The memo said the officers’ use of deadly force was legally justified. Sergeants Jose Cabrera and Javier Herbello and Officer Dorian Acosta were outside the club when they encountered Norman Lindo Jr., who had been involved in an altercation and was armed, the memo said. The officers ordered Lindo to drop his weapon. When he did not comply, they fired, striking him several times. He later died at a hospital.

The gunfire also killed Evelyn Valdés, 28, who was riding in the back seat of a car leaving the area. She had been out celebrating her birthday and was struck by a bullet while inside the vehicle, according to the account of the shooting. The club’s manager was also hit and taken to a hospital but survived.

The state attorney’s memo said Lindo was “aggressively brandishing a firearm in a crowded street” and that the officers could reasonably believe they and others faced danger. It said they could also reasonably believe deadly force was needed to prevent death or serious bodily harm to themselves, nightclub patrons and pedestrians.

Surveillance video showed the altercation outside the club and the officers firing. Valdés’ mother has filed a lawsuit against the officers and the city, alleging excessive force, wrongful death and negligence.

Two of the officers returned to full duty two weeks after the shooting. The third was administratively reassigned to the city’s real-time crime center.