Exclusive: Sheriff Troyer acquitted, says governor, AG were ‘coming after me’
Dec 14, 2022, 9:00 PM | Updated: Dec 21, 2022, 2:22 pm

On the stand Thursday, Ed Troyer testified that newspaper carrier Sedrick Altheimer said he was going 鈥渢o take me out, and he didn鈥檛 mean take me out to dinner." (成人X站 7)
(成人X站 7)
Less than an hour after a six-person jury unanimously found not guilty of two misdemeanors involving false reporting, Troyer told 成人X站 Newsradio that he relied on the nearly two-week trial to 鈥渟how what the truth is.鈥
In an exclusive Wednesday afternoon interview minutes following the verdict, Troyer told 成人X站鈥檚 Dori Monson that he pushed back against Gov. Jay Inslee and Attorney General Bob Ferguson despite the toll it took on the 800 Pierce County Sheriff鈥檚 Department staff and his own family.
鈥淭hey offered me a deal: They wanted me to plead guilty to both counts and resign,鈥 Troyer told Dori about the case waged against him by the state of Washington.
Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer found not guilty on all counts
鈥淚 said ‘no way.’ I wanted to talk to a jury. I put my hands in the fate of the jury,鈥 Troyer continued.聽 鈥淥nce they heard the facts and got all the information, we got the verdict that we were going for even though the attorney general, the governor 鈥 the most powerful people in the state were coming after me.”
Troyer praised his attorney, Anne Bremner, and legal advisors for the courtroom victory.
Meanwhile, the Pierce County Sheriff acknowledged that the near two-year legal case was emotional 鈥渘ot only for me 鈥 as I鈥檓 built for this,鈥 but also for his department and his family.
While waiting for the trial, Troyer said his family 鈥渆ndured feeling like hostages in our own house for five or six months鈥 while 鈥渞ioters and picketers鈥 camped outside their home. Threatening letters from Gov. Inslee鈥檚 office and a legal team from Ferguson 鈥渢urned my life upside down,鈥 he added.
The misdemeanor case against him stemmed from a January 2021 incident, when Troyer called an emergency dispatcher in the middle of the night after an unidentified vehicle was spotted driving in his Tacoma neighborhood. When Troyer came out from his home to investigate, he called emergency dispatchers.
More from Dori Monson: A solution to Seattle-Tacoma ranking No. 2 in U.S. for porch thefts
The state of Washington filed charges in October 2021, claiming the three-decade law enforcement officer had misleadingly told responding officers and dispatchers that the Black delivery driver had threatened him.
The deliveryman, Sedrick Altheimer, denied making threats. During the trial, Tacoma Police incident reports showed Altheimer refused to identify himself as a newspaper deliveryman during the encounter and that Troyer later dismissed any threat by Altheimer once he was learned the man was on a newspaper route.
鈥淚 never walked back or recounted anything,鈥 Troyer said. That, he claimed, was created by the first story on the case, published in . 鈥淚 specifically said at the scene, if he鈥檚 (Altheimer) working and doing his papers, my feelings aren鈥檛 hurt … then let him go do his job.鈥
Troyer said that is specifically what 鈥渢he media has left out鈥 from the original Tacoma Police report.
Blasting back at some in local news media, Inslee, and Ferguson, Troyer told Dori that he called in defense attorney Anne Bremner when the state proposed what he called a 鈥渄eal breaker.鈥
Troyer trial: Judge denies motion to dismiss false reporting charge
鈥淭hey wanted you to admit to some level of racism if you pleaded guilty?鈥 Dori asked of state claims against Troyer.
鈥淭hat was the absolute deal-breaker,鈥 Troyer said. A foster parent for children of color, Troyer told Dori that some in his family are Native Americans, and that he also has a 鈥済randson of color, my wife is Pacific Islander, (and) I鈥檓 pretty much the only white guy,鈥 in his family.
鈥淚 always said I was not going to placate the media or the AG鈥檚 office,鈥 Troyer told Dori, despite threats from AG Ferguson鈥檚 office.
Instead, Troyer claimed the 鈥渄eath threats鈥 claim was 鈥渃reated by The Seattle Times鈥 in their initial reporting. He told Dori he has 鈥渘o animosity against the Tacoma Police Department鈥 but believes that it was 鈥渕edia in the state that turned this into an incident.鈥
Troyer praised his legal team, his staff, and his family 鈥渨ho have come alongside me through the whole entire thing鈥 during his only post-trial interview.
On Thursday, the sheriff added, he plans to do an extended exclusive interview on The Dori Monson Show about the trial, local 鈥淒efund the Police鈥 movements, and initiatives that would allow city leaders 鈥 and not voters 鈥 to choose county sheriffs and city police chiefs in Washington state.
Listen to Dori Monson weekday afternoons from noon 鈥 3 p.m. on 成人X站 Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the聽podcast here.