Grand jury: St. Paul cop justified in using deadly force

A Ramsey County grand jury decided Wednesday that a St. Paul cop who shot and killed a man on the city's West Side last summer was justified in using deadly force.

A 23-person grand jury found no probable cause to charge the officer with a crime, according to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office.

36-year-old Guillermo Canas was shot and killed on the morning of Aug. 28, 2014. Police responded to multiple emergency calls about Canas, who'd been breaking windows with a pipe, throwing rocks, and threatening passersby near the intersection of Wabasha St. and Plato Blvd.

When officers arrived, police said Canas ignored their orders and became combative. Canas charged police officers a few times. One officer, identified by St. Paul Police as Joseph Sandquist, fired three shots, killing Canas. The other officer at the scene was identified as Mark Grundhauser. The officer who was cleared was not identified by the County Attorney's office, as grand jury proceedings are secret.

In May, a grand jury cleared two St. Paul Police officers of criminal charges in the fatal shooting of Marcus Golden, 24, of St. Paul.