ALBANY — An internal investigation by the Troy Police Department found a patrol sergeant who fatally shot an unarmed DWI suspect in 2016 had improperly forced the man's car off the road and later lied about that and his claim of opening fire as he was trapped between his cruiser and the suspect's vehicle.

The 69-page internal affairs report, which was completed last year but never made public or acted on by the department's leaders, recommended sustaining four disciplinary charges against Sgt. Randall French, including unjustifiable use of deadly force and providing false testimony related to the death of 37-year-old Edson Thevenin in the early morning of April 17, 2016.

The report was issued by Joseph L. Centanni, a Troy police captain who heads the detective bureau and had also worked in internal affairs.

Centanni's report characterizes French's account of the shooting as "inconceivable," and said the sergeant's "empirically untruthful statements ... cause disquiet because they're all interconnected as they relate to his justification surrounding the first two shots which occur prior to him becoming immobilized between the vehicles."

French fired eight rounds through the windshield of Thevenin's 2000 Honda Civic after the driver fled a traffic stop minutes earlier as French tried to arrest him for DWI. An autopsy revealed seven of the rounds struck Thevenin, who was heavily intoxicated, including the fatal shot that pierced his right collarbone.

Centanni, citing evidence that included forensic analyses of the vehicles and statements from officers and civilian witnesses at the scene of the 3 a.m. incident, concluded that French violated departmental policies — and the law — by sideswiping and forcing Thevenin's vehicle into a concrete barrier on the Collar City Bridge as Thevenin apparently attempted to drive out of the city.

The report describes French's decision to allegedly ram Thevenin's vehicle as an "unjustifiable act of deadly physical force."

Read Centanni's full report:

Thevenin ISB Report by cseiler8597 on Scribd

The report concludes that after Thevenin's car hit the barrier, French jumped out of his cruiser — "intentionally (placing) himself in the direct path of Thevenin's vehicle" — and fired two rounds through the driver's windshield. Centanni determined that French then moved to his left, firing six more rounds through the windshield as the Honda lurched forward into his legs.

French claimed that he and another officer had boxed in Honda sedan after Thevenin made an illegal U-turn on the Collar City Bridge and crashed into the barrier as he was being pursued. Centanni cited unexplained damage to the right side of Thevenin's Honda, including a severed side-view mirror, and the left side of the sergeant's cruiser to reach his conclusion that French rammed the suspect.

"Although Thevenin's actions should bear a certain level of culpability in this matter, Sgt. French engaged in several reckless acts which placed him and Thevenin in a precarious position which greatly contributed to the outcome in this matter," the report states.

Two civilian witnesses who saw the incident, however, told investigators they saw two police cars following Thevenin's Honda and box it in once it hit the concrete barrier. Those witnesses, Keith Millington and Phillip Gross, did not indicate they saw a police vehicle sideswipe the Honda.

In an interview with internal affairs last year, French was shown diagrams of the vehicles' positions following the shooting, and he allegedly acknowledged "that if he was standing next to his (police cruiser's) driver door upon exiting, Thevenin's vehicle couldn't strike him."

James Caruso, corporation counsel for the city of Troy, issued a statement Monday evening challenging the integrity of the internal affairs report.

"An independent, third-party review conducted by an experienced legal expert found that the (internal) report was fundamentally flawed and inconsistent with the facts of this case," Caruso said. "Further, this professional analysis concluded that the findings and recommendations contained in the ISB report were contradictory to the findings of the experts for both the plaintiff and defense, as well as the findings of the office of the New York state attorney general."

The city has declined to identify the "experienced legal expert" cited by Caruso, and has delayed responding to a Freedom of Information Law request the Times Union filed last month for that information.

French asserted during the internal interview last year that he pulled his gun and opened fire after being pinned between the vehicles. His account was contradicted by witnesses, including a captain who was at the scene, Matthew Montanino, who said French had fired two separate volleys of shots.

