RENSSELAER – Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel Abelove spent all day Friday in City Hall testifying before a grand jury empaneled by the state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office to investigate Abelove's handling of a fatal Troy police shooting in which the officer was cleared of any crime.

Abelove has maintained that he did nothing wrong in presenting the April 17, 2016 deadly-force case to a grand jury within five days of Troy police Sgt. Randall French shooting and killing Edson Thevenin, 37, during a traffic stop.

Abelove entered the city courtroom around 9 a.m. with his attorney, John W. Bailey. They emerged after the grand jury adjourned at 5:20 p.m. They didn’t leave when the jurors took an hour lunch break.

“I would like to say that I am very grateful for the opportunity that the grand jury gave me to come in and tell the truth about what occurred in this case and to explain some of the decisions that were made,” Abelove said outside City Hall's main entrance on Friday evening..

“Beyond that I know it’s still a pending case that they’re handling. So it’s probably inappropriate for me to discuss it any further than that. It’s inappropriate for me to talk about anything that occurred in the grand jury right now,” Abelove said.

Abelove invoked his right to testify before the grand jury. He declined to say if he waived immunity from prosecution.

His s presentation to a grand jury in April 2016 of the case of the fatal shooting of Thevenin has raised questions. The Times Union reported last year that Abelove did not require French to sign an immunity-from-prosecution waiver before testifying in April 2016 before a grand jury, which declined to file charges.

Abelove stayed on his message at the beginning and end of his day before the grand jurors.

“I feel fine. I am looking forward to speaking with the grand jury. I am looking forward to telling them everything I know about this case,” Abelove said Friday morning before heading into the courtroom.

The grand jury has heard testimony from Troy police detectives, a tow-truck driver and former assistant district attorneys. The grand jury was selected in September for a four-month term. Members are hearing testimony at Rensselaer City Hall away from potential leaks at the Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy.

As part of the investigation, Schneiderman’s office subpoenaed Abelove’s county emails and cell phone. Investigators took the phone directly from Abelove when he showed up on March 16 for work at the county court house.

This is the first criminal investigation of a sitting district attorney by Schneiderman's office since Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed an executive order to give the attorney general authority to step into cases in which an unarmed civilian was killed by a police officer. Abelove has been a critic of the policy and unsuccessfully challenged it in court.

French has returned to work in the Troy detective bureau and is in line to be promoted to captain.

Abelove, a Republican, is in the third year of his four-year term. He testified before the grand jury in the court where Carmelo Laquidara, his Democratic opponent in the 2014 election, presides as a part-time City Court judge.

The grand jury investigation has left Rensselaer County Republicans and Democrats speculating about what will occur and the impact on Abelove’s chances to be re-elected to a second term. The district attorney’s salary is $185,155 in the county budget.

The courtroom was prepared Thursday so prosecutors could use a screen and projector to display evidence.