PITTSBURGH — The lawyer for an 18-year-old viola player who alleges Pittsburgh police officers brutally beat him says he has formally requested an FBI investigation.

Kerrington Lewis told The Associated Press he has written a letter to Pittsburgh FBI agent Michael A. Rodriguez. Lewis says only an outside agency can fairly investigate.

An FBI spokesman says Rodriguez is out of the office Tuesday.

Violist Jordan Miles alleges undercover police beat him Jan. 12. Pictures taken by his mother show his face covered with bruises and his right eye swollen shut.

Terez Miles says the three white officers targeted her son because he is black.

The officers have been reassigned while the city investigates.