Pierce County Sheriff’s Dept, BLM react to charges against sheriff

The Washington State Attorney General’s office has filed misdemeanor charges against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer.

“I want the voters to decide whether I stay or go,” Sheriff Ed Troyer told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. The sheriff said he answers to the citizens.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department released a statement on Tuesday to respond to the charges and its duty to serve the community.

The Pierce County Sheriff’s Department will maintain its commitment to serving and protecting the citizens of Pierce County while Sheriff Troyer addresses the charges filed against him today. Sheriff Troyer remains the elected Sheriff in full lawful authority and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The Sheriff has instructed his command staff, and the entire Pierce County Sheriff’s Department to continue in its mission and to fulfill their duties without interruption or distraction.

The Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance also released a statement on Tuesday, interpreting the probable cause documents to state that Troyer meant to harm Sedrick Altheimer, a Black man delivering newspapers in a white, Tacoma neighborhood.

It also demands Troyer resign immediately.

“The probable cause document is clear and explicit that Sheriff Ed Troyer broke the law. He is being charged with two crimes: false reporting and making a false statement when he said that newspaper deliverer Sedrick Altheimer, a Black man, was trying to kill him.

“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. 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.

“Earlier this year, the Washington State Legislature created an Office of Independent Investigation to review police use of deadly force. Incidents like Sheriff Troyer’s potentially deadly lies to fellow officers should also routinely receive independent investigations. Moreover, police incidents such as these must be independently prosecuted. We will be advocating for an independent prosecutions bill in the 2022 legislative session.”

The Washington BLM Alliance earlier filed a complaint against Sheriff Troyer with the Department of Justice and recently received notice it is being reviewed.

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