Today, the Attorney General’s Special Investigations and Prosecutions Unit (SIPU) released its report into the shooting death of Edson Thevenin. Over the course of the investigation, SIPU did not obtain adequate evidence to make a finding of criminal culpability. As part of today’s report, SIPU recommends that the Troy Police Department make several urgent and systemic reforms to departmental practices.
Attorney General Schneiderman released the following statement:
“Edson Thevenin’s death was a tragedy. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones.
Our investigation uncovered significant problems with the Troy Police Department’s evidence collection, preservation, and analysis practices in this case. These problems included a flawed, prejudged analysis of the evidence and a failure to properly interview all of the available witnesses to the shooting. As detailed in the report, these failures undermined the homicide investigation and must be quickly and thoroughly addressed.
As a matter of law, regardless of the ultimate conclusions reached by our office, criminal prosecution in this case was made impossible because the officer involved testified before a 2016 grand jury without having waived immunity from prosecution.
We are always committed to conducting a fully independent review of the facts in these cases, and to providing an exhaustive and transparent accounting of our investigation.”
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