NEW YORK ( CNN ) -- Rep. Charles Rangel said he is satisfied with the steps New York police are taking in response to the death of Officer Omar Edwards , but renewed his call for a federal investigation into instances of police friendly fire . Officer Omar Edwards was shot to death by another officer on May 28 . Edwards , 25 , a black officer , was shot to death May 28 by a fellow officer , Andrew Dunton , who is white . Edwards was off duty at the time . Edwards was in plainclothes and carrying a handgun as he chased a suspect past a police car , authorities said . Dunton shot him after Edwards failed to drop his weapon when ordered to , they said . Officials said Dunton said he did n't realize Edwards was an officer . `` Every white cop that shot down a black cop , I would believe it was a mistake and not because of racism , but it takes special training for them to know , '' Rangel , D-New York , told CNN 's Don Lemon on Saturday . In the wake of Edwards ' death , the New York Police Department has implemented sensitivity training and provided guidance to officers on identifying themselves . In a statement , Rangel asked the Department of Justice to look into `` police department practices , training of police officers and whether and to what extent race was an issue in the tragedy . '' The shooting prompted New York Gov . David Paterson to commission a task force to investigate shootings between police officers statewide , spokeswoman Marissa Shorenstein told CNN on Saturday . NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne pledged Saturday to assist Paterson 's investigation . Also Saturday , the NYPD released a list of 10 New York City officers killed in cases of mistaken identity since 1930 . Five of the officers were African-American or Hispanic ; five were white . The list does not include officers who were injured by friendly fire , and does not specify whether the officers killed were on or off duty . The formation of the New York task force came after Paterson met with state officials , clergy members and civil rights leaders , including the Rev . Al Sharpton , in a closed-door meeting Friday . The group called for an independent investigation and the appointment of a special prosecutor to look into the NYPD incident . `` We are handling this sensitively , '' Paterson told reporters after the meeting . `` There may be issues that involve race , [ but ] we are not discussing any institutional or direct racism . '' The governor spoke of what he described as a `` high percentage of African-American and Hispanic police officers who were shot either on or off duty by friendly fire . '' However , the commission will examine friendly fire incidents between all officers regardless of race , according to Shorenstein . The task force will ask NYPD and police departments across the state to provide any data related to shootings where officers were either killed or injured by other officers . The governor said the task force will look at the statistics to `` determine if there 's any disproportionate sense that any particular group has been victimized more than any other . '' Paterson said that he would `` not close the door '' on an independent investigation or special prosecutor to look into the death of Edwards , but would rely for now on the investigation by the New York City district attorney and the NYPD . The focus of the task force , the governor said , would be to prevent friendly fire among all police officers , regardless of race , and to instill confidence in the state and community that such incidents are investigated properly . CNN 's Alona Rivord contributed to this report .
Officer Omar Edwards of NYPD killed in friendly fire incident last month . Edwards , who is black , was shot by white officer who did n't realize he was fellow cop . Rep. Charles Rangel asks Justice Department to look into police training , practices . New York Gov . David Paterson has set up task force to look at issue statewide .