A federal judge has ruled in favor of Indianapolis police in a lawsuit that accused officers of excessive force in a black teenagers fatal shooting following a suspected armed carjacking.

Video of a southwest Indiana police officer fatally shooting a man holding a hammer appears to back an officer's claim he believed the man reached for a gun, authorities said Wednesday.

A man fatally shot by a police officer following a traffic accident in southwest Indiana was aggressively approaching the officer with a hammer before the shooting occurred, authorities said Tuesday.

Police say members of a proactive unit that chases the city's most violent criminals pulled over the van and fatally shot a passenger after he allegedly pulled out the gun.

The lawsuit comes after a grand jury determined police officers were justified in 29-year-old Norman Gary's death on Dec. 4, 2016.

The shooting occurred Thursday afternoon after officers pulled over the suspect's car on the city's far east side.

The officers say Bailey was seen digging in his car's center console, which they perceived as an imminent threat. Skeptics of their story suspect their decision to fire was driven by irrational fear.

He was one of four officers fired upon when they confronted a homicide suspect.

Terre Haute police spokesman Ryan Adamson said the police officer's investigation of a homicide led him the apartment complex on the city's south side.

Chief Bryan Roach says the officers' actions were "so far removed from accepted professional practice" that they damaged public trust of the department.