Sheriff charged over confrontation with Black newspaper carrier

Pierce County, Wash., Sheriff Ed Troyer will face two misdemeanor criminal charges after a January confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier. 

State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed the charges of one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, according to a statement of probable cause published by the attorney general’s office on Tuesday. 

Today, our office filed criminal charges against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer. More information: https://t.co/0qegru7Ip8

— Washington State Attorney General (@AGOWA) October 19, 2021

At the time of the incident, Troyer told an emergency dispatcher that Sedrick Altheimer, the newspaper carrier, blocked the sheriff’s car and threatened to kill him. Ferguson’s charges say Troyer “knew the information was false” and was aware his claims “would likely cause an emergency response.”

Troyer initially said he would cooperate with the investigation, but he has “declined repeated requests for an interview” with the attorney general’s office, according to court documents.

“I have never had a sustained or founded complaint in 37 years,” Troyer, who denies any wrongdoing, told The Seattle Times. “I have never had a complaint of racial bias, use of force or sexual discrimination even filed.”

Troyer added that the charges were “a blatant and politically motivated anti-cop hit job” and that Ferguson “is an anti-cop politician trying to score political points for political gain,” the Times reported.

If convicted, Troyer could face up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine for each count, according to a press release from the Washington attorney general’s office.