03/24/2025
Just after midnight on Sunday, a St. Tammany Parish Sheriff Deputy attempted to stop a vehicle in Slidell, Louisiana, but the 17-year old driver fled the scene and a chase began. Sergeant Grant Candies heard the pursuit heading his way and was deploying a spike strip on Interstate 10 when the suspect struck and killed him. The car then crossed parish lines and collided into a New Orleans PD patrol car. The teenage suspect was arrested and has since been charged with the Sergeant’s murder.
Sergeant Grant Candies was the kind of deputy every agency hopes to have. He spent five years on active duty in the United States Marine Corps, three years on inactive duty, and carried that same dedication and discipline into his career in law enforcement when he joined the STPSO in 2016. “Leading from the front” is a principle that Grant carried into his role as a Field Training Officer in the Criminal Patrol Division. To him, training new deputies wasn’t just about teaching tactics, but it was about shaping them into the kind of deputies who serve with integrity, courage, and compassion.
More than anything…Grant was a family man. He and wife built a beautiful life together, raising their two children with the same values he carried every day; strength, kindness, and unwavering commitment. Whether he was teaching his kids how to hunt and fish, working on their small farm, or simply enjoying time together, he was the kind of dad every kid deserves…the fun kind, the protective kind, the kind who made sure his family knew they were loved beyond measure.
Grant never did this job for recognition, but his leadership spoke volumes. He was named Deputy of the Year for 2023, and true to his humble nature, his response was simple: “When my team succeeds, I have succeeded.” He didn’t care about titles or awards. He cared about people, about doing the right thing, and about making a difference. Sergeant Candies was 37-years old.
