TROY, N.Y. (AP) — A former prosecutor accused of withholding evidence from a grand jury that cleared a Troy police officer who fatally shot a man during a traffic stop has been acquitted of perjury and misconduct charges.
Former Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove was acquitted by a state judge Thursday after a non-jury trial.
The Republican was accused of withholding evidence from a grand jury that cleared an officer who killed a man in April 2016. It was the first time a district attorney has faced charges following Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s 2015 executive order directing the state attorney general to intervene in cases of unarmed civilians killed by police.
“I’ve maintained my innocence in this matter since the very first day,” Abelove said after his acquittal,
The judge previously dismissed a criminal indictment against Abelove, saying the attorney general’s office lacked jurisdiction to prosecute.
