Freddy Baez, 24, was fatally shot by Camden County police in November 2015.
CAMDEN -- Officers who fatally shot a domestic violence suspect in 2015 -- whose family would later sue -- were justified in using deadly force, a state Attorney General's Office review of the incident has found.
Freddy Baez, 24, of Camden, was shot by Camden County Police Department (CCPD) officers who responded to a 911 call at the Independence Village Apartment Complex on the evening of Nov. 24, 2015.
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office, which released the decision Thursday, reviewed the incident first and found that using deadly force was justified.
According to previous reports, two CCPD officers responded to the "domestic violence disturbance" at the complex around 7 p.m. that evening. A version of events provided Thursday by the prosecutor's office reveals Baez was banging on the door of the female 911 caller and that he'd allegedly assaulted another family member earlier that day.
Officers responding to domestic violence call shoot gunman
Officers responded to the apartment complex and eventually found Baez, whom dispatchers said at the time could have been armed, between a storm door and the front door he'd been banging on. According to the prosecutor's office, the officers shined their flashlights on Baez and ordered him to put his hands up.
According to the statement released Thursday, Baez allegedly turned around and fired once at the officers, with one saying that he heard the round -- which was later recovered -- making a whistling sound as it passed by his left ear.
Baez was struck as police returned fire. A small-caliber silver handgun was reportedly recovered by police where Baez fell. Baez was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.
A lawsuit filed in September 2016 claimed that Baez was killed partially because of racial bias and that CCPD officers often respond with excessive or deadly force to situations involving Hispanic people.
Earlier this month, a Spanish-speaking 911 caller reported a domestic violence incident that ended with the allegedly armed assailant, identified as Jose Antonio Fernandez-Ventura, fatally shot by police.
Thursday's decision on the Baez incident was part of the Attorney General's Law Enforcement Directive on police use-of-force incidents.
According to court records from Jan. 10, a scheduling conference on the lawsuit is set for Feb. 14 in U.S. District Court, in Camden. The lawsuit also claimed that Baez "was unarmed, and was not posing a threat to any person."
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find NJ.com on Facebook.