RCMP in Kamloops, B.C., are asking the public to wait for the results of a independent investigation into a shooting last month that left one man dead after he rammed his SUV into an unmarked RCMP vehicle.

Wilbert Bartley, 50, was at the wheel of his SUV on July 30 when he was shot by an RCMP officer in the parking lot of a car wash on Tranquille Road around 6:15 p.m. PT.

Just before the shooting, the two plainclothes officers had gotten out of their unmarked green minivan when Bartley backed his Toyota 4Runner hard into it, damaging the police vehicle's passenger side.

The RCMP officers fired two shots through the windshield, hitting Bartley in the head. The SUV then raced forward and crashed through the front of a nearby coffee shop, with Bartley dead inside.

Officers from the Calgary police force were immediately called in to start an independent investigation. But Bartley's death has been the talk of the town since, with rumours circulating on the internet about the incident.

Protesters demand answers

Over the weekend about 60 of Bartley's friends staged a peaceful march through town to the RCMP detachment, demanding answers. Bartley had a long criminal record, but during the march on Saturday his friends said he wasn't violent and demanded to know why he was shot.

That prompted the officer in charge of the Kamloops detachment, Inspect. Yves Lacasse, to issue a public plea on the RCMP website on Tuesday for the public have patience and wait for the facts to come out in the police investigation before drawing any conclusions.

Lacasse told CBC News he decided to speak out because he there was so much emotion, and rhetoric being expressed about the shooting, both supporting, and attacking police.

"All I'm asking our community here is be patient, the facts will come out, the facts will be out there, those questions will be answered at some point, hopefully sooner than later," said Lacasse.

Lacasse wouldn't elaborate on the rhetoric, but a simple google search reveals people discussing the shooting on various websites, arguing about whether Bartley was armed, or used his vehicle as a weapon, or whether police identified themselves.

Written statements provided by the officers revealled one wanted to talk to Bartley about a previous investigation. The undercover officers stated they were carrying their badges and identified themselves as RCMP when they approached Bartley in the parking lot.

The investigation by Calgary police is expected to take several months to complete.

(With files from The Canadian Press)