BENTON – A grand jury found that two Marshall County Sheriff's Office deputies were justified in their use of force when they fatally shot Gary Alan Rowland, the man who shot and killed Calloway County Chief Deputy Jody Cash, Kentucky State Police say.

Responding to a request for an update from WPSD Local 6, a state police spokesperson says the state law enforcement agency's Critical Incident Response Team completed the officer-involved shooting aspect of its investigation into the shooting that led to Cash's death. Investigators presented their findings to a Marshall County grand jury on Dec. 9.

Cash died in May 2022 after investigators say Rowland shot him outside the Marshall County Sheriff's Office.

Investigators have said Rowland was arrested by the Marshall County Special Response Team, and he was being interviewed by Cash and a Marshall County Sheriff's Office deputy when he asked to take a smoke break. Cash and Marshall County Deputy Donald Bowman took Rowland outside, and that's when investigators have said Rowland took out a handgun he'd hidden on his person and shot Cash. Bowman and another Marshall County deputy, Brandon Little, returned fire, shooting and killing Rowland.

The state police spokesperson, who responded to WPSD Local 6 via email on Tuesday, Feb. 21, says the grand jury found Little and Bowman were justified in their use of force when they shot Rowland. Further details have not been provided, and questions remain regarding how Rowland was able to keep a gun hidden on his person while in custody in the Marshall County Sheriff's Office, as well as other details surrounding the circumstances that led to Cash's death.

A Princeton native, Cash worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years, serving with Kentucky State Police, Murray State University Police and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office before he joined the Calloway County Sheriff’s Office in September 2020.

A memorial honoring his service and sacrifice now stands outside the Calloway County Judicial Building in Murray.