ALBANY - Local civil rights leader Alice Green wants Albany County District Attorney David Soares to step away from the investigation of a detective's shooting of a city teen.

Instead, Green said, a special prosecutor should be called in to probe Detective James Olsen's decision to open fire on Ellazar Williams, 19, after a brief chase from Central Avenue to Elk Street.

The Aug. 20 shooting left Williams paralyzed from the chest down.

Williams was charged with felony menacing a police officer and misdemeanor weapons possession, which would be prosecuted by Soares.

“The conflicts you have are undeniable,” Green wrote in a letter to Soares. The letter also went to Gov. Andrew Cuomo and state Attorney General Barbara Underwood. “Your office cannot simultaneously prosecute and investigate Mr. Williams and Detective Olsen as defendants, or potential defendants, and then advocate for them as crime victims, arising from the same event.”

Soares' office said it received the letter and the matter is under review, but declined further comment. It said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.

The state Attorney General’s Office said it doesn’t have jurisdiction to take on the investigation, even if requested. Cuomo’s executive order, issued in 2015 in the wake of several controversial deaths of people in police custody, only allows the office to intervene in cases where unarmed civilians are killed during police confrontations.

Many in the community have questioned if there is evidence that Williams was “menacing” Olsen, considering the video appears to show Williams running away when he’s shot.

Initially, Albany police gave conflicting reports, first stating Williams was running toward Olsen when the detective shot him, and later describing the motions of the two as “fluid.” Residents have been adamant that Williams was shot in the back, not the upper shoulder as characterized by police.

Green said the discrepancies haven’t been answered by law enforcement, and people want answers.

“I expected the department would provide some kind of challenge, to say you got it all wrong, but that hasn’t happened,” she said. “This thing is festering in the community whether people realize it, or not.”

Green cited the conflicting reports, video evidence, and the close working relationship between the district attorney’s office and Olsen, as reasons for requesting outside counsel.

“We certainly would like for this to be resolved in an amicable way,” Green said. “We’re hoping that the district attorney understands the importance of this for the community. If it should happen that he doesn’t, we want to have an avenue to move this beyond Albany County.”

Green said the governor’s office could intervene. “If they’re concerned about this case, they will find a way to do it,” she said.

Cuomo’s office said it was looking into the matter Tuesday.

Albany residents and elected officials have questioned the circumstances surrounding the shooting of Williams, which the police department deemed justified in early September.

Green has been critical of the police’s internal report due to the limited information officials used to make the determination, which Albany police have recognized. Williams, on the advice of his attorney, declined to be interviewed by police, leaving the department’s internal investigation with Olsen’s account of the incident only.

Bringing in a special prosecutor to investigate the matter would ensure a fair process, Green said.

“I think it’s very important for public safety and everything to make sure that someone looks at this incident as objectively as possible to find out what really happened,” she said. “The community wants to know what really happened. Our goal is to make sure that Ellazar is treated fairly. That there is justice in this incident.”

A Justice for Ellazar rally will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday at 165 Henry Johnson Blvd.