POTSDAM – Village police officer Matthew Seymour is back on the job for the first time since he shot and killed a suspect with a knife in September.

Seymour was put on leave immediately after he fired four shots from his Glock 21 .45 caliber service pistol into Clarkson graduate student Tian Ma, 31, on Sept. 9 at Swan Landing Apartments in Potsdam.

St. Lawrence County District Attorney Mary Rain said a full presentation of the case to a grand jury is considered mandatory. Potsdam Police Chief Kevin Bates had said Seymour was on leave pending the outcome of the presentation, which woiuld determine if the shooting was justified.

But that presentation to a grand jury has yet to take place and there is no immediate plan to make the presentation, a member of DA Rain’s staff said today.

“We haven’t moved forward yet,” said Rain’s executive assistant Laken Hawes.

“There is an outstanding question as to who would be called to testify,” Hawes said. “It’s on hold.”

But Potsdam Police Lt. Mark Murray said there had been “no indication when or even if the grand jury presentation would be made,” and that Seymour had been cleared for duty otherwise.

Lt. Murray said he has seen where, with other police agencies in a similar situation, grand juries were sometimes held 11 or even 12 months after the fact. Seymour had reportedly been doing well while on leave, and thousands of dollars in overtime had been spent to cover Seymour’s place on the small department’s roster.

“There was a manpower crunch, and he was fit,” Murray said.

Police said that Seymour and Patrolman Clint Perrigo arrived at the scene after neighbors called to say they heard screams coming from the apartment where the officers eventually confronted Ma, who was standing over another CU grad student, 24 year-old Yazhen Jiang, stabbing her.

The investigation indicated Ma refused to obey the officers’ commands to drop the knife, and made a move toward Officer Seymour, an 11-year veteran of the Potsdam Police Department.

No shots were fired by Officer Perrigo.

Police said Yahzen Jiang was pronounced dead after transport to Canton-Potsdam Hospital. Ma was pronounced dead at the scene.