The 23-year-old named Ibrahima died in police custody on Saturday after having been brought in for filming a police control. Reports said his family was informed of his death only six hours later.
Riots have now broken out in the capital in wake of the tragedy.
Footage shared on social media shows gangs of protesters setting, what appears to be, the police station on fire.
Armed police can be seen firing bullets – most likely pellets – towards those rioting.
Another witness said there are about 400 people in the street and around 500 police officer, “some of the very angry”.
Riot police are also seen to march towards the protesters with a water cannon spraying those protesting.
Other footage shows fireworks exploding during the protests as police vans barricade the road.
Earlier, hundreds of people marched to the police station at North Station in Brussels.
The peaceful protest was organised by the AJGB (Association des Jeunes Guineens de Belgique) and called for the truth about the death of Ibrahima to be revealed.
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According to a press release, Ibrahima lost consciousness upon arrival at the police station.
He was taken to hospital where he died.
Stephanie Lagasse, spokesperson for the prosecutors office, told VRT.be: “Based on the reading of the facts, we are now asking an investigating judge to take over the investigation.
“An investigating judge can carry out more investigative acts than the public prosecutor’s office.
“If you want to engage them, there must be a qualification.
“But accidental manslaughter is a neutral claim and does not mean that we assume that the police have done something wrong.”
During the peaceful protest names of other victims such as “Mehdi” and “Adil” could be read on posters.
Adil, 19, was killed in April when officers hit him on a scooter.
Back in November, protests erupted in Brussels after the public prosecutor decided not to prosecute the officers involved.
In 2019, Mehdi, 17, was hit and killed by a police car but the prosecution did not prosecute the officers.
This recent riot comes months after protests erupted around the world following the death African American George Floyd.
Mr Floyd’s death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement and called for the police to be defunded.