In August 2015, Troy Police Officer Joshua Comitale and Chad Klein shot and killed Thaddeus Faison on 112th Street after officers say carjacking suspect Faison got into a shootout with police. A grand jury cleared both officers of any wrongdoing.
Then in April 2016, Edson Thevenin was shot and killed by Troy Police Sgt. Randall French after police say the 37-year-old Thevenin fled a traffic stop and pinned French between his police car and his vehicle.
Ultimately, a grand jury declined to indict French, but District Attorney Joel Abelove’s handling of the case is being investigated by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
The AG is looking into whether Abelove rushed the case to a grand jury before taking it up to the AG’s office, which would disregard an executive order signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo. At one point, Abelove's cell phone was seized.
Tensions were high following those two incidents. During Wednesday’s press conference, Troy Police Chief John Tedesco said over the years, his department has been working on building relationships with the community.
“When you look at the previous shootings that we’ve had, especially in light of the mood of the nation, we haven’t had any serious uprisings," Tedesco said. "I think that speaks a lot to the relationship between the police department and the community. I certainly expect that good relationship will continue. I think the community has confidence in us to do a thorough and objective investigation."
Wednesday night’s scene was certainly tense for officers and residents in that area upset about the incident. Tedesco went on to say the department will be doing things internally to ensure the safety of officers until he feels the actions of residents have subsided.