Washington State BLM Demands the Resignation of County Sheriff Over Confrontation with Black Newspaper Carrier

Washington state’s Black Lives Matter Alliance has demanded the resignation of Ed Troyer–the county sheriff charged with falsely claiming his life was threatened by a Black newspaper carrier that he accused of being a porch pirate.

NBC News reports that Sakara Remmu, the alliance’s lead strategist, called Troyer’s actions against Sedrick Altheimer on Jan. 27 “malicious.” The demand for the Pierce County Sheriff’s resignation comes after the alliance filed a complaint with the U.S. Justice Department and met with Seattle FBI officials.

Here’s more of Remmu’s statement from NBC News:

“It’s clear: This sheriff was trying to get an innocent man killed. This is basically a case of swatting, where you are intentionally calling the police and lying, saying that your life is under threat so that the police respond ready to use excessive or deadly force.”

As previously reported by The Root in January, Altheimer was working his regular paper route when Troyer–who lives in that neighborhood–began to trail his vehicle for several stops. Altheimer said Troyer never identified himself as law enforcement when he asked why he was being followed.

Eventually, Troyer called an emergency dispatcher and said Altheimer threatened to kill him. His call resulted in more than 40 officers from various agencies initially being called to respond to the scene.

Troyer later recanted his statement and said Altheimer never threatened him.

Altheimer is suing Troyer and Pierce County for violating his constitutional rights. The Seattle Times reports that an investigation commissioned by the Pierce County Council found that Troyer violated several sheriff’s office policies, including ones on bias-free policing, during the January incident.

The Times also reports that the sheriff has been placed on the state’s “Brady list,” which is a roster of law enforcement officers with credibility issues. Anyone placed on the list may be barred by prosecutors from testifying in court.

Despite it all, Troyer has remained adamant that he didn’t do anything wrong. Per the Tacoma News Tribune, he recently pleaded not guilty to charges of false reporting and making a false or misleading statement to a public servant.

More from the News Tribune:

The plea was entered Thursday in District Court by Troyer’s attorney, John Sheeran.

“Sheriff Troyer entered a not guilty plea because he did not commit the crime,” Sheeran said. “We look forward to a jury hearing all of the evidence and vindicating him.”

Lord, grant me the confidence of a white man with a badge.