Family wants probe into police shooting
CAMDEN - The family of a man killed in a police shooting has hired an attorney for an independent investigation into the incident.
"We just want answers why this happened," said Veronica Cabrera, the mother of Freddy Baez. "There are too many unanswered questions."
Meanwhile, a 911 call made public Friday shows a woman reporting a domestic disturbance involving Baez raised the possibility that he was armed.
"I don't know if he got a gun or not," the caller volunteers to an emergency dispatcher, as she reported a man, presumably Baez, was "banging on my door" and "yelling through my mail slot."
Baez, a 24-year-old father of two, was shot Tuesday night in an encounter with Camden County Police officers at the Crescent Gardens apartment complex in Camden's Fairview section.
Camden shooting victim identified
The two officers were responding to a 911 call on the 3200 block of Rutledge Walk, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office. Authorities have said the officers and Baez traded shots, but have given no other details.
According to a statement issued Friday by the family's law firm, "Baez was shot multiple times by the officers, resulting in his death."
In the 911 call, a woman blames Baez for an act of domestic violence against her 25-year-old daughter, saying the daughter has a black eye. "She didn't say anything but I know he did it," the mother says.
She raises the possibility that Baez is armed early in the call, prompting questions from a dispatcher.
"Why do you say you don't know if he's got a gun or not?" the dispatcher asks. "Did you see one? Is he known to carry a weapon?"
The woman says "no" at one point, but appears not to answer the question directly.
"Well, OK," the dispatcher continues. "Usually, people say 'gun,' they've seen one or they know that a person has one. They just don't say 'gun' out of nowhere."
"OK," the caller responds.
The caller later made a second 911 call, after officers apparently had trouble finding her home in the complex.
"They're here," that brief call ends. "Thank you so much."
Camden man dead in police shooting
The Philadelphia-based law firm of Conrad J. Benedetto said it would investigate the shooting at the family's request. The family believes a probe is needed "to prevent the potential of further eroding the public's confidence and trust in police activity," the firm's statement said.
Baez's family members have requested "that they be left to grieve privately at this time," said attorney Conrad Benedetto. He said plans for an independent autopsy "are being considered."
Benedetto described Baez as a clerk with two children, ages 2 and 3, and four siblings.
Authorities have not released the names of the officers involved in the shooting. They have been placed on administrative leave, pending resolution of the prosecutor's investigation.
The prosecutor's office is not releasing additional information about the shooting "so as not to jeopardize the integrity of the investigation," said Andy McNeil, a spokesman for the county office.
Police-shooting victim had BB gun
"We need witnesses to provide independent recollections of the incident, not an account influenced by press coverage," McNeil said.
The incident was the second deadly police shooting in Camden this year.
Oscar Camacho, 33, was fatally shot by two officers in the Cramer Hill section on July 3. Authorities have said he vowed to kill police officers and take his own life in a 911 call minutes before an 11:20 p.m. confrontation.
Jim Walsh; (856) 486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com