Two weeks before Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Cano shot and killed 19-year-old Henry Bennett after the deputy said Bennett pointed a gun at him, Cano was profiled in a Sheriff'sYouTubevideo for his part in helping families whose homes were destroyed by fires.
"To be able to come back and help these people, it’s awesome," Cano said in the video.
Cano, who comes from a family of law enforcement, was a local security guard before he started wearing the PBSO badge in October, 2013.
Praised a number of times internally, Cano, who primarily works in Belle Glade, has also been the subject of more than a dozen outside complaints.
According to his internal affairs file, citizens have described him as "rude," "disrespectful," and "too aggressive."
He's tackled suspects to the ground, according to IA reports, deployed stun guns, and a pepper-ball gun to control a rowdy crowd in Belle Glade.
All of those incidents were deemed reasonable and necessary uses of force, according to his superiors.
Since he joined the ranks, Cano's frequency of using force has triggered nine separate internal agency alerts. These alerts are triggered when a deputy uses force five or more times in a 12 month period.
After each alert was triggered, Cano’s performance was reviewed and his supervisor found no issues.
Since last April when, in response to our Line of Fire joint investigation with The Palm Beach Post, the sheriff started requiring deputies to report when they point a gun at someone, Cano has has logged 9 incidents of displaying a firearm.
All were deemed justified by internal affairs.
Other than a written reprimand for a fender bender he caused in 2014, Cano, according to his employee files, is largely considered a model deputy described as an "extremely high performer."
The shooting of Henry Bennett remains under investigation. According to a spokesperson with PBSO, Deputy Cano returned from paid leave one day ago.
