The US Department of Justice

The US Department of Justice on Monday announced the launch of an investigation into the San Francisco police force, two months after the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old black man triggered outrage in the city.

"The Justice Department will conduct a thorough, independent and objective assessment of the San Francisco Police Department's policies, practices and accountability systems," Ronald Davis, director of the Justice Department's community policing office, said in a statement.

Similar probes have been opened into suspected police abuses in Chicago and Baltimore, where protests erupted over fatal incidents involving young black men.