New Pierce County sheriff sworn in, vows to build community trust
There’s a new sheriff in town.
On Wednesday, Ed Troyer was sworn in as Pierce County sheriff by Superior Court Judge Jack Nevin in a courtroom with 23 family members, command staff and friends looking on. His son Tyler and wife Wendy pinned on his badge as another 300 or so people watched on a Facebook livestream.
“This is a time of great change at the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department and in the profession of law enforcement,” Troyer said. “It is also a time of great opportunity to be a leader in that change.”
Troyer, 59, served as the department’s spokesman for 19 years under former Sheriff Paul Pastor. Earlier this month, he won 64 percent of votes in the first contested sheriff race in 48 years.
He plans to spend the weekend riding along with patrol supervisors so he can speak with deputies and members of the community, seeing it as an opportunity to hear firsthand about their ideas and concerns.
“We will be leaders in building community trust through transparency and accountability,” Troyer said. “We will hold ourselves to a high standard of public service, and we will ask our county leaders to do the same as we work in partnership to address the concerns over mental health, drug addiction, homelessness and increasing crime rates. We do a lot of things better than others, but there is always room for improvement.”
Troyer said another of his top priorities will be ensuring mental health and safety services are available for all first responders.
He’s already chosen members of his administration, many of whom attended Wednesday’s brief ceremony. They will start their roles Tuesday.
Some positions will remain filled by the same people, like undersheriff Brent Bomkamp, chief of services Nick Hausner and chief of corrections Patti Jackson-Kidder.
Assuming new jobs will be chief of investigations Kevin Roberts, chief of patrol Micah Lundborg and chief of staff Lauren Wallin.
At the swearing-in ceremony, Pastor spoke of Troyer’s unmatched ability to communicate and his eagerness to see how Troyer leads the department.
“Your new sheriff, Ed Troyer, is a man of tremendous heart for people. He’s also a man who has a sense of what is necessary, what is practical and what is possible,” Pastor said.
Former state Auditor Brian Sonntag also spoke at the ceremony, saying the Sheriff’s Department is already in a good place because of Pastor’s leadership.
“You’ve got a real opportunity to lead, you’ve got an opportunity to really make a difference throughout this community,” he told Troyer. “That opportunity brings with it a responsibility to make a difference. I really believe you’re going to make a difference each and every day.”
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 3:36 PM.
