DIGBY, N.S. - The father of a youth who alleges he was racially insulted and provoked into a fight by off-duty police officers in Nova Scotia says the black community isn't satisfied with the RCMP's response to the allegations.

Rev. Michael Alden Fells questioned the RCMP's independence in the investigation on Monday and called for a civilian body or outside police force to look into the June 22 fight involving his son, another black man and off-duty police officers outside a Digby bar.

"We're asking for a public inquiry into this," Fells said after leading about 25 people on a short march in a driving rain from his church to the nearby RCMP detachment in Digby.

Fells said he plans to lay human rights complaints with the Nova Scotia and federal human rights commissions.

Nathaniel Fells, 19, and William Drummond, 20, say they were racially insulted by an off-duty police officer who appeared to be drunk and was leaning against a van on the night of the fight.

They say they were then taunted into fighting by five or six off-duty police officers who emerged from the vehicle and pursued them down the street.

A dozen off-duty officers from police departments in Halifax and New Glasgow, as well as from the RCMP, were outside the bar at the time.

The RCMP has launched an inquiry into the incident to see if charges should be laid and determine if on-duty officers who used a stun gun that knocked down Drummond took the proper steps to control the situation.

Drummond, who participated in the march, said he was surrounded by on-duty police officers, while an off-duty officer he was sparring with wasn't detained.

"Three cops on me and no cops on the other person," he said in an interview on Monday. "So I'm trying not to get punched in the face, and then a constable Tasers me."

Drummond has lived in Digby for about a month and said the community demonstration boosted his spirits.

"It means a lot," he said.

RCMP Cpl. Joe Taplin said the local detachment commander is meeting with the black community.

"They'll continue to meet and try to build bridges as they move along," he said.

Taplin said interviews conducted by an RCMP officer from a neighbouring jurisdiction has shown, so far, that proper procedures were followed by the on-duty officers, including how the stun gun was used.

He also defended the RCMP investigation, saying it "is unbiased."

"We're still asking anybody who may have seen the incident if they could come forward to the Digby detachment here and we'll put them in touch with the appropriate investigators," Taplin said.

The Halifax and New Glasgow police departments are doing internal reviews of how their off-duty officers behaved. There's been no indication of whether off-duty RCMP officers will be the subject of an internal review.

Darlene Williams, a black member of a local race relations committee who saw a video of the incident that was taken from a surveillance camera, has said the tape largely backs Fells' and Drummond's version of what occurred.

Taplin said the video won't be publicly released because it is an exhibit in the investigation.

Allegations of racism have been levelled at the RCMP detachment in Digby in the past.

In January, RCMP assistant commissioner Ian Atkins apologized at a public meeting for racial and sexist incidents dating back to 2003.

As part of their internal investigation, Halifax police are also looking at why a van belonging to the department was used by the group of officers in Digby. The van was loaned to the officers, who rode motorcycles to the Digby area to participate in a charity event.

Last Monday, before the internal review was announced, the Halifax police department said its officers had done nothing wrong during the incident.