Opening statements began Wednesday afternoon in the criminal trial of Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer. The News Tribune is providing live updates of the proceedings, and the trial is being livestreamed on our website.
Troyer, who was elected in 2020, is accused of falsely reporting to 911 that a neighborhood newspaper carrier, Sedrick Altheimer threatened his life during an encounter in January 2021.
He is charged with one count of false reporting and one count of making a false or misleading statement to a public servant, both misdemeanors. With no criminal history, a conviction on each charge would carry penalties of up to a year in jail and up to a $5,000 fine.
3:16 p.m.: The jury has been seated and state assistant attorney general Barbara Serrano began with opening statements. The Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case. The office was called on by Gov. Jay Inslee last year to investigate the incident after local police did not pursue it.
Serrano started by telling jurors that this case is simple. She said Troyer got into a confrontation with a newspaper carrier then lied to dispatchers, triggering a “massive” emergency response. She said more than 40 officers were dispatched and 14 arrived at the scene.
3:22 p.m.: After telling jurors about the priority level of the police response that was sent to Troyer, the highest level possible, she described what the first officers to arrive at the scene found. Tacoma police officers Corey Ventura and Chad Lawless found Troyer’s white Chevy Tahoe in the middle of the street facing another car.
Serrano said the officers observed that Troyer and Altheimer were separated and, aware that “nearly every available unit” was coming, Lawless told dispatchers to downgrade the call.
3:27 p.m.: Altheimer has been stopped by Tacoma police before and questioned by residents, Serrano said. She said it’s not uncommon for newspaper carriers to get stopped because of the way they drive, criss-crossing streets and going in and out of driveways. But what Altheimer experienced that night went way beyond anything he had experienced before, the assistant attorney general said.
3:30 p.m.: Serrano said Lawless will testify that he asked Troyer twice if Altheimer threatened him, and the sheriff said no. She said Troyer backpedaled on his statements made to dispatchers. She said the prosecution will prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Troyer made a false report about an emergency that did not exist and made a false or misleading statement to a public servant.
3:31 p.m.: Celebrity attorney Anne Bremner began with opening statements for the defense. She said the case is simple but huge for Troyer, his career and his life.
3:33 p.m.: Bremner said Troyer’s “quote unquote lie” is contradicted by another witness and body camera footage. She said Troyer has an “amazing record” as a public servant, describing his former role as public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department.
3:40 p.m.: The defense attorney said that when Troyer called dispatchers, he simply said, “I got a guy here, I need some help to get him calmed down.” She described Altheimer as angry during the confrontation, and she said he was angry when police arrived.
3:43 p.m.: Bremner said the state’s case is only that Troyer retracted a statement he made. She said the encounter was actually a miscommunication. She told jurors that Lawless didn’t have his body camera on at the time and didn’t write a report until “later.” She said that the officer later deleted text messages about the encounter. She said a few remained that made insulting references to the sheriff.
3:46 p.m.: Bremner said this case isn’t one of racial profiling, and that the state will tell them as much. Prosecutors made an objection for misrepresentation, which was overruled.
The defense attorney also told jurors about a $5 million lawsuit Altheimer brought against Pierce County regarding the confrontation with Troyer. She said anyone with a financial interest in a case has a financial bias to want to win.
3:50 p.m.: Bremner concluded her opening statements, asking jurors to listen to the evidence, but more importantly, she said, “the lack of evidence.” She asked that jurors return verdicts of not guilty on both counts.
Visiting Kitsap County District Court Judge Jeffrey Jahns brought the court proceedings to a recess. The trial will resume at 8:45 a.m. Thursday.
This story was originally published November 30, 2022 3:16 PM.
Peter Talbot covers crime and breaking news in Pierce County. He started with The News Tribune in 2021. Before that, he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University. In college, he worked as an intern at NPR in Washington, D.C. He also interned for the Oregonian and the Tampa Bay Times.