def _head_object(s3_conn, bucket, key):
    """Retrieve information about an object in S3 if it exists.

    Args:
        s3_conn (botocore.client.S3): S3 connection to use for operations.
        bucket (str): name of the bucket containing the key.
        key (str): name of the key to lookup.

    Returns:
        dict: S3 object information, or None if the object does not exist.
            See the AWS documentation for explanation of the contents.

    Raises:
        botocore.exceptions.ClientError: any error from boto3 other than key
            not found is passed through.
    """
    try:
        return s3_conn.head_object(Bucket=bucket, Key=key)
    except botocore.exceptions.ClientError as e:
        if e.response['Error']['Code'] == '404':
            return None
        else:
            raise
Retrieve information about an object in S3 if it exists.

    Args:
        s3_conn (botocore.client.S3): S3 connection to use for operations.
        bucket (str): name of the bucket containing the key.
        key (str): name of the key to lookup.

    Returns:
        dict: S3 object information, or None if the object does not exist.
            See the AWS documentation for explanation of the contents.

    Raises:
        botocore.exceptions.ClientError: any error from boto3 other than key
            not found is passed through.