Gov. Jay Inslee on Friday directed Attorney General Bob Ferguson's office to open a criminal investigation into Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer's January confrontation with a newspaper carrier.
In a letter to John Hillman, who heads the criminal division of the Attorney General's Office, Inslee asked for a probe of whether Troyer made a false report on Jan. 27, when the sheriff called a police dispatcher, repeatedly claiming that 24-year-old Sedrick Altheimer was threatening to kill him.
Altheimer, who is Black, had been delivering newspapers on his regular route that night when he was followed by the sheriff, who was driving his personal vehicle.
Troyer's 2 a.m. call to emergency dispatchers triggered a massive police response, but on questioning by Tacoma police, he backed off his claim that he'd been threatened by Altheimer, according to an incident report.
Troyer has said he was in bed at home that night and followed Altheimer because he saw what he believed a suspicious vehicle. He has insisted he violated no laws or Sheriff's Department policies during the incident, which was first reported last month by The Seattle Times.
"Just like with the local investigation being conducted by the Pierce County Council I welcome any and all inquiries into the event that occurred on January 27th. I and the department will fully cooperate with the investigation and look forward to it being done," Troyer said in an email Friday.
Reached by phone, Altheimer said he was glad to hear of the criminal investigation into Troyer's conduct. "He definitely made a false report. It's got to be a criminal investigation because it was a criminal act," he said.
Body camera footage from the incident in Tacoma's West End shows Altheimer angered by the large police response called in by the sheriff. He asked a Tacoma officer that night whether the sheriff would face consequences for falsely accusing him of making death threats. "I am not going to blow smoke up your ass and say something is going to be done about it," the officer responded.
No footage was released of the Tacoma police interview with Troyer. An officer at the scene said he accidentally left his camera at a police substation in his rush to get to the scene.
The Pierce County Council has hired former U.S. Attorney Brian Moran for a separate investigation into whether Troyer violated any laws or department policies.
In calling for the attorney general to step in, Inslee said the county probe was not sufficient.
"The initial reports of these events were very concerning to me, and I had hoped to see some action taken to initiate a criminal investigation at the local level. But, to my knowledge, that has not happened almost three months after the incident," Inslee said in a statement. "So now the state is stepping in. I have spoken to Attorney General Ferguson and his office will conduct this investigation and make the decision whether to initiate prosecution."
In a statement, Ferguson said he appreciated the governor's confidence, and pledged his office would conduct a "diligent, fact-based review."
Troyer was elected as Pierce County Sheriff last year, capping a 35-year career with the agency, including serving in recent years as its public face and media spokesman.
