Newly elected Sheriff Ed Troyer (photo below) of Pierce County, Washington, triggered an uproar back in January when he
“confronted a Black man driving in his Tacoma neighborhood and called 911 to report the man threatened to kill him …, sending 42 officers, deputies and troopers rushing to the scene.”
But later,
“Troyer … said Altheimer did not threaten him, contradicting statements in the 911 call, according to a police report.”
The man, Sedrick Altheimer, 24, was delivering newspapers. Read the original article here.
Now, “Gov. Jay Inslee has directed Attorney General Bob Ferguson to launch a criminal investigation into Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer. … [T]he governor specifically cites the Jan. 27 incident as potentially violating false reporting laws, among other possible criminal violations. …
“‘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. ‘So now the state is stepping in.'”
The Pierce County Council had already hired a former U.S. Attorney to investigate Troyer’s conduct, but the council can’t force Troyer, an elected official, to leave office. A criminal conviction could do that.
Read about the latest developments in this saga here.