Troyer “annoyed”, not concerned about safety after confronting black newspaper carrier, responders say

More police officers took the stand in the trial of Pierce County Sheriff, Ed Troyer, who’s accused of falsely reporting a threat by a black newspaper carrier.

Tacoma Police Officer, Zach Hobbs, says Sheriff Troyer told him he saw a possible prowler with what looked like a flashlight and a garage door opener in the early morning hours of January 27^th, 2021, so Troyer told Hobbs he got in his car and followed until Sedric Altheimer stopped his car and confronted him.  “He began yelling and cussing at him,” Hobbs told the jury, “and at some point he…Mr. Troyer said that he knew he was a police officer.  I don’t know if he knew that he was the sheriff, but he knew that he’d seen him on TV and that he was in law enforcement.”  Hobbs also told the jury Troyer appeared annoyed by the situation.

Retired Pierce County Sheriff’s Sergeant, Mike Blair, says he also talked to Troyer that morning after Altheimer left.  Blair says Troyer asked him to find out which paper carrier Altheimer worked for and Blair testified that he told Troyer he wouldn’t do it because it would require to go into another law enforcement agency’s jurisdiction to initiate an investigation.

Tacoma Police Lieutenant, Robert Stark, told the court he responded only briefly to the scene where Sheriff Troyer and Sedric Altheimer were face to face.  State prosecutor, Barbara Serrano, asked Stark why the brass decided to have Tacoma Police Officer Chad Lawless write a report rather than rely on notes in the computer aided dispatch system, and he said they felt it was it was necessary just in case something came up with this incident in the future.  Lawless and his partner, former Tacoma officer Corey Ventura, were the first to answer Troyer’s call for help.

Pierce County Sheriff’s Deputy, Patrick Parham, also responded to the call, where he told prosecutors he talked to Troyer for about 15 minutes and that Troyer did not appear to be in fear for his safety.  Officer Hobbs also indicated Troyer didn’t appear to have any safety concerns.

Jurors also heard from Sedric Altheimer’s employer and a 911 dispatcher who assisted on Troyer’s call.

Altheimer and Officer Chad Lawless are among witnesses expected to appear Tuesday.