigation by early next week.

But the family plainly does not trust the SPD's internal process, particularly after the department chose to publicize details of Taylor's criminal history—well beyond noting that he'd been convicted of felonies for violent crimes—that had no bearing on whether its use of force was justified.

At a meeting with the SPD's Lieutenant Steve Hirjak on March 3, Devitta Briscoe, Taylor's sister, stormed out of the room in anger when Hirjak revealed that the gun was recovered not from Taylor’s body. Hirjack, who is involved in the department's initial investigation into the shooting, said the gun was recovered from the car after a search warrant had been served.

Hirjak insisted his team is impartial, but Briscoe said she believes a cover-up is underway. Asked how she felt after the meeting, Joyce Taylor, Che Taylor’s mother, said, "I don't feel that justice will be done.”

Seeking to reassure doubters, the Department of Justice's top official in Seattle, U.S. Attorney for Western Washington Annette Hayes, took to the pages of the Seattle Times on Tuesday to explain how the department's internal process works. She called the process—the result of reforms supervised by the DOJ and federal monitor Merrick Bobb—"essential."

In short, a Force Investigation Team headed by Hirjak investigates the shooting. Then, a separate Force Review Board determines whether force was used properly. Throughout it all, the Office of Professional Accountability has access to the files and can refer the matter for criminal prosecution. Meanwhile, the King County Prosecutor will open a fact-finding inquest into the incident.

Here's the thing: Seattle is touting itself as a national model for police reform, but these are not best practices, according President Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.

The task force recommended that "external and independent" criminal investigations be launched into officer-involved shootings resulting in injury or death. The Force Investigation Team and Force Review Board are internal to SPD (composed of police officers who may have worked alongside those being investigated, and operating behind closed doors). The OPA is not fully independent of SPD—its investigatory staff, too, is made up of Seattle police officers.

Obama's task force, which was set up after the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, suggested the investigation should be referred to a nearby police force or "next higher level of government," e.g. a state agency like the Washington State Patrol.

The task force also recommended the use of "external and independent" prosecutors. The King County Prosecutor's office is far from independent from the SPD. The two offices depend closely on one another and work closely together on cases week in and week out.

"In order to restore and maintain trust, this independence is crucial," the task force said. Pennsylvania is currently considering making these reforms into law. And in Seattle, building up trust with Seattle's black community is one area where the reforms so far have fallen short, according to the federal monitor's own polling data.

The SPD has referred investigations to the Washington State Patrol before. In the 2014 case of punching of Miyekko Durden-Bosley, the SPD initially turned over its inquiry to the Washington State Patrol. The patrol ruled the use of force was inappropriate. But King County Prosecutors disagreed, and didn't bring charges against the officer.

The Taylor family's requests for an independent investigation align closely with national best practices. Asked about the discrepancy, the SPD and a Department of Justice spokesperson declined to comment.

This post has been updated since its original publication.