No charges for St. Paul Sgt. Cody Blanshan in fatal Howard Johnson shooting
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- No charges will be filed against St. Paul Sergeant Cody Blanshan, who fatally shot a man in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood last December.
Howard Johnson, 24, was shot in an incident that stemmed from a domestic assault call. The mother of Johnson's children called police to report that he had assaulted her in her car in the presence of the kids. She said Johnson was armed with a .40 caliber handgun with a "big extended clip."
The Ramsey County Attorney's Office concluded last week that Blanshan was legally justified to use deadly force under Minnesota law.
Johnson was seen walking with a handgun in his hand on Hudson Road when Blanshan first encountered him that night, a memorandum says.
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Johnson walked towards an SUV, driven by a woman who had stopped at a nearby liquor store. Blanshan, as well as another officer at the scene, said they saw him raise his gun towards the woman's car. Blanshan, believing that he was going to carjack her, accelerated his car with the intention to strike him with the front of his car.
The memorandum says that as Blanshan opened his car door, Johnson got on his knees and turned to point his gun at the squad car. There is a muzzle flash seen coming from Johnson's gun, according to body-worn camera video.
Blanshan said that as he opened his car door, he saw Johnson pointing his gun at his face. Blanshan yelled at Johnson "Don't do it! Don't do it" However, Johnson stood with his back facing Blanshan, with the gun in his right hand pointed across his upper torso. Another muzzle flash was captured on footage coming from his gun, and Blanshan fired 10 rounds.
Johnson was declared dead minutes later.
Minnesota's use-of-force statute says that the use of deadly force is used "to protect the peace officer or another from death or great bodily harm" with criteria assessing the threat.
An independent police training and use of force expert, Jeffrey Noble, concluded that Johnson was "objectively reasonable under Minnesota law" for the two instances of use of deadly force: the car ramming and the gunshots. He needed to immediately intervene to save the life of the woman in the car, Noble concluded, and Blanshan's life was at "imminent danger of death" when Johnson was pointing the gun at him.
Note: The above video first aired on Dec. 10, 2022
