CHANGING STORY

Washington Sheriff Told 911 a Black Man Threatened Him—Then Recanted

The complaint triggered a huge police response while Sedrick Altheimer was delivering newspapers house to house.

A sheriff in Washington State is under fire amid revelations that he called 911 on a Black newspaper carrier and claimed the man threatened to kill him—only to later recant that claim when questioned by police. With calls for his suspension swirling, Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer has now flip-flopped again, alleging that 24-year-old Sedrick Altheimer did threaten him during the early-morning confrontation in January. Aldrick was delivering copies of The Seattle Times when Troyer, in an unmarked vehicle, reportedly began tailing him as he went from house to house, then approached to question him. When Troyer called 911 to say he was threatened, it triggered a huge police response, the Times reported.

The sheriff claims that he had no idea Sedrick was Black when he began following him. “In 35 years, I have never had a complaint against me for racial bias,” he told the newspaper. “What are we supposed to do as police? Not look at suspicious vehicles and not pull them over because a Black person might be inside?” The Washington Black Lives Matter Alliance called for an immediate investigation, saying Troyer “abused the public trust, and abused, misused and weaponized his standing in law enforcement to harm Black and Brown Lives.”