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TROY – Detective Sgt. Randall French, the city police officer who shot and killed drunken driving suspect Edson Thevenin nearly four years ago, is on a ventilator and fighting for his life after being diagnosed with COVID-19, according to a Facebook post from his wife and others familiar with the situation.

French is being treated at Albany Medical Center Hospital. His family and fellow officers asked for people who recovered from the coronavirus to donate plasma to keep him alive. There are no anti-viral treatments for the disease but early examinations show plasma therapy offers promise for some severely ill coronavirus patients.

“We need help. My husband is currently fighting for his life, on a ventilator, in the ICU. He has Covid-19. We are scared and praying and trying our best to stay positive,” the sergeant's wife, Danielle French, wrote on Facebook Sunday. The post was shared thousands of times.

Late Monday, French’s wife posted on Facebook that they had found a match for a plasma donor. “My contact at AMC said they were inundated with calls today for donating, with most calling on behalf of Randy. All of you are amazing!! You all have helped save many lives today.” She continued, “Remember there is still a need for this, there are still many people fighting this virus.”

The Troy Police Benevolent Association also urged people to help.

People can call Albany Medical Center’s donor hotline at 518-262-9340 to offer possible plasma donation to COVID-19 victims, or email covidserum@amc.edu.

Albany Medical Center and St. Peter's Health Partners were among the first hospital systems nationwide to receive federal approval to use the experimental COVID-19 treatment that uses the antibody-rich plasma from a recovered patient to treat a sick person. Albany Med said last Thursday that it had given its first plasma donation to a critically ill patient.

“Please help if you are able. This disease is nasty and terrifying. Do your part to stop the spread, this is real and it could happen to anyone,” Danielle French wrote.

The North Greenbush Ambulance Association where French is a paramedic also called on people to call Albany Medical Center if they can help. The ambulance association is the volunteer ambulance corps that serves the town.

A source familiar with the case said French entered Albany Med about a week ago with what was thought to be broken ribs from an ATV crash. He was tested and found to be infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

It's not known where French may have been exposed to the disease. French had not worked a paramedic shift for at least three weeks before being hospitalized, North Greenbush officials said Monday. As a police officer, French works in a job that is considered essential but that comes with worries that officers can be exposed to the virus while doing police work.

French, who graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a degree in applied mathematics, currently commands the Troy Police Department’s drug unit. He is ranked first on the city's civil service list for promotion to captain.

But French’s attempts to be promoted into the command ranks have been thwarted by his connection to the fatal shooting of Thevenin during an April 17, 2016 traffic stop on Hoosick Street. Thevenin was suspected of drunken driving when French stopped his car. Thevenin drove off and was fatally shot by French, who later claimed he thought his life was at risk.

Within days, then-Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove presented a case to the grand jury and allowed French to testify without a waiver of immunity, meaning French could never be charged with the shooting. The grand jury declined to file charges but the state Attorney General's office scrutinized Abelove's handling of the case and the grand jury in that investigation later accused Abelove of committing perjury when he testified before them.

City leaders insisted French acted appropriately, but a report from a internal affairs investigation unearthed by lawyers for Thevenin's family cast doubt on French's versions of events. The internal affairs report found French had improperly forced Thevenin'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. It recommended sustaining four disciplinary charges against French, including unjustifiable use of deadly force and providing false testimony related to the death of the 37-year-old man. No action was taken.