(Pierce Co Sheriff Ed Troyer testifies at his criminal trial Dec. 8, 2022)
We’re now hearing the Pierce County Sheriff’s side of what happened, when he and a black newspaper carrier had a confrontation.
Sheriff Ed Troyer took the stand in his own defense in his trial on charges of false reporting and making false statements to a public servant that stem from the January 27th, 2021 incident, in which Troyer told police and now the jury that he saw and followed a person driving through his neighborhood from driveway to driveway with their headlights turned off. Troyer testified that when he first made contact with Sedric Altheimer, Altheimer was clearly agitated, upset, swinging his arms wildly, and he says Altheimer made it clear that he felt Troyer was following him because he was black. Troyer says, “I wasn’t going to engage with him. He got out of his car screaming and yelling. I had already called 911 and told them what had happened.” Troyer’s attorney, Anne Bremner, insisted multiple times that the court record should reflect that Troyer called an “inside line” for law enforcement and didn’t actually dial 911 to request help.
Troyer also told the jury that he told dispatchers he’d been threatened and how angry he says Altheimer was so police would know what they were getting into. “If I wouldn’t have told them that, and how mad he was, and [they] would have showed up, and some of the officers got hurt,” Troyer says, “that’d be really bad. I’d feel terrible if I didn’t give them all the information of what I thought was going on and somebody would have ended up getting hurt there…or killed!”
Troyer stood by his original story, telling the court he never denied that Altheimer threatened him. He did, however, say that he told Tacoma Police Officers not to worry about the threat. Troyer testified that he has been threatened many times in many different ways over the years in his different roles with the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, and he says he never pursued any of those threats.
In questioning by his attorney, Anne Bremner, Troyer said his record in law enforcement has nothing about lying or other misconduct, not even a report nor complaint filed.
Before Troyer took the stand, his wife testified about their family, including their work as foster parents and adopting children from the foster care system. Wendy Troyer also told a similar story as her husband about Sedric Altheimer appearing at their house about an hour after the initial confrontation, where Troyer and his wife say he revved his car engine, yelled at their house and left a newspaper on their driveway before he drove off. The Troyers both say they stopped subscribing to the newspaper years ago.
Bremner began to make her case for a motion to dismiss the charges. Prosecutors from the State Attorney General’s office who are handling this case also made their arguments before Bremner asked for more time. That ruling is expected Monday. If the judge rejects the motion to dismiss, Troyer will also likely resume his testimony Monday morning, which will include cross-examination by prosecutors.
