Sheriff Ed Troyer of Pierce County, Washington is facing calls to resign or at the very least be suspended after he called 911 on a Black newspaper delivery driver near his home and told dispatch the man threatened to kill him.
According to the Seattle Times, at around 2 a.m on Jan. 27 Troyer noticed a man going from driveway to driveway and decided to follow him after hearing a noise and seeing suspicious activity in his neighborhood.
The sheriff called 911 and told the dispatcher that a homeless-looking man in “some sort of beat-up truck” was preventing him from going home and was threatening to kill him.
“I’m trying to be polite to him, but he just says I’m a racist and wants to kill me,” Troyer told dispatch.
Dispatch sent out an urgent countywide alert that sent more than 40 officers from multiple agencies rushing toward the scene, public records show, The Seattle Times reports. Most were called off after Tacoma police arrived.
Turns out the “suspect” was 24-year-old newspaper delivery driver Sedrick Altheimer, on his regular route. He was detained at the scene and his car searched—-it was filled with newspapers.
When questioned later by a Tacoma police officer, the sheriff admitted that he was never threatened.
Audio of Troyer’s conversation with 911 dispatcher, obtained by The Seattle Times:
Altheimer told the Times, he was angry and scared by the rush of police vehicles from multiple directions, and was careful to keep his hands in sight.
“They definitely scared me. I was really shocked,” Altheimer said. “They could have shot me that night. It scares me.”
Altheimer said he noticed the SUV following him on his route.
“I continue what I’m doing, because, you know, I’m working. I’m not doing any harm to the neighborhood. I work here every night,” he said. He became so irritated with the SUV tracking his every move that at one point he went to vehicle and asked the driver why he was tailing him.
Altheimer said Troyer looked familiar but didn’t recognize him as the county sheriff at the time and Troyer did not identify himself to be a cop, even when he was asked the question outright. Instead, he asked Altheimer what he was doing in the neighborhood and accused him of being “a porch pirate,” slang for someone who steals packages from porches.
Altheimer said he asked Troyer if he was being targeted because he’s black. Troyer responded that he is not racist and that his wife is black. Troyer’s wife is Pacific Islander, the Times noted.
Troyer later claimed that the incident had nothing to do with race. “I am saddened to learn that Mr. Altheimer felt he was treated in an unfair manner,” he said in a statement on Friday. “I am committed to continuing the ongoing dialogue with our community to ensure that policing in Pierce County is free of racial bias and performed in a manner that upholds the public trust.”
The Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance on Friday called for Troyer to be suspended and an “independent, thorough and transparent investigation” be conducted. They said he “has abused the public trust, and abused, misused and weaponized his standing in law enforcement to harm Black and Brown Lives.”
Pierce County Executive Bruce Dammeier called it “an alarming story.”
Kathy Orlando, chair of the Pierce County Democrats, said her organization and others are exploring whether to launch a recall bid against Troyer.
Civil rights attorney James Bible, who represents the family of Manuel Ellis, a Black man killed by Tacoma police last year, said he was not surprised at Troyer’s conduct, accusing him of having “an irrational fear” of Black people. He also accused the cop of repeatedly and blatantly misrepresented the circumstances of Ellis’ death as a media spokesperson before being elected sheriff.
Troyer is an independently elected official and cannot be suspended unless he decides to on step down, the Times notes. On Friday he insisted that he will not step down, but said he’d be open to an independent investigation.
