SEATTLE — A Pierce County court Monday issued an anti-harassment order against Pierce County Sheriff Ed Troyer, requiring him to stay 1,000 feet from a Black newspaper carrier for one year, citing continued incidents of “unlawful harassment.”
The ruling came in a virtual hearing on whether to extend a temporary anti-harassment order that had been filed last month by an attorney for Sedrick Altheimer, the newspaper carrier who is suing Troyer and Pierce County over a highly publicized confrontation on Jan. 27, 2021.
In making the ruling at a virtual hearing Monday, Pierce County District Court Pro Tem Judge Christine Chin cited “a course of conduct of unlawful harassment,” referring to multiple incidents in recent months in which Altheimer said Troyer followed him in his unmarked SUV, circling around and flashing his lights as he delivered newspapers in Tacoma.
Altheimer testified under oath Monday about the encounters, saying he was left fearful by the continued contacts with Pierce County’s top law enforcement officer.
Troyer did not initially show up for the hearing, but was summoned by the judge. His attorney, John Sheeran, said Troyer would not be offering any testimony due to a criminal case pending against him.
Sheeran disputed Altheimer’s claims of harassment, saying Troyer had encountered him only once since the January 2021 incident — while checking on his elderly father, to whom Altheimer delivered a newspaper.
The new anti-harassment order supersedes a temporary one filed last month by attorney Vonda Sargent, alleging Troyer had followed Altheimer on several occasions while he was delivering newspapers. The order prohibited Troyer from following Altheimer or coming within 500 feet of his home and workplace.
Troyer has faced criticism and calls for his resignation over his early morning Jan. 27, 2021 encounter with Altheimer, who was delivering newspapers on his regular route. Saying he believed Altheimer was acting suspiciously, Troyer tailed him in his personal, unmarked SUV, not identifying himself as law enforcement.
The two wound up in a standoff in a quiet West Tacoma intersection, and Troyer called in a massive police response, repeatedly telling an emergency dispatcher that Altheimer had threatened to kill him. Troyer backed off his threat claims upon questioning by Tacoma police.
Troyer faces misdemeanor criminal charges of false reporting and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant over the incident. He has pleaded not guilty and called the charges brought by the state Attorney General’s Office “a politically motivated anti-cop hit job.”
A trial in that case was originally set for July but has been pushed to October.
An investigation commissioned by the Pierce County Council, conducted by former U.S. Attorney Brian Moran, found Troyer’s conduct had violated policies on bias-free policing and other professional standards.
The longtime Pierce County Sheriff’s Department veteran, who served for years as its media spokesperson, was elected sheriff in November of 2020.
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