TROY – The police department has finally filled its remaining captain vacancy against a background of having its top candidate considered to be unpromotable due to a fatal shooting and lawsuit after the city refused to promote from its previous civil service list.

The new captain’s list became available in December but wasn’t certified by the Troy Civil Service Commission until three months later. The list provided a new candidate – Detective Sgt. Steven Barker -- among the top three eligible for promotion.

The status of Detective Sgt. Randall French, who has had the top ranking on the civil service list, cast a shadow across each round of promotions to captain. French shot and killed Edson Thevenin during an April 2016 DWI stop. Former Rensselaer County District Attorney Joel E. Abelove didn’t have French waive his immunity from prosecution when he testified before a grand jury.

“They made up excuses as to why they couldn’t certify the list on Dec. 28 when all the other municipalities certified the list on that date. I was given more than one excuse as to why the list wasn’t certified in December,” Officer Nick Laviano, president of the Troy Police Benevolent Association, said Tuesday.

“Unfortunately, that’s par for the course with this administration but that should not tarnish Steven Barker’s promotion,” Laviano said.

Barker, a 10-year veteran of the department, will be sworn in as the city’s newest captain Wednesday morning at City Hall. Barker was ranked second on the newly approved captain’s promotional list. Barker is praised by department members for his abilities as an officer, sergeant and detective.

Mayor Patrick Madden said he relied on Chief Brian Owens for selecting the next captain.

“The chief had great candidates from which to choose. I am sure it was not an easy decision but I am sure it was made with nothing but the best interests of the department in mind,” Madden said.

French testified in court in March during an unrelated hearing that he felt he should be promoted after being skipped over two times. Within the department ranks, there’s support for French, but an acknowledgement that he will stay as a detective sergeant due to the Thevenin shooting. A federal civil rights lawsuit filed by Thevenin’s widow against French and the city of Troy is pending in U.S. District Court in Albany.

Madden’s administration said there was a delay in adopting the new test results due calculating points for test takers with more than 26 years of experience.

French was atop the list with 99 points followed by Barker at 92 and Sgt. Stephen C. Seney at 87 points. Sgt. Salvatore Carmello was fourth with 86 points.

The PBA filed a grievance over the city's failure to promote from the previous list of French, Seney and Carmello seeking back pay for the three and a promotion.