VERDICT

Sheriff Who Tailed Black Delivery Guy Found Not Guilty

Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer was cleared on charges of false reporting.

A sheriff in Washington state who tailed a Black man delivering newspapers and was accused of falsely claiming the man had threatened to kill him has been found not guilty by a jury. In January 2021, Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer called the police on delivery driver Sedrick Altheimer, telling the dispatcher Altheimer “knows who I am and he threatened to kill me,” leading more than 40 officers to come to the scene. Troyer later admitted to officers that he hadn’t been threatened, according to charging documents, but then he flip-flopped again. Troyer was subsequently charged with false reporting and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant. Troy’s attorney told CNN on Thursday that he was “grateful” to the jury for clearing him on those charges. Altheimer's lawyers filed an anti-harassment claim against Troyer in the summer, accusing the sheriff of continuing to harass the driver in the months since the initial incident.