CLAYTON, Mo. (AP) – The Missouri NAACP is asking the U.S. Department of Justice to take over the investigation of a St. Louis County police supervisor and whether he ordered officers to engage in racial profiling.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that Adolphus Pruitt of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People sent a letter last week requesting the federal investigation.

A lieutenant for St. Louis County is accused of ordering officers to target and arrest blacks in and around a south St. Louis County shopping center and a Wal-Mart store. The lieutenant has denied the claim and is on paid administrative leave.

County Police Chief Tim Fitch says he welcomes any federal investigation and will assist those involved in it.

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