NEW ORLEANS - The lawyer for a man accused of fatally shooting former New Orleans Saints football star Will Smith is demanding the New Orleans Police Department recuse itself from the investigation.

In a letter delivered Friday to Mayor Mitch Landrieu and police Superintendent Michael Harrison, lawyer John Fuller charges that the investigation should be handed over to state police or the FBI due "to a grave lack of faith in the honesty and competency" of the department's investigation.

Fuller is representing 28-year-old Cardell Hayes, who police say shot and killed Smith after a traffic altercation. Hayes is currently being held in jail.

Fuller charges that high-ranking police officials have made "factual misstatements."

Police spokesman Tyler Gamble said the homicide was getting a "fair, thorough and complete" investigation. He added that police "will continue to follow the facts wherever they take us."

Maj. Doug Cain, a state police spokesman, says his agency has not been asked to take over the probe.