A Ramsey County grand jury declined Wednesday to pursue charges against St. Paul police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Victor T. Gaddy last year.

Gaddy, 41, was fatally shot by officers in October during a drug stop in St. Paul's Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Gaddy was the subject of a narcotics investigation, and Minneapolis police had requested St. Paul's assistance to stop his vehicle.

According to a news release from the Ramsey County attorney's office, the grand jury determined that the officers' use of deadly force was protected by Minnesota law. State statutes justify the use of deadly force by law enforcement to protect the officer or someone else from death or great bodily harm, among other reasons.

Police have said that Gaddy tried to ram squad cars during the drug stop. Officers involved in the case were Edward O'Donnell, Mark Farrington, Joshua Raichert and Christopher McGuire.

"These officers work in the highest crime areas at the most dangerous hours," Police Federation President Dave Titus said. "They performed honorably and professionally."

Grand jury proceedings are secret and protected by law, so very little information is released about how the decision is reached. Grand juries consist of 23 randomly selected people. An indictment requires 12 members to agree.

The same day Gaddy was killed, St. Paul police fatally shot Chue Xiong, 22, in an unrelated incident after Xiong fired at two officers, badly wounding officer Daniel King. In December, a grand jury cleared the officers in Xiong's shooting.

Chao Xiong