Trial Date Set for Tacoma Sheriff in Confrontation with Black Newspaper Carrier

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer’s trail date has been set for July on two misdemeanor charges related to his confrontation with a Black newspaper carrier.

During a virtual Zoom hearing in Pierce County District Court Friday, Judge Jeffrey Jahns approved a July 11 start date for what is expected to be a more-than-weeklong trial, The Seattle Times reported.

Troyer was charged in October by the state Attorney General’s office with one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a civil servant for calling in a police response on Sedrick Altheimer, who was delivering newspapers in Tacoma on Jan. 26.

Troyer has denied wrongdoing.

After following Altheimer in his personal SUV and winding up in a standoff, Troyer, who is white, told a 911 dispatcher in a 2 a.m. call that Altheimer had threatened to kill him. But he walked back the claim when questioned by a Tacoma police officer, according to an incident report.

Troyer is a 35-year veteran of the Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, and served for years as the agency’s public face and media spokesperson before being elected sheriff in November 2020. Pierce County has more than 900,000 residents and is Washington’s second-most populous county.

If convicted, the standard sentencing range for the misdemeanor sentences is up to 364 days in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.