Asked during the interview if it was possible he had stepped out of his vehicle, drawn his weapon and fired two shots into Thevenin's windshield, French responded: "I don't know. All I can tell you is what I recall. ... I can't say ... that is what I remember happening. I understand your question and I'm telling you I remember it one way. There's only one way I remember it and I don't ... I'm not gonna deviate from that ... I can't deviate from that ... that is my memory."

Montanino was so close to Thevenin's vehicle when the shots rang out that he was sprayed with broken glass as the bullets pierced the windshield. In the aftermath of the shooting, Troy police officials had dismissed any concerns that Montanino was in danger when French began shooting.

Another finding in the report was that Officer David Dean, who arrived at the scene and saw Thevenin on the ground outside his vehicle — his hand reaching around Montanino's leg — had done nothing wrong when he struck the dying motorist with a baton, causing him to let go of the captain's leg.

The internal report was filed last year after the conclusion of a separate investigation by the state attorney general's office. The attorney general's report, issued in January 2018, deeply criticized the department's handling of shooting case but stopped short of saying French's use of deadly force was unjustified.

In a separate action pursued by the attorney general's office, a Rensselaer County grand jury indicted then-District Attorney Joel Abelove on charges including official misconduct and perjury in connection with his handling of the investigation that cleared French less than a week after the shooting. Those charges were later thrown out by a judge, whose decision is being appealed by the attorney general's office; Abelove was voted out of office last November.

Centanni's report noted that Dominick Zarrella, a chief investigator in the attorney general's office, had disclosed during a January 2018 meeting with Troy city officials, including police leaders and Mayor Patrick Madden, that the first draft of the attorney general's report on the shooting had been "more adverse as it related to alleged inappropriate conduct of certain unnamed (Troy police) members."

Centanni's report revealed there was deep dissension within the department's ranks about French's actions, and that he had cautioned former Chief John Tedesco not to make public statements in support of the officer during a news conference two days after the shooting.

At the news conference, where Tedesco was flanked by Abelove and Madden, the chief declared they had determined French's decision to open fire on Thevenin was "certainly in line with the law, department policy and his training, and we are fully supporting the sergeant in his actions."

The existence of the internal report — as well as hundreds of pages of never-disclosed police records on the shooting — wasn't revealed until a confidential source called one of Cinthia Thevenin's attorneys, Michael Rose, and told him about it a couple months ago.

John D. Aspland, a Glens Falls attorney for French and the city of Troy, had subsequently argued in a July 31 court filing — which remained under seal until last week — that the internal report should not be made public and that Centanni was not qualified to make the conclusions he reached.

Even "assuming that there was a witness who actually saw French firing his weapon before the vehicle was moving towards him, well established Circuit Court precedent holds that an officer is entitled to utilize deadly force where they have probable cause to fear for their safety," Aspland wrote. "An officer need not await the movement of a car towards them to protect themselves."

U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart, in a ruling unsealing the internal report last week, said the report is "potentially relevant" to the federal case and there is "no basis" to deny the public the right to view the document.

Stewart did not issue a ruling on the motion by Aspland's law firm demanding that Thevenin's attorneys disclose the identity of the person who told them about the report. The judge instructed the Glens Falls' law firm to provide additional legal arguments on that request.

A spokesman for the city of Troy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Caruso, the city's corporation counsel, had made the determination not to disclose the internal affairs report to Thevenin's attorneys.

"The city will continue to abide by the established legal process and has no further comment at this time,” Caruso said in the statement issued by the city.

During a conference in the federal court case last month, Aspland told the magistrate that his firm only learned of the internal affairs report two months ago when Thevenin's attorneys requested a copy of it.

Centanni's attorney, Mathew B. Tully, issued a response late Monday to Caruso's comments, casting them as "unethical rhetoric."

"Capt. Centanni is a principled leader who conducted one of the most complex internal affairs investigations in the history of the Troy Police Department," Tully said. "I'm disappointed that instead of accepting responsibility for his failure to turn over the ISB report during discovery, Mayor Madden via the city attorney has chosen to disparage Centanni and challenge the findings, which were extensively and carefully investigated."

He called on the state attorney general's office and U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to review the report.

An earlier version of this story did not include the full name of U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel J. Stewart.