Sheriff Ed Troyer charged over confrontation with Black newspaper carrier
Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer was charged Tuesday with two misdemeanors after a months-long investigation into his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier.
The Washington State Attorney General’s Office filed one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant in Pierce County District Court. Troyer is expected to be arraigned Nov. 1 via Zoom.
If convicted as charged, he faces up to a year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.
Troyer has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and on Tuesday, criticized the charging decision as “a blatant and politically motivated anti-cop hit job.”
“In my entire 37-year career, I have never ever had a founded or sustained complaint against me,” the sheriff said. “I’ve never had a racial, sexual harassment or use of force complaint even filed against me.”
The charges come after a six-month look into whether the newspaper carrier, 24-year-old Sedrick Altheimer, threatened Troyer during their Jan. 27 encounter and whether the sheriff gave false information to dispatchers when he called for assistance.
Gov. Jay Inslee in April asked Attorney General Bob Ferguson to investigate the encounter.
The AG’s Office alleges Troyer “knew the information was false, and knew the report would likely cause an emergency response” when he told a 911 dispatcher that Altheimer threatened to kill him and was blocking in his SUV.
More than 40 law enforcement officers started to respond to the Tacoma scene before being called off.
The incident started when Troyer followed Altheimer in his personal SUV after noticing the vehicle driving up and down driveways in his Tacoma neighborhood. Believing it to be suspicious behavior, Troyer said he followed the car to jot down the license plate number.
It led to a 2 a.m. confrontation with the sheriff calling a 911 dispatcher and repeatedly saying Altheimer threatened to kill him.
A police report says Troyer told officers he was never threatened, which the sheriff has chalked up to a misunderstanding. The officer was not wearing a body camera during their exchange so there is no recording of their conversation.
Assistant attorneys general said in the probable cause statement that Troyer denied their repeated attempts to interview him.
Troyer said he was willing to cooperate with a fair, independent investigation but he chose not to speak with the AG’s Office after realizing it was a criminal investigation.
Altheimer has denied threatening the sheriff and filed a $5 milion tort claim against Pierce County, saying he suffered emotional distress from the “racial profiling, false arrest and unnecessary use of excessive force of this man whose only crime was ‘being a black man in a white neighborhood,’” according to the claim.
The confrontation
The probable cause statement says the two men faced off after Altheimer noticed an SUV following him about 2 a.m. and decided to ask if the driver was following him because he is Black.
Altheimer said he did not recognize Troyer and asked if he was a cop.
“Troyer did not answer the question,” according to charging papers. “Nor did he identify himself as the sheriff or a law enforcement officer.”
Instead, Troyer allegedly peppered Altheimer with questions about what he was doing and accused him of being a thief.
“Altheimer said that when he walked away, Troyer moved his SUV and adjusted the car’s position, which Altheimer took to mean, ‘Like he’s not done with me,’” records say. “Troyer called after him, loud enough for Altheimer to hear, ‘Hey, don’t walk away … I have four cops coming.’ Altheimer responded, ‘Good.’”
Altheimer said he tried to drive away but Troyer again followed so he stopped his car in the middle of the street facing Troyer’s SUV. The vehicles were about 50 feet apart. That’s when both men grabbed their cell phones.
Altheimer said he started taking pictures of the SUV, and Troyer called 911 dispatchers.
During a nearly 5-minute call with dispatchers, Troyer said four times that someone had threatened to kill him.
Dispatcher Conrad Shadel sent out the “officer needs help” alert because he believed “the sheriff is going through an active confrontation with someone trying to kill him,” according to charging papers.
The CAD log read: “27th/Diedra, making threats to kill.”
Troyer continued speaking with the dispatcher, saying he tried to back up and leave but the other driver had him blocked in. He also said he was trying to be polite but “he just says I’m a racist. He wants to kill me so...,” according to a police radio recording.
As the conversation continued, Troyer also allegedly told the dispatcher Altheimer was pushing against his car.
Tacoma officers Chad Lawless and Corey Ventura arrived first on scene and called off the large response after realizing there was no immediate danger.
“We don’t need the whole world coming,” Lawless said on the radio.
In total, 14 officers and deputies, including three sergeants and a lieutenant, came to the scene.
Lawless and Ventura noted that Troyer had no difficulty moving his vehicle when they arrived.
Altheimer was upset and agitated when an officer ordered him to keep his hands on the steering wheel. Police told him they were there because the sheriff called for them.
“Altheimer responded, ‘I don’t care what he called for. He’s following me! Go talk to him. I am working! I’m a Black man in a White neighborhood and I am working!,” records say.
When asked if Altheimer threatened Troyer, he allegedly responded sarcastically, “Yeah, I threatened his life because I walked up and asked why he was following me.”
As Ventura spoke with Altheimer, Lawless talked to Troyer about what happened.
“Troyer told Officer Lawless that Altheimer never threatened him. Further, Troyer said he did not observe Altheimer with any weapons,” according to charging papers.
Lawless was not wearing his body camera during the exchange so their conversation was not captured on video.
Troyer told police Altheimer clearly “wanted to fight” but to let him go after he was told Altheimer was a newspaper carrier.
What’s next
A fact-finding investigation paused by the Pierce County Council will resume soon.
“The Pierce County Council takes these charges seriously and will consult with the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney, who serves as legal counsel to the Council, to review all available options,” the Council said in a written statement.
The office of sheriff is independently elected, and the council has no supervisory authority over Troyer, who was elected in November.
The Council hired Brian Moran, the former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington, to look into the altercation and determine whether Troyer misused his authority. Moran said Tuesday his investigation is nearly complete.
The Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance, which previously filed complaints against the sheriff with the FBI and Department of Justice, on Tuesday called again for Troyer’s resignation.
“Sheriff Troyer’s statements to witnesses that night—that Mr. Altheimer was trying to kill him and used his vehicle as a weapon—are flags to other officers that they should arrive on the scene ready to use deadly force,” they said in a written statement. “There is only one conclusion we can draw from that: Sheriff Troyer intended to do harm to Mr. Altheimer, who was doing nothing more than delivering the newspaper. These are federal ‘color of law’ violations, and Sheriff Troyer must resign immediately.”
Read Troyer’s full statement:
This story was originally published October 19, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
