Grand jury clears St. Paul officer in fatal shooting of man armed with large rock
A St. Paul police officer who fatally shot a man who was armed with a rock the size of a baseball will not face charges in connection with the August incident, a grand jury decided Wednesday.
The Ramsey County Grand Jury returned a "no bill decision" in the Aug. 28, 2014, shooting death of Guillermo Canas, meaning they found that probable cause did not exist to charge the officer with a crime, a Ramsey County news release says.
Last August, two St. Paul police officers responded to a West Side neighborhood after receiving "frantic" 911 calls reporting Canas, 36, was being "aggressive," swinging a pipe, throwing rocks and damaging vehicles in the area.
When officers arrived, police said Canas ignored their orders to stop and became aggressive. They said he charged at officers a few times, before one of the officers shot at Canas, killing him.
Officials after the shooting said police could have tried other options to calm Canas, the Star Tribune notes. Despite that, the grand jury determined the officer's use of deadly force was warranted under state law, the news release says.
