Ed Troyer (photo, left), the elected sheriff of Pierce County, Washington whose January 27, 2021, belligerent encounter with a black newspaper carrier (details here) cost the county a $500,000 settlement (see story here), didn’t seek re-election (see story here). His last day in office was December 31, 2024.
Troyer’s parting gift to taxpayers may be another hefty legal bill. A new legal filing seeking $750,000 of damages accuses Troyer, while still sheriff, of harassing and stalking a campaign worker for the new sheriff, Keith Swank.
Troyer supported Swank’s opponent, Patti Jackson, who lost a close election (find results here) which the Tacoma News Tribune, says “grew bitter in its final weeks” (read their story here).
The legal filing is a claim against the county, and is precursor to a formal lawsuit. Filed by an attorney for Lisa Olson, 55, it alleges “Troyer yelled at her while she was repairing campaign signs, followed her in his vehicle and then harassed her online,” according to the News Tribune.
Olson claims she and the other volunteer were repairing vandalized Swank signs on October 30, 2024, when Troyer pulled up in an SUV, confronted them, then followed their vehicle for over 2 miles. The legal filing also claims Troyer harassed her online. She reported the incident to police.
The News Tribune says “Troyer denies wrongdoing,” contends Olson and the man with her on October 30 were “sabotaging Jackson’s signs,” and he followed them to photograph their license plate. He told the newspaper her claim that she yelled at them is “a bunch of crap.”
Troyer apparently was unhappy about the appearance of signs with Halloween motifs demanding he resign, one of which even had a “voodoo doll” taped to it (photo below). He accused the man Olson was with on October 30 of being involved with those signs. That man didn’t respond to inquiries by the News Tribune, but Olson’s attorney says Olson wasn’t involved.
The attorney pointed out those signs were First Amendment-protected free speech, but Troyer claimed it was illegal to attach them to utility poles. Troyer himself was prosecuted in the newspaper carrier case, but a jury acquitted him.
