Black newspaper carrier settles suit with Pierce County, Troyer over 2021 incident

Pierce County and Sheriff Ed Troyer have settled a lawsuit that claimed Troyer called for police assistance on a Black newspaper carrier in his neighborhood in early 2021.

Sedrick Altheimer previously filed a $5 million civil lawsuit claiming Troyer only called for help in — bringing dozens of officers into the neighborhood — because Altheimer is Black.

The incident occurred on Jan. 27, 2021, after Troyer alerted officers about Altheimer. Troyer described Altheimer to the dispatcher as “homeless-looking,” saying on three separate occasions the newspaper carrier had “threatened to kill” him.

The county and Troyer agreed to pay Altheimer $500,000 to settle the lawsuit. But the settlement did not include an admission of wrongdoing by the county or Troyer.

Troyer was charged and later acquitted

In October 2021, Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson’s office filed charges of false reporting and making a false statement to law enforcement against Troyer, who is white, and who has worked for the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office for decades.

More from KIRO Newsradio: Gee Scott, Spike O’Neill disagree on Troyer verdict

Prosecutors accused Troyer of lying when he called an emergency dispatcher that night in 2021. More than 40 officers responded to the scene, but most were called off after members of the Tacoma Police Department arrived.

Troyer told responding Tacoma officers, however, that he was not threatened by Altheimer, according to an incident report and testimony by Officer Chad Lawless, who said he specifically asked Troyer twice about threats.

Troyer testified during the trial in late 2022 he never retracted his threat claims but merely said he “wasn’t worried” about Altheimer once officers explained he was a newspaper carrier.

During his testimony, Altheimer said he approached Troyer’s SUV between deliveries and asked if he was following him because he was Black and if he was a cop. He said Troyer never identified himself and accused Altheimer of being a “porch pirate.”

After driving away, Altheimer said Troyer followed him again. The two wound up facing one another in their vehicles on a quiet street. That’s when Troyer called in the emergency response, leading to Altheimer getting detained and frisked for weapons.

Altheimer denied ever threatening Troyer, but Troyer said Altheimer had been angry, wanted to fight and yelled he would “take me out.”

After a day of deliberation in December 2022, a jury found Troyer not guilty on both misdemeanor counts. He could have faced up to a year in jail and a $5,000 fine if convicted.

The verdict: Troyer was found not guilty on all counts

Troyer in 2022: Governor, AG were ‘coming after me’

In an exclusive interview shortly following the verdict on Dec. 14, 2022, Troyer told KIRO’s Dori Monson he pushed back against Gov. Jay Inslee and Ferguson despite the toll it took on the 800 Pierce County Sheriff’s Department staff and his own family.

“They offered me a deal. They wanted me to plead guilty to both counts and resign,” Troyer told Monson about the case waged against him by the state of Washington.

Troyer speaks to Dori Monson: Sheriff said he relied on trial to ‘show what the truth is’

“I said ‘no way.’ I wanted to talk to a jury. I put my hands in the fate of the jury,” Troyer continued. “Once they heard the facts and got all the information, we got the verdict that we were going for even though the attorney general, the governor – the most powerful people in the state were coming after me.”

Troyer also acknowledged the case was emotional “not only for me – as I’m built for this,” but also for his department and his family.

While waiting for the trial, Troyer said his family “endured feeling like hostages in our own house for five or six months” while “rioters and picketers” camped outside their home.

Contributing: The Associated Press; Frank Sumrall, MyNorthwest; Heather Bosch, KIRO Newsradio