A Grand Jury, convened by New York State Attorney Eric Schneiderman, has handed up a three count indictment against District Attorney Joel Abelove. The sealed document was opened Friday, December 1, by Columbia County Judge Jonathan Nichols, and charges Mr. Abelove with a felony count of first degree perjury and two misdemeanor counts of official misconduct. Mr. Abelove pled not guilty to all counts and was released on his own recognizance.
The case involves the 2016 shooting of Edson Thevenin of Colonie by Troy Police Sergeant Randall French. Mr. Thevenin was unarmed, but according to the police report, drove his vehicle directly at Sgt. French, pinning him between Thevenin’s car and Sgt. French’s patrol vehicle. The officer is alleged to have fired several times through the windshield, killing Thevenin. The DA personally presented the case to a Rensselaer County Grand Jury less than a week after the incident. That grand jury cleared Sgt. French of any wrongdoing.
Mr. Schneiderman began his probe under an executive order signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2015, empowering him to investigate the shooting of unarmed civilians. In a news release, the Attorney General claims Mr. Abelove withheld material evidence from the original grand jury that led to its decision not to indict Sgt. French.
For his part, the District Attorney told news media gathered outside the courthouse, “I want to assure the residents of Rensselaer County that I acted properly and within my authority and I have done nothing wrong.” He also called the charges frivolous and overreaching, that he plans to vigorously defend himself and that “I intend to stay on the job.”
Mr. Abelove is in the third year of his four-year term